Relief Workers Grabbed in Chechnya
RELIEF WORKERS GRABBED IN CHECHNYA Two relief workers were taken prisoner by armed and masked men near the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia on Sept. 20. The two men work for Action by Churches Together (ACT) and International Orthodox Christian Charities. They are Dimitri Petrov and Dimitri Piankowsky, both citizens...
ELCA Churchwide Staff Honors Sandra Tanksley
AGALIECE WESTBROOK MILLER AWARD GOES TO SANDRA TANKSLEY The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America honored Sandra M. Tanksley, 40, Chicago, with the Agaliece Westbrook Miller Award. The award was presented Sept. 15. Tanksley was honored for work against racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia and homophobia. Tanksley has been on the staff...
ELCA Seeks Human Resources Director
ELCA SEEKS HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR Thomas P. Vaaler will continue to serve as interim director of the Department for Human Resources of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to the Rev. Robert N. Bacher, ELCA executive for administration. In August the ELCA Church Council elected Aaron Dean, a mental...
Lutheran Communicators Gather
LUTHERAN COMMUNICATORS GATHER Communication professionals from three Lutheran church bodies gathered in Appleton, Wis., Sept. 11-14 to share ideas and stories at the 1997 Lutheran Communicator's Conference. Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal benefits society based in Appleton, hosted the event which brought together more than 90 writers, publishers,...
ELCA Congregation Uses Computer to Project for the Deaf
COMPUTER PROJECTS THE WORD FOR THE DEAF As the Rev. Jenny Bogard preaches the sermon at Holy Apostle's Lutheran Church, Hickory Hills, Ill., a computer driven display will project her words for those who cannot hear her voice. The system will premiere Sunday, Oct. 5, according to the Rev. Dayton...
Lutherans Assist with Drought-Aid in Papua New Guinea
DROUGHT IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA A drought of unprecedented severity has taken hold in Papua New Guinea, a nation in a tropical region close to the equator, according the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Division for Global Mission. The ELCA...
Christmas Hope for Upper Midwest Flood Victims
CHRISTMAS HOPE FOR UPPER MIDWEST FLOOD VICTIMS Members of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Grand Forks, N.D., hope to brighten the homes of victims of the 1997 Red River Valley Flood this Christmas. The church will collect and distribute hand-crafted or purchased Christmas ornaments that they call "Symbols of Faith." St....
ELCA Youth Distribute $342,000
ELCA YOUTH DISTRIBUTE $342,000 Young people who took part in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's 1997 Youth Gathering gave $342,000 to the closing worship offering. The event brought 37,000 Lutherans to New Orleans, July 23-27. The offering has been divided between domestic and global ministries. The Rio Grande Valley...
Lutherans Continue Assistance in Somalia
SOMALIA STILL NEEDS HELP While Somalia has dropped from the world's headlines its population remains in critical need of continuing humanitarian assistance. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides assistance through Action by Churches Together (ACT). Somalia still has no established legal government. Despite the fact that the overall security...
Lutherans Respond to Haiti Ferry Disaster
ACT RESPONDS TO FERRY DISASTER Action by Churches Together (ACT) has provided $25,000 to aid families affected by the Sept. 8 ferry boat disaster off Haiti. A diesel-powered ferry, arriving at Montrouis, capsized and sank. Of the estimated 276 passengers, only about 60 were able to swim to shore. The...
Lutheran World Federation Sunday
LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION SUNDAY Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are celebrating the Lutheran World Federation's 50th anniversary on "LWF Sunday" Oct. 5. Prayer, music and special anniversary gifts toward the ministry of LWF are three immediate ways ELCA members and congregations are celebrating. The LWF, based in...
Lutherans Need Volunteers for Flood Relief
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR FLOOD RELIEF "We are facing a desperate need for volunteers in the Upper Midwest rebuilding effort. We need your help!" said the Rev. Leon A. Phillips. Volunteers scheduled for the coming months have fallen off drastically. Phillips is director of Lutheran Disaster Response. "Many people assume that...
Lutherans Assisting with Typhoon Relief
ACT SEEKS FUNDING FOR TYPHOON RELIEF Action by Churches Together (ACT) has issued an appeal for $100,000 to provide relief for victims of Typhoon Winnie, which made land fall in China on August 18. Thirty million people are affected, according to ACT. More than a million homes have been damaged...
ELCA Affirms Lutheran Campus Ministries
LUTHERAN CAMPUS MINISTRY AFFIRMED The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America convened a "think tank" Sept. 19-20 on what it means to be a Lutheran campus ministry at state and private colleges. "Campus Ministry exists to assist students in academic settings to discover and fulfill their vocation in Jesus Christ," said...
ELCA Congregations Reach Out in Small Towns
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans living in rural and small town = communities are learning that their churches can grow both spiritually and = numerically. *Mission Possible,* gathered leaders of rural congregations = to examine methods for effective outreach in their communities for *growth = and vitality.* The one-day event at...
ELCA Studying Economic Issues
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ongoing study of economic justice in the = Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will get a boost from a satellite = town hall meeting Oct. 4, =22Christ Alive in Us=21 Pursuing Justice in = Economic Life.=22 The Board of the ELCA=27s Division for Church in = Society,...
ELCA's Bishop Anderson to be featured on Odyssey Television Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of = the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will be featured on a live = television program dedicated to ecumenism called, =22Celebration of Faith: = Hope for a New Century.=22 The one-hour program will air on the Odyssey = channel...
ELCA's Presiding Bishop Prepares Ecumenical Next Steps
CHICAGO ELCA -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said the ELCA is beginning to "live into" full communion with the churches of the Reformed tradition. He hopes to meet soon with the bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Frank Griswold. At...
ELCA ASSISTS WITH RELIEF EFFORTS IN WEST BENGAL
ACT ASSISTS WEST BENGAL FLOOD VICTIMS Incessant and torrential monsoon rains inundated large areas of Midnapore district in West Bengal, India, this summer. An estimated 16,000 houses have collapsed due to flooding and at least 100,000 people are homeless, Action by Churches Together (ACT) reports. Drinking water sources, roads, embankments,...
ELCA MEMBER TO SERVE AS INTERN AT THE WCC
ELCA'S LOHR IS WCC INTERN Mary Christine (Christy) Lohr, 24, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from Shelby, N.C., is working as a young adult intern in the United States Office of the World Council of Churches. As a young adult intern for one year, Lohr will...
