News

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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'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...

ELCA AIDS WORSENING ETHIOPIA DROUGHT Action by Churches Together (ACT) reports that 4.6 million people need relief assistance in Ethiopia, according to government sources. ACT calls the situation desperate due to the failure of the rains and grim forecasts for anticipated rains. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has issued...

PEACE SERMON WINNERS ANNOUNCED Six pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and one seminary student are winners in the "Preaching for Peace" sermon-writing contest sponsored by Lutheran Peace Fellowship (LPF). The Rev. Ann E. Helmke, the first-prize winner, was awarded $300. She has until recently served as pastor...

SA=CFD AILABOUNI JOINS GLOBAL STAFF The Rev. Sa=EFd R. Ailabouni, North Barrington, Ill., will be the program = director for Europe, Middle East and Horn of Africa in the Division for = Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, beginning = Sept. 29. Since 1987 he has served...

MUHLENBERG CELEBRATES 150TH YEAR With the 1997-1998 academic year, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., celebrates its 150th anniversary -- the sesquicentennial year. Muhlenberg is one of 28 college and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college was established in 1848, the year the Allentown Seminary was opened by...

THIEL'S 16TH PRESIDENT RETIRES C. Carlyle Haaland announced plans to retire in June 1998 as president of Thiel College, Greenville, Pa, a position he has held since 1990. Thiel is one of 28 colleges and universities the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "It has been a privilege to serve this...

YOUTH GATHERING STAFF ASSEMBLED The Rev. William H. Kees has been named overall director for the triennial Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He served as the gathering's program director since August 1995. Kees graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1965 and earned a master of divinity...

ACT LOOKS AT PALESTINIAN NEEDS Repeated closures of the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas in the aftermath of violence in Israel has caused an almost complete breakdown of the local economy, according to Action by Churches Together (ACT). Thousands of Palestinians, who are dependent upon their work in outside...

ACT AIDS DISPLACED IN ANGOLA As a result of the conflict in Angola there are up to 30,000 internally displaced people (primarily women & children), according to Action by Churches Together (ACT). Beginning in May, the Government of National Unity (GURN) forces and UNITA forces clashed in the northeastern areas...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "You are the anointed, do not ever forget that. You are the gifted, do not ever forget that," the Rev. Richard A. Magnus, director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Division for Outreach, told members of the Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ecumenical issues, initiatives for a new century, elections, sacramental practices and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's tenth anniversary consumed the attention of 1,044 voting members who met Aug. 14-20 in Philadelphia. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly conducted business and worshiped God under the theme, "Making Christ Known:...