U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Began Round Ten
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) began the tenth round of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States here Sept. 3-5. The title of this round is "The Church as Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries."...
Lutheran 'Candlelighting for Mental Illness' on Oct. 4
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Network for Mental Illness/Brain Disorders (LNMI) will observe the beginning of Mental Illness Awareness Week with candles and prayers on Oct. 4. "Candlelighting for Mental Illness" is the third annual campaign inviting congregations of all Lutheran church bodies "to light a candle and say a...
ELCA Promotes its Domestic Hunger Grants
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In the past 25 years churches have learned that feeding people was not enough to solve the problem of hunger in the United States, said Gaylord M. Thomas. The root causes of hunger would have to be addressed through relief, development and community organizing projects, and the...
Paul J. Dovre Retires as President of Concordia College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- After 24 years as president of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., Paul J. Dovre, 63, will retire at the end of the current 1998-1999 academic year. Concordia is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Dovre is the eighth president in the 107-year history of...
Lutheran Theologians Ask 'Does Faith Work?'
TECHNY, Ill. (ELCA) -- Theologians discussing doctrine is not a news event, said Dr. Dorothy Bass, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind. When they start connecting doctrines and practices, she said, that's surprising. About 60 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who teach theology in U.S. colleges and seminaries...
Former Lutheran Bishop Asks Clinton to Resign
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, former presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), sent an open letter Sept. 1 to President Bill Clinton asking him to resign. Chilstrom, who served as the first bishop of the ELCA beginning in 1988, stressed that he is...
Churches Support Tolerance Toward Muslims
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Churches for Middle East Peace has encouraged its members to support a resolution in the U.S. House and Senate supporting religious tolerance toward Muslims. The Rev. Mark B. Brown of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said, "The use of violence in the name of religion...
Hafften Resigns as ELCA News Director
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ann E. Hafften, 45, has resigned as director for news and information of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) effective Sept. 18. She will become director of communications for Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., beginning Sept. 21. Luther is a seminary of the ELCA. "We are...
Jack Ohle Named 15th President of Wartburg College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Jack R. Ohle, 51, took office July 1 as the 15th president of Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. He succeeds former president Robert L. Vogel, who retired June 30 after 18 years of service. Wartburg is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ohle left his...
Lutherans Respond to Hurricane Bonnie
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As Hurricane Bonnie receded to a tropical storm Aug. 28 and moved slowly back over the Atlantic Ocean, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) along the North Carolina coastline were glad they "dodged the bullet," but many are under psychological stress as damage assessment...
ACT Works amid Renewed Conflict in Congo
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) has been in regular contact with its members in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) since the rebellion was launched throughout the country. Christian Aid and Dutch Interchurch Aid, ACT members, are providing emergency assistance throughout areas of South Kivu and...
Lutheran Communicators Gather for Training
LISLE, Ill. (ELCA) -- More than 165 communication professionals of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered here Aug. 27-30 to share views on communication issues, examine technologies for effective communication and receive training for launching the ELCA's nationwide identity campaign. "The process of communication can be seen as...
ELCA Launches National Identity Campaign (Corrected copy)
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is launching a nationwide identity campaign to raise awareness of the Lutheran church among people not associated with any church and to reinforce positive views of the ELCA among its members. The campaign, which is being unveiled to a conference...
ELCA and LCMS Pursue Theological Conversations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The leaders of the two largest Lutheran church bodies met here Aug. 17 to start making plans for formal discussions between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). ELCA Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson played host to LCMS President A.L. Barry....
ELCA Launches National Identity Campaign
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is launching a nationwide identity campaign to raise awareness of the Lutheran church among people not associated with any church and to reinforce positive views of the ELCA among its members. The campaign, which is being unveiled to a conference...
$1 Million Will Launch ELCA Program 'In the City for Good'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will begin distributing grants in February for innovative urban ministries of the ELCA thanks to a $1-million grant from the Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation, Minneapolis. The money will help the church's Division for Outreach launch a 10-year emphasis, "In the City...
Christian Values in Education Pushes Rise in Lutheran Schools
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lynn Doto and her husband decided to send their 3-year-old son to Lutheran Church of the Cross Day School, St. Petersburg, Fla., a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), instead of a secular private school or a public school. Doto wants her son to...
Lutherans Respond to Rio Grande Flooding
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Lutheran Disaster Response is responding to the needs of people affected by the flooding along the Rio Grande River in Texas and Mexico Aug. 24," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and...
Myrna Sheie Named Executive Assistant to ELCA Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Myrna J. Sheie, 52, Anoka, Minn., has been named executive assistant to Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America effective Oct 1. "Myrna Sheie will bring a depth of experience and numerous gifts to this position," Anderson said. "I am confident that...
ACT Prepares to Assist China Flood Victims
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Continuous rains since March have caused extensive flooding in 20 provinces of central and southeast China. Action by Churches Together (ACT) has described these flood waters as "the worst in living memory." The flood has reached levels unseen since the 1954 floods which killed more than 30,000...
