Lutherans Respond to Floods in Georgia
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is responding to flood-stricken areas along the Flint River in Georgia. Heavy rains have caused the river and its tributaries to crest, forcing 11,000 people to evacuate their homes March 9-10. "It is estimated that about 250 homes in Lee County...
LUTHERAN AID WORKERS KILLED IN RWANDA
GENEVA (ELCA) -- Three field staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) were killed in Rwanda in an armed assault the night of March 11. They died near the border with Tanzania on the compound of a resettlement project for returning Tutsi refugees, LWF reports. A number of other staff...
Presbyteries Ratify Full Communion with Lutherans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Eighty-eight presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have voted as of March 11 to ratify an agreement declaring "full communion" between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and three churches of the Reformed tradition. An affirmative vote by a majority of the 172 presbyteries was the...
ELCA Bishop to Visit World Ecumenical Centers
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will make his first official visit to three world ecumenical centers -- Istanbul, Rome and London -- March 14-24. A delegation of ELCA synod bishops, church staff and church council members will...
ELCA Youth Pursue Ministry with Homosexual and Bisexual Youth
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The youth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will "pursue a dynamic, interactive, open and welcoming ministry" with gay, lesbian and bisexual young people, but will "exclude the possibility of a gathering" for homosexual and bisexual youth to precede the triennial ELCA Youth Gathering in...
Lutherans Converge on Washington for Briefing
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 80 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) interested in first-hand information on current legislative issues are expected to be among 400 people in Washington, D.C., March 29-April 1 for the Interfaith Public Policy Briefing. The Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA) will host...
ELCA Worship Resource Needs Researched
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America want worship resources that are easy to use and accessible to new members and visitors, according to a recent survey. The Board for the Division for Congregational Ministries heard the survey results at its meeting here Feb. 28 -...
Christain and Jewish Scholars Study Suffering
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will host pastors, rabbis, religious educators, youth leaders and lay people for a seminar March 30 on the presence and absence of God in the midst of suffering. Christian and Jewish scholars will examine Job -- a...
ELCA Pension Board to Expand Birth Control Coverage
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) --Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Board of Pensions unanimously recommended that coverage of prescribed birth control devices or drugs be included in the ELCA Medical and Dental Benefits Plan. To date the ELCA health plan has not considered birth control as a "medically necessary" treatment...
Lutherans Invited to Study Gambling
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) now have some help thinking about how their Christian faith addresses the growing availability of gambling in the United States. The ELCA Division for Church in Society has produced a 29-page study guide, "Gambling: A Study for Congregations,"...
Iowa Pastor Appeals ELCA Discipline Ruling
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Steven P. Sabin, Ames, Iowa, has appealed a determination of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that he be removed the church's clergy roster, effective April 15. Sabin is gay and lives with a partner. On Feb. 3 an ELCA discipline hearing committee ruled...
Lutheran Aid Headed to North Korea
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) will provide 1,000 metric tons of barley seed to North Korea this month, in time for the barley planting season. According to ACT, given favorable weather, these seeds could yield more than 10,000 metric tons of barley. Another shipment of barley is...
ELCA Launches Anti-Racism Training
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is gearing up for a major push this fall to train its national leaders and staff to be more aware of racism and equip them to fight it. Describing racism as "the misuse of God's gift of diversity," the Rev. Frederick...
Future Lutheran Leaders Will Be Sensitive
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Future Lutheran leaders will be sensitive to the will of God and to the needs of the people they serve, and they would recognize the people's abilities to lead as well. All will rely on local congregations to nurture their faith. More than 150 members of the...
Lutheran Theologian Martin Heinecken Died
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Martin J. Heinecken, 95, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and retired professor of systematic theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, died Feb. 24 at his home in Middlebury, Vt. His advice and counsel were sought by church leaders...
Women Give $1 Million for ELCA Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) received a $1 million gift for its ministries around the world from Women of the ELCA. The women's organization of the ELCA has given more than $10 million to the ELCA in the past 10 years. "This is God's grace...
Action by Churches Together Helps China Earthquake Victims
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) has provided emergency assistance to victims of a January earthquake in China. Working through the Amity Foundation, ACT distributed tents and blankets, noodles, wheat flour and bread in the hardest hit areas. Parts of Hebei Province were hit by an earthquake Jan....
Lutheran, Episcopal Writers Work on Full Communion Proposal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran and Episcopal teams charged with drafting a revised proposal for full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church worked together here Feb. 17-18. Their goal is to have a new document ready in time for the ELCA Church Council's...
Lutherans Write Book on Human Genetic Testing
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A small group of Lutheran ethicists, theologians, doctors, business people, and genetic researchers and counselors are writing a book about human genetic testing and screening and the Christian faith. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Division for Church in Society assembled nine writers and an editor...
Lutherans Respond to Florida Tornadoes
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is responding to a series of powerful tornadoes in northern and central Florida that left at least 39 people dead, hundreds injured and thousands homeless. "Some of the tornadoes may have had wind speeds as high as 210 miles per hour,"...
