News

The ELCA Church Council received a final report from a committee charged with overseeing resolutions that addressed the organizational "ecology" of the ELCA. The council, which met here April 4-6, received with gratitude the report that outlines ways in which these resolutions have changed the ELCA.

Passionate about social justice, especially the rights of women and gender equality in the world today, a group representing the ELCA attended the United Nations 58th Commission on the Status of Women held in New York City. One critical understanding they came away with is that without social and economic change, gender inequality continues to grow.

Thirty-two bishops representing 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will meet with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill April 2. The meetings will focus on the ELCA’s commitment to advocate for public policy that creates opportunities to overcome poverty, promote peace and justice, and care for creation.

Christian and Jewish leaders from the United States have committed to "developing an effective and ongoing national dialogue" during a March 27 summit in New York City. Among the Christian leaders were the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, former ELCA presiding bishop who co-convened the summit along with Rabbi Steve Gutow, president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

The Rev. Robin J. Steinke, Gettysburg, Pa., has been named president of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., effective June 1. Luther is one of eight ELCA seminaries.

As a church that believes “God is calling us into the world together,” members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will participate in “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, Sept. 7 – a day dedicated to doing service work alongside neighbors in communities across the country.

As international and U.S. political leaders examine prospects for peace in the Middle East, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton joins more than 40 other religious leaders in the U.S. and Jerusalem in supporting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to find "a secure and just peace" between Israel and Palestine.

The Rev. Dr. Lloyd Svendsbye, a member of the commission that formed the ELCA, died March 2 after suffering a stroke. He was 83.

The ELCA Conference of Bishops has begun a new conversation about how the denomination funds its various ministries and expressions, particularly in a climate where giving patterns have changed.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton introduced four emphases that she has invited leaders to consider in their work as an understanding of this church.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton and Anglican, Episcopal and Lutheran leaders have issued a call to peace and prayer for Ukraine in a March 5 statement.

Two of the 26 colleges and universities of the ELCA have named new presidents: Rebecca M. Bergman will become the 17th president of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and Paula J. Carlson will become the 10th president of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

The Rev. Peter J. L. Perella, 35, director for worship formation and liturgical resources at the ELCA churchwide organization, died Feb. 24 of sinus cancer. The funeral will be held March 2 at 3:00 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Lancaster, Pa.

The ELCA will provide $700,000 in humanitarian assistance to help support those affected by the violence in South Sudan. The funds will be disbursed through Lutheran Disaster Response-International to The Lutheran World Federation.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton has requested that the U.S. government allocate a portion of its bilateral support to the Palestinian National Authority to paying its debt to Augusta Victoria Hospital, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

As members of the ELCA seek to grow the life-changing, life-sustaining ministries of this church, they can do so through “Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA.” The five-year comprehensive campaign is the first ever for the ELCA.

The Rev. Mark William Thomsen, the first executive director of global mission at the ELCA churchwide organization, died Jan. 20 in Wautoma, Wis., following a three-month battle with cancer. He was 82 years old.

In an effort to provide a place for Christians in the Middle East and from around the world to gather for pilgrimage and baptism, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land have officially opened the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan. Dedicated on Jan. 6, 2014, Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan is located where Christians believe John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will join with Christians around the world Jan.18-25 to observe the 2014 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Through the advocacy ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutherans are asking the U.S. government to take additional measures to meet the immediate needs of Syrian refugees.