Butler, Jurisson and Sheie are ELCA Vice President Candidates
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) Dr. Addie J. Butler, Dr. Cynthia A. Jurisson and Myrna J. Sheie are the three nominees for vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who will be listed on tomorrow's fourth ballot in voting for the office. The three received the most votes among seven nominees...
Fred Meuser Tells ELCA, God Will Build the Church
FRED MEUSER TELLS ELCA, GOD WILL BUILD THE CHURCH 97-CA-14-RF PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- "There are only two sure things in life. Death is one. Taxes are not the other," the Rev. Fred W. Meuser told members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's fifth biennial assembly, gathered for worship Aug....
ELCA Debates What Form Fellowship Should Take
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Should Lutherans be in close fellowship with Episcopalians and Christians from Reformed and Presbyterian Churches? If so, what form should that fellowship take? And should it be with one, both or -- if not both -- neither? Those questions will be answered tomorrow, but arose during a...
Lutherans Respond to Local and Worldwide Disasters
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- "The Lutherans are coming!" has been the joyous exclamation of many who have received assistance this year from the Lutheran Domestic Disaster Response. LDDR is a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The Red River Valley flood struck home...
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod President Addresses Assembly
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- The ecumenical proposals being considered by this year's Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America "are yet another unfortunate example" of an increasing theological division between the ELCA and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, the Missouri Synod's president told assembly members today. But the Rev. A.L....
Lutheran Vespers Celebrates 50 Years of Radio Ministry
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) --"We are 50 years old this year," said the Rev. Walter Wangerin, Jr., host of "Lutheran Vespers," a radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "But all anniversaries find their joy in Jesus and their life in the Spirit of God," he said. Members of the...
Anderson Addresses "Initiatives for a New Century"
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- "When society is in a molten state, when everything is being 'reinvented,' the church has a matchless opportunity to be engaged in shaping whatever new society will emerge. Communities that have a clear purpose and definite goals that will become the crystallization points for the world of...
Lutherans Discuss Commitment to be "In the City for Good"
LUTHERANS DISCUSS COMMITMENT TO BE "IN THE CITY FOR GOOD" 97-CA-10-RF PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Setting a strategy for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's ministry in urban areas might be, in the view of at least one voting member, "the most important thing we do" at the ELCA's fifth biennial...
Magnus Says 'Goodbye' As ELCA Vice President
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) Kathy J. Magnus, vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 1991, gave her final report to an ELCA Churchwide Assembly Friday. She outlined the work of the ELCA's Church Council for the past two years and said her goodbyes to the assembly. "I expect this...
A moment would be lost, say Reformed theologians
PHILADELPHIA [ELCA] -- Should the ecumenical proposal establishing a new relationship between Lutheran and Reformed churches fail, a unique moment in church history will be missed, resulting in "profound disappointment and some anger," said representatives of Reformed churches. Ecumenical officers of the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, and...
Dr. Addie Butler Retains Lead After Second Ballot for Vice President
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) Dr. Addie J. Butler of Philadelphia retained her first-place standing after the second ballot in voting Saturday for vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Butler received 208 of 1,013 votes cast. To be elected, however, 760 votes were required. She had garnered at least 105...
Lutheran, Roman Catholic Differences Fading Say Ecumenical Leaders
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Martin Luther broke with Rome 480 years ago in a conflict focused on a Christian doctrine of Justification (how human beings become acceptable to God). Voting members at the biennial Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will decide this week whether to declare...
Lutheran-Episcopal Proposal Introduced to Lutheran Assembly
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- "Today we stand at a unique place in American religious history," the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, told the ELCA Churchwide Assembly during its first business session Aug. 15. He issued the first analysis of a proposal for Lutherans...
ELCA Responds to Tanzania Appeal
ELCA RESPONDS TO TANZANIA APPEAL More than half a million people face acute food shortages due to severe = drought in Tanzania. According to Action by Churches Together (ACT), no = loss of human life has been reported, but livestock and wildlife have died = and *the situation is getting...
ELCA August 1997 Calendar
ELCA AUGUST 1997 CALENDAR 8-10 Commission for Multicultural Ministries, Arab and Middle Eastern Association, General Assembly, Lutheran Center, Chicago 10-14 ELCA Work Group on Science and Technology, Ecumenical Roundtable for Science, Technology and the Church, "ReDiscovering Cosmos: Science, Religion and the Search for Human Integrity," Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 13-14...
Lutherans Assist with Europe Flood Relief Efforts
ACT TO ASSIST FLOODED EUROPE Parts of Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus were hit by extensive flooding following unusually heavy rainfalls in July. Major damage and destruction occurred in parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Armenia. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee...
ELCA Youth Gathering Has Effect on New Orleans
YOUTH GATHERING HAS EFFECT ON NEW ORLEANS Thirty-five thousand members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seem to have left a very positive impression on New Orleans. The ELCA Youth Gathering was held July 23-27, with pre-gathering events beginning July 20. The 28,400 high-school-age Lutherans and 6,900 adults used...
St. Olaf College is Peace Corps' Top Volunteer
ST. OLAF IS PEACE CORPS' TOP VOLUNTEER For the second consecutive year St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., has been named the top collegiate source of Peace Corps volunteers, based on the number of its graduates who joined in 1996. St. Olaf is one of 28 colleges and universities of the...
Pennsylvania Lutheran Agencies Merge
PENNSYLVANIA LUTHERAN AGENCIES MERGE The Lutheran Home of Topton, Pa., and Lutheran Welfare Service, Hazelton, Pa., have affiliated as Lutheran Services Northeast (LSN). The merger became official in July after months of negotiations and corporate decisions. "To a world that is asking the church, 'What have you done for us...
Former ELCA College President Gustave Weber Died
GUSTAVE W. WEBER DIED The Rev. Gustave W. Weber, 11th president of Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., died July 12 at the age of 89. Weber was credited with holding one of the longest tenures among all college presidents in Pennsylvania when he retired Aug. 31,1977, after serving more than 18...
