ELCA Emphasizes Theological Education Beyond the Classroom
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America puts a great deal of emphasis on formal education for its clergy and lay leaders. Now the church is ready to formalize education beyond the classroom. First call theological education (FCTE) is a structured program of theological education for Lutherans in...
Lutherans in Ecumenical Mission
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Christians gathered in San Jose, Costa Rica, to discuss how to carry out Jesus' "preferential option for the excluded" in a global economic system that gives "preferential option to the wealthy" The event was an ecumenical consultation April 26-28, with nearly 200 delegates from North America, Latin...
Lutherans Continue Assistance in Ohio River Valley
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "In the little towns and villages of southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky, people are still trying to rebuild their homes after the devastating floods in March along the Ohio River and its tributaries," said the Rev. Leon A. Phillips Jr., executive director for Lutheran Disaster Response. "Lutheran...
Lutherans Writing About Genetic Testing
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has assembled a panel of authors to prepare a volume on genetic testing and screening. The group includes "well-established theologians, social ethicists, people who deal with individual ethics -- a genetic counselor, a pediatrician, a clinical geneticist, a chaplain," said the...
Lutheran Social Ministries Cross Bridge
MILWAUKEE (ELCA) -- "Transitions: Bridges of Hope" was a theme that speakers found easy to address during the 1997 spring conference of the Association of Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations (ALSMO) here April 17-20. At that conference 350 people saw ALSMO become Lutheran Services in America (LSA). "ALSMO was and is...
ELCA Addresses Inclusive Ministry
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod have developed a coalition to build ministry with individuals who have developmental disabilities. Members of the Lutheran Developmental Disabilities Coalition met here May 3-4 to develop ways in which Lutheran congregations can "catch the vision for...
ELCA Seminary Elects African American President
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. James K. Echols, 45, was elected to be the next president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC)on May 5. He is the first African American to head a Lutheran seminary in North America. Echols currently serves as dean of the Lutheran Theological...
Lutherans Volunteer to Assist in Flood Cleanup
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "`The Lutherans are here' is usually what people say as Lutheran Disaster Response provides its ministry of hope and hands-on response in disastrous situations," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, associate director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Domestic Disaster Response. And more Lutherans are on...
ELCA Publishing House to Relocate
LOS ANGELES (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will move to a new location in downtown Minneapolis based on an action taken by the board of trustees at its meeting here April 24-26. The publishing house will move to three floors at...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Stresses Baptism at Unity Event
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (ELCA) -- "Grand Forks is inundated, and the one thing they can't get is water," the Rev. H. George Anderson told the National Workshop for Christian Unity here. "Conflicts seem to flood our church. We are awash in raw sewage and debris, amid dangerous currents, and we need...
Ecumenical Proposals Test ELCA-LCMS Relationship
ST. LOUIS (ELCA) -- An Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) vote this summer to declare "full communion" with four Protestant church bodies would further strain relations with The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, LCMS leaders told their ELCA counterparts March 24. ELCA Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson said, "We received the...
ELCA Addresses Christian Education for Adults
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "We are once again in a time when people lack a basic understanding of the Bible and doctrine and fail to pass on what limited knowledge they have to the next generation," wrote the Rev. H. George Anderson in a letter to participants of "Learning Days," an...
ELCA's Initiatives Lay Future Foundations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is fine tuning a set of seven "Initiatives for a New Century" he plans to bring to the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly in Philadelphia this August. The ELCA Church Council looked at the...
Lutherans Continue Response to Midwest Floods
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "The catastrophic disaster continues to unfold in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota," said the Rev. Leon A. Phillips Jr., executive director of Lutheran Disaster Response. "In most areas, the battle goes on, and cleanup is still well down the road," Phillips said. Nestled beside the Red...
Lutheran Services In America is Born
MILWAUKEE (ELCA) -- Lutheran Services in America (LSA) was born here April 18, creating one of the largest organizations of housing, counseling, child care, adoption, refugee resettlement, disaster response, health care, nursing home, hospice and AIDS ministries in the United States and Caribbean. About 280 social ministry organizations operating in...
ELCA May 1997 Calendar
ELCA MAY 1997 Hope Through Justice and Service 2-4 Division for Church in Society, Human Genetic Testing and Screening Project, Writing Team, Lutheran Center, Chicago 3 Division for Congregational Ministries, Christian Education Adult Learning Day 1997, Bethany Lutheran Church, Minot, N.D. 3 Division for Congregational Ministries, Christian Education Adult Learning...
Lutherans Make Sound Decisions
LUTHERANS MAKE SOUND DECISIONS The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has produced a book, "Sound Decisions," to help its congregations choose theologically sound songs to sing in contemporary worship. According to Scott C. Weidler, ELCA associate director for worship and music, the book is a result of ELCA staff answering...
Lutherans Aid with Food Shipments to North Korea
CHURCHES SHIP FOOD TO NORTH KOREA The famine situation in North Korea continues to deteriorate, according to Action by Churches Together (ACT). Food stocks in the country have almost been completely depleted. Many people are now resorting to eating grass, tree bark, roots and a few dried vegetables. ACT reports...
Lutherans Assist With Aid to Albanian Families
CHURCHES AID ALBANIAN FAMILIES Action by Churches Together (ACT) will respond to the civil crisis in Albania with family food parcels and medical supplies over a three month period. ACT has issued an appeal for $320,000. ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including the Lutheran World Federation, meeting human...
Senate Commends ELCA Lutheran
SENATE COMMENDS DOWHOWER Kay S. Dowhower resigned March 15 as director of the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs in Washington, D.C., the federal public policy advocacy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. On March 11 the U.S. Senate entered a "Commendation Upon the Retirement of Kay Dowhower" into...
