ELCA, U.S. religious leaders reaffirm need for two-state peace agreement
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- U.S. Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are calling for a bold new U.S. initiative for a two-state peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East “before it is too late.” In a Jan. 25 statement issued by the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative, 30 religious leaders...
Lohre to participate in Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service Jan. 22
CHICAGO (ELCA) - Kathryn Lohre, director of ecumenical and inter- religious relations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is participating in a responsive reading at the 57th Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service on Jan. 22. Lohre has been invited to participate in her role as president of the National...
ELCA responds to the needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $100,000 to support the needs of people at the Za’atri refugee camp in Jordan. More than 50 percent of the refugees there are below the age of 18. The funds were sent to The Lutheran World Federation, which is...
ELCA presiding bishop says, 'We have work to do'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 4 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has made the commitment “to being peacemakers in a culture of violence,” said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, in a pastoral video message at http://bit.ly/Va2BYS. “As long as a culture of violence is holding us...
ELCA church in Pomaria, S.C., burns
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pomaria, S.C., was destroyed by fire Jan. 10. St. Paul is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). While an investigation is now underway, there is no inclination among church members that it is arson, said Andrew Boozer, a...
ELCA, Reformed churches issue report on Scripture, moral discernment
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and three U.S. Reformed churches that make up the “Formula of Agreement” issued a report Jan. 7 that considers the question of Scripture and moral discernment regarding human sexuality and other topics. Nearly two years ago the Formula of Agreement...
ELCA bishops urge Congress to protect the poor amid 'fiscal cliff'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As 2012 comes to a close and concerns continue regarding the current debt and deficit negotiations in the U.S. Congress -- or the so-called “fiscal cliff” -- five synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met with White House staff, policy staff for the...
2012 Christmas Message from ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), shared a Christmas greeting today with the more than 4 million members of this church. Hanson also delivered his greeting to the ELCA's full communion and ecumenical partners and member churches of...
Christmas Eve CBS special to spotlight ELCA congregation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hope Lutheran Church in Reading, Pa., will be featured in “One Christmas Story: People Rich in Spirit” -- a national CBS television special to air Dec. 24 at 11:35 p.m. (EST). Hope is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Produced by Odyssey Networks,...
Richard Foss named interim president of ELCA's Luther Seminary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of directors of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., named the Rev. Richard J. Foss to serve as interim president of Luther, one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Foss’ appointment, effective Jan. 1, follows the Dec. 10 announcement that...
ELCA expresses sorrow for lives lost in Newtown, Conn.
CHICAGO (ELCA) - Prayers of Intercession from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in response to the school shooting Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn., are now available at ELCA.org. A gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults before apparently killing himself. “Today we express our sorrow for lives...
ELCA Church Council supports apologies to Tribal people
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran witness among American Indians and Alaska Natives has more than 350 years of history filled with solidarity and times of injustice. In a commitment to work together today and in the future, the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) resolved to...
Richard Bliese resigns as president of ELCA's Luther Seminary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Dr. Richard Bliese has resigned as president of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., according to a Dec. 10 announcement from the seminary. Luther is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Bliese served as president since 2005. “Throughout this church...
Lutheran world leaders visit U.S. areas marred in Hurricane Sandy's wake
CHICAGO (ELCA) - In a historic visit, leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a delegation of church leaders representing The Lutheran World Federation traveled together Nov. 30-Dec. 1 to areas of the United States impacted by storms produced from Hurricane Sandy. Eleven leaders of the ELCA...
ELCA, Episcopal bishops unite with a goal for a human race free of AIDS
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, people around the world pause to grieve the 30 million people who have died from HIV and AIDS in the past 30 years and unite in solidarity towards a goal of a “human race free of AIDS,” according to the Rev....
ELCA Church Council adopts message on mental illness
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted “The Body of Christ and Mental Illness” as an official social message of the church when it met here Nov. 9-11. The message lifts up the ministries of ELCA congregations, social ministry organizations and others...
Janet Stump elected director of ELCA Deaconess Community
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Sister Janet Stump, Saint Johns, Pa., to serve a four-year term as its directing deaconess. After more than a year without a director, the community met earlier this fall at the St. Paul Retreat Center...
ELCA begins homeless ministry network
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and representatives from 14 homeless ministries across the country have officially launched the ELCA homeless ministry network -- a coalition of ministries designed not only as an outreach but led by people with personal experiences of homelessness and...
ELCA presiding bishop shares a post-election message
CHICAGO (ELCA) - With the 2012 elections coming to a close in the United States, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offers a post-election pastoral message on video at http://bit.ly/WwGcVT. “Whether you are rejoicing or lamenting the outcome of the elections,...
ELCA provides, receives aid following Hurricane Sandy
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continue to meet the immediate needs of people affected by Hurricane Sandy and its subsequent storms with food, water and shelter as damage assessments continue from the Caribbean to the northern Atlantic coast of the United States. Through...
