News

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.

The ELCA has added $50,000 in humanitarian assistance to its August 2013 relief commitment of $250,000 to help those affected by the violence in the Central African Republic.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, ELCA leaders expressed concern for “the grave state of human insecurity in the Central African Republic.” ELCA leaders urged Kerry and other U.S. elected officials to “continue the aid measures in the Central African Republic, support the efforts of religious leaders to prevent violence and promote peace and harmony among their communities and restore order.”

The Rev. James A. Justman, bishop of the ELCA East-Central Synod of Wisconsin, resigned as bishop of the synod effective Dec. 19, 2013. In a Dec. 20 letter to members of the synod, Justman wrote that it is his hope that “you know how much I have loved this calling, and how honored I have been to share in ministry and mission with you. For personal reasons, the timing is best for me to step away at this time.”

ELCA members have contributed $10 million to support the ELCA Malaria Campaign in their effort to raise $15 million by the end of 2015. Through the campaign, ELCA members have joined with companion Lutheran churches and partners in 13 African countries to prevent and treat malaria, educate communities about the disease and more.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton shared a 2013 Christmas greeting Dec. 19 with the 4 million members of this church.

In response to the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton invites prayer for the healing of families, a community and our nation.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton is encouraging members to join with people of faith to pray for the end of hunger in response to a call from Pope Francis for a world day of prayer Dec. 10 -- Human Rights Day. View her video message athttp://bit.ly/1bj7O5o.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton is joining members of this church and "all people of good will throughout the world" in morning the passing of former South Africa President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

The leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church are commemorating World AIDS Day on Sunday, Dec. 1, by inviting “Episcopalians and Lutherans to consider increased congregational cooperation” in working toward a future without AIDS.

In a "remarkable act of accompaniment," the Lutheran Church in Malaysia sent $10,000 to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to help meet the needs of survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines Nov. 8.