ELCA assembly adopts social statement on criminal justice
PITTSBURGH (ELCA) -- Voting members of the 2013 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted “The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries” -- a social statement on criminal justice -- Aug. 16 with a 882 to 25 vote. The 952 voting members and others of...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson delivers his final report
PITTSBURGH (ELCA) -- In his last report as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson said there is an opportunity for the 4-million-member church -- in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation -- to let go of being competitive in...
Elizabeth Eaton elected ELCA presiding bishop
PITTSBURGH (ELCA) - The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeastern Ohio Synod, was elected Aug. 14 presiding bishop of the ELCA at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. She was elected on the fifth ballot. There were 889 votes cast, and 445 votes...
ELCA Churchwide Assembly centers its work in daily worship
PITTSBURGH (ELCA) -- In this time of the world’s history, with the greatest capacity to be instantly and constantly connected through means of communication unimagined 25 years ago when the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson said, “We seem unable, unwilling to listen to...
ELCA young adults land on their feet
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Every year young adults from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) volunteer to take a huge leap of faith and offer themselves in service in distant places. They pack their bags, say goodbye to family and friends and embark on a life-changing journey. The ELCA’s Young...
Lutheran Disaster Response provides assistance for refugees in Uganda
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has provided $100,000 in humanitarian assistance for 66,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo who fled to Uganda in response to threats of violence. The funds are being dispersed through Lutheran Disaster Response to The Lutheran World Federation for...
2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly meets Aug. 12-17 in Pittsburgh
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather Aug. 12-17, 2013, in assembly at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The 4-million-member ELCA is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year under the theme “Always being made new,” which serves as the theme...
ELCA Church Council approves seminary, university merger
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a move toward advancing sustainable theological education, the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved July 11 a merger between Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif., and California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Calif. The Church Council serves as the ELCA board of...
ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response provides assistance for Canadian flooding
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $25,000 to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada in support of its outreach to survivors of severe storms and floods in Alberta, Canada. Three people died and more than 100,000 people were displaced from their homes after heavy rains...
ELCA presiding bishop asks, 'What is the unfinished work of freedom?'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As this nation embarks on a celebration of Independence Day, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the freedoms we celebrate today came with great sacrifice and continue to generate controversy. In a pastoral video message to the...
ELCA seminary marks 150th anniversary of Battle of Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (ELCA) -- Exactly 150 years ago on July 1, 1863, Union cavalry commander Gen. John Buford observed Confederate soldiers advancing on Gettysburg from the west. He surveyed the advance from the cupola of a Lutheran seminary building. Within a few hours the fields surrounding the seminary became a...
ELCA, Episcopal leaders celebrate Senate passage of immigration reform
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church released a joint statement that commends the U.S. Senate for passing comprehensive immigration reform. On June 27, the bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 68 to 32. “Lutherans and Episcopalians...
Anglican, Episcopalian and Lutheran leaders offer a 'Word to the Churches'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- For the first time, Lutherans and Anglicans in Canada are gathering in a joint assembly July 3-7 in Ottawa for worship, fellowship and to make important ministry decisions together -- an opportunity made possible through a formal relationship that began 12 years ago. In anticipation of the...
ELCA presiding bishop to visit storm-affected areas in Oklahoma
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Camp Noah, a summer camp designed to raise hope for children impacted by disaster, is underway June 24-28 at University Lutheran Church in Norman, Okla. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), plans to visit the camp June 28,...
ELCA works to provide relief to people internally displaced in Syria
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is providing more than $540,000 to the Syriac Orthodox Church to support its outreach to people displaced from their homes but remain in Syria because of the violent conflict. According to news...
5 ELCA synod bishops re-elected for new terms
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. Julian Gordy, the Rev. Ralph E. Jones, the Rev. Kurt F. Kusserow, the Rev. Lawrence R. Wohlrabe and the Rev. David B. Zellmer were re-elected this spring to serve six-year terms as synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. H. Julian Gordy...
Roger Gustafson elected bishop of ELCA Central States Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Roger R. Gustafson, Olathe, Kan., was elected June 8 to a six-year term as bishop of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Gustafson was elected on the fifth ballot during the synod’s assembly June 6-9 in Overland Park, Kan....
James Dunlop elected bishop of ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. James S. Dunlop, Littlestown, Pa., was elected June 8 to a six-year term as bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Dunlop was elected on the fifth ballot during the synod’s assembly June 6-8 in Grantham, Pa. “I...
Tracie Bartholomew elected bishop of ELCA New Jersey Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Tracie L. Bartholomew, Lawrenceville, N.J., was elected June 8 to a six-year term as bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Bartholomew was elected on the fifth ballot during the synod’s assembly June 6-8 in East Brunswick, N.J....
Three ELCA synod bishops re-elected for second terms
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Jessica R. Crist, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton and the Rev. Wayne N. Miller were re-elected this spring to serve second six-year terms as synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod, was re-elected on the...
