ELCA Congregations Define Mission According to Their Local Contexts
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Joy Mortensen-Wiebe is looking for congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) East-Central Synod of Wisconsin to define mission. "We want mission to come from the community, and we're looking to (congregations) to define what mission means in their local contexts," she said....
Martin Junge Named General Secretary of Lutheran World Federation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council elected the Rev. Martin Junge on Oct. 26 to a seven-year term as the eighth LWF General Secretary. The former president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana en Chile - IELC) becomes the first general secretary from...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Commitment to Strong LWF
GENEVA, Switzerland (ELCA) -- In a report highlighting changing contexts of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and its respective member churches, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, LWF president, urged the organization's council to make decisions that reflect commitment to "a sustainable and strong LWF going into the future." Hanson is...
Women of the ELCA, 'The Lutheran' Reduce Churchwide Budgets, Staff
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America eliminated seven full-time positions from its churchwide staff, the result of a reduction in the organization's 2010 budget. "The Lutheran," the magazine of the ELCA, will eliminate two positions from its staff in 2010 because of circulation and advertising...
Lutherans Offer 'Good Gifts' for the Upcoming Holiday Season
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- This holiday season the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is offering exclusive gift ideas designed to help change the lives of people close to home and around the world. "ELCA Good Gifts," the church's yearlong giving catalog, features 19 pages of gift ideas designed to support...
Eric Shafer, ELCA Pastor, Named Senior Vice President of Odyssey Networks
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Odyssey Networks, New York, has appointed the Rev. Eric C. Shafer to the post of senior vice president. Shafer is a former director of the Communication Services unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He is expected to start his newly created position on Jan....
ELCA Youth Continue Struggle to End Hunger with 'JJJ Music Tour'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 2009 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) may have ended July 26 in New Orleans, but the spirit and the music live on. Several artists who entertained and inspired the 37,000 Lutheran gathered in the Louisiana Superdome went on tour after the...
ELCA Communication Services Joins '2009 Media Violence Fast'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Communication Services unit, along with a diverse coalition of faith communication organizations, is part of the 2009 Media Violence Fast. The Fast is a movement of thousands of people across the United States who work to abstain from violence on...
Two ELCA Pastors on Opposing Sides Share a 'Profound Grace Moment'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. James E. Boline and the Rev. Erma S. Wolf have at least one thing in common: South Dakota. Boline grew up there, and Wolf recently served a congregation there. They met while serving as communion ministers for opening worship of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of...
ABC-TV Stations Air ELCA's 'Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Beginning Oct. 18 through December, at least 89 ABC Television affiliate stations plan to air "Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace" hosted by Immaculée Ilibagiza. Ilibagiza is a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and author of "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the...
Lutheran Bishops Urge for Continued Commitment to Middle East Peace
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Lutherans are asking the Obama Administration to "remain firm" in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. In an Oct. 13 letter, 58 of 65 synod bishops and the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed concern over the stalemate and the "fading hopes" for a...
ELCA Director for Congregational Mission Addresses Lutheran CORE
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Will you be serious about mission?" is a question the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman asked in an open letter to members of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (Lutheran CORE). Bouman is executive director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission. Bouman...
Lutheran 'Wallet' Votes for Mission of the Church
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A spectrum of reactions followed decisions taken by voting members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly in August. Some church leaders have suggested withholding financial support from the denomination, while others have said this is the time to increase funding. The assembly adopted...
ELCA Board of Pensions annuity, bridge fund benefits reduced for 3 years
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service The Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sent letters to 12,500 plan members in its Participating Annuity and Bridge Fund, notifying them of reductions in their monthly annuity payments and the interest-crediting rate for non-annuitized funds. The actions...
ELCA and ELCJHL Bishops Deepen Conversations among Christians and Muslims
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, were among 1,000 people who attended the fourth major Muslim-Christian dialogue conference here Oct. 7-8. "It has been both...
LWR awarded $1.49 million from USAID for malaria work in Mali
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Lutheran World Relief (LWR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), received a $1.49 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to extend the reach of malaria control in Mali,...
ELCA Bishops Told of Possible Changes in Domestic, Global Relationships
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Since the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the church's global mission personnel have been reaching out to partner Lutheran churches worldwide. While some churches have expressed disagreement with a significant decision of the assembly, only one church to date has said it...
ELCA Bishops Discuss Drafts of Possible Ministry Policies Revisions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reviewed and discussed drafts of possible revisions to ELCA ministry policies during their Oct. 1-6 meeting here. As a result of their discussions, the bishops requested they have another opportunity to review updated revisions, likely...
LCMS President to ELCA Bishops: Don't Implement Assembly Decisions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "It would be a blessing" if certain actions taken by voting members of the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were not implemented, said the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick. Kieschnick included the comment in an...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Comments on Assembly Responses, Finances
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- It's a "rocky time" in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) largely because of responses to decisions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly and economic stresses, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop. Hanson made his comments to the ELCA Conference of Bishops, an...
