ELCA Presiding Bishop Asks Iranians to Release Concordia College Graduate
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation, wrote to the Iranian government April 9 and asked for the release of Roxana Saberi. Saberi is a journalist and graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead,...
Budget Reductions Impact ELCA's Engagement Overseas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A significant decline in financial resources for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) led to budget reductions for the churhwide organization, particularly for ELCA Global Mission. The reduction will affect the church's ministry overseas. ELCA Global Mission reduced its budget by $3.6 million or 11.4 percent....
ELCA publishing ministry issues Lutheran Study Bible
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service More than 60 Lutheran pastors and teaching theologians contributed to a new Lutheran Study Bible that Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, published in coordination with the Book of Faith initiative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the...
ELCA, LCMS Leaders Discuss Task Force Documents, Other Topics
ST. LOUIS -- Top leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), met as the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation March 24 to review proposals from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality. The Lutheran leaders also discussed a report on LCMS synod...
Lutherans 'Make It Simple' during the economic downturn
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service With the economic crisis it's a good time for people to reassess their lifestyles and assets, according to Keith Mundy, assistant director for stewardship, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Mundy said economic downturns create anxiety and many people feel like they are...
Iranians Charge ELCA College Alumna With Spying
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- When a Lutheran college in northwest Minnesota chose a commencement speaker for May graduation, it tapped alumna Roxana Saberi. The former Miss Dakota soared as a journalist, filing reports from Iran for the BBC, National Public Radio and others. Even after Iranian officials arrested Saberi and put...
ELCA teenagers hold dodge ball event to raise money for world hunger
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Some teenage Lutherans from the Chicago area learned that every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of hunger. "That's every time you take a breath," according to Luke Terrell, a member of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago. In an effort to...
ELCA Member Dies from Effects of Arsenic Poisoning in Maine
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Nearly six years have passed, but grief continues for a Maine congregation where 16 people were poisoned in 2003 after drinking coffee laced with arsenic by a disgruntled church member. Frances "Fran" Ruggles, 67, who drank the coffee, died April 4, ending her battle against the effects...
Ten Years Later, Lutherans Remember Columbine
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Anne Marie Hochhalter stepped outside of her Colorado high school in 1999 just as two seniors armed with guns began shooting. They killed 12 students and a teacher at Littleton's Columbine High School before killing themselves. Many others were injured, including Hochhalter, who was left paralyzed. In...
Lutherans, Jews, Muslims Gather for Prayer after Shooting in Binghamton
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans, Jews, Muslims and others seeking to "cling to their faith" in a time of tragedy came together for a prayer vigil April 4 at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Binghamton, N.Y. The church is located a few blocks away from the American Civic Association, where 41-year-old Jiverly Wong...
LC/NA 'Pleased But Cautious' in Response to ELCA Council Actions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA) is "pleased but cautious" in response to actions taken by the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to send a "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Polices" and a proposed social statement -- "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" -- to...
Lutheran Chaplain Ministers to Military Serving Guantanamo Detainees
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As a military chaplain, the Rev. Clint A. Pickett's role is to embody God's love at a site that once symbolized America's post-9/11 global war on terrorism. Pickett serves with the Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, the military unit charged with interrogation and oversight of prisoners from Afghanistan and...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Asks Lutherans to Focus on Hope, Prayer
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) urged members to focus on signs of hope and prayer in the midst of economic difficulty and uncertainty, as the church prepares for its spring legislative assemblies, culminating in the ELCA Churchwide Assembly this summer. The...
Three Members of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality Share Dissent
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three members of the Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality issued a public statement March 28 to express their dissent over the content of two documents released by the task force. The chair of the task force responded to the...
Lutheran Communicators Win 2009 Derose-Hinkhouse Awards
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) honored several Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) communicators March 27 at its annual DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards program in Boston. The Women of the ELCA video "Created in the Image of God: A Community of Women" earned a Best of Class distinction,...
ELCA Council Transmits Social Statement, Report and Recommendation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sent "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," a proposed social statement for the ELCA, and a "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" to the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly for consideration. The Church Council is the ELCA's board...
ELCA Council Reduces Churchwide Staff, Budgets for 2009
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Responding to an overall decline in mission support funds, the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reduced the churchwide organization's current fund spending authorization for 2009 by $5.6 million to $76.8 million. Its action, taken without comment, resulted in elimination of a number...
ELCA Launches 'Brand Campaign' on National Cable, Local Television
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) launched a national television "brand campaign" March 30 on national cable channels and in selected television markets. A second campaign will follow beginning May 11. "The purpose of the ELCA brand campaign is to grow awareness of the Evangelical Lutheran...
ELCA School, College Remain Closed Due to Red River Flooding
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Oak Grove Lutheran School, Fargo, N.D., canceled classes and activities March 30-April 3 as the school community continues to deal with flooding, snow and cold temperatures. Oak Grove is a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It serves students from prekindergarten to grade 12....
ELCA Offices in North Dakota, Minnesota Closed Due to Flooding
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Northwestern Minnesota Synod, Moorhead, and the church's Eastern North Dakota Synod, Fargo, are closed as residents in both states deal with record-breaking floods. The ELCA Northwestern Minnesota Synod is located on the campus of Concordia College, one...
