ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Environmental Concerns to LWF Council
ARUSHA, Tanzania (ELCA) -- It is "spiritual blasphemy" to abuse the environment, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In a June 25 address here to the LWF Council, Hanson called on LWF...
ELCA congregation receives $12,000 vocational discernment grant
by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service Mountain View Lutheran Church, Edgewood, Wash., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was one of six Christian churches awarded "Cultures of Call" grants from the Fund for Theological Education (FTE), Atlanta. According to FTE, the grant "provides financial support for...
Book of Faith Resolutions Adopted at ELCA Synod Assemblies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Participants in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Book of Faith initiative met here June 24-25 to consult over directions for the initiative through 2012. According to its mission, the Book of Faith initiative "invites the whole church to become more fluent in the first language...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Visits Tanzania Hospital, University, Orphans' Center
IRINGA, Tanzania (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), returned here June 21-22 for the first time in 10 years and said much progress has been made in higher education and schools,...
LWF Leaders Discuss Zimbabwe Runoff Election, Environment, Food Crisis
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (ELCA) -- The president and general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) addressed a wide range of topics and concerns at a June 19 news conference here, including the planned runoff election for president in Zimbabwe, environmental concerns, the current world food crisis and how...
International Audience to Attend ELCA Global Mission Event in La Crosse
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Drawing guests from Russia and Tanzania to Japan and Peru, the 2008 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission Event (GME) will be held July 17-20 at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. The GME's theme, "God's Work, Our Hands," will be explored through stories, worship...
ELCA Bishop Calls for Prayer, Action Concerning Domestic Disasters
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), asked the 4.8 million-member church to join him in "prayer and action" for people facing adversity this spring after tornadoes and floods struck the central United States and the humanitarian crisis following...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Visits Lutherans in Kenya, Emphasizes Unity
NAIROBI, Kenya (ELCA) -- Two leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) met with about 20 leaders and staff of the two Kenyan Lutheran churches here June 18, emphasizing the importance of unity and cooperation among all Lutherans in the country. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran...
Lutherans Support Relief Efforts in Colombia, Costa Rica
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is providing emergency disaster relief with its companion Lutheran churches in Colombia and Costa Rica after an earthquake and a tropical storm struck the two countries respectively. Members of the ELCA and Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana...
Rwandan Lutheran Pastor Updates Status of Mumeya Hospital
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Rebuilding a nation divided by civil war and genocide has been a 14-year struggle for the people of Rwanda. The Rev. John Rutsindintwarane, general secretary, Lutheran Church of Rwanda (LCR), outlined progress of a planned hospital in the rural community of Mumeya, Rwanda, and the training that...
Two ELCA Congregations Earn Accessibility Awards
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hope Lutheran Church, Fargo, N.D., and Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Askov, Minn., are the winners of the 2008 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Disability Ministries Accessibility Awards. This award is given annually to one or more congregations of the ELCA that demonstrate outstanding care and concern for...
Salt Lake City to Host Women of the ELCA Gathering and Convention July 8-13
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Seventh Triennial Gathering of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will bring together approximately 1,900 women July 10-13 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City. The event theme, "Come to the Waters," focuses on the celebration of Baptism through Bible study,...
ELCA Plans for Relief Efforts in China Following May 12 Earthquake
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter K. Shen, consultant on China, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission, returned recently from a trip to Taiwan and southwest China, May 19 to June 1, in which church partners in both China and Taiwan discussed options for ELCA involvement in relief...
Lutheran Disaster Response Issues Statement on Midwest Flooding
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) has issued a June 13 statement regarding recent and current flooding in several Midwest states -- Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. LDR is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Here...
ELCA Northeastern Iowa Synod postpones its assembly due to flooding
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeastern Iowa Synod has postponed its synod assembly due to flooding along area rivers. The assembly was to be held June 13-15 at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. The announcement to the synod's clergy and other voting members...
ELCA Small Town, Rural Ministry Alliance to hold annual meeting July 16-19
by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service The Small Town and Rural (STaR) Ministry Alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will hold its annual gathering July 16-19 at Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb. "The annual gathering provides a place where participants hear, witness and learn about concrete models...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Religious Leaders, Meet with Obama
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was among more than 30 national Christian leaders who met here June 10 with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Hanson was invited by Obama's staff to...
Jonathan Beyer to Become ELCA Executive for Information Technology July 1
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Christina Jackson-Skelton, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) treasurer, announced May 30 that Jonathan Beyer, vice president for information technology operations and infrastructure, Incisent Technologies, will become executive director for ELCA Information Technology (IT) on July 1. Beyer will succeed LaRue Unglaube, who headed IT beginning in...
ELCA Synod Bishops Visit Immigration Detention Centers
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Seven synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) visited prisons and detention centers where people seeking asylum, refuge or who have entered the United States without documentation are being held while the U.S. government decides whether or not to deport them. "Immigrants being detained...
Jerge re-elected bishop of the ELCA Upstate New York Synod
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Rev. Marie C. Jerge was elected June 9 to a second six-year term as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Upstate New York Synod during the synod's assembly June 8-10 in Rochester, N.Y. Jerge was re-elected on the assembly's second...
