News

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues to help survivors recover from acts of terrorism, tornadoes, tropical storms and other disasters across the United States. Response to a disaster is often carried out by...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two pilot programs of a new television version of "The Protestant Hour" will be broadcast March 3 and March 24 on the Hallmark Channel's "America at Worship" Sunday morning programming block. The pilot programs include the name "Day One," which will become the new name for The...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Palestinians working for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East are not featured in most international news reports, according to the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine). In a Feb. 6 interview, Younan said most media outlets portray...

ROSEMONT, Ill. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop and chief ecumenical officer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), gathered staff of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs and 15 advisors here Feb. 8-9 to discuss the church's ecumenical priorities for the next 10 years. Hanson...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- School shootings, incidents of police brutality, domestic violence and child abuse consistently made headlines in 2001. In response to these acts of violence the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) brought together nearly 200 adult and youth participants for an intense training event here Jan. 18-19...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In June 2001, two faith-based providers of insurance and financial services -- Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), based in Appleton, Wis., and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB), based in Minneapolis -- announced plans to merge. In September the AAL board of directors and LB general convention approved the merger...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A video conference addressing issues related to peace in the Middle East is scheduled for Feb. 19. The conference, produced by the Episcopal Church's Office of Communication, was originally scheduled last fall but postponed after the September 11 terrorist attacks until this month. Leaders of the Evangelical...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (ELCA) -- California Lutheran University, one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), inaugurated the Segerhammar Center for Faith and Culture here Feb. 6. Named for the Rev. Carl W. Segerhammar, a founder of the university and well-known Lutheran leader, and...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As part of a four-year study process to develop a social statement on health and health care, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is hosting a series of hearings across the United States. The hearings are to begin collecting reactions to "Health, Healing and Health Care,"...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As the New England Patriots of the National Football League claimed victory on "Super Bowl Sunday" Feb. 3, thousands of Lutherans also made the "winning touchdown" in a challenge of a different kind. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) participated in "Souper Bowl of...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is becoming more involved in ethical discussions involving science and technology, said Dr. Grace Wolf-Chase, research astronomer, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, and research scientist, University of Chicago. "Being 'science literate' enhances the credibility of the church," said Wolf-Chase, a...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The president and chair of Lutheran Services in America (LSA) expressed their pleasure that James Towey will head the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Jill Schumann, LSA president and CEO, Baltimore, and the Rev. Nelson C. Meyer, LSA chair and president of Lutheran Social...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Unida (United Evangelical Lutheran Church) (IELU), Buenos Aires, Argentina, are calling on the 5.13 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to accompany them as they face "a disaster situation not caused by natural catastrophe" but by "a catastrophe of an economic...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is putting plans in place aimed at increasing listener participation and building an endowment that will assure adequate finances for the ministry's future. The Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., an ELCA pastor and Lutheran Vespers...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Thirty-two Lutheran ethicists explored economic globalization from several perspectives Jan. 9-11 in Canada at the Rosemary Heights Retreat Centre, Surrey, British Columbia. Speakers opened conversations around a 28-page publication of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) -- "Engaging Economic Globalization as a Communion: An LWF Working Paper." The...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Axel D. Steuer, the 13th president of Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., announced he will resign as president at the end of the current academic year, the college reported in a Jan. 21 news release. Gustavus Adolphus College is one of 28 colleges and universities...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ELCA) -- After almost 40 years of talks, the nine church bodies that formed the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) became Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC). A series of events here Jan.18-21, over the holiday weekend named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., drew attention to the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who are committed to strengthening the Christian faith lives of youth and young adults will gather for "Youth Extravagana 2002" Feb. 1-4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel, Houston. "The purpose of the extravaganza is to bring together youth...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $100,000 of the church's International Disaster Response fund to support recovery efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after the Nyiragongo volcano erupted Jan. 17 killing at least 45 people. Rivers of lava flowed into nearby villages,...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Joseph M. Wagner will retire at the end of May 2002 as executive director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry, a position he has held since November 1987. He informed the division's staff and board of his decision on Jan....