Lutheran Services in America's Jill Schumann named in The NonProfit Times
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Jill A. Schumann, president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), Baltimore, has been named in The NonProfit Times' 2009 "Power and Influence Top 50." Schumann is one of few leaders included in the list for seven consecutive years, according to a...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Leaders Criticize Palestinian Evictions
WASHINGTON (ELCA) - In an Aug. 7 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and 17 other U.S. religious leaders expressed "grave concern about the eviction of 50 Palestinians from their homes." They also urged the...
Lutherans Take Action on Social Justice Issues
WASHINGTON (ELCA) - Lutheran youth and adults took action on a number of social justice issues at the 2009 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), July 22-26 in New Orleans. By writing to members of the U.S. Congress and President Obama, they advocated against injustices concerning...
ELCA Seminary Professor, Pastor to Preach on Ecumenical Radio Show
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. David J. Lose, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., will preach Aug. 23 and Sept. 13 on "Day 1," a nationally broadcast radio program. Lose serves as the Marbury E. Anderson Chair in...
H1N1 Influenza Confirmed Among Some ELCA Youth Gathering Participants
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Health officials in North Dakota and South Dakota have confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza among teenagers and adults who attended the 2009 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). About 37,000 teenagers, adult leaders and volunteers attended the gathering held in New Orleans, July...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Lutherans to Sign Letter to Obama about Sudan
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is encouraging the 4.6 million-member church to advocate for peace in Sudan. He is asking that the denomination's professional leaders sign a letter addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama that calls for...
Twitter, Facebook Expand Opportunities to Follow ELCA Churchwide Assembly
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Twitter phenomenon has spilled over into the multimedia coverage of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Minneapolis. This is the first year blogging and social media sites will be used during a churchwide assembly, said Ben McDonald Coltvet, managing...
ELCA Reports 4.6 Million Members, Offerings $2.7 Billion in 2008
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reported a baptized membership of 4,633,887 in 10,396 congregations in 2008. The ELCA Office of the Secretary analyzed membership and income data obtained from reports that ELCA congregations submit each year. David D. Swartling, ELCA secretary, said the data indicated...
ELCA Pastor to Preach on Ecumenical Radio Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. David von Schlichten, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will deliver a sermon Aug. 16 on the nationally broadcast radio program "Day 1." Von Schlichten, pastor of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, Pa., will talk about the comparison of wisdom...
ELCA Contributions Help Improve Situation in Zimbabwe
CHICAGO (ELCA) - Monetary donations to buy food, seed and medical supplies from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) last year are helping the people of Zimbabwe now, said the Rev. Benyam A. Kassahun. "As a result of that support many were able to survive," he said. Kassahun is...
Scholarships Awarded to Nine ELCA Students Studying Physics
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Nine students attending colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will receive scholarships in the amount of $10,000 or $5,000 for the 2009-2010 school year. The scholarships are provided by the ELCA Foundation through the Rossing Fund for Physics Education Endowment. Thomas D....
ELCA sends $50,000 to ACT for 'rapid response' to disasters overseas
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service For more than 20 years members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have brought and continue to bring comfort, healing and assistance to people affected by disasters. The ELCA works with such partners as Action by Churches Together (ACT) to meet...
Global Refuge Places First Darfuri Refugees
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A widow, her six children and one grandchild were the first refugees from the Darfur region of western Sudan to be welcomed by a U.S. refugee resettlement agency, Global Refuge. The family arrived in Atlanta, where they were received by Lutheran Services of...
Lutheran Youth Organization Convention Develops Leadership
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (ELCA) -- Prayer, worship and fun were prominent as more than 200 delegates of the youth organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met in convention July 26-30 at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). "Open Eyes, Open Mind, Open Heart" was the theme as leaders...
Lutheran Youth Organization Elects Nicolette Faison President
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (ELCA) -- Delegates to the 2009 Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) Convention elected Nicolette Faison, Elmont, N.Y., July 29 to a three-year term as LYO president. She succeeds Nathaniel Viets-VanLear, Chicago. About 200 delegates of the youth organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met in convention...
H. Gerard Knoche, Bishop of ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod, to Retire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. Gerard Knoche, bishop of the Delaware- Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced he will retire Oct. 31, 2009. Knoche, 66, was elected bishop of the synod in 2000 and re-elected to serve another six-year term in 2006. In a...
Lutheran Rapper Spins Music into Money for ELCA World Hunger
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Traveling the world put the issue of hunger on the map for Dave Scherer. The Lutheran rapper went to Bosnia in 2007 and El Salvador soon after, and realized that he wanted to help equip young people to be advocates for social justice. "Seeing hunger firsthand makes...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Youth to Remember Lessons from New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- Do not forget what you have seen here, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), to 37,000 Lutherans at the Louisiana Superdome July 26. "God is not finished with you yet," he said. "God is calling you...
Lutheran Youth Encouraged to Lead Through Service
NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- All 37,000 Lutheran teenagers, adult leaders and other volunteers had completed at least one day of service in as many as 200 community projects when they gathered July 25 in the Louisiana Superdome. Speakers had words of thanks and encouragement to continue that work when they...
ELCA Youth Volunteer at Community Health Fair
NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- Shalamay Dolliole looked through the books she picked up for her six children. She found two treasures in the stack: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." Dolliole let out a yelp of excitement when she saw them. "I'm taking these...
