Norm Smith Elected President of Lutheran Men in Mission
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- Norman L. Smith, Leawood, Kan., was elected Aug. 1 to a three-year term as president of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Delegates to LMM's Eighth Assembly elected four officers and nine regional representatives to the...
ELCA Synod Bishop, New Jersey Senator Visits Immigration Detention Center
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At the invitation of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) New Jersey Synod, Hamilton Square, the Rev. Bruce H. Davidson, director, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries, ELCA New Jersey Synod, and staff of the Lutheran Immigration...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Applauds New Global Aids Bill
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), praised members of the U.S. Congress and U.S. President George W. Bush for their work to complete new global AIDS legislation. He called the legislation "an historic commitment to fighting deadly disease...
Lutheran Relief Efforts Continue in Kenya Following Election
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), Nairobi, a companion church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has made efforts to support people affected by violence since the Dec. 27 presidential election there. George Arende, communications director, KELC, has taken part in KELC relief efforts. He...
Lutherans Reflect on God's Mission in the World
LA CROSSE, Wis. (ELCA) -- Bearing the realization that for three generations her ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history, Katrina Browne told more than 1,500 Lutherans gathered here July 17-20 for the 2008 Global Mission Event of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that "no one...
ELCA Teaching Theologians Consider 'New Day' in Multicultural Seminar
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 40 teaching theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gather July 29-Aug. 1 in Prior Lake, Minn., for a multicultural seminar, "New Day Begun: Engaging Our Wholeness." The invited guests are theologians of color or whose primary language is not English, with a representative...
An ELCA Congregation Discovers That Having a Disaster Plan Works
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As the flood waters rose in and around the town of Mason City, Iowa, in June 2008, members of Trinity Lutheran Church there were prepared. Having developed a disaster preparedness plan a year ago, members of Trinity were able to be an active and important part of...
Lutherans Provide Assistance in Burundi, Indonesia
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $75,000 to help meet the needs of people in Burundi, where several waves of ethnic violence and political upheavals have affected the country in central Africa. It also provided $195,757 to support college students in...
Lutheran Men in Mission to Gather in Omaha Aug. 1-3
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 2008 Lutheran Men's Gathering of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will bring together approximately 600 men Aug. 1-3 at the Hilton Hotel and Qwest Center, Omaha. The event theme, "Coming of Age," focuses on LMM's...
Thrivent Financial to Fund Lutheran Efforts for Midwest Flood Relief
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis, a faith-based membership financial organization, has announced a plan to generate $1.5 million to aid flood-affected areas in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Thrivent Financial hopes to collect $1 million in donations and fundraising by chapter members and will add the remaining $500,000...
ELCA Wittenberg University's alumni embark on 7,000-mile tour
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Three members of Wittenberg University's Class of 2007 will embark on a 22-day, 17-city national tour to meet with as many of the university's 26,000 alumni as possible. Wittenberg, Springfield, Ohio, is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church...
Northwest Synod of Wisconsin earns discount in contributions to health plan
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northwest Synod of Wisconsin has become the first of 65 ELCA synods to earn a 2 percent discount on 2008 contributions it makes to the church's health benefits plan for its employees. The synod qualified for the...
Women of the ELCA Closes Gathering with Call to Act
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeastern Ohio Synod, Cuyahoga Falls, said Lutherans are often nostalgic for "the good old days" instead of remembering they have been called to "adventure and abundance." She preached July 13 during the closing...
Women of ELCA, GME Guest Endures Immigration Process, Arrives in U.S.
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- Azur Riki was one of several international guests invited to the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Seventh Triennial Gathering here July 10-13, to share stories about her life and church. But getting here was an endurance test for Riki, who worked...
Women of the ELCA Celebrates its 20th Anniversary
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) celebrated the close of its second decade July 12 with the distribution of its 20th anniversary offering, updates on current programs and the introduction of a new program. More than 2,000 women were here July 10-13...
Women of the ELCA Donates Blankets, Assembles Health Kits
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- Volunteers at the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathering here worked to assemble and distribute "in-kind gifts" to congregations and non-profit agencies in the area. These gifts include gift cards and pre-paid phone cards; materials for school and health kits; quilts,...
Bockelman Emphasizes Baptism at Women of the ELCA Gathering
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- In a two-part Bible study based on the power of Baptism, the Rev. Karen Bockelman, assistant to the bishop, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Duluth, told of the importance of "walking wet." Women of the ELCA's Seventh Triennial Gathering is...
Women of the ELCA Gathering Emphasizes Healthy Women and Girls
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- Nearly 400 women and a few men participated in a 4K Run, Walk and Roll July 12, one of many activities that emphasized good health for women and girls during the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Seventh Triennial Gathering here July...
Women of the ELCA Told of God's 'Building Blocks'
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- In a July 11 worship service at the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Seventh Triennial Gathering here, the Rev. Marysol Diaz, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, focused her sermon on "Water, Spirit, Word." The gathering theme, "Come to the Waters," focuses on the...
Women of the ELCA Gathering Welcomes International Guests
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- A number of international guests attended the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Seventh Triennial Gathering here July 10-13, sharing stories of their faith, their joys and concerns, and their everyday lives. The gathering theme, "Come to the Waters," focuses on the...
