Worldwide Lutherans Commemorate Anniversary of Luther's Baptism in Eisleben
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The congregations of Lutherstadt Eisleben are celebrating the 525th anniversary of Martin Luther's Baptism Nov. 11, 2008, with a worldwide "Baptism Festival." Martin Luther was born Nov. 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany. As was the custom, Hans and Margarethe Luther brought their son the next day to...
Global Lutheran Communion Congratulates U.S. President-Elect
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, sent a letter of congratulations Nov. 5 to U.S. Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., on his election to...
ELCA Develops Plan to Help Reconstruct Sichuan, China, after Earthquake
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has developed a $1.6 million plan to help reconstruct areas of China's Sichuan Province devastated by an earthquake that struck earlier this year. The earthquake killed 69,227 people, left an estimated 18,222 people missing and some five million people homeless....
ELCA Presiding Bishop Appeals to President-Elect Obama
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), congratulated President-elect Barack Obama on his election and appealed to him to establish priorities for his administration. The presiding bishop wrote in a Nov. 5 public statement that Scripture is clear about...
ELCA Radio Ministry Features Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland and the eldest child of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy, is the featured guest Nov. 9 on "Grace Matters," the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Rev. Peter W. Marty, host and senior pastor of...
Lutheran Communion Issues Pastoral Message on Global Financial Crisis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The executive committee of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) issued a pastoral message on the global financial crisis denouncing the collective failure of responsibility and accountability on the part of governments, financial institutions and business leaders, and urging LWF member churches to stand in solidarity with the...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Says Church Must Be Heard in Complex Situations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Faith-based organizations such as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and its leaders must not relent on their responsibility to agitate for multilateral solutions that ensure fair and just lending and borrowing practices globally, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
ELCA Radio Ministry Features Head of John Deere
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Robert W. Lane, chairman and chief executive officer, John Deere, Moline, Ill., is the featured guest Oct. 26 on "Grace Matters," the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Rev. Peter W. Marty, host and senior pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa,...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Speaks on the U.S. Presidential Election
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed a "high expectation for our public discourse" in the closing weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign. In an Oct. 16 pastoral letter issued to the ELCA, Hanson wrote, "Instead of personal attacks, I...
Theaters, Channel to Show Historic Film about Lutherans, Civil Rights
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Special showings of "A Time for Burning" in Nebraska and New York will coincide with its broadcast on the Documentary Channel. "A Time for Burning" is a landmark civil rights film featuring the struggles of Augustana Lutheran Church, Omaha, Neb., in 1965, and its pastor, the Rev....
Stewardship Tips for Congregations in a Time of Financial Crisis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The fall is generally a time when many congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) invite members to make an annual financial pledge or estimate of giving to the church. But given the current economic downturn in the United States, some Lutherans may find it...
Olsen Named Interim Bishop of ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Southeast Michigan Synod Council, in consultation with the ELCA presiding bishop, named the Rev. Kenneth R. Olsen to serve as its interim bishop, following the Aug. 16 death of its bishop, the Rev. John H.K. Schreiber, and until the synod...
ELCA Fund for Leaders Honors 2008 Scholarship Recipients
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), seminary presidents, churchwide leaders and supporters of the ELCA Fund for Mission honored 33 first-year seminary students Oct. 3 who received full- or partial-tuition scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year through the Fund. Each scholarship...
ELCA Leaders Offer Assurances in Light of Global Financial Crisis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is holding steady and not panicking during the current global financial crisis, Board President John G. Kapanke, told the ELCA Conference of Bishops. Kapanke addressed the conference Oct. 3. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is...
ELCA Conference of Bishops Addresses Financial Crisis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a pastoral letter to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the ELCA Conference of Bishops called on church members and others who are concerned about the financial health of the United States to discuss and pray about economic life, financial behaviors and "the interconnectedness of...
Hundreds of Lutherans Help Clean Up Galveston
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a cleanup effort referred to as "10-4," more than 390 Lutherans from the Houston area readied themselves with rubber gloves, paint masks and sack lunches to help clean up hurricane-damaged homes and churches on Galveston from 10 to 4 p.m., Oct. 4. When Galveston reopened Sept....
ELCA Presents 'Native Nations' Documentary on ABC Television
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Native Nations: Standing Together for Civil Rights" is a one-hour documentary exploring the role of the Lutheran church in the American Indian civil rights movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The program begins airing Oct. 12 on ABC television network affiliate stations across the United States. Local...
Reuben Swanson, Lutheran Church in America Secretary, Synod President, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Reuben T. Swanson, 86, who served as secretary of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and LCA Nebraska Synod president, died Oct. 3 at his home in Fort Collins, Colo. Memorial services are planned for Oct. 10 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Fort...
Alan Anderson, Former President of ELCA's Carthage College, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Alan R. Anderson, a former president of Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., died Sept. 28 at his home in Racine, Wis. He was 86 years old. Carthage is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A celebration of Anderson's life was...
Quilt Made by Nigerian Women Living with HIV Now Available to ELCA
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A quilt created by Nigerian women who are HIV-positive is now available to the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The 22-by-24 foot quilt, weighing more than 65 pounds, is based on a painting by Dr. He Qi, a Chinese Christian artist. The quilt...
