ABC-TV Stations Air ELCA's 'Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Beginning Oct. 18 through December, at least 89 ABC Television affiliate stations plan to air "Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace" hosted by Immaculée Ilibagiza. Ilibagiza is a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and author of "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the...
Lutheran Bishops Urge for Continued Commitment to Middle East Peace
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Lutherans are asking the Obama Administration to "remain firm" in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. In an Oct. 13 letter, 58 of 65 synod bishops and the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed concern over the stalemate and the "fading hopes" for a...
ELCA Director for Congregational Mission Addresses Lutheran CORE
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Will you be serious about mission?" is a question the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman asked in an open letter to members of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (Lutheran CORE). Bouman is executive director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission. Bouman...
Lutheran 'Wallet' Votes for Mission of the Church
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A spectrum of reactions followed decisions taken by voting members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly in August. Some church leaders have suggested withholding financial support from the denomination, while others have said this is the time to increase funding. The assembly adopted...
ELCA Board of Pensions annuity, bridge fund benefits reduced for 3 years
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service The Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sent letters to 12,500 plan members in its Participating Annuity and Bridge Fund, notifying them of reductions in their monthly annuity payments and the interest-crediting rate for non-annuitized funds. The actions...
ELCA and ELCJHL Bishops Deepen Conversations among Christians and Muslims
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, were among 1,000 people who attended the fourth major Muslim-Christian dialogue conference here Oct. 7-8. "It has been both...
LWR awarded $1.49 million from USAID for malaria work in Mali
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Lutheran World Relief (LWR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), received a $1.49 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to extend the reach of malaria control in Mali,...
ELCA Bishops Told of Possible Changes in Domestic, Global Relationships
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Since the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the church's global mission personnel have been reaching out to partner Lutheran churches worldwide. While some churches have expressed disagreement with a significant decision of the assembly, only one church to date has said it...
ELCA Bishops Discuss Drafts of Possible Ministry Policies Revisions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reviewed and discussed drafts of possible revisions to ELCA ministry policies during their Oct. 1-6 meeting here. As a result of their discussions, the bishops requested they have another opportunity to review updated revisions, likely...
LCMS President to ELCA Bishops: Don't Implement Assembly Decisions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "It would be a blessing" if certain actions taken by voting members of the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were not implemented, said the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick. Kieschnick included the comment in an...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Comments on Assembly Responses, Finances
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- It's a "rocky time" in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) largely because of responses to decisions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly and economic stresses, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop. Hanson made his comments to the ELCA Conference of Bishops, an...
U.S., Overseas Lutherans Work Together in Response to Southeast Asia Storms
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is working with its companion churches and institutions in Indonesia, the Philippines, the Samoan Islands and other earthquake, typhoon-stricken areas to respond to the needs of survivors. Worship and prayer resources for congregations are available at http://www.ELCA.org/worship on the ELCA...
Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists Mark 10th Anniversary of Joint Declaration
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Much work needs to be done for the meaning of a historic ecumenical agreement to take root among Catholic and Protestant believers, said a U.S. Roman Catholic leader, who preached Oct. 1 at a special worship and prayer service here at Old St. Patrick's Church. The Most...
Lutherans "in the Pew" to Engage Globally through National, Local Events
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Engaging in mission and ministry around the world is not an extracurricular activity, according to Sunitha Mortha of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Global mission no longer takes place "over there," she said. Immigration, travel and the Internet have brought the world to the individual....
ELCA, LCMS Leaders to Continue Cooperative Ministries, When Possible
BALTIMORE (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) agreed they would do all they can to continue their longtime cooperative ministries, despite decisions made by voting members of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly regarding human sexuality. The ELCA is a...
Tanzanian Lutheran Bishop Stresses Need for Economic Recovery Programs
WASHINGTON (ELCA) - The Rt. Rev. Benson K. Bagonza, bishop of the Karagwe Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), shared stories of impoverished people in Africa with more than 25 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in a meeting prior to the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. "Tanzanians were among the...
Large ELCA Congregation Votes to Leave the Denomination
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Community Church of Joy, Glendale, Ariz., ended its affiliation Sept. 27 with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The congregation was the 10th largest in the ELCA with 6,800 baptized members. According to the 2009 ELCA Yearbook, Community...
Lutheran CORE Attendees Express Variety of Viewpoints
FISHERS, Ind. (ELCA) -- Some 1,200 Lutherans attended the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE) convocation here Sept. 25-26, united in their concern about the actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on human sexuality. But individual responses to the assembly actions varied considerably....
Lutheran Core Leaders, Members Map Organization's Future
FISHERS, Ind. (ELCA) -- Leaders and members of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE) began planning for the organization's future by adopting a constitution, including plans for a "free-standing synod" not directly related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They also suggested ways for constituents to communicate concerns....
ELCA Responds to Honduras Political Crisis, West Africa Floods
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are working to provide food, clean water, medicine and other needed supplies to help meet the needs of people in Honduras and in West Africa. Through ELCA Disaster Response, Lutherans provided $20,000 to support humanitarian efforts in Honduras,...
