Lutheran Youth Say Disagreement is an Opportunity to Show Love
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- When it comes to human sexuality, young people hold as many different opinions as their older counterparts, but Christian youth have something stronger than their opinions. The board of the Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) of the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)...
Dignitaries, ELCA Pastor to Memorialize Norman Borlaug, Nobel Prize Winner
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders in government and from international organizations will deliver eulogies at an Oct. 6 memorial service for Dr. Norman Borlaug, 95, a prominent agricultural scientist and 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who died Sept. 12 in Dallas from complications related to cancer. The Rev. David A. Beckmann,...
It's the final stretch for the ELCA's 2009 health assessment
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service People in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) primary health plan are approaching a Sept. 30 deadline. ELCA pastors, associates in ministry, deaconesses, diaconal ministers, employees and their eligible spouses have been able to take the online 2009 Mayo Clinic Health Assessment since...
Former ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for 'Churchmanship'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- What now lies before the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is not human sexuality but "churchmanship," according to the Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom. He served two terms as the first presiding bishop of the ELCA beginning in 1987. Although the word "churchmanship" lacks inclusiveness, after "years...
Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists Mark 10th Anniversary of Joint Declaration
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) will join Catholics and Methodists here Oct. 1 in a 10th anniversary celebration of a historic agreement, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). Leaders of the LWF and the...
Two ELCA Synods Name Interim Bishops
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Greater Milwaukee Synod and the Delaware- Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have named former synod bishops to serve as interim bishops. The Rev. David W. Olson will serve in Milwaukee, and the Rev. Theodore F. Schneider will serve in Baltimore. Olson,...
ELCA Congregation Seeks Equal Opportunities for Calling Pastors
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Chicago, decided to take matters into their own hands and rewrite their constitution as a matter of justice. According to the congregation's president, Stephanie Frank, "All people are entitled to an equal opportunity to serve at every point in the life of...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Asks Leaders for Restraint, Conversation and Patience
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a Sept. 23 letter to professional leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the ELCA presiding bishop urged them to engage each other "with honesty and respect" and asked that they exercise restraint, bear each other's burdens through conversation and be patient as the...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Supports Comprehensive Middle East Peace
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), signed a Sept. 22 public letter in support of "strong U.S. leadership to achieve a negotiated sustainable resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict." Thirty leaders of churches and religious organizations signed the letter,...
ELCA Advocacy Director Featured in CBS-TV Religion Special
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Andrew D. Genszler, director for advocacy for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Washington, D.C., will appear in a television special, "Religion, Politics and Advocacy," Sept. 27 on CBS Television stations. The program examines the work of religious advocates -- who they are, who...
Two San Francisco Congregations Weigh Possible ELCA Reinstatement
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two independent Lutheran congregations in San Francisco watched the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis with special interest. St. Francis Lutheran Church and First United Lutheran Church were expelled from the ELCA in 1995 for violating church standards the assembly voted to change....
ELCA Advocacy Director Speaks to Reporters at Health Care Rally
WASHINGTON (ELCA) - The August recess of Congress had a volatile atmosphere surrounding the health care debate, according to the Rev. Andrew Genszler, director of advocacy, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Washington Office, in response to a question from a Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News reporter. "All people should...
Service of Reconciliation Marks ELCA Decisions on Same-Gender Relationships
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A Saturday afternoon "Service of Reconciliation" drew about 150 people to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Charlotte, N.C. The special Sept. 12 worship brought together those who welcomed and those who were troubled by recent decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Voting members at the...
Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society tops '2009 AAHSA Ziegler' list
By Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society ranks first as the largest not-for-profit senior living organization in the United States, according to the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and Ziegler Senior Living Finance. Based in Sioux Falls, S.D., the...
Lutherans join others around the world to pray for peace Sept. 21
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will pray for peace Sept. 21, 2009, as part of the "International Day of Prayer for Peace." The day is an opportunity for the 4.6-million-member denomination "to pray and act together to nurture lasting peace in...
Lutherans' Creativity Builds Up 'Stand With Africa,' Campaign to Close
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kent Terry lives a life of high adventure. Having climbed 36 mountains, the 62-year-old ponders faith in his voyages and enjoys writing about it. In his collection of stories, "Adventures in Faith, Faith in Adventures," Terry describes his experiences with skydiving, cross-country skiing, ice climbing and more,...
Lutheran CORE Plans Next Steps, Intends to be 'Free-Standing' Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Saying the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has "fallen into heresy," because of actions taken at last month's churchwide assembly, the chair of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) said the organization intends to be a "free-standing synod" which will carry out ministries apart from the ELCA....
Lutheran Pastor Sees People Returning to Church Following Assembly Actions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Bradley E. Schmeling has been receiving letters and stories of Lutherans returning to church after many years away, given actions taken at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in August. "Even my own partner's sister's family intends to return...
ELCA Presiding Bishop: 'What Good News We Have to Share'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) should continue to discuss questions about human sexuality, and also talk about how their congregations can grow and how each person can carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their daily lives. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson,...
Lutheran Pastor, Editor Says 'Take A Breath' After Assembly
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A member of Peace Lutheran Church, Grass Valley, Calif., told his pastor a Finnish saying that roughly translates: "Walk slowly, and drink ice water." The adage is recalled at times when it is more important to stop and think than it is to react. Decisions the Evangelical...
