Lutheran Congregation Helps Cottonwood Grieve, Heal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A funeral for Emilee Olson, 9, will be held Feb. 24 at Christ Lutheran Church, Cottonwood, Minn., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A funeral for brothers Hunter Javens, 9, and Jesse Javens, 13, -- also members of Christ Lutheran Church -- will...
ELCA synod requests prayer for Minnesota's Cottonwood community
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Redwood Falls, issued a prayer request for the families and community of Cottonwood, Minn., on the news of four children who died Feb. 19. Police said a van struck their school...
Lutherans Offer Comfort after Northern Illinois University Shooting
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim, bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Rockford, said the Lutheran Campus Ministry Center at Northern Illinois University (NIU), DeKalb, is open around the clock "offering food, prayer and fellowship" in response to the Feb....
ELCA Campus Pastor Ministers with Northern Illinois University Community
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Diane Schmidt Dardón, Lutheran campus pastor, Northern Illinois University (NIU), DeKalb, has been ministering with families and friends of students wounded from a shooting on the NIU campus Feb. 14 that left five students dead plus the gunman. Dardón, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran...
ELCA Mission Investment Fund Announces Challenge Gift to Fund for Leaders
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Fund for Leaders announced a $1.5 million challenge gift from the Mission Investment Fund (MIF) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The MIF gift is the single largest cash donation ever given to the Fund for Leaders. It challenges the Fund to raise $3...
Lutherans Work to End Hunger through 'Souper Bowl of Caring'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans across the United States put on their "game face" Feb. 3 for the annual "Souper Bowl of Caring," a national faith-based effort aimed at raising millions of dollars for hunger-fighting organizations on the day of the National Football League's "Super Bowl." As part of the effort,...
Lutheran Deaconess Association Names Lisa Polito Director
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Deaconess Association, a center for diaconal service and learning at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., named Deaconess Lisa Polito its new executive director. Polito began her new duties last month, following the retirement of Deaconess Louise Williams. Valparaiso is an independent Lutheran university with about 4,000...
Lutherans purchase 'eco-palms' for Palm Sunday
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service More than 300 million palm fronds are harvested each year for consumption in the United States, mostly for Palm Sunday worship and floral displays for church-related events according to Lutheran World Relief (LWR). But the overproduction of palms threatens forests and the livelihoods...
ELCA Synod Bishop Expresses 'Shock, Sadness' over Missouri Shootings
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt, bishop of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed "deep shock and great sadness" in the wake of the Feb. 7 shooting incident in Kirkwood, Mo., that left six people dead, including the gunman. The shootings...
Lutherans Assess Damage from Feb. 6 Winter Storms, Tornadoes
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is assessing damage left behind by severe storms and tornadoes that swept across Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee Feb. 6. The storms killed more than 50 people. Local Lutheran leaders and disaster response partners are collecting information about the situation, particularly the...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Asks for Prayers for Peace in Kenya
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a Feb. 7 message to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, asked members to "join brothers and sisters throughout the world in prayer for peace and reconciliation in Kenya." The presiding bishop's message also served as a...
Draft of Proposed ELCA Social Statement on Sexuality Available March 13
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The draft of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) proposed social statement on human sexuality will be available March 13. The Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality met here Jan. 25-26 to complete its work on the draft and give final instructions to its writing...
David Olson Appointed Interim Bishop of ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The synod council of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) appointed the Rev. David W. Olson, Clinton, Conn., to serve as interim bishop of the synod, effective Feb. 4. Olson is the former bishop of the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod...
ELCA, Episcopal Presiding Bishops Urge Advocacy in Immigration Policy
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church called for members of their churches "to advocate for just national policies on resettlement and migration." The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, and the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding...
2008 ELCA Hein-Fry Lecture Series opens February 7
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The relationship of the Lutheran Church with other Christian communities throughout the world will be the topic of the 2008 Hein-Fry Lecture Series of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Rev. Wanda Deifelt, associate professor of religion, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and...
Lutheran youth prepare for 'Souper Bowl of Caring' Feb. 3
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Young people across the United States will put on their "game faces" Feb. 3 for the annual "Souper Bowl of Caring," a national faith-based effort aimed at raising millions of dollars for hunger-fighting organizations on the day of the National Football League's "Super...
LDR Begins Next Phase of Disaster Response along U.S. Gulf Coast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- This spring Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) will move into its next phase of recovery work along the U.S. Gulf Coast. LDR will support the work of local "long-term recovery committees" that will serve the needs of people and restore communities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma...
Women of the ELCA to celebrate 'Bold Women's Day' February 24
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the women's organization of the church, will celebrate its second annual "Bold Women's Day" on Sunday, February 24. The organization offers such suggestions on how to mark the day as: + contacting legislators in Washington...
Lutheran Bishop Joins Call to End Israeli Blockade of Gaza
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), issued a Jan. 22 statement with other heads of churches in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The statement called Israel's blockade of Gaza "illegal collective punishment, an immoral act in violation...
ELCA Continues Humanitarian Support in Darfur, Earthquake Relief in Peru
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 to support humanitarian efforts in Darfur, Sudan, and $50,000 to support continued earthquake recovery in Peru through the church's International Disaster Response on Jan. 17. "The civil war in Darfur continues to be a major humanitarian...
