News

by Lauren A. Lamb, ELCA News Service* The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is offering five new broadcast public service announcements (PSAs), intended for a wide range of audiences. The PSAs are available in 60- second and 30-second formats. The PSAs for television include "Listen" and "Mother and Son."...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Richard A. Magnus, executive director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission program unit, will retire Dec. 31, 2007. "Pastor Dick Magnus' passion for the gospel, his vision for a church growing in evangelical outreach and stewardship, his desire...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to a document released by the Vatican July 10, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the statement does not appear to change the Vatican's previously stated positions, and it will not alter the ELCA's commitment...

NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- The windows tell a soulful story at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Two years after Hurricane Katrina, this New Orleans congregation boasts a perfectly manicured lawn, colorful flags blowing in the breeze and newly painted, air-conditioned interiors. Yet the streaked and clouded windows remind visitors that this...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Committee on Appeals of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ruled July 2 in favor of an appeal by the Rev. Ronald B. Warren, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta, who sought removal of Bradley E. Schmeling, Atlanta, from the official clergy roster of...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Chinese Lutheran Book of Worship" is a new bilingual worship book for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Developed by ELCA Chinese pastors, worship leaders and others, the worship book is designed to offer flexibility in worship planning that encourages a common yet diverse...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three students attending colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) will receive Rossing Physics Scholarships for the 2007-08 academic year. Gifts from Dr. Thomas D. Rossing established the Rossing Fund for Physics Education Endowment in the ELCA Foundation. Rossing, a professor at Northern...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined leaders of 20 other national religious organizations in a letter to leaders of the U.S. Congress June 7, urging expanded funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The religious...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. S. Anita Stauffer, author of books and articles on worship, liturgy and church architecture, and a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died June 26 at a Chicago-area hospital from complications due to a stroke. At the time of her death, Stauffer,...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) second Worship Jubilee is August 3-6 here at Navy Pier. The event precedes the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Organized by the worship staff of the ELCA, the event will draw more than 700 people involved in worship and music throughout...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Felipe Lozada-Montañez, pastor of San Juan Lutheran Church, Dorado, Puerto Rico, and mission director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected June 22 to a six-year term as bishop of the ELCA Caribbean Synod. Lozada-Montañez was elected on the third ballot for...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to help meet the basic needs of people and reconstruct homes in China's southern Yunnan Province, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 after a June 4 earthquake left three people dead and more than 560 others injured there, as...

by Lauren A. Lamb, ELCA News Service* Dr. Alan F. Harre, president, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., announced at a news conference this week that he will retire June 30, 2008. He also introduced a $200 million campaign to support the university. Harre said he is committed to ensuring the success...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Reformed Church in America will come together to celebrate diversity at the "Spirit of Wholeness in Christ: A Racial Ethnic Multicultural Event." The event will be held July 12-15 in Los Angeles. "This event...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Mission Investment Fund (MIF) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has more than 700 loans totaling $382 million at work in congregations and ELCA- related ministries such as seminaries, outdoor ministries and social ministry organizations. Investors across the church provide the money to help...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Susan C. Johnson was elected June 22 to a four-year term as national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Johnson, assistant to the bishop, ELCIC Eastern Synod, Kitchener, Ontario, received 206 votes on the sixth ballot of the ELCIC's Eleventh Biennial National...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Vocation and Education unit will celebrate Lutheran campus ministry's centennial anniversary, which will coincide with the annual continuing education conference at Loyola University Chicago, June 25-29. "The centennial theme is comprised of three phrases, each emphasizing the ongoing mission of...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Todd M. Mattson, First Lutheran Church, Morris, Minn., has been turning high school students into performers since 1981. Mattson is the founder of "New Wine," an ecumenical drama and music group that produces original contemporary Christian musicals. First Lutheran Church is a congregation of the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Victor M. Rodriguez, a synod president of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died June 18 from injuries sustained in a car accident in Ocala, Fla. He was 81. A memorial service for...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) magazine, The Lutheran, is branching out its ministry. In June the first issue of "The Little Lutheran" was released, targeting children age six and younger. The publication may be the first of its kind on the market, according to Sonia...