News

by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service* The Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Minneapolis, launched its "next generation" Web site Dec. 4, enhancing members' and sponsoring organizations' access to ELCA benefits resources online. Through a new design and technology, the site offers members and...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 250 college-aged students from Lutheran churches and campus ministry sites will be in New Orleans with 350 other young adult Christians to celebrate, see, serve and reflect. The annual gathering of the Lutheran Student Movement-USA (LSM-USA) will be held Dec. 28-Jan. 1 in conjunction with...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Dec. 1, 2006, issue of Mosaic Television, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is "Holy Communion," focusing on the biblical foundations for Holy Communion, and the Reformation history that defines modern Christian understandings of the sacrament. Mosaic Television is the quarterly...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members attending a special synod assembly Dec. 2 elected the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Messiah Lutheran Church, Ashtabula, Ohio, to a six-year term as bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Eaton was elected on the fifth ballot for...

"The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory..." (John 1:14). We live in a visited world. On that holy night twenty centuries ago, God visited the world in the miracle of Bethlehem. Held in Mary's arms that night was the revelation of steadfast, unbounded...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Twenty-three first-year students at the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began the 2006-2007 academic term with full-tuition scholarships, and another 14 students had partial-tuition scholarships through the ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), issued a public statement addressing this week's observance of World AIDS Day. The theme of Hanson's statement is "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." "On December 1, World AIDS Day, the Evangelical Lutheran...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Preparing for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is filled with uncertainties -- uncertainties about seminary classes, God's direction, church structures, congregational acceptance and more. A 40-something, African American, single mother of three can expect to encounter even more uncertainties in a 4.85...

by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Lutheran Disaster Response is celebrating Thanksgiving with ads in newspapers across the United States. "We give thanks for your inspired response to the devastating hurricanes of 2005. We give thanks for your continued support of those still in need, in the months and years...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided a total of $250,000 Nov. 21 in response to an emergency appeal for funds issued by Action by Churches Together (ACT). The ELCA is a member of ACT -- a global alliance of Protestant and...

by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The World Hunger Resource Packet of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for winter 2006-2007 is now available. The packet contains resources to help individuals, congregations and synods of the church learn more about and participate in ending world hunger. "Each of...

WITTENBERG, Germany (ELCA) -- Fifty church and civic leaders from Germany, Mexico, Palestinian territory in Israel and the United States gathered Nov. 8-14 here and in Berlin for a conference exploring Christian responses to walls. More than a dozen presenters shared their perspectives on walls or barriers in their contexts...

by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., retained its position as the top baccalaureate institution in the United States by number of students who studied abroad in the 2004-2005 academic year. The Institute of International Education, with funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of...

by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Dr. Steven E. Titus will resign as president of Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb., at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year. Titus, 42, became president of the college in 2002. Midland is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran...

by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., has begun construction of a new Union building on the site of the former Moellering Library. The university's Web site includes a Union project Web page with a webcam of the construction site, video of the news conference announcing the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Richard W. Solberg, an advisor, educator and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Nov. 15 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Grass Valley, Calif. He was 89. "He was the most remarkable man I have ever known -- incredibly accomplished, well-known...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) called on the church's 65 synods, 10,549 congregations and 4.85 million members to support the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and join in preparations to celebrate the LWF's 60th anniversary in 2007. The Church Council is the ELCA's...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and ELCA Global Mission developed an online resource to "create healthier and deeper perspectives for the present and future of Jewish, Muslim and Lutheran relations." "Windows for Understanding: Jewish-Muslim-Lutheran Relations" is at http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical/interreligious/windows.html on the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted revisions to a longstanding ELCA social policy document to enable greater council participation in the development of ELCA social statements. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority...