ELCA to Receive Three Pastors Through 'Rite of Reception' Sept. 18
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three pastors with historic ties to the struggle for inclusiveness in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will be welcomed for the first time to the church's clergy roster when they participate in the church's "Rite of Reception" Sept. 18. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4638 For information contact: John...
Midland Lutheran College Becomes Midland University
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb., will become Midland University effective Oct. 20. With 962 students, one-third are students who had planned to enroll at the now-closed Dana College, Blair, Neb. Midland is one of 26 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More:...
Lutherans Join Community Response to California Explosion
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gail W. Cromack returned Sept. 13 to Peace Lutheran Church, San Bruno, Calif., for the first time since last week's explosion and fire in a neighborhood there. The church building was not damaged and members are safe, she said. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4635 For information contact: John...
ELCA Congregation in New York Goes Solar
NEW YORK (ELCA) -- Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, N.Y., is the first congregation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Metropolitan New York Synod to go solar by installing photovoltaic panels on the church's roof. The panels will be dedicated on Oct. 24, Emanuel's "Bring-A-Friend" Sunday. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4636...
ELCA Congregation Near California Explosion Site Safe
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- All members of Peace Lutheran Church, San Bruno, Calif., are reported safe following the Sept. 9 explosion and fire that resulted in four deaths and destroyed at least 38 homes in the city's Glenview neighborhood, said the Rev. Gail W. Cromack, pastor. Peace is a congregation of...
ELCA Minnesota Congregation Baptizes 58 African Immigrant Children
AUSTIN, Minn. (ELCA) -- The brick walls and brilliant stained glass windows here at Our Savior's Lutheran Church are a long way from the small prayer gatherings that take place under the shelter of trees in Africa. On Sept. 5, during a regular worship service at Our Savior's, 58 children...
Harvey Stegemoeller, ELCA Foundation Executive, College President, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Harvey A. Stegemoeller, retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), former executive director of the ELCA Foundation and president of two colleges, died Sept. 5 of respiratory failure at his home in Sun City West, Ariz., according to an announcement from his...
Lutherans Witness Medical, Spiritual Healing in China
LUZHOU, China (ELCA) -- A respirator unit has helped save the lives of more than 80 infants at the People's Hospital in Luzhou, China. Staff from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Global Mission visited the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital Sept. 2 and witnessed firsthand how...
Lutherans Call for Energy, Environmental Stewardship
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are showing a greater interest and concern in energy issues, according to Mary Minette, director for environmental education and advocacy, ELCA Washington Office. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4630 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews
U.S. Lutherans, Chinese Christians Engage in Theology, Social Service
SHANGHAI (ELCA) -- Two areas of common interest between U.S. Lutherans and Chinese Christians are theological education and social services. Staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Global Mission met here Sept. 3 with leaders of the China Christian Council (CCC) to learn how these areas of common...
Four ELCA Young Adults on Road Trip to Talk About Global Service
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Four Lutheran young adults started a three-month road trip Aug. 27 to recruit people their age to consider a year of work overseas. Stephanie Anderson, Nathan Berkas, Sara Higgins and Elliot Williams are visiting congregations, college campuses and other areas where young people hang out to share...
ELCA Joins Interfaith Religious Leaders to Address Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined a coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to denounce rising anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry in the United States, as the country prepares to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4628 For information...
North Carolina ELCA Congregations Affected Little by Hurricane Earl
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- It appears that Hurricane Earl did little damage to Eastern North Carolina Sept. 3. The eye of the storm remained offshore, and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) synod and congregational leaders in affected areas reported no significant damage. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4626 For information contact: John Brooks, Director...
ELCA's Finlandia University Reports Significant Enrollment Growth
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Finlandia University, Hancock, Mich., reported it will welcome 673 students to its campus this fall, an increase of 18 percent over the 568 students it welcomed one year ago. The fall 2010 enrollment is the school's largest in 25 years, and the highest since Finlandia began offering...
ELCA Congregations to Host Gatherings, Strive to be Centers of Hospitality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- People around the world are on the move, and Lutherans are examining some of the reasons why -- climate change, food security, civil and political unrest and more. To address the global and local realities of migration and accompaniment, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is...
LDR, ELCA Synods, Social Ministry Organizations Prepare for Hurricane Earl
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) living along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States are preparing for Hurricane Earl, while leaders of Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) and affiliated organizations have made some preliminary response plans. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4623 For information contact: John...
ELCA Commits Additional $110,000 for Pakistan Floods
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response (IDR) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced Aug. 31 it has committed an additional $110,000 to respond to human needs in Pakistan, where widespread flooding from monsoons has greatly affected the country. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4622 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773)...
ELCA Synod Bishop, LDR Director, Preach at Katrina Events in New Orleans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were guest preachers at services in New Orleans Aug. 29, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the devastation Hurricane Katrina brought to the city and the Gulf Coast region around it. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4619 For information contact: John Brooks, Director...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Joins Christian Leaders in Letter on Mideast Talks
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Writing that they "have no illusions about the difficulty of the task ahead," 28 Christian leaders urged U.S. President Barack Obama and negotiators to continue their efforts to help leaders of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority reach a peace agreement. The Rev. Mark S....
ELCA Synod Bishop Comments on New York Muslim Center Proposal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Regardless of whether people approve or disapprove of a possible Muslim community center or mosque in lower Manhattan, a synod bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) wrote in an Aug. 30 public statement that this is a time for all to be sensitive to...
