CHICAGO (ELCA) -- If Congress does not pass comprehensive immigration reform soon, state legislators and local governments will continue to take immigration policy into their own hands, wrote the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in a July 27 letter to U.S. President Barack Obama. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4597 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.el...
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- Four members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were elected to the 48-member council of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) July 24 at the LWF Assembly here. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4596 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Nearly one in four American children are hungry, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Bishops and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are working together to fight hunger among children. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4595 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), has been elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) July 24 at the LWF Assembly here. Younan received 300 votes affirming his election, 23 against and 37 abstentions. There were no other nominees. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4594 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://...
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- In what the Rev. Mark S. Hanson described as possibly "the most significant legacy this assembly will leave," the Eleventh Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) here took the historic step of asking the Mennonites for forgiveness for past persecutions, according to a news release from Lutheran World Information (LWI). Delegates unanimously approved a statement July 22 calling Lutherans to express their regret and sorrow for past wrongdoings tow...
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), appealed to delegates at the LWF assembly here to hold together and avoid splits in the face of differences over issues of sexuality, according to Ecumenical News International (ENI). More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4592 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news...
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Elizabeth C. Birkholz's grandfather loved to tell the story about Felix "Bush" Breazeale, a reclusive man from Cave Creek, Tenn., who threw himself a funeral party -- while still alive -- in 1938, so he could hear what people would say about him. Birkholz's grandfather, Frank "Buddy" Robinson, drove the hearse. More than 10,000 people attended the funeral. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4591 For information contact: John Brooks, Direct...
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- The Lutheran commitment to ecumenism will not end until members can share the Eucharist with other churches, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to a news release from Lutheran World Information (LWI). More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4590 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org ...
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- Lutherans are meeting in Stuttgart, Germany, for their international assembly at a time when "the world is in pain," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to a July 21 news release from Lutheran World Information (LWI). Hanson made the comment in his address here to the LWF Eleventh Assembly. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases....
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is celebrating a "Rite of Reception" service for seven pastors on July 25 at St. Marks Lutheran Church, San Francisco. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4588 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) - Saying that "hunger is not God's fault, it's our fault," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, introduced the theme of the LWF's Eleventh Assembly, "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread," at a news conference here July 19, according to an LWF news release. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4587 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (77...
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert L. Vogel, Denver, will serve as interim president of Texas Lutheran University (TLU), Seguin, starting July 26. The chair of TLU's Board of Regents appointed Vogel, according to a news release from the university. TLU is one of 27 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4586 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://...
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

HOUSTON (ELCA) - In the final hours of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) convention here, delegates requested "a thorough response" to the 2009 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) social statement, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4585 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The two largest Lutheran denominations in the United States are committed to helping rebuild the U.S. Gulf Coast following the 2005 hurricane season, which included Hurricane Katrina. Although two separate church bodies, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are fixed on reminding the people of New Orleans that "they are not forgotten." More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4584 For information co...
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A joint commission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The United Methodist Church (UMC) held its inaugural meeting here July 15. The commission is charged with assisting the two mainline denominations in fostering their new full communion relationship. This is the first such relationship for the 8-million- member UMC and the sixth for the 4.6-million-member ELCA. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4583 For information contact: J...
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

HOUSTON (ELCA) - Delegates to the national convention here of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) voted overwhelmingly July 15 to continue cooperative work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) "with theological integrity," and asked that its leaders assess and report on the current state of cooperation in one year. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4582 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.e...
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In about a week's time, Lutherans from around the world will meet in Stuttgart, Germany, for the Eleventh Assembly of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF). "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread" is the theme of the July 20-27 event hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wuerttemberg, according to a Lutheran World Information (LWI) news release. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4581 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news...
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Beloved author, columnist and speaker Marjorie "Marj" L. Leegard, Detroit Lakes, Minn., died July 12 after a long history of heart disease. She was 89. Most notably Leegard was a columnist for Lutheran Woman Today, the magazine of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4580 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Twitter: http://tw...
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Dana College Board of Regents voted July 12 to suspend operations effective immediately. While the suspension secures Dana's accreditation, allowing students enrolled in summer courses and internships to receive academic credit for their work, the college, located in Blair, Neb., will not open for the 2010-2011 academic year. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4579 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elc...
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

HOUSTON (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Convention adopted two resolutions July 13 related to the sexuality actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). One resolution commended earlier responses to the ELCA’s actions and the other offered support to "confessional Lutheranism at home and abroad." More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4578 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 38...
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT