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ELCA Presiding Bishop Invites Members to Commit to Action on World AIDS Day
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a message for World AIDS Day 2010, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), invited ELCA members "to prayer, remembrance and to leading by example." He also urged members to join him in signing a religious leaders' commitment to action in response to HIV and AIDS. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4681 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http:/...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Responds to Members in Third 'Town Hall' of 2010
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In his third online "Town Hall Forum" with members this year, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) addressed a variety of ELCA topics and concerns, such as outdoor and campus ministry, immigration reform, contemporary worship, the place of people who are gay and lesbian in the church and interfaith relationships. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4680 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-295...

ELCA Council Adopts Message on 'People Living with Disabilities'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted an 18-page message, "People Living with Disabilities," and asked the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to "lift up and acknowledge" the message. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4679 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...

ELCA Council Acts on Annuity Payment Reduction Recommendations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) authorized one-time payments from the ELCA Special Needs Retirement Fund "as soon as realistically possible in 2011" to help people most adversely affected by reductions in ELCA Board of Pensions annuity payments caused by the crisis in financial markets in late 2008 and early 2009. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4678 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380...

ELCA Congregations that Close Find Creative Ways to Benefit Others
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Closing a congregation can be a difficult process. There is property to dispose of, legal matters to attend to and members to help through the transition. But some congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), using ingenuity and creativity, have come up with exceptional ways to help their communities and the wider church as they closed their doors. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4677 For information contact: John Bro...

ELCA Commits $500,000 for Cholera Prevention, Treatment in Haiti
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced Nov. 15 that it has committed $500,000 for the prevention and treatment of cholera in Haiti, as well as continued response to communities displaced by the January 2010 earthquake. The gift is in addition to the $25,000 the church committed last week for similar purposes in Haiti. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4675 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@e...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Highlights 'Expectations' in Report to Council
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), described his hopes for the church for the next three years -- focusing on expectations -- in a report to the ELCA Church Council Nov. 13. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4674 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/e...

Lutheran Disaster Response, American Red Cross Reaffirm Partnership
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response and the American Red Cross reaffirmed a longstanding partnership Nov. 9 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in a ceremony at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4673 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...

ELCA Board of Pensions Trustees Announce Annuity Adjustment for 2011
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced smaller-than-anticipated reductions in annuity payments for plan members in its Participating Annuity and Bridge Fund and in the interest crediting rate for bridge accounts. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4672 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.co...

ELCA Contributes $75,000 to Haiti for Hurricane Relief, Cholera Prevention
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has committed $50,000 in international disaster funds to The Lutheran World Federation to be used for immediate needs in Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Tomas. It also contributed $25,000 from the ELCA's Haiti Earthquake Fund for prevention of cholera, the result of poor living conditions for earthquake survivors. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4671 For information contact: John Brooks, Director ...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Asks Indonesian Leader to Protect Religious Freedom
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to attacks against Christians in Indonesia and efforts to prevent them from worshiping, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has asked the country's president to uphold constitutional principles and refrain from inhibiting freedom of religion for any religious community, especially Christians. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4670 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or new...

What Question Do You Have for the ELCA Presiding Bishop?
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- If you could ask the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) a question, what would it be? The Rev. Mark S. Hanson is ready to receive questions live during the online ELCA Town Hall Forum Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. EST. The forum is an hour- long event designed to inform ELCA members about the life-changing mission and ministries of the ELCA. More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4669 For information contact: Melissa Ramirez Cooper...

Stanley Olson Elected President of ELCA's Wartburg Theological Seminary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of directors of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, elected the Rev. Dr. Stanley N. Olson to be president of the seminary, effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to a Nov. 4 seminary news release. Wartburg Theological Seminary is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4668 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www...

Lutherans Complete Journey Retracing Luther's Steps to Rome
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two Lutherans completed a unique 70-day journey on Oct. 29 retracing on foot Martin Luther's historic trip from Erfurt, Germany to Rome. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4667 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...

ELCA Presiding Bishop: Christians Bring 'Hopeful Spirit' to Political Life
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Citing "bitter and divisive commentary" in the just-concluded political campaign, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has called for more respectful political engagement and "a renewal of common decency in public speech." Christians view political engagement differently, he said, bringing a "hopeful spirit" to political life and respecting others as neighbors. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4666 For informa...

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Christian Leaders Meet with President Obama
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined about 20 other U.S. Christian leaders in a meeting with President Obama Nov. 1 at the White House. The leaders met with the president "speaking first out of our faith and Scriptures, and secondly, to issues before this nation and world," Hanson said in an interview. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4665 For information contact: John Brooks, ...

U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Approves Current Round Final Report
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States approved by unanimous consent the current round's final report on "The Hope of Eternal Life," a 65-page report summarizing the dialogue's four-and-a-half-year study. More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4664 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/e...

ELCA Sends Relief Funds in Response to Indonesia Tsunami
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will send up to $46,280 to provide immediate relief to communities affected by a tsunami that struck the Mentawai Islands off of Sumatra's western coast Oct. 25. The ELCA responded to a specific request for funds from a relief agency working in the area, the Nommensen (Lutheran) University Center for Disaster Risk Management, said Megan Bradfield, ELCA associate director for International Development and Disaster Re...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Tells Young People 'It Gets Better'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a video essay posted on You Tube, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered reassurance to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, saying, "You are a beloved child of God." More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4662 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/...

ELCA Funds Water Purification Equipment for Guatemala Families
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At least 245 families in Guatemala will have clean water supplies thanks to a gift from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More: http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4661 For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elcanews Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews ...