ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Immigration Reform in Letter to Obama 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 t...

ELCA Members, Bishops Moved to Ensure Children Don't Go Hungry 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 ...

ELCA Members Elected to Lutheran World Federation's Council 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 As...

Munib Younan Elected President of Lutheran World Federation 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 Federatio...

Hollywood Movie 'Get Low' Features ELCA Pastor's Extended Family 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 --...

Lutheran World Federation President Says Ecumenical Commitment to Continue 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...

Lutherans Take Historic Step in Asking for Forgiveness from Mennonites 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...

Lutheran World Federation President Pleads for Unity Despite Differences 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 del...

Lutheran World Federation Meets In 'Confident Hope,' Says President 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 Assembly Focused on Alleviating Hunger 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 Evange...

ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod to Receive Seven Pastors by 'Rite of Reception' 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 C...

Lutherans Remind New Orleanians that 'They are not Forgotten' 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 ...

LCMS Convention Requests 'Thorough Response' to ELCA Social Statement 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 (E...

Robert Vogel Appointed Interim President at Texas Lutheran University 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 V...

ELCA, United Methodist Church Embark on New Relationship 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 charge...

Lutherans to Meet in Germany July 20-27 for LWF Eleventh Assembly 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 D...

LCMS Convention Votes to Continue Cooperative Work with ELCA 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 C...

ELCA's Dana College Suspends Operations 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 s...

Marj Leegard, Lutheran Woman Today Columnist, Dies 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 wa...

LCMS Convention Responds to 2009 ELCA Human Sexuality Decisions 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 Luthe...