ELCA News Service

A service for journalists and members of the news media

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Senegal is a place where Christians and Muslims coexist. To learn more about life there, 10 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) journeyed through the western African country to learn about peace-building at the intersection of faith and life.
     "Senegal is a unique place for engaging across religious lines," said Valora Starr, director for discipleship, Women of the ELCA. "No matter where you go there, folks will say Christians and Muslims get along just fine. They work and live side-by-side."
     Starr is a member of the ELCA Task Force for the Decade of Peace and Nonviolence, which hosted the trip. The "Decade for a Culture of Nonviolence" originated from the work of 20 Nobel Peace Laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and others. In 1999 the ELCA committed to building a culture of peace and nonviolence in the ...(more)

ELCA Bishops Reach Consensus on 'ELM' Pastors, More Review Needed
Mar 09, 2010; 10-086-JB

     ITASCA, Ill. (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reached a consensus March 8 on a draft proposal for a rite that would bring onto the church's official clergy roster those pastors who were ordained and are on the clergy roster of "Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM)."  ELM "expands ministry opportunities for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the Lutheran church," according to its Web site.
     The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church, consisting of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops plus the presiding bishop and ELCA secretary. It met here March 4-9.
     The draft proposal, "Reception onto the Roster of Ordained Ministers," recognizes and affirms the ministry of ELM pastors.  It is not the rite of ordination, though it uses patterns and texts adapted from the ...(more)

Lutherans Visit Earthquake-Ravaged Concepcion, Chile
Mar 08, 2010; 10-085-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- For the first time since the earthquake, Lutherans were able to visit the Chilean town of Concepción, March 4-7.  Karen Anderson likened the scene in Concepción to "a war zone."
     Anderson, based in Santiago, Chile, is a staff member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission.  She was part of an ecumenical team that traveled to Concepción to assess the needs of people there following the Feb. 27 earthquake in Chile.  The earthquake struck central Chile about 70 miles northeast of Concepción and 200 miles south of Santiago, Chile's capital.  Concepción was hard hit.
     In a March 8 e-mail to ELCA churchwide organization staff, Anderson said it took the team about "12 hours to make the six-hour trip because of the damage to sections of the road and bridges."
...(more)