Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Election stress? Check out these spiritual self-care activities designed for the day
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 2, 2020
(RNS) — Take a break from 'doomscrolling' and join a prayer vigil, a guided meditation, a poetry reading or even a sing-along.
Lutherans ask Trump administration to admit more refugees as deadline looms
By Emily McFarlan Miller — September 28, 2020
(RNS) — Clergy in the US largest Lutheran denomination are asking the administration to admit at least 95,000 in the 2021 fiscal year, which begins in October.
Kenosha prayer vigil at ELCA church calls for confession, lament and justice for Jacob Blake
By Emily McFarlan Miller — September 3, 2020
KENOSHA, Wis. (RNS) — About 200 people — including the head of the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States — gathered Wednesday (Sept. 2) at a prayer vigil in Kenosha to confess and lament the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton lightens up on social media with viral neon Luther rose
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 10, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — The lighting of Bishop Eaton’s Luther rose was accompanied by the buzz of neon, the trumpet blast of Luther’s hymn ‘A Mighty Fortress’ and enthusiasm from Lutherans on social media.
One year before election, Christian leaders cross divides to call for respect
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 31, 2019
(RNS) — Christian leaders across theological and political divides are kicking off an initiative called 'Golden Rule 2020: A Call for Dignity and Respect in Politics,' hoping the next 365 days won’t be a repeat of 2016’s divisive election season.
Dinner church movement sets the table for food, faith and friendships
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 29, 2019
CHICAGO (RNS) — Dinner churches are popping up across the country in churches in a number of denominations, conservative and progressive, urban and rural and everything in between.
Black minister to his mostly white ELCA denomination: ‘We need to rethink church’
By Adelle M. Banks — August 28, 2019
(RNS) — The Rev. Lenny Duncan recently decided to challenge his denomination in a new book, titled 'Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S.'
‘A celebration for the whole church’: ELCA women reflect on 50 years of ordination
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 16, 2019
MILWAUKEE (RNS) — The ELCA Churchwide Assembly kicked off a year of celebrations: 50 years of women's ordination, 40 years of women of color being ordained and 10 years of LGBTQ people serving freely in the mainline Lutheran denomination.
ELCA Churchwide Assembly calls sexism and patriarchy sins, condemns white supremacy
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 9, 2019
MILWAUKEE (RNS) — The ELCA's newly approved social statement — titled 'Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action' — names patriarchy and sexism as sins and acknowledges the church’s complicity in them.
ELCA declares self a ‘sanctuary church body,’ marches to ICE building in Milwaukee
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 7, 2019
MILWAUKEE (RNS) — 'Marching is fun, words are great, but action makes a difference,' Bishop Paul Erickson of the Greater Milwaukee Synod said.
5 things to watch at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 6, 2019
(RNS) — This week's ELCA Churchwide Assembly offers a window into the issues important to many progressive Christians across the United States.
Lutheran student pastor deported amid protests
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 30, 2019
CHICAGO (RNS) — At Emaus ELCA Church in Racine, Wis., student pastor Betty Rendón was 'very well loved,' and a lot of people are feeling the loss, said the church's pastor.
Lutherans gather in prayer for student pastor reportedly arrested by ICE
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 15, 2019
CHICAGO (RNS) — The Rev. Paul Erickson, bishop of the ELCA’s Greater Milwaukee Synod, said the student pastor’s arrest may be 'legal, but it is immoral.'
Lutheran school in Thousand Oaks learns how to grieve after losing one of its own
By Cathleen Falsani — November 9, 2018
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Like any of the mass shootings that have become near-daily trauma to the American psyche, the massacre here happened in precisely the kind of place such things aren’t meant to happen.
‘She is loose’: A historic group of female Lutheran bishops on #MeToo and the Holy Spirit
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 25, 2018
CHICAGO (RNS) — The ELCA has elected the largest number of female bishops in one year to lead the mainline denomination.
