CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Michael W. Rinehart and the Rev. David H. Brauer-Rieke were re-elected to serve second six-year terms as synod bishops in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Rinehart, bishop of the ELCA Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, was re-elected on the first ballot during the synod assembly May 16-18 in Navasota, Texas. He was first elected in 2007. Prior to becoming bishop he served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Conroe, Texas, from 1997 ...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Brian Kirby Unti, Renton, Wash., was elected May 18 to a six-year term as bishop of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Unti was elected on the fourth ballot during the synod assembly May 16-18 in Lynnwood, Wash. “I am overwhelmed and humbled, and I look forward to the future with great anticipation,” said Unti, who serves as pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Renton. Unti was elected on the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has made worship resources available May 21 in response to recent severe storms across the Midwest. Through Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA members and congregations are supporting tornado survivors in partnership with local Lutheran affiliates and ELCA synods. In a letter to congregations the Rev. Michael K. Girlinghouse, bishop of the ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, asked members to pray for affected communit...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert G. Schaefer, Venice, Fla., was elected May 4 to a six-year term as bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Schaefer was elected on the sixth ballot during the synod assembly May 2-4 in Orlando, Fla. “I am deeply grateful for the confidence that our assembly has placed in me in this call to serve as their bishop,” said Schaefer, who serves as lead pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran in Venice. “I p...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Rodger C. Prois, Storm Lake, Iowa, was elected April 27 to a six-year term as bishop of the Western Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Prois was elected on the fifth ballot during the synod assembly April 26-28 in Sioux City, Iowa. Prois serves as interim pastor at St. Mark Lutheran in Sioux City, Iowa, and New Life Lutheran in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. He will be installed as bishop Sept. 1 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ch...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In observance of World Malaria Day April 25, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is emphasizing its commitment to help bring an end to malaria-related deaths with a week- long effort to raise $250,000 for the ELCA Malaria Campaign. The money raised April 22-29 will help spur the ELCA’s anti-malaria efforts in Uganda, where the disease is the leading cause of death among children under the age of 5. “Gifts given to the ELCA Malaria Campaign this w...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues to advocate for comprehensive federal immigration reform as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on legislation that calls for reform. A bipartisan group of senators introduced a reform bill April 17. In anticipation of the Senate’s bill, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service sponsored a leadership summit April 14-16 that brought together 40 Lutheran leaders from across the country to Capi...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an April 12 letter to President Obama, leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) urged the administration and others in the international community to find new avenues toward peace in Syria and strive to resolve the civil war there through diplomacy. In their letter, the ELCA presiding bishop and four synod bishops offered their appreciation for Obama’s chosen “path of restraint,” particularly as the bishops have heard louder calls in re...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The council of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met April 16 to make decisions and recommendations, in consultation with ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, regarding key synod leadership positions. In an April 17 letter to members of the synod Eric Peterson, chair of the synod’s council and synod vice president, first expressed gratitude “for the tremendous outpouring of prayers” for Maureen Mengelt’s...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has made available prayer and worship resources in response to the April 15 explosions during the Boston Marathon. The resources are at http://www.ELCA.org/Growing-In-Faith/Worship.aspx. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, offered the following prayer: “Oh God, in Jesus name we renounce the forces of evil and the disruptive power of violence. With all those who suffer, we cry out for mercy an...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has concluded its relief and recovery efforts in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake - the most powerful to strike Haiti in more than 200 years. Nearly 250,000 people were killed, 300,000 injured and more than 1 million people were left homeless as a result of the earthquake. Through Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA members responded by donating more than $12.5 million dollars to support relief efforts,...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Acknowledging a climate of new institutional mergers and collaborations between seminaries and universities, new technologies and degree program designs, economic challenges facing students and educational providers, the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) authorized the formation of an advisory council to address in a holistic way issues on theological education, leadership development, candidacy, call and rostered leaders. Th...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sent a letter April 11 to pastors, members and congregations of the synod with continued expressions of sorrow and sympathy for the family of Maureen Mengelt, who died April 7 when she was struck by the vehicle of the Rev. Bruce H. Burnside, bishop of the synod, who was arrested and charged with “vehicular homicide while intoxicated.” “We pray that God will com...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are extending prayers for the family and friends of a pedestrian killed April 7 in Sun Prairie, Wis., and for the Rev. Bruce H. Burnside, bishop of the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin. Reports indicate that Burnside’s vehicle hit the pedestrian. He was arrested and taken into custody. “We offer our prayers for the woman who lost her life in this tragedy. Nothing can undo this terrible accident...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In his 2013 Easter Message, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), shares the promise of forgiveness and reconciliation with the more than 4-million members of this church. The full text of the presiding bishop’s message follows: Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Easter. It is about more than an open tomb. It is the good news of the risen Christ who opens lives. Think about Jesus' friends aft...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Malagasy Lutheran Church signed a partnership agreement designed to strengthen the relationship “in a new time.” The signing took place March 13 at the Malagasy church offices in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The agreement “is a strong foundation built upon the past but we sign it for the future,” said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, during the signing. “It is a document that refl...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Embarking on a “journey of listening and learning,” a group of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) members will travel March 16-25 to southern Africa to visit Lutheran companion churches working to help contain the deadly disease of malaria. “This is not just about going on a trip but entering into a long term relationship that will change all of us,” said the Rev. Philip Knutson, an ELCA regional representative in southern Africa. “What people need...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to the election today of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the new pope, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said he is “encouraged that Pope Francis has worked with Lutherans in Argentina.” Meeting with Lutheran church leaders in Madagascar, Hanson said that “as we approach the commemoration of the 500th (observance) of the Lutheran Reformation, we share a deep commitment to...

ITASCA, Ill (ELCA) -- Recognizing the rapidly changing landscape of religion, society and the world the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the ELCA is in a “kairos” moment and that members can make a compelling “Lutheran witness in our culture today.” At the ELCA Conference of Bishops meeting here Feb. 28-March 5, Hanson framed his report around questions ELCA members and congregations are frequently asking. “Often t...

ITASCA, Ill (ELCA) -- Expressing grief over the tragedy of gun violence in the United States, the 65 synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered a pastoral letter on violence to the 4-million-member church. In their letter, the bishops invite members to address together the cause and effect of violence, engage in prayer and respectful conversation, and care for one another and the communities impacted by violence. “We recognize that we serve in di...