Category: ELCA
February 4, 2015
Eaton: Church is Place for Deep Conversation About Race
Let’s talk. In her February column in The Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton admits that it’s difficult to talk about race in this country. But not talking about it won’t make it go away. She’s convinced that “not only is the church the appropriate place for this conversation, it might be the only place where the...
October 27, 2014
Spruce Up Our Spiritual House
“Spiritual practices aren’t magic or a kumbaya fad. They have been part of the Christian tradition for millennia,” Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton writes in her November Lutheran column. “Unfortunately, we’ve lost this part of our tradition. We’ve become religious, not spiritual. There is strong evidence that tending the spiritual life is what millennials are...
August 20, 2014
Prayer for Ferguson
Please include the people of Ferguson, MO in your congregational prayers Sunday, using the following petition written by Linda Manson of Living Gospel Ministries, or a similar prayer: God of Peace and Healing, We experience violence and hatred that divides us as cultural groups, ethnicities and nations and we feel we do not have the...
August 20, 2014
Bishop Eaton Calls for Prayer for Ferguson
“Throughout the gospels, Jesus reached out to the ‘others,’ those whom society deemed utterly foreign. We are at greatest risk when we divide into ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Then, we are unable to see each other’s humanity. In Christ, there is no ‘them,’ not Michael Brown, not the community, not the police. All are one. All...
August 5, 2014
“An Undercover Force For Good”
What are you doing on Sunday, Sept. 7 — “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday? “We do the work of serving our neighbors and making the world a better place every day — we’re kind of an undercover force for good,” Presiding Bishop Eaton says in a video message. “But on ‘God’s work. Our hands.’ Sunday...
July 18, 2014
Bishop Eaton on Gaza Offensive
Shortly after Israel launched its ground offensive in Gaza, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton was in contact with Presiding Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, who asks for our prayers. Bishop Eaton requests that we distribute this letter that she wrote to Bishop Younan. Bishop Eaton asks that congregations:...
May 13, 2014
‘Be Communities of Discernment’
“To do God’s work with our hands, we need to know what God is about,” the Rev. Dr. Mark S. Hanson told the 2014 Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly in his keynote address. “We need to be communities of discernment,” the former ELCA presiding bishop said. To do that, “we need to be fluent in the...
May 9, 2014
Q&A With Mark Hanson
The Rev. Dr. Mark S. Hanson, former presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spoke with workshop participants at the 2014 Assembly of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the ELCA. Bishop Hanson invited the audience to form small groups and to offer questions. Here are highlights compiled by John Kahler. Q:...
May 4, 2014
Videos from 2014 Assembly
Video coverage of Synod Assembly presentations are available online at the links below: Complete 2014 Synod Assembly video playlist Friday Rev. Mark Hanson Sermon Rev. Mark Hanson Keynote Treasurer’s Report ELCA Representative Presentation by Ms. Judith Roberts Recognition of Approved Candidates Saturday Bishop Burkat’s Sermon Kairos & Associates/David Lose presentation Moments with our Missionaries Bishop...
May 3, 2014
We are Church — Together
ELCA Churchwide Representative Judith Roberts discusses how we are the church, together. #weareSEPA Justice is what love looks like in public. In keeping with the Assembly’s theme of togetherness and partnership, Judith Roberts, ELCA’s Director of Racial Justice, spoke to the gathering about the initiative We Are Church Together, an ELCA church-wide ministry. ELCA Presiding...
April 2, 2014
Immigration Reform on Bishop’s DC Agenda
As a person of faith, Bishop Claire Burkat of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Church in America (ELCA), recognizes that she is called to welcome the sojourner and walk alongside migrants and refugees as they rebuild their lives in America. Bishop Burkat took that message of welcome to Capitol Hill today and visited...
December 14, 2013
The Shepherd’s Amazing Message
“It is all too easy for us these days to be constantly aware that this world is fraught with turmoil and danger,” Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton writes in her first Christmas message to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “The same was true for the world in which Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus...
September 20, 2013
Synod Council Endorses Gold+ Health Benefits
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Council recommends that congregations and other agencies within the Synod provide health benefits at the “Gold+” level to their rostered leaders and lay employees. “The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recognizes that a commitment to comprehensive health care benefits is an investment in ‘the...
August 20, 2013
ELCA Always Being Made New
The ELCA’s theme, “Always Being Made New,” was lived out at the Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh Aug. 12-17. The Assembly elected a new Presiding Bishop, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton; Bishop Burkat says that our new bishop “will lead us with courage, wisdom, wit, and a deep and faithful engagement with the witness of the ELCA...
August 14, 2013
ELCA Elects New Presiding Bishop
The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod, was elected today (Aug. 14) as the next Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Eaton received 600 votes on the fifth and final ballot at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The Rev. Mark Hanson, incumbent Presiding Bishop, received 287 votes. Eaton is the...
June 26, 2013
Seminary President to Step Down
The Rev. Dr. Philip D.W. Krey, will step down from his post as president of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) at the end of 2014. Krey announced his decision to the seminary’s Board of Trustees during a meeting on campus this week. Learn more at the Seminary website.
May 31, 2013
“God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, Sept. 8
We are a church that rolls up our sleeves and gets to work. “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is September 8, 2013 “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate our 25th anniversary as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor. On...
May 6, 2013
We Are All the ELCA
“We are all the ELCA; we are all partners in this report,” said the Rev. Neil Harrison, director of renewed evangelizing congregations, representing the ELCA churchwide organization to the Assembly. As the ELCA celebrates its 25th year, it is living into its mottos – “God’s work. Our hands.” and “Always being made new” – in triune...
November 21, 2011
ELCA Deeply Rooted in God’s Mission
In his report to the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson said that the ELCA is "a church deeply rooted in God's mission (and) in the belief that Christ frees us all to serve our neighbor and seek the common good." "Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to bring forth fruit from our labors. (In 2005), this church invested in a young woman's education. Leymah Gbowee wanted to study peacemaking, and we gave her an (International Leadership) scholarship," said Hanson. Today she is one of three women who earned the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
August 23, 2011
Presiding Bishop says ELCA is Freed to Serve
In delivering his report to the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson said he is "more hopeful and grateful" for this church than he has ever been.
"The reason is simple," Hanson told the assembly Aug. 16. "We are Lutherans… At the heart of who we are is the good news that in Christ we are free," Hanson told the assembly. "We are freed to live as everyday evangelists, using our words and deeds to share the good news of Jesus Christ and claiming our daily work as God's calling."
