​CHICAGO — The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met electronically April 20. The council serves as the ELCA churchwide organization’s board of directors and interim legislative authority between meetings of a churchwide assembly. The council took the following actions: Appointed members to the Commission on a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC), which will hold its first meeting in July.…

Dear church, For many months we have seen an alarming spike in anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim and white supremacist hate. It has been reported that extremist groups are planning a national “Day of Hate” tomorrow, targeting Jews. This evening, as the sun sets and Shabbat begins, our Jewish neighbors are living in fear. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors and to…

​The Extravaganza, an annual gathering of children, youth and family ministry leaders from across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, took place Feb. 3-6 in Anaheim, Calif. The event was hosted by the ELCA’s Youth Ministry Network. Participants in Extravaganza 2023 gathered for one live experience in two expressions, on-site in Anaheim and online, under the theme “Enough.” The event included three…

​“Christians in their longing for Christ find themselves deeply immersed in the sufferings of the world. Christians are not aloof spectators, watching the world’s troubles. … [F]aith leads us into solidarity with suffering.” —ELCA social statement, The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries (2013) As the nation watches another video exposing police violence against a Black man after a traffic stop, there…

Dear church,  On Sunday the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) will for the first time ordain a woman into pastoral ministry, Sally Azar. I invite you to join in the celebration by watching this short documentary about what women’s ordination means for the ELCJHL, and the livestream of the ordination service, which will begin at 7 a.m.…

​CHICAGO — The ELCA Foundation is pleased to announce a new partnership with the investment consulting firm Fund Evaluation Group LLC (FEG). Previously, the Foundation worked with Graystone Consulting to provide reporting and oversight of three core portfolios — the Ministry Growth Fund, Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Trusts. The decision to switch providers was driven mainly by a desire to enhance the…

​We stand together as Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders in the United States to condemn the recent rise in anti-Christian hate in Israel, including the vandalism of a Protestant cemetery on Jan. 1, and graffiti threatening “Death to Christians” that appeared last week both in and near the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem. These and other actions taken to erase the presence of…

​CHICAGO — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Formation Lab Project. The goal of the project is to help congregations move past prescriptive, outdated models of youth ministry that often separate youth from the vital faith practices they need if they are to embrace God as the center…

​WASHINGTON (Jan. 18, 2023) — The ELCA awarded Lutheran Services in America a $1 million grant over two years to deepen and extend the impact of its Results Innovation Lab, a national program dedicated to achieving equitable outcomes for 20,000 children, youth and families by 2024. This new investment will enable Lutheran Services in America, a national network of 300 health and human services…

​WASHINGTON — Theologians and scholars representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) met Dec. 6-8, 2022, to engage in an ecumenical, theological dialogue at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore. The dialogue was co-chaired by Bishop Patricia Lull of the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod (Minnesota), and Bishop Denis J. Madden of…