ELCA News

​CHICAGO — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has worked with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to repurpose $160,000 in project funding for emergency responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

In Latin America, the funding will be used for food assistance in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which have been hard-hit by the coronavirus and the resulting economic disruption that is causing increased hunger. In Africa, the support will provide improved water, sanitation and hygiene, along with personal protective equipment, to displaced communities in South Sudan. And a project in Nepal will ensure that quarantine facilities are hygienic and comfortable, and that households economically affected by COVID-19 are able to cultivate their crops and sustain their small-scale businesses.  

"Thanks to the flexibility and rapid action of our ELCA partners, Lutheran World Relief has been able to quickly ramp up these emergency responses to COVID-19," said Daniel Speckhard, LWR president and CEO.  "This is so important because COVID-19 is a major threat to the resilience and well-being of the communities where we serve. Lives will be saved as a result of this support."

"The ELCA has a tradition of standing with our global neighbors in good times and in bad," said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA. "Our partnership with Lutheran World Relief is a reflection of that strong commitment and allows us to deepen and extend it in this time of extreme crisis."

The ELCA and LWR share a long, historical relationship and a mutual commitment to companionship in mission. Through its ELCA World Hunger program, the ELCA has provided $1 million in annual support to LWR for projects that serve people and communities in various regions around the world, including Latin America, Asia and Africa.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

About Lutheran World Relief:
Founded in 1945, Lutheran World Relief collaborates with local partners to grow inclusive and climate resilient rural economies, reduce poverty, and respond to emergencies and humanitarian crises. Lutheran World Relief works in concert with Corus International, an ensemble of faith-based organizations working together in the world's most fragile settings to deliver the holistic, lasting solutions needed to overcome the interconnected challenges of poverty, health care access and climate change. 
 

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

​CHICAGO — The Rev. Virginia S. Aebischer, Columbia, S.C., was elected July 25 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the South Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during an online synod assembly.

Aebischer was elected on the fifth ballot, with 280 votes. The Rev. Jacqueline Utley, pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church in Columbia, received 211 votes.

The bishop-elect has served as assistant to the bishop since 2008. She served as pastor of Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church in West Columbia, S.C., from 2001 to 2008, and as pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Charleston, S.C., from 1989 to 2001.

Aebischer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Upsala College in 1983 and a Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, in Columbia, in 1989. Upsala College was a Lutheran college in East Orange, N.J. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary is one of seven ELCA seminaries.

Aebischer will take office on Sept. 1. Her installation is scheduled for Sept. 19.

The Rev. Herman Yoos has served as bishop of the South Carolina Synod since 2008 and will retire Aug. 31.

Information about the South Carolina Synod is available at scsynod.com/.

 
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
 

​CHICAGO — The Rev. Craig A. Schweitzer, Bismarck, N.D., was elected July 17 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Western North Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during an online synod assembly. An in-person synod gathering had been scheduled earlier in the spring, but concerns about COVID-19 led the Synod Council to move the gathering to an online format. Schweitzer is the first bishop in the ELCA to be elected in an online assembly.

Schweitzer was elected on the sixth ballot, with 165 votes. The Rev. Desireé Uhrich, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Minot, N.D., received 120 votes.

Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bismarck since 2014, Schweitzer served as the congregation's associate pastor from 2010 to 2014 and as its worship and music minister from 2002 to 2010.

Schweitzer received a Master of Science in strategic leadership from the University of Mary in Bismarck in 2015. He holds a certificate degree from the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., and was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament in 2010. Luther and Pacific Lutheran are two of seven ELCA seminaries. California Lutheran is one of 26 colleges and universities of the ELCA.

Schweitzer will assume office on or before Sept. 1. His installation is scheduled for Nov. 1.

The Rev. David B. Zellmer has served as interim bishop since February 2020. The Rev. Mark Narum served as bishop from 2008 to February 2020.

Information about the Western North Dakota Synod is available at wndsynod.org/.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

​CHICAGO — This week, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) unveiled a new, innovative design for the future of the church that will ensure the answering of God's call to invite more into the way of Jesus. This design will focus on attracting young, diverse people to position the ELCA for the future.

"The world has changed but the message of the gospel has not," said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop. "What needs to change is the way the church engages the world to invite more people into the way of Jesus – the way of love, grace and justice. This new design positions the ELCA to accomplish this mission."

The ELCA is one church body organized in three expressions – congregations, synods and the churchwide organization. In this new design, these three interdependent expressions will work holistically to bring the gospel to the world. Staff from the churchwide organization will be aligned around the design for the launch in early 2021.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

​CHICAGO  — The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), calls on the church to join with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and faith communities around the world for a day of mourning on Friday, July 24.

The observance was called for in the July 19 encyclical from His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the bishops of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. It is in response to the decision by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey to convert the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from a museum, its long-term status, to a mosque.

"We join with the Orthodox Christian family in mourning the Turkish government's actions to make the Hagia Sophia a mosque," Eaton said. "We share in their grief over this painful transition, which is set to occur on July 24, and commit ourselves to unrelenting prayer. We also will continue to speak out in solidarity with all people who are committed to restoring this sanctuary's unifying purpose as a museum."

Hagia Sophia was the preeminent basilica of the Christian world for nearly a thousand years, and the announced change of purpose is a source of significant pain for the Orthodox Christian family. 

In a July 14 statement, the ELCA denounced Erdoğan's decision, joining the voices of religious groups worldwide including the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Vatican, the Lutheran World Federation and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

"With our Christian family, and with our Muslim neighbors, we remain united in our efforts to thwart that which would seek to divide us," Eaton said. "The whole human family stands to benefit when the Hagia Sophia serves not only as a site for holy pilgrimage but as a sacred place for encounter and exchange among peoples of different religions and cultures."

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary
(Psalm 28:2).

 
On Friday, July 10, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey announced his decision to convert the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from its long-term status as a museum to a mosque. This decision will have negative repercussions on interreligious dialogue and coexistence worldwide. As the Byzantine structure was originally the pre-eminent basilica of the Christian world for nearly one thousand years, its announced change of purpose is also a source of significant pain for the Orthodox Christian family.  

"As a church, we join with our Christian family and our Muslim neighbors in calling for the Hagia Sophia to remain a museum," said ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. "Turning it back into a mosque is not only a return to divisive history but an erasure of a living religious and spiritual expression. The whole human family stands to benefit when the Hagia Sophia serves not only as a site for holy pilgrimage but as a sacred place for encounter and exchange among peoples of different religions and cultures."

Since Erdoğan's announcement, the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Orthodox Churches worldwide, the Vatican, and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA have decried the decision and called for its reversal. The voices of Christians worldwide are united in lament, prayer and protest. 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joins the global ecumenical family in calling on the Turkish government to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum rather than converting it into a mosque. Heeding the call of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, we urge our elected leaders to appeal to the Turkish government to maintain the status quo for the Hagia Sophia, which "allows for the peaceful and harmonious cohabitation of nations, religions, races, and ethnicities."

The Islamic Society of North America, a key interreligious partner of the ELCA, has also condemned this action as a threat to peaceful relations and dialogue between Christians and Muslims. ISNA President Dr. Sayyid Syeed wrote, "We need to work together to convince President Erdoğan not to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque in Istanbul. It is clear that our Islamic texts and the practice of the Prophet and his rightly guided Caliphs define the role of Islam as the protector of others' holy places."

"We hear the cries of those who seek God's help, and join in solidarity with all people who are committed to safeguarding this sanctuary's unifying purpose," said Bishop Eaton. "As the Christian family, and with our Muslim neighbors, we are united in our efforts to thwart that which would seek to divide us."

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org