News

The Rev. David C. Nagler, San Diego, was elected May 20 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Pacifica Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, May 20-21 at the Irvine Marriott in Irvine, Calif.

Sierra Pacific Synod Bishop's Report to the Church After listening to the concerns of this church, careful review of the report of the Listening Team and other accompanying documents, consultation with outside legal counsel, and prayerful reflection and discernment, I have decided not to bring disciplinary charges against Bishop Rohrer....

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (John 14:27).Gracious God, news of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas,...

The Rev. Paul D. Erickson, Milwaukee, was reelected May 21 to a six-year term as bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

In a May 18 letter, bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) urged congressional leaders to support the transfer of much-needed funds to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to cover debt owed to Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem.

"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?" —Jeremiah 8:22Our hearts grieve for those who have been killed and our souls cry out against more lives lost to the hatred birthed by racism. As we...

The Rev. William J. Gohl Jr., Baltimore, was reelected May 12 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Delaware-Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly May 12-14 at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Md.

The Rev. Erik Gronberg, Fort Worth, Texas, was reelected April 29 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly April 29-30 at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Dallas.

Dear Muslim neighbors, Greetings to you for a joyous Eid al-Fitr. On this blessed occasion, I write to share "A Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Muslim Community." Through this message to you, we recommit ourselves to the heart of both our theological traditions: love of...

The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met March 31–April 2. The council, which serves as the ELCA's board of directors, took action on a variety of matters before this church. Among them were preparations for the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, to be held Aug. 8-12 in Columbus, Ohio.

The ELCA has announced that the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering will be held in New Orleans, July 16-20.The Gathering pre-events — the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the tAble, the ELCA gathering for youth living with disabilities — will be held July 13-16.

March 24, 2022For those of you who are wondering about the particulars of the process to address the issues that arose in the Sierra Pacific Synod, I want to give you an update on the ways in which we are moving forward.I have selected members of a Listening Team who...

Immanuel, God with us, we pray for the world and the plague that racism has brought upon your people, destroying nations and erasing identities. As a church, we recognize our own complicity in racial discrimination, acknowledging the pain that we have caused to our fellow siblings in Christ. Release the...

Listening Panel regarding Bishop Megan RohrerMarch 8, 2022"Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is...

The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, along with ecumenical and inter-religious partners, has issued an interfaith call to peace for Ukraine.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has announced that the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering has been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, the recent COVID-19 surge and public health considerations. The Gathering pre-events — the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the tAble, the ELCA gathering for youth with disabilities — have also been canceled.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9).I watch with grave concern as tensions continue between Russia and Ukraine, and I fervently pray that a peaceful resolution to the conflict will be reached. I affirm the statement of the Lutheran World Federation's general secretary,...

The ELCA introduces "Now Is the Time: A Study Guide for ELCA Declaration to People of African Descent" to help congregations wrestle with the meaning of the declaration, adopted at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly, and its accompanying explanation.

"Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain" (Isaiah 40:4).Eighty years ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was tragically transformed from an island paradise into a bloody battlefield. After...

In response to the verdicts in the trial of Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William Bryan in Brunswick, Ga., for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, we offer a word of prayer and healing. We pray for Arbery's family because no verdict can ease the pain and suffering of the murder...