Bishop Hanson Calls for Gaza Ceasefire; Bishops Prep for Visit

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson said the ELCA joins with all who call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and southern Israel, he wrote in a Dec. 31 pastoral letter. Hanson made the comments as the ELCA Conference of Bishops and bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada prepare to visit the Middle East. 

Read statement  |  News release  |  Blog

Bishop Joins Jerusalem Church Leaders in Calling for Peace

Prominent Christian leaders around the world are calling for an end to the violence that erupted in Gaza during the Christmas season. Patriarchs, bishops and the heads of Christian church bodies in Jerusalem issued a statement Dec. 30 urging an end to the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in hundreds of deaths. The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, signed the statement along with 12 others. More

God's Justice Goes Beyond "Just Us"

Teens from the Northeastern Minnesota Synod are engaged in a year of service projects leading up to the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans, July 22-26. Amanda Kurtz, 15, volunteers at a soup kitchen and at a community meal served weekly at her congregation, First Lutheran Church, Aitkin, Minn. “What we do in New Orleans is stuff we need to do everywhere in the world,” she said. “For me, it starts here in Aitkin.”  More