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Home > ELCA Current News Releases

ELCA Current News Releases

Check out in the right sidebar of this page for some recent ELCA news messages.

Also check out the below ELCA page titled “Presiding Bishop Messages and Statements”.

https://www.elca.org/Resources/Presiding-Bishop-Messages

RSS ELCA News

  • Bishop Eaton Issues Statement on Anti-Transgender Legislation March 20, 2023
    ​As we approach March 31, many people are preparing to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility, an international day to celebrate the contributions of transgender people and raise awareness about the deadly injustices they face.As bishop of this church, I am concerned that the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans have been targeted all over this […]
  • ELCA Conference of Bishops Discusses Exchangeability, Cuba and More March 10, 2023
    ​ITASCA — The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met Feb. 28–March 4 at the Eaglewood Resort in Itasca, Ill. The conference, an advisory body of the ELCA, comprises 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and the secretary.The Rev. Tracie L. Bartholomew, bishop of the ELCA New Jersey Synod and chair […]
  • A Pastoral Message in Support of our Jewish Neighbors February 24, 2023
    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 […]

ELCA News Posts

  • ELCA Social Message on Climate Care
    23 Oct 2022

    The following message has been distributed by email to ELCA members in the “Seeds Monthly” Newsletter by the ELCA National Office. Considering the current severe threats from manmade climate change, manmade environmental damage, manmade species extinction, and manmade pollution, we present this ELCA message here. “Public response period: Social message on climate care A draft of the ELCA’s forthcoming social message on climate change and how we are called to respond has been posted, and the public comment period is open through Friday, Dec. 2. This project was authorized in light of the grim contemporary situation affecting our global home and the need for fresh action on the part of this church. The draft will be edited in response to your feedback and brought to the ELCA Church Council for a vote this spring. Read the draft and provide your input.” “Climate Care Acting upon a request from several sources, in November 2021 the ELCA Church Council authorized the development of an ELCA social message on climate care. Social messages are ELCA teaching documents that address a focused social topic. Drawing from existing social teaching, they provide theological rationale and social analysis to foster discernment and engagement on a relatively narrow social issue. This project was authorized in light of the grim contemporary situation affecting our global home and the need for fresh action on the part of this church. It draws its framing themes from several social statements, particularly Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice. In line with standard ELCA protocol, the project is being shepherded by the ELCA Director for Theological Ethics, working with a lead writer in collaboration with a group of reviewers. The draft social message is now available for public feedback! Read the social message draft here and then use this survey to share your input by Friday, December 2, 2022. The draft will be edited, guided by the feedback, and presented to the ELCA Church Council to be voted on this coming spring.”  

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  • ELCA September Update: Advocacy Connections
    27 Sep 2022

    September 23, 2022, from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director (Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: September 2022) INFLATION REDUCTION ACT:  The president signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which is the culmination of months of advocacy on important priorities with Lutherans and partners from every corner of our networks. In addition to significant climate provisions, the Act will make health care more accessible for more people by continuing the Affordable Care Act subsidies and allowing the government to negotiate prices for prescription drugs in the Medicare program. It also makes changes to current tax credits that impact some homeowners and car buyers as well as shifts some longtime tax policy, particularly for some large corporations, provisions which also aim to address inflation. As a result of our sustained advocacy, the ELCA was represented by invitation to the White House by John Johnson at a reception on Sept. 14 celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Virtual relationships were deepened at this in-person event, including with staff of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. FISCAL YEAR ENDING:  The government fiscal year ends on October 1. Should a fully passed budget be absent, lawmakers are preparing a Continuing Resolution to keep federal programs funded. Extended flat funding levels will hurt low-income assistance and housing programs particularly hard due to inflation and the rising costs of housing nationwide. A Continuing Resolution extension will keep funding levels flat from the previous fiscal year. Hundreds of Lutherans have already contacted their lawmakers in Congress over the past year, urging them to prioritize passing a budget with renewed investments in homeless and housing programs. As October nears, advocates are encouraged to continue taking action with the Action Alert to urge lawmakers to prioritize those investments as soon as possible. U.S. DISASTER RESPONSE IMPROVEMENTS:  The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (S. 2471) has been included by budget appropriators in Congress as an amendment to a greater FY23 budget bill. It would authorize Community Disaster Block Grant programs, one of the top policy asks of an ELCA Action alert over the last year, among other substantial improvements. This comes as multiple communities are facing several natural disasters, such as wildfires and hurricanes, and others have failed to see adequate recovery assistance over the last year from the federal government. Though included for now, the inclusion of the amendment is expected to face challenges as the FY23 budget comes to a vote. Advocates are encouraged to take action to ensure the legislation meets final passage. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT: The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has historically been an important foreign policy and migration policy tool, ensuring that the U.S. can receive its share of the global displaced population. So far, the United States has resettled just 20,000 refugees out of a goal of 125,000. The FY23 refugee admission target still needs to be authorized by Congress. It is expected to retain a goal of 125,000 in FY23. Not including the 20,000 refugees resettled via USRAP in FY22, the country has admitted over 50,000 Ukrainians on a temporary basis through the Uniting for Ukraine initiative and over 79,000 from Afghanistan, many through humanitarian parole. With humanitarian parole, migrants are not guaranteed permanent status or access to many of benefits from other processes. Humanitarian parole has re-emerged as the most used policy option given constraints affecting USRAP and following extraordinary displacement crises like Ukraine and Afghanistan. WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON HUNGER:  In 2020, 38.2 million Americans, including 11.7 million children, lived in homes in which they were unable to always afford enough food. A White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health is scheduled on Sept. 28 presents an opportunity to make ending hunger a national priority. This is only the second time a conference focused on ending hunger has been held by the White House, following one more than 50 years ago. It has been organized to bring together Americans from all walks of life to accelerate progress in fighting hunger, diet-related diseases and health disparities. Sign up to watch the livestream from https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/white-house-conference-hunger-nutrition-and-health/ .

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  • ELCA Elects Siddiqui as Vice President
    25 Aug 2022

    Imran Siddiqui, a senior investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor, was elected vice president of the ELCA on Thursday, Aug. 11, becoming the first Asian American elected to the national post. His six-year term will begin Nov. 1, replacing interim Vice President Carlos Peña, who himself took on the role after the unexpected passing of Bill Horne in 2021. Siddiqui was elected on the fifth ballot during the Churchwide Assembly in Columbus, Ohio. The vice president is the highest-ranking lay leader of the denomination, overseeing the ELCA Church Council and serving as one of four leaders of the church. The first-generation American currently serves as vice president of the Southeastern Synod, representing Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. “It doesn’t feel real,” Siddiqui initially said of his election. “When I first thought about this and I put my name in, I was thinking, ‘Well, you know, on the pre-identification form there will probably be 50 or 60 people doing it,’ and it came out that there were 13. And I thought there’s a good chance I’m going to be in the top seven, and that’s as far as I thought.” Fifty-six candidates appeared on the first ballot, which was composed of the initial 13 nominees prior to the Churchwide Assembly and the 43 who were nominated during the first day. The voting process began Tuesday morning during the first plenary session. Each voting session began with a Taizé-like hymn sung a capella followed by a prayer for God’s guidance for deciding who will be the next lay leader of the church. Voting members nominated all the candidates, including those who filled out the nomination forms prior to the assembly, during the first ballot. Tracey Beasley, a member of Reformation Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, received the most votes on the first ballot, with 135 votes. Before the second ballot 25 people removed their name from consideration. After the second ballot, the seven remaining candidates were Beasley, Imran Siddiqui, Roberto Lara Aranda, Carla Borchardt, John Auger, Paul Archer and Clarance Smith. The seven addressed the voting members on Wednesday afternoon preceding the third ballot, where the threshold to win election dropped from 75% to a two-thirds majority. “It’s hard to comprehend. I became a Lutheran 11 years ago.” Siddiqui, a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Atlanta, acquired the most votes after the third round with 297—251 votes shy of election, with Beasley slipping to third and Lara Aranda sandwiched in between the two. The three, all people of color, entered the fourth round of balloting, which included a brief forum at the Thursday morning session. Each of the three nominees spoke on the work they intend to bring to the Church Council, the awareness of the time they must bring to this volunteer position, and the ways in which they can bring collaboration and cooperation as the lay leader of the church. After the fourth vote, Siddiqui fell 39 votes shy of election with 443 votes while Lara Aranda, a member of St. Peter Lutheran Church in New York, remained in second with 228, and Beasley missed out on consideration for the fifth vote. The last vote of the Thursday session required a simple majority, where Siddiqui secured 550 votes out of the 814 total cast, securing the election and a standing ovation from the body. “Holy crap, y’all! This is surreal,” were his first words after being elected. He thanked his family, his wife, Kendall (whom he met at St. John); Beverly Shaw, the pastor who encouraged his growth into church leadership; the other nominees who stood alongside him during the forum and the initial statements the day earlier; the other synod vice presidents for the hard work they do as lay leaders; and the assembly. “I thank you for your faith in me; I will try not to let you down,” he said. Siddiqui mentioned that while there was a bit of a “freak-out moment” with being the highest-ranking layperson in the ELCA, he sees the role as more than just being an elected official but a role among other leaders. “It’s hard to comprehend. I became a Lutheran 11 years ago and now I’m supposedly the highest-ranking layperson in the church,” he said. “That’s what the role is, as they say. But, in practicality, I chair the Church Council and on the Church Council there are a number of laypeople. The way I see leadership is more of a collaborative way.” He harkened to his experience as the vice president of the Southeastern Synod. “I may be the one who decided what moved on in the agenda, but it was far more of a collaborative effort,” he said. Making room for God’s grace During his initial speech to the assembly, Siddiqui spoke of his journey to the ELCA, his love of liturgy and the Lutheran focus of God’s grace, being a member of St. John for the past decade and how he sees society being deeply divided. “We refer to each other as immoral, evil, un-American, un-Christian.” Siddiqui spoke without singling out a side or person, talking instead about the overarching problem of demonization toward those we disagree with. He said he was confused about how anything could get done if everyone had to agree on a single position or issue. Serving on the synod council, he watched how consensus-based decision making can help navigate beyond needing to be on the same side and instead finding a common place where the group can move forward. “When we listen to each other, we found that we made room for the Holy Spirit, allowing God’s grace to work to provide holy consensus on our decisions. What a model for the world.” Siddiqui thinks there are ways to increase the conversation, both at Church Council and throughout the ELCA. “It kind of goes with if folks trust each other … to allow people to have a voice and speak about things, and then to be open to letting everyone in the room …Read More

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  • Easter Greetings from ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
    12 Apr 2022

    Dear Friends, Our Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton offers the church this Easter greeting:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1p8iOOar4E

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  • A Christmas message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
    10 Dec 2021

    Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has sent a message for this, our second Christmas touched by the pandemic. As we are actively waiting for the coming of the baby Jesus, we can pause and remember the hope that is given to us, especially in times of uncertainty. Click below to watch Bishop Eaton’s Christmas message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNji__fiYl8

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