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ELCA Board of Pensions is now Portico T


he ELCA Church Council amended a continuing resolu- tion in the constitution to reflect the Board of Pensions’ name change to Portico Benefit Services. Board trustees unanimously approved the switch at their November meeting. Under the name of Portico Bene-


fit Services, the Minneapolis-based ministry will continue to provide health, retirement, disability and survivor benefits and related ser- vices for 50,000 active and retired ELCA pastors, rostered laity, lay employees and their families. The new name is grounded in Scripture. Jesus taught in the por- tico of Solomon’s temple (John 10:22-28). Portico references can also be found in Acts 3 and 5. The change comes after conver- sations with plan members, church leaders, branding experts and oth- ers, Portico President and CEO Jef- frey Thiemann told the council. “As a separately incorporated ministry of the ELCA, maintain-


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ing economies of scale enables us to better serve our ELCA constitu- ents,” Thiemann told The Lutheran. Widening the pool to ecumeni- cal partners could, for example, “help us negotiate rates and offer resources not otherwise available to small employers. By doing what we do for the ELCA and for other faith-based organizations, we serve the wider church and we serve the ELCA better,” he said.


In 2005, with an eye to this possibility, the council approved expanding eligibility provisions to include ecumenical partner con- gregations and former ELCA con- gregations that leave the denomi- nation on or after Jan. 1, 2005. Thiemann said benefits will


continue without interruption and members will notice a gradual change to the new name over the next year as existing materials are used, not discarded. Learn more at www.ELCAbop. org/name.


THE LUTHERAN STANDARD/COURTESY ELCA ARCHIVES


seat belt from his list of worries. The city of Freiburg, Germany, threw out charges against “Mr. Joseph Ratz- inger” (the German-born pope’s given name) for riding in his pope- mobile without a seat belt during a visit in September. The plaintiff who brought the charges said he wanted to raise awareness of the seat belt law. The charges were quashed because the street on which the pope traveled was closed to public traffic.


Pastor runs for Congress Angela Zimmann, an ELCA pas- tor, in November announced her bid for U.S. Congress. Zimmann, 38, launched her candidacy from her home in Holland, Ohio, surrounded by supporters who brought nonper- ishable food for a pantry in keep- ing with her philosophy of “servant leadership.” Zimmann teaches in the General Studies Writing program at Bowling Green [Ohio] State Univer- sity. She’s a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and is president of the North- west Region of the Ohio School Boards Association. She is challeng- ing Bob Latta in the 5th Congressio- nal District of Ohio.


Law affects worship


Worship attendance at some of Ala- bama’s Roman Catholic congre-


The way we were: 1987 Twenty-five years ago, David Preus


(left), Will Herzfeld and James Crumley Jr., bishops of ELCA predecessor bodies, filled one communion vessel during the ELCA Constituting Convention, April 30-May 3, 1987, in Columbus, Ohio. The wine representwed the three merging church bodies that became the ELCA. Herbert W. Chilstrom, the ELCA’s first presiding bishop, looks on from behind the altar. Each month The Lutheran pub- lishes a “The way we were” historical photo at www.thelutheran.org/feature.


10 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


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