A smoke-free haven When Heritage Living Center, an assisted living facility in Ashland, Mont., had to evacuate residents due to a wildfire in late June, St. John’s Lutheran Ministries, Billings, stepped up help. The ELCA-affiliated social service agency arranged for 50 people (Heritage residents, staff and their family members) to stay at its new center in Red Lodge, where it provided beds, linens, medical sup- plies and activities for kids. Mike Skaggs, president and CEO of Soar- ing Eagle, which operates Heritage, told the The Billings Gazette: “They made us feel very welcome. They’ve just been fantastic.”
First United back in fold After 22 years of separation, First United Lutheran Church of San Francisco in July voted unanimously to rejoin the ELCA. It was suspended in 1990 and expelled in 1995 for ordaining an openly gay pastor. At the same time, St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco was sus- pended and expelled for ordaining an openly lesbian couple. The Sierra Pacific Synod last year invited both churches to rejoin the synod. St. Francis accepted, but First United spent the year discussing whether to return. “Opinion in the commu- nity was divided,” wrote Susan M. Strouse, United’s pastor, in her blog. “Some asked, ‘Well, why wouldn’t you?’ Others, ‘Why would you?’ ”
Hotel swaps books
Anglican church leaders condemned a Crosthwaite, Britain, hotel manag- er’s decision to replace room copies of the Gideon Bible with Fifty Shades of Grey. Vicar Michael Woodcock told The Telegraph of London that it was “very inappropriate to have [Bibles] replaced by an explicit erotic novel.” In response, Wayne Bartholomew, manager of the Dam-
son Dene Hotel, said the Bible “is full of references to sex and violence, although it’s written using more for- mal language, so [E.L.] James’ book is easier to read.” Bartholomew said Bibles are still available, upon request, at the reception desk.
Focus on suicide Jerry and Elsie Weyrauch estimate from national statistics that about 480 ELCA members die by suicide each year. The ELCA couple lost a 34-year-old physician daughter to suicide 25 years ago. Since then their volunteer-run suicide preven- tion ministry has raised the issue to a national level. Telling Secrets: A Path to Abundant Living is a five- DVD educational series from their volunteer-run ministry. Developed out of a 2010 educational course at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Marietta, Ga., the series shares personal experiences of families affected by mental illness, alcohol- ism and suicide. To learn more, email
jerryweyrauch@comcast.net.
Program touts connection A 12-day initiative called The Plunge
Ribbons make difference Caelyn Stahl of Gustavus Adolphus
Lutheran, New York City, adds a ribbon to the church’s fence. At a retreat members voiced concern about the message their fence had been sending to the community. “We are a place of life, welcome and joy,” one said. “I don’t think we appear that way to our neighbors.” A new young adult member suggested using the fence to send a welcom- ing message, so parishioners wrote on ribbons their answer to: “What do you want to tell the community about God?” One passer-by told church leaders, “I never knew this church was still open. When I walked by and saw all these ribbons, I knew I had to check it out.”
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will be held in Europe May 29-June 9, 2013, to teach adults 18 to 29 how Lutheran churches are connected throughout the world. Sponsored by the Northeastern Iowa Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario Synod, the program will give young adults from Canada and the U.S. the opportunity to visit the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches in Geneva. Then the group will travel to the Taizé Community in France for a weeklong retreat.
Poland: Church and state differ Roman Catholic bishops in Poland asked government leaders not to approve a Council of Europe con- vention prohibiting violence against women. The bishops wrote July 9 that, among other things, the docu- ment ignores differences between men and women and “suggests vio- lence toward women is systemic and has roots in religion, tradition and culture. ... Polish law has enough tools for resisting instances of vio- lence, including aggression toward
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