News
By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service
New seminary leader ELCA pastor David Vásquez-Levy was elected president of the Pacific School of Religion, an ecumenical semi- nary in Berkeley, Calif., effective Jan. 1. Vásquez-Levy, a campus pastor at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, since 2001, is one of only three people of Latino/a descent to serve as president of an accredited seminary in the U.S. and its territories. The Pacific School of Religion has formal ties to the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It partners with Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and eight other schools in the Berkeley- based Graduate Theological Union.
Earthquake response
After a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Napa, Calif., in August, Napa Valley Lutheran Church reported damage to its nave and tower. Although some 200 people were injured in the quake, Julie Webb, a pastor of Napa Valley, said she was aware of only one minor injury among members. At presstime, Lutheran Disaster Response and its partner, Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, were awaiting damage assessments and “standing by to provide help to the impacted communities,” said Michael Stadie, LDR program director.
Giving ‘generously’
Nearly $25 million has been raised in the first six months of Always Being Made New: The Campaign 9
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www.thelutheran.org Ministry to same-gender couples I
n response to action by the 2013 Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA Church Council established a
working group that is exploring ministry and pastoral care for same- gender couples and their families. The group will consider and rec-
ommend to the council “appropri- ate next steps in carrying out these commitments to pastoral care for same-gender couples and their fami- lies,” said George Watson, chair of the working group. Watson, a member of St. Martin
Lutheran Church in Port Huron, Mich., and an associate member of St. James Lutheran in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., is in a same-sex rela-
tionship. He said the group is talk- ing about the lack of consensus in the ELCA regarding same-gender committed relationships, what kind of ministry can be done in varying contexts, what conversations are happening, what resources exist and “what is missing that people would find helpful.” Erma Wolf, pastor of American
Lutheran Church, Hawarden, Iowa, and a member of the working group, called it “the start of really listen- ing to one another, of speaking with lowered defenses, and of beginning to find common ground with one another while also respecting our dif- ferent convictions and perspectives.”
COURTESY OF THE ELCA YOUTH GATHERING
Gathering registration Registration for the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering opens Oct. 15 (before that date, adult lead-
ers can begin saving data on the registration site). Participants will gather July 15-19 in Detroit under the theme “Rise Up Together.” Two pre-events, the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event and the Defi nitely-abled Youth Leadership Event, will take place July 12-15. Learn more, watch a video about “Why Detroit?” and register at
www.elca.org/YouthGathering. Youth (shown above) painted a mural during the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans—such service projects will again be part of the 2015 event.
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