News
By ELCA publications staff and Religion News Service
ELCA Credit Union opens
The ELCA Federal Credit Union celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 6 at its headquarters in the Lutheran Center in Chicago. It is the fi rst credit union chartered by the National Credit Union Administration to open in Illinois in 10 years. The institution serves ELCA members, synod employees, congregations and ELCA- related ministries.
“This is responsible stewardship,” said Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton at the ribbon cutting. “It makes services available to everyone. The ELCA credit union is socially responsible and is a great benefi t not only to members of the ELCA churchwide organization but to all our members across the church.”
N.C. Synod rejects house bill On June 4 voting members of the North Carolina Synod Assembly voted to call on their state legislature to repeal House Bill 2 (HB2). The assembly, representing more than 200 congregations, said the bill discriminates against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the working poor, and it creates a “hostile community atmosphere,” reported The Charlotte Observer. HB2, also known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, prevents transgender people from using public restrooms of the gender with which they identify, limits how certain claims of discrimination can be pursued, and prevents cities and counties from setting a minimum wage standard for private employers.
WELCA at White House Linda Post Bushkofsky, executive director of Women of the ELCA, was invited to attend the White House’s United State of Women Summit in June. Post Bushkofsky was nominated to the summit by the Women’s Funding Network, of which Women of the ELCA is a member. The event covered gender equality issues such as economic empowerment, health and wellness, violence against women, and entrepreneurship and innovation.
8 JULY 2016
Eva Roby, president and CEO of the ELCA Mission Investment Fund (left), welcomes Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton at the grand opening of the ELCA Credit Union. Also pictured are Luis Reyes, vice president and chief operations offi cer of the ELCA Credit Union, and Donald Hallberg, chair of the ELCA Credit Union board (right).
Latvia ordains only men On June 3 the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (ELCL) approved a motion to change its constitution, restricting service in the ordained ministry to men only. The Latvian church is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, of which more than 80 percent of member churches ordain women. In an offi cial statement, the LWF said it “is saddened to see the ELCL depart from a shared journey and common practice among LWF member churches. The LWF expresses its solidarity to women, who by virtue of this decision may feel marginalized and hurt in their dignity.” Going forward, LWF representatives will discuss with the Latvian church the implications of this decision.
Catholic priest brings wife to new call Upon beginning his call as a priest at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, Marysville, Wash., Tom McMichael had an unusual announcement to make to his parish—he was bringing along his wife. A former Lutheran pastor for 17 years, McMichael converted to Catholicism and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 2009. He is now one of about 200 Latin rite married priests in the United States. Most are former Lutheran and Episcopal clergy.
Photo: ELCA/Brett Nelson
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