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By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service ELCA, LCMS leaders talk
The ELCA and Lutheran Church– Missouri Synod will continue to share information, but LCMS lead- ers said they have ended coopera- tion, particularly in chaplaincy, HIV/ AIDS ministry and national disas- ter response. Speaking Feb. 8 at the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation meeting, LCMS President Matthew C. Harrison called the situation “very sad” but said circumstances could allow cooperation on local levels. While he “regrets that the [LCMS] has taken action to discontinue our shared ministries,” ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson said “work will continue to be a priority for us as the ELCA with existing partners, and we will continue to look for ways to serve our neighbors with Lutherans and ecumenical partners.”
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ELCA Disability Ministries is accepting applications for the 2012 Accessibility Award. The ELCA annually honors a congregation for its commitment to becoming an inclusive place of worship for peo- ple with disabilities, outreach into the community to people who have disabilities and the physical acces- sibility of church building(s). For an application, visit
www.elca.org/ disability. Deadline is May 31.
ELCA, NALC leaders meet Representatives of the ELCA and the North American Lutheran Church met for the first time in February for con- versation on areas of disagreement, mutual interest and concern. The ELCA sent the invitation in response to the 2011 Churchwide Assembly,
which resolved to “strive for a mutual relationship, where possible,” with the group that formed following the 2009 Churchwide Assembly’s decisions regarding sexuality. “This meeting was not intended to, nor did the partic- ipants seek to, resolve issues between the two church bodies,” read a state- ment. “Rather, the participants sought to share and clarify disagreements to improve mutual understanding.”
AFP developer honored Bethany Stolle, senior developer for youth resources for sparkhouse, the ecumenical division of Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, received the 2011 LACE (Lutheran Association of Christian Educators) Christian Educator of the Year award. Stolle led projects such as Here We Stand Confirmation, Akaloo, ReNew for vacation Bible school and re:form.
Raheb receives peace prize The Lutheran World Federation con- gratulated Mitri Raheb, Palestinian Lutheran pastor, on winning the 2011 Deutscher Medienpreis (German Media Prize). The award recognizes both Raheb’s and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land’s peace efforts, said LWF General Secretary Martin Junge. Raheb was among four recipients of the prize awarded in Baden-Baden, Germany, in late February.
A safe place © PHOTO SERVICE - L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO 2012
ELCA, Vatican leaders meet Pope Benedict XVI (left) greets Montana Synod Bishop Jessica R. Crist, chair
of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, along with ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson during a February meeting at the Vatican. Hanson shared with the pope a sense of urgency between Lutherans and Roman Catholics in respond- ing to the “great needs of poverty and human care” in the world. The ELCA and its predecessor church bodies have been in active dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church since the 1960s.
8 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Celebration Lutheran Church, Char- don, Ohio, provided a safe place for teenagers to gather and process the Feb. 27 shooting at a local high school. While the victims were not parishioners, Laura Barbin, pastor, said, “Our members know their fami- lies. Chardon is a small community, and we know one another.” Celebra- tion gathered for prayer on the day of the shooting and participated in a Feb. 28 ecumenical service.
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