Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
ELCA presiding bishop requests resignation of first transgender bishop
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 28, 2022
(RNS) — Bishop Megan Rohrer’s removal of a Latino pastor on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been criticized by the Asociación de Ministerios Latinos de la ELCA as showing a ‘lack of empathy and understanding toward their Latinx siblings.’
ELCA Lutherans mark 35th anniversary amid calls to expand beyond European roots
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 29, 2022
(RNS) — The denomination, born on April 30, 1987, remains one of the whitest in the country.
Catholic, Protestant groups support commission on US Indian boarding school policy
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 4, 2021
(RNS) — US Senator Elizabeth Warren and the co-chairs of the Congressional Native American Caucus reintroduced the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act on Sept. 30, which many observed as a National Day of Remembrance for US Boarding Schools.
‘We’re all interconnected’: Pagan, Christian clergy urge interfaith understanding
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 1, 2021
(RNS) — The Rev. Ethan Stark and the Rev. Andy Behrendt hosted “A Pagan and a Pastor: A Necessary Conversation” to address some frequently asked questions about their faiths and misperceptions each tradition has about the other.
On day of remembrance, churches confront their role in Indigenous boarding schools
By Emily McFarlan Miller — September 30, 2021
CHICAGO (RNS) — Several US mainline denominations — including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church — encouraged their members to observe a day of remembrance for US Indian boarding schools on Sept. 30.
Evangelical Lutheran church installs 1st transgender bishop
By Associated Press — September 13, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Rev. Megan Rohrer will lead one of the church’s 65 synods, overseeing nearly 200 congregations in Northern California and northern Nevada.
Nadia Bolz-Weber installed as ELCA’s first pastor of public witness
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 23, 2021
(RNS) — 'We are acknowledging that Nadia has a ministry that goes far beyond the walls of any one church,' the installing bishop told RNS.
Lutheran World Federation elects first female general secretary to lead global communion
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 21, 2021
(RNS) — In addition to being the first woman, the Rev. Anne Burghardt's election makes her the first pastor from Central and Eastern Europe to lead the LWF.
First ELCA transgender bishop, Megan Rohrer, hopes to ‘translate good news’ for the curious
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 11, 2021
(RNS) — That’s been the focus of Rohrer’s ministry, first as the executive director of a nonprofit serving the homeless and hungry in San Francisco and now as bishop-elect of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA.
Lutherans elect Megan Rohrer first transgender bishop
By Paul O'Donnell — May 9, 2021
(RNS) — The San Francisco pastor is the first transgender person to be elected bishop in the denomination or in any of the US' major Christian faiths.
At second Easter under pandemic rules, Christians glimpse church’s future
By Adelle M. Banks, Emily McFarlan Miller, Alejandra Molina, Bob Smietana, and Yonat Shimron — April 2, 2021
(RNS) — The pandemic has 'redefined for me what church is going to be like and what the definition of membership is,' said one pastor in North Carolina.
ELCA leaders call on Congress to pass US Citizenship Act of 2021 in new letter
By Emily McFarlan Miller — March 4, 2021
(RNS) — Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America threw their support behind what they called ‘fair and compassionate transformations to our nation’s broken immigration system.’
What next? Christian leaders offer advice for confronting Christian nationalism
By Emily McFarlan Miller and Adelle M. Banks — January 28, 2021
(RNS) — One good first step for Christians is to learn more about Christian nationalism — and why it conflicts with Christianity.
Martin Luther’s pandemic advice goes viral — 500 years later
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 20, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — Luther's advice was the subject of a lunch-and-learn session hosted Friday on Zoom by Good Shepherd Church, a congregation in suburban Naperville affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Vote, pray, wait: Faith leaders reassure congregations, call for full vote count as election remains uncertain
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 4, 2020
(RNS) — Clergy, houses of worship and faith-based organizations have been preparing their members for a long wait for election results.
