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| News Blog The ELCA News Blog is intended to provide short, quick updates on ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is a supplement to more detailed news releases produced by the ELCA News Service, which can be found here. Wallis to lecture on 'prophetic politics' at Trinity Lutheran Seminary by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service "The Meaning of Prophetic Politics in an Election Year" is the theme of Trinity Days 2008 at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Trinity is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Rev. Jim Wallis, editor-in-chief, Sojourners magazine, Washington, D.C., will present the 2008 Kantonen Lecture on Sept. 25. He is the president and chief executive office of Sojourners ministries, with a mission "to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church and the world." Raised in Detroit, Wallis attended Michigan State University, East Lansing, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill. In the early 1970s Sojourners ministries grew out of discussions among fellow seminarians about the relationship between their faith and political issues. With November elections approaching in the United States, Wallis will engage a Trinity Lutheran Seminary audience in the meaning of "prophetic politics." Print | Comment | Permalink by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Valparaiso (Ind.) University appointed the Rev. Darlene E. Grega, Trinity Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio, to serve as an associate pastor of its Chapel of the Resurrection beginning Aug. 23. She joins the Rev. Joseph R. Cunningham, university pastor and dean of the Chapel, and the Rev. James A. Wetzstein, university associate pastor and associate dean of the Chapel. Cunningham and Wetzstein are pastors of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Grega, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is the first non-LCMS pastor on the Chapel staff. Valparaiso University is an independent Lutheran institution. Grega, 53, was born in Cleveland and graduated from Valparaiso University and the Lutheran Deaconess Program housed on campus. She earned a master of arts degree in theology from Duke University, Durham, N.C.; a master of arts degree in counseling from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks; and a master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Grega brings 25 years of experience in higher education to Valparaiso. She was director of international students at St. Cloud (Minn.) State University and director of the international center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. She also has nine years of experience in campus ministry at colleges and universities in North Carolina, Minnesota and Texas. "We are delighted that Rev. Grega has accepted the call to join the ministry team at the Chapel of the Resurrection," Cunningham said in a Valparaiso news release. "The ministry of the chapel benefits from the presence of a pastor from the ELCA. There are many areas of campus ministry where Pastor Wetzstein and I are looking forward to cooperating with Pastor Grega within the guidelines of our respective church bodies." Cunningham said Grega will play a significant role in residential ministry and will be encouraged to develop new initiatives for international students at the university while collaborating with chapel staff associated with the LCMS in meeting the spiritual needs of the university community. by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northwest Synod of Wisconsin has become the first of 65 ELCA synods to earn a 2 percent discount on 2008 contributions it makes to the church's health benefits plan for its employees. The synod qualified for the discount when more than 75 percent of its employees and their spouses receiving ELCA primary health coverage completed the Mayo Clinic Health Risk Assessment. The ELCA Board of Pensions, Minneapolis, offered the assessment to ELCA plan members as a health plan benefit through its EmbodyHealth Web portal. The ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin includes 105,139 Lutherans in 211 congregations across 23 counties. The synod office is in Rice Lake. The Rev. Duane C. Pederson, bishop, ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, said the synod promoted the assessment at every synod gathering. A computer was available at the 2008 Synod Assembly for ELCA health plan members to complete the assessment on the spot. Pederson wrote to congregation presidents and sent a personal e-mail to every clergyperson in the synod encouraging them, their spouses, and their staffs to participate, according to a Board of Pensions news release. "The wellness initiative of our church is about living out healthy relationships between self, others and God," Pederson said. "God has entrusted us with the stewardship of our health." ELCA Board of Pensions is a $7 billion nonprofit corporation providing retirement, health and other benefits and related services for ELCA pastors, lay ministers, employees and their families. It has offered the health risk assessment to its plan members for four years. 2008 is the first year it is offering a financial reward to plan members and their spouses who take the assessment -- $100 into a personal wellness account to help offset medical costs. It is offering the discount to ELCA employers -- synods, institutions, churchwide organization -- as an additional incentive for plan members to complete the assessment. As of June, more than $1 million in ELCA health care contribution savings was still available for ELCA synods, seminaries and organizations that reach 75 percent health risk assessment participation. The 2008 health risk assessment closes Sept. 30 by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Western Iowa Synod will send 21 of its youth to Tanzania July 21-Aug. 13 to visit with youth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Southern Diocese, work on service projects and visit area institutions. The three-week trip will coincide with parish youth rallies in Tanzanian churches. Students will work with ELCT youth on two service projects. They will visit the Igumbilo Lutheran Girls' Secondary School, Chimala, a school started through a $25,000 donation from the ELCA Western Iowa Synod. They've also proposed a visit to the new Center for Agricultural Development, Lupembe, a partner project of the ELCA Western Iowa Synod that seeks to "improve Tanzania's capacity in sustainable agricultural development." Some of the ELCA students worked on a project to raise funds for purchasing mosquito nets to help combat malaria in Tanzania. At the ELCA Western Iowa Synod Assembly, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa, June 6-7, students collected $941 to buy nets for the approximately 500 students at the Igumbilo Lutheran Girls' Secondary School and the Ilembula Lutheran Hospital. They received $2,500 for the project from ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission. *Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA News Service. by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service The Rev. Wilma S. Kucharek was re-elected June 28 to a six-year term as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Slovak Zion Synod during the synod assembly in Union, N.J. Kucharek was re-elected on the second ballot for bishop with 48 votes. The Rev. Gary D. Schreckengost, St. John Lutheran Church, Youngstown, Ohio, received six votes, and the Rev. Matthew C. Staniz, Temple Lutheran Church, Havertown, Pa., received two votes. There were seven nominees. Kucharek, 53, was born in Johnson City, N.Y. She graduated from Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind. She earned master of divinity and master of sacred theology degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Gettysburg, Pa., one of eight ELCA seminaries. Kucharek was pastor of Holy Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Mahanoy City, Pa.; St. John Lutheran Church, St. Clair, Pa.; St. John Slovak Lutheran Church, Nanticoke, Pa.; and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Torrington, Conn. She was elected to succeed the Rev. Juan ?obrda as bishop of the ELCA Slovak Zion Synod in 2002. Kucharek is married to the Rev. Thomas J. Drobena, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. They have two sons. The ELCA Slovak Zion Synod includes approximately 4,600 baptized members in 25 congregations across seven states and one congregation in Ontario. It is the only ELCA synod organized on an ethnic basis, with historic roots in Slovakia and the surrounding regions of Eastern Europe. The synod office is in Torrington. *Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA News Service. by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service Mountain View Lutheran Church, Edgewood, Wash., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was one of six Christian churches awarded "Cultures of Call" grants from the Fund for Theological Education (FTE), Atlanta. According to FTE, the grant "provides financial support for activities and reflection designed to help congregations nurture the principles and practices that support vocational discernment" and the call to ministry, particularly among youth and young adults. Mountain View received $12,000 for its initiative, "Called by Name: Vocation and God's Sense of Call," which is comprised of a children, youth and family ministry; annual congregation retreats; and an educational center for pastors and lay leaders. As part of its ministry, Mountain View plans to hold biannual events, beginning Oct. 10 with "Dream-Discover-Discern," focusing on challenges facing churches and opportunities for youth and family involvement. FTE awards grants from $3,000 to $12,000 through its Calling Congregations initiative. It plans to award nearly $300,000 by 2009. The ELCA is one of five Christian denominations represented among the congregations that received grants. *Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA News Service. by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service The Small Town and Rural (STaR) Ministry Alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will hold its annual gathering July 16-19 at Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb. "The annual gathering provides a place where participants hear, witness and learn about concrete models of hope," said Sandra A. LaBlanc, Des Moines, Iowa, director for rural ministry networking and resourcing, STaR, ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission (EOCM). The theme for this year's gathering is "Wellness of body, mind and spirit." Three speakers will be featured at the event: the Rev. Harry Wendt, president and founder of Crossways International, Minneapolis; the Rev. Kathryn Love, director for prayer and renewal and associate director for evangelism, EOCM; and Arvel Bird, award-winning instrumentalist and winner of the 2007 Artist of the Year award from the Native American Music Awards. "Each workshop, presentation and exhibit contains tangible models of hope that you can use or adapt in your own ministry setting," LaBlanc said. Affinity groups, which are groups that focus on specific topics important to rural congregations and communities, will meet. This year's schedule will include a "wellness minute" before each keynote and two workshops on financial health and physical wellness provided by the ELCA Board of Pensions. *Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA News Service. |
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