wfn.org | The Lutheran Magazine Names Top Stories of 1998

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 18, 1998

THE LUTHERAN MAGAZINE NAMES TOP STORIES OF 1998
98-249-WT

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran, magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), has named eight "top religion stories in the
world" for 1998 and five "top religion stories in the ELCA."  The lists
were compiled by Willmar Thorkelson, a free-lance writer in Minneapolis,
and published in the magazine's January 1999 issue.

TOP RELIGION STORIES IN THE WORLD

1 - Some religious leaders urged President Clinton to resign after news of
the alleged White House sex and perjury scandal.
2 - Anglican bishops from around the world declared homosexual activity to
be "incompatible" with Scripture at last summer's Lambeth Conference.
3 - John Hume and David Trimble were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for
contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process.
4 - The Supreme Court let stand a Wisconsin court ruling upholding the
constitutionality of a tax-financed voucher program for Milwaukee
parochial schools.
5 - Following 30 years of conversation, Lutheran and Roman Catholic
theologians reached "a consensus in the basic truths of the doctrine of
justification."  While the Lutheran World Federation approved the "Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification," the Catholic response was
ambiguous.  Efforts at clarity between the Vatican and the LWF continue. 
A signing is hoped for in 1999.
6 - The Vatican invited historians and other experts to evaluate the
Inquisition -- the church tribunals from the 13th to the 19th centuries
that tried suspected heretics.
7 - Henry J. Lyons, beleaguered president of the National Baptist
Convention, U.S.A., was forgiven by his board and wife after he confessed
to an "inappropriate" relationship with a female employee.  He still faces
charges of using his position to steal millions of dollars from big
corporations.
8 - Representatives of 15 self-governing bodies of Eastern Orthodoxy
recommended that the churches "express concern" about the World Council of
Churches by shunning some aspects of the December assembly in Harare,
Zimbabwe, especially the worship services and common prayers.

TOP RELIGION STORIES IN THE ELCA

1 - The ELCA and three Reformed church bodies -- the Reformed Church in
America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ --
celebrated "full communion" at an October service in Chicago.
2 - Eight struggling churches on Chicago's North Side merged.  Other U.S.
congregations are doing the same.
3 - Tornadoes, flooding and storms set a record for disasters to which
Lutheran Disaster Response dispatched resources.
4 - The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod expressed "deep regret and profound
disagreement" with ecumenical initiatives taken at the ELCA 1997
Churchwide Assembly.  Later, top ELCA and LCMS leaders announced plans to
hold theological discussions.
5 - Total receipts by ELCA congregations during 1997 topped $2 billion for
the first time.  But membership and the number of congregations were down. 
Baptized membership declined slightly by 2,308 to 5,185,000.

For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director (773) 380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html