wfn.org | News in brief

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

 ... Archives of Luther descendants inaugurated. The new archives of Luther
descendants have been inaugurated in Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. They
house genealogical tables, brochures, books and other written materials
belonging to the "Lutherids" association, founded in Eisenach in 1926 and
grouping the descendants of the German Reformer from throughout the world.
Henceforth the Zeitz municipal library will be in charge of the archives
for conservation and scholarly pursuits. The inauguration of the archives
coincided with this year's three-day "Family Gathering of Lutherids".
Besides the cathedral of SS Peter and Paul in Zeitz, where, in 1542, Luther
installed his friend Nikolaus von Amsdorf as Protestant bishop, of
particular significance in the town is the house where the last three
descendants of the Reformer lived before the male Luther branch became
extinct in the 18th century in the sixth generation.

 ... United States bishop issues statement on "crisis in the presidency".
The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, H.
George Anderson, in a statement on "crisis in the presidency", calls upon
the people in the United States to "pray for wisdom and courage, both for
our leaders and for ourselves". Alluding to the debate within the U.S.
Congress set in motion by the publication of Special Prosecutor Kenneth
Starr's report, the bishop appealed for insistence upon a "fair and
bipartisan deliberative process". While recalling that the constitutional
process will ultimately decide the president's fitness to serve, Anderson
stated unequivocally, "To our president the Church extends the promise of
God's forgiveness."

 ... Churches urge Canadian government to end gambling. Eighteen Canadian
church leaders have sent a letter to the Canadian justice minister calling
for an independent review of state-sponsored gambling. David Pfrimmer, of
the Lutheran Office for Public Policy, commented, "What's remarkable is the
unanimous ecumenical consensus among the Christian churches in Canada that
state sponsored gambling is bad public policy, bad economics and bad public
morality." An independent body should be set up "to review the social,
economic and legal impact of the legal and illegal gambling and charitable
gaming in Canada, and to make recommendations regarding public policy."
While almost half of the USD 1.75 billion in gambling profits each year
goes into public treasuries, the average Canadian household is gambling
some USD 840 per year, and each problem gambler costs the tax payers about
USD 40,000 annually.

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/