News

Partners

Connect with ELCA partners, networks and expressions participating in Reformation anniversary initiatives.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. The ELCA has been a member church of The Lutheran World Federation since 1988. Click here to learn more about the LWF’s plans for the 500th anniversary.

ELCA Ecumenical & Inter-Religious Relations
The 500th anniversary of the Reformation provides a unique opportunity to engage with our ecumenical and inter-religious partners. The ELCA’s six full communion partners, and numerous ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue partners, can help us to promote understanding among all of God’s children and greater unity among followers of Christ.

Augsburg Fortress
Augsburg Fortress is the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  The Augsburg Fortress divisions include: Fortress Press, Sparkhouse and Augsburg Fortress Canada.

The ELCA Wittenberg Center
Located at “the Crossroads of the Reformation,” the ELCA Wittenberg Center is a connecting point that accompanies the people and community of Wittenberg as well as providing resources for visiting groups from the U.S. and around the world.  As we move toward the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, people from around the world are visiting Reformation sites. The ELCA Wittenberg Center invites pilgrims to come and explore their faith, global Lutheran identity, and God’s mission of healing and reconciliation in the world.

ELCA synods
The ELCA’s 65 synods vary greatly in size, geography, membership, staffing and program. Our smallest synod has 30 congregations — the largest nearly 300. The synods are grouped into nine regions, which are points of connection for them and the churchwide organization. Synods unite the work of congregations within their areas, serve as regional support, and guide pastoral and other staff candidates. In order to strengthen the relationship between synod leaders and the churchwide office, many churchwide teams relate to and support the work of the synods.

ELCA seminaries
The ELCA has a long history and tradition of training and preparing pastors and other rostered leaders to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to inspire and equip members to participate in God’s work in the world.

Seminary students are introduced to a deeper study of Scripture, tradition, Lutheran Confessions and the rich history of this church while encouraging humility of service and confidence in God’s power to reconcile and renew communities. They examine the complexities and questions of life, communities and the world so they can better communicate God’s living word in contexts that are always changing. Most importantly, students and leaders are called to be teachers in word and action, inviting and equipping people to participate in listening to God, each other and to the world so that together we can love and serve our neighbor with a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

ELCA colleges and universities
The 500-year-old Lutheran intellectual tradition lives on in ELCA higher education. The 26 colleges and universities of the ELCA offer both undergraduate and graduate education in the best of liberal arts, pre-professional and professional education. Our schools are dedicated to the freedom of inquiry and the development the whole person. At ELCA colleges and universities, students are educated for a sense of calling or vocation, opening the path toward a meaningful life of contribution to the common good through whatever career they choose. Learn about ELCA colleges and universities at elca.org and whygolutheran.org

ELCA congregationsELCA congregations are centers for evangelical mission, where people of faith celebrate, learn and connect with one another and others around the world through service and weekly worship. We are a church that belongs to Christ. There is a place for you among our nearly 10,000 congregations across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. For us as the ELCA, this faith comes through the good news of Jesus Christ and gives us the freedom and the courage to wonder, discover and boldly participate in what God is up to in the world.

You can find any ELCA congregation by visiting elca.org and completing a zip code search. Then, clicking on the church name listed and visit the congregational website. Many congregations now have a Reformation 500 page which provides the list of information and activities.

Evangelical Church in Germany
EKD (Geschäftsstelle der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland) sponsors the Luther Decade and the World Reformation Exhibition. Learn more about Luther Decade at Luther2017.de.en as well as other activities at r2017.org.