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The '''Evangelical Lutheran Church in America''' or '''ELCA''' is the largest Lutheran body in the United States, with 3.6 million full members in 2005, in 10,549 churches with 17,665 clergy. The 7900 Sunday Schools have an enrollment of 640,000. The ELCA membership is nationwide but is concentrated in rural areas of Pennsylvania and the Midwest. Metropolitan areas have 42% of the churches; small and medium cities have 20%, and small towns have 37%. It is a [[Mainline Protestant churches|Mainline Protestant denomination]].
The '''Evangelical Lutheran Church in America''' or '''ELCA''' is the largest Lutheran body in the United States, with 3.6 million full members in 2005, in 10,549 churches with 17,665 clergy. The 7900 Sunday Schools have an enrollment of 640,000. The ELCA membership is nationwide but is concentrated in rural areas of Pennsylvania and the Midwest. Metropolitan areas have 42% of the churches; small and medium cities have 20%, and small towns have 37%. It is a [[Mainline Protestant churches|mainline Protestant denomination]].
The bishop of St. Paul, Minnesota, Rev. Mark S. Hanson was reelected in 2007 for another six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop. The ELCA was created in 1988 after a very complex set of mergers that brought together most of the nation's Lutherans. The ELCA encompasses a very broad range of opinions and practices regarding theology, piety, and worship styles, as well as political and social views. Many members are conservative Republicans; 95% are white. ELCA is a member of the National Council of Churches and has a lobbying office in Washington called the Lutheran Office
The bishop of St. Paul, Minnesota, Rev. Mark S. Hanson was reelected in 2007 for another six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop. The ELCA was created in 1988 after a very complex set of mergers that brought together most of the nation's Lutherans. The ELCA encompasses a very broad range of opinions and practices regarding theology, piety, and worship styles, as well as political and social views. Many members are conservative Republicans; 95% are white. ELCA is a member of the National Council of Churches and has a lobbying office in Washington called the Lutheran Office
The first two denominations, along with the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (a spinoff from the Missouri Synod) merged in 1988 to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Members came primarily from German and Scandinavian immigrant stock. Two conservative bodies, The [[Lutheran Church Missouri Synod]] and the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] did not join. The term "Evangelical" in the name stems from old Lutheran traditions and does not mean the church is associated with the modern Evangelical or Fundamentalist movements.
The first two denominations, along with the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (a spinoff from the Missouri Synod) merged in 1988 to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Members came primarily from German and Scandinavian immigrant stock. Two conservative bodies, The [[Lutheran Church Missouri Synod]] and the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] did not join. The term "Evangelical" in the name stems from old Lutheran traditions and does not mean the church is associated with the modern Evangelical or Fundamentalist movements.
==Beliefs==
Lutherans within ELCA believe:
{{cquote|
*We are saved by the grace of God alone -- not by anything we do;
*Our salvation is through faith alone -- a confident trust in God, who in Christ promises us forgiveness, life and salvation; and
*The Bible is the norm for faith and life -- the true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.<ref>[http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/The-Basics/What-Lutherans-Believe.aspx What Lutherans Believe] elca.com, retrieved September 15, 2011</ref>
}}
==Clergy==
==Clergy==
* Kleingartner, Connie Marie. "Honoring Our Past, Embracing Our Future: A Qualitative View of First-Wave Women Clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." PhD U. of St. Thomas, St. Paul 1999. 180 pp. DAI 2001 61(7): 2765-2766-A. DA9980866
* Kleingartner, Connie Marie. "Honoring Our Past, Embracing Our Future: A Qualitative View of First-Wave Women Clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." PhD U. of St. Thomas, St. Paul 1999. 180 pp. DAI 2001 61(7): 2765-2766-A. DA9980866
* Trexler, Edgar R. ''Anatomy of a merger: people, dynamics, and decisions that shaped the ELCA'' (1992) 286 pages
* Trexler, Edgar R. ''Anatomy of a merger: people, dynamics, and decisions that shaped the ELCA'' (1992) 286 pages
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