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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 13, 1996

LUTHERAN WOMEN STUDY PEACE
96-WO-13-FI

     MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- "Proclaim God's Peace" was the theme of the
Third Triennial Convention of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America here July 11-14.  The Bible is a logical place for about
5,700 Lutheran women to turn for guidance in their search for peace.
Three sessions delved into what the Bible says about peace, especially
in Ephesians -- a letter in the Christian New Testament.
     The Rev. Lowell Erdahl, former bishop of the ELCA's Saint Paul
Area Synod, referred to St. Paul's description of the world driven by
greed.  "That is not the way you learned Christ!" he quoted.
     Fifty years ago, when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, "it was a great time of celebration," he recalled.  Erdahl
has reflected on those emotions ever since.  "We should stop, at
least, celebrating violence."
     "We still condone some forms of violence without asking," said
Erdahl.  "Television is not a means of entertainment.  It's a means of
providing an audience for advertisers.  That's done largely through
sex and violence."
     The Rev. Ann Svennungsen, Trinity Lutheran Church, Moorhead,
Minn., asked, "Can you picture a place where you have felt completely
welcomed and at home?"  She read from the Bible, "You are no longer
strangers and aliens ... but members of the household of God."
     "We celebrate the reconciling work of Christ that extends to the
whole household of creation," said Svennungsen.  "We know peace when
we recognize that our whole lives are lived in the embrace of a loving
God."
     The Rev. Valerie Ann Brown, Faith Lutheran Church, Coon Rapids,
Minn., said people can influence their communities by the way they
live.  "If we want to proclaim God's peace, we do it in small ways,"
she said.  "It's not something that  someone else' does."
     Brown read from the Bible, "As shoes for your feet, put on
whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace."  She
said, "We are people with feet set on the path of life."
     U.S. currency bears the motto "In God we trust," so the resources
that currency represents should be used to promote God's peace
regardless of any financial risk, said Brown. "We must base our
actions and our policies on the well-being of the world community,"she
added.

    For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service,
  (312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955; Lia
Christiansen, Asst. Dir.,
     (312) 380-2956