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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 15, 2002

LUTHERAN COLLEGE STUDENTS GATHER IN THE DESERT
02-11-SP*

     PHOENIX (ELCA) -- Lutheran students from across the United
States met here Dec. 28-Jan. 1 for the annual National Gathering for
Lutheran College and University Students hosted by the Lutheran
Student Movement-USA (LSM).  The gathering brought about 550 students
and campus ministry staff to the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort
here.
     LSM is an organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and other interested students who
attend public, Lutheran and other private colleges and universities.
     Meeting under the theme "Into the Desert," students were called
to "pray, listen and rejoice," hear speakers, worship, participate in
workshops and engage in small group discussions.
     The Rev. Michael J. Neils, bishop of the ELCA Grand Canyon
Synod, Phoenix, preached at the gathering's opening worship.  Neils
spoke on the biblical story of Jesus fleeing from Egypt with his
family to escape death by King Herod, and how people today have
insecurities like Herod did.  "This sort of treachery still goes on,"
Neils said, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  "The
innocent are still slaughtered."
     David Douglas, author of "Wilderness Sojourn: Notes in the
Desert Silence," was the gathering's keynote speaker.  A writer on
religious and environmental issues, Douglas encouraged students to
adopt a "wilderness spirituality" -- finding in wilderness areas such
spiritual values as silence, solitude, awe and gratitude, beyond the
typical recreational values of these areas.  "They create within us a
sense of dependence on God and prayer," Douglas said.  "God has used
wilderness to draw us closer to God," he said, citing how God used
the wilderness in the lives of key people in the Bible.
     Douglas is founder of Waterlines, a charitable organization
that helps rural communities in developing countries through the
construction of small-scale water systems.  In a second keynote
address, Douglas spoke to students about the scarcity of clean
drinking water in developing countries.
     According to Douglas, 1.2 billion people around the world do
not have clean water, and contaminated water accounts for 75 percent
of all diseases.  "Thirty thousand people a day die from contaminated
water," he said.
     Douglas encouraged students to address this issue out of their
gratitude to God for what God has provided to them.  "As Americans,
we're accustomed to having clean water at the twist of a faucet," he
said.
     He broadened the topic of water to address environmental and
associated problems and spoke of "environmental refugees."  Some 25
million people -- more than the number of the world's political
refugees -- have been expelled from their homes because their home
habitat can no longer support them, said Douglas.
     Citing the popular bumper sticker, "Think globally, act
locally," Douglas asked students to "think and act globally and
locally."
     Students participated in a community service project with the
Pima, Maricopa and Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation tribes in the Salt
River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and the Ft. McDowell Yavapai
Nation reservations in the Phoenix area.  Students were hosted by
residents of the reservations and learned about Native American
history and culture by sharing a meal and helping with maintenance of
buildings on the reservations.
     Mariah Meyer, a student at the University of Minnesota-Twin
Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, worked with a group of students who
painted the inside of a church and a house.  Her group also listened
to two speakers from different tribes, one of whom, she said, spoke
on the ties between Native American teachings and Christianity.
     "The people were very open and very grateful," said Meyer.
"They seemed really appreciative and open to us being there."
     Emily Arthur, a student at the University of North Dakota,
Grand Forks, also helped paint a church and heard residents speak
about their Native American heritage and history.  "You could tell
they were very proud of their culture and heritage.  They wanted to
share that with us.  It was really neat to see that," she said.
     During the visit, students were able to purchase handmade
crafts, such as jewelry and clothing, to support some of the
reservations' residents.
     In an LSM legislative session, participants adopted "Peace That
Passes All Understanding," a position paper regarding the war on
terrorism.  The paper addresses the U.S. military action in
Afghanistan.
     The paper calls for prayer and action through vigils, Bible
studies, letter writing, conscientious objection or nonviolent civil
disobedience.  The paper will be shared with national church and
political leaders, including President George W. Bush, members of the
U.S. Congress, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, and the
presidents of the LCMS and WELS.
     Prior to the gathering, some students painted ceramic "peace
tiles" which illustrated Lutheran students' views of world peace, to
be sent to various church leaders, including the heads of the ELCA,
LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine).
     The assembly re-elected Thomas Saul, a student at the
University of Arizona, Tucson, as LSM president for 2002.  Prior to
his first year as LSM president in 2001, Saul served as the Rocky
Mountain regional representative on LSM's National Council.
     Students participated in workshops and small-group discussions
that addressed issues such as gay and lesbian concerns, young adults
in the church, volunteer opportunities, spirituality and
relationships.
     Following the gathering, a group of 36 students participated in
a cultural immersion that involved an overnight visit to the Mexican
border area near Nogales, Ariz.  The group met with an agent of the
U.S. border patrol, spoke with migrants who have recently been sent
back to Mexico, and toured an industrial area.
     LSM awarded honorary lifetime membership, its highest award, to
three ELCA pastors for their dedication and service to the
organization.  Receiving the award were the Rev. Patricia J. Lull,
dean of students at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and former
director of ELCA campus ministry and adviser to LSM; the Rev. Alvin
M. Peterson, former campus pastor at the University of Nebraska,
Lincoln; and the Rev. John Kautz, former campus pastor of the
University of Arizona, Tucson, and LSM's Rocky Mountain regional
adviser.  Kautz also served as the gathering's worship coordinator.
     The 2002 LSM gathering will be held Dec. 28, 2002-Jan. 1, 2003,
in Albuquerque, N.M., and will be part of Celebrate IV, an ecumenical
gathering of young adults from six Protestant denominations and the
Roman Catholic Church that occurs every four years.

* Stephen H. Padre is associate director for interpretation
(Hunger/Disaster), ELCA Department for Communication.

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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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