wfn.org | ELCA Council Expresses Concern for the Well-Being of Children

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 15, 1999

ELCA COUNCIL EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN
99-15-095-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Concerned about the well-being of children, the
Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
recommended that the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopt a resolution
that will urge congregations to work toward a "Christ-centered,
positive
environment" for children in families, congregations and communities.
     The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the
legislative authority of the church between meetings of its churchwide
assembly.  The council met here April 9-12.  Assemblies are held every
other year; the next is August 16-22 in Denver.  The ELCA is made up
of
5.2 million members in 11,000 congregations in the United States and
Caribbean.
     Developed by a task force of the ELCA's initiative to help
children, the resolution calls for prayer for the well-being of all
children, especially for the "poorest and most at risk."  The ELCA
will
seek to declare its congregations as "safe havens" for all children,
developing "creative programs" to meet the needs of children in the
congregation and community with special emphasis on those who are
hungry, homeless, abused, lonely and subject to violence.
     The resolution said more than 14 million children under age 18
and
5 million under age six in the United States live in poverty,
according
to the U.S. Census Bureau, unpublished data, March 1998.  More than 4
million children experience severe to moderate hunger, and "every day
more than three children die as a result of abuse or neglect,"
according
to the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, 1996.
     The resolution calls for the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to
support public policy that advances the well-being of children and
their
families through the church's advocacy office.
     Child-care rooms will be set up at the assembly this summer for
the children of voting members, staff, visitors and volunteers.  The
rooms will be staffed primarily by trained volunteers who serve in the
Foster Share program of Lutheran Family Services of Colorado.  The
child-care rooms will model "safe havens" for children.
     "Help the Children" is one of seven ELCA "Initiatives to Prepare
for a New Century."
     In 1997 the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted seven Initiatives --
significant areas of ministry for the 21st century.  Leadership teams
were formed early last year to provide overall guidance for the work
of
congregations, the ELCA's 65 synods and churchwide organizations.
Team
leaders help provide a picture of how the church may be different as a
result of the Initiatives.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html