wfn.org | Mission Development, Justice Issues Highlight GME Workshops

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 11, 1999

MISSION DEVELOPMENT,  JUSTICE ISSUES HIGHLIGHT GME WORKSHOPS
99-204-JB

     LINCOLN, NEB. (ELCA) -- More than 70 workshops and seminars, known
as the "Global University" highlighted a variety of Christian concerns
at this summer's Global Mission Events (GMEs).  The annual events, which
highlight domestic and international ministries of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), are sponsored by the ELCA Division
for Global Mission with support from several other church units and
local organizing committees.
     More than 2,400 people attended the 1999 GMEs held at Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Ind., the Marriott World Center, Orlando,
Fla., and here at the University of Nebraska.
     The theme of this year's GMEs, "Walking Together Into the Next
Century," was based on the Bible story in the Gospel of Luke about two
disciples on the road to Emmaus following Jesus' crucifixion.
     Workshops included discussion of mission in the 21st century,
international debt reduction, the plight of refugees, the changing face
of Lutheranism, international volunteer opportunities, understanding
Islam and the multicultural church.
     In "Between Bombs and Bread: Seeing Christ in Kosovo," Jonathan C.
Frerichs called Kosovo a "humanitarian disaster" and expressed hope that
it is the last of its kind this century.  Frerichs, who spent
considerable time in Macedonia during the crisis, is director for
communication, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), an international relief and
development ministry supported by the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri 
Synod.   He said LWR, in partnership with Action by Churches
Together (ACT), a worldwide network of churches and related agencies
meeting human need through coordinated emergency response, served people
on both sides of the conflict.
     Land mines placed on the Kosovo borders with Macedonia and Albania
are a current concern, Frerichs said.  LWR is involved in teaching
former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerillas to clear land mines, he
said.
       Land mines are a serious problem in many international "hot
spots," including Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Kosovo,
Frerichs said.  The devices are "10 percent weapons," meaning that for
every soldier they kill, they also kill nine civilians who step on them
accidentally, he said.
     "Imagine living with the thought in your mind that where you put
your foot might be your last step or the step that removes your leg from
you," Frerichs said. "The land mine crisis has its impact on people who
have to walk to make a living -- people who are farmers, people going to
market, children going to school.  It affects the poorest people in a
country disproportionately."
     An international treaty to ban land mines was recently signed by
several countries, and the United States was a notable exception,
Frerichs said.
      In her workshop, "Re-thinking Global Mission for the Next
Century," the Rev. Bonnie L. Jensen said, "4 billion of the six billion
people in the world live outside of a faith relationship with Jesus
Christ."
     "That means we have a tremendous message to share with two-thirds
of the world's people," said Jensen, executive director, ELCA Division
for Global Mission.  Many of these people are impoverished, and the
church is called to serve and speak for those "who are suffering and who
are oppressed," she said.
     The United States and Caribbean make up the fourth largest mission
field in the world.  There are some 120 million people in this area who
do not have a relationship with a Christian faith community, Jensen
said.
     ELCA global relationships are significant, Jensen said.  All of
the ELCA's 65 synods relate directly to companion churches in other
countries. There are some 100 "companion relationships" with the ELCA
synods, she said.  The ELCA is also a member of the Lutheran World
Federation, a global communion of 128 Lutheran churches.
     International mission work requires "walking with" local
Christians as they create churches that are self-propagating, self-governing 
and self-supporting, Jensen said.  A new element in working
with Christians in other countries is that they are increasingly "self-articulating."
     "They are articulating what they want and how they want us to walk
with them," she said.
     The ELCA Division for Global Mission, which oversees the church's
ministry in 70 countries, needs missionaries with specific skills.
These include health workers, seminary professors, people with computer
skills and English, science and math teachers, Jensen added.
     The ELCA's domestic mission was also discussed in some workshops.
Liz Conner, director of El Centro Luterano, Lexington, Neb., presented
"One Lord, Many Colors: Hispanic Ministry in a Rural Setting."
     El Centro Luterano is a ministry that serves people from Bolivia,
Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.  Most have come to
Nebraska to work in meat packing plants.  El Centro Luterano provides
social services and offers Sunday worship services, Conner said.  The
ministry is supported by the ELCA Division for Outreach and the ELCA
Nebraska Synod.
     "These people come with a dream of bettering themselves and their
families," she said. "(They want) hope for the future and for their
children to have a better education."
     Conner, who was raised a Roman Catholic in Mexico City, became
acquainted with the Lutheran church in south Texas and was eventually
recruited to do missionary work among Spanish-speaking people in
Nebraska.  The need in the Midwest is significant, she said. In
Lexington, nearly half of the town's 10,000 people speak Spanish as
their primary language.
     "They need to hear the message of love, the message of compassion
and the message of grace," Conner said.  "This work of EL Centro
Luterano has been truly blessed by God. It's been the spirit of the Lord
that has moved it and has made it possible to flourish and continue to
grow."

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