wfn.org | ELCA Assembly Receives Rural Summit Report

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 12, 2001

ELCA ASSEMBLY RECEIVES RURAL SUMMIT REPORT
01-CWA46-LS

     INDIANAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Leaders from Lutheran social ministry
groups and national farm organizations gathered earlier this year for a
first-ever rural summit to discuss the state of U.S. agriculture. Sandra
LaBlanc, ELCA director for rural ministry resources and networking,
reported on the summit in a rural ministry update at the 2001 ELCA
churchwide assembly.
     The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the
ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 8-14 at the Indiana Convention Center.  There
are more than 2,000 people participating, including 1,040 ELCA voting
members.  The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known:
Sharing Faith in a New Century."
     More than 60 people gathered for the summit to share "thoughts,
concerns and ideas," said LaBlanc. The summit was held in March at the
Lutheran Center in Chicago.  Presidents of the three major farm
organizations attended, including the American Farm Bureau Federation,
Park Ridge, Ill.; the National Farmers Organization, Ames, Iowa; and the
National Farmers Union, Denver, Colo. The presidents have more in common
than agriculture expertise. "All three presidents of the major farm
organizations are ELCA members. What are the odds?" LaBlanc said.
     Summit participants included traditional farm organizations,
"minority" farm groups, Catholic charity organizations, women's groups
and rural specialists, LaBlanc said. "People from diverse backgrounds
listened within the context of the church," she said.
     In rural communities, the church is often the place for
conversation on social issues, said LaBlanc. "This is a concrete example
of the church as a place for moral deliberation," she said.
     While leaders debated agricultural issues, rural task force groups
from several of the ELCA's 65 synods spent the day in the Lutheran
Center chapel, praying for the summit and its participants.
     LaBlanc said summit participants didn't come to any formal
agreements, but the dialogue  will continue.
     At a September 2000 meeting, the three presidents of the national
farm organizations agreed on eight key issues of rural ministry. Those
include topics such as insuring a safe food supply, providing financial
resources for rural communities and emphasizing conservation.
     LaBlanc said the ELCA is a national leader in rural life issues
and is doing advocacy on the federal government's 2002 farm bill.
-- -- --
     Information about assembly action is at
http://www.elca.org/assembly/01 on the ELCA's Web site. Recorded updates
during the assembly are available by calling 773/380-2477.

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