wfn.org | ELCA Supports 41 Horizon Internships for Seminarians

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 12, 2001

ELCA SUPPORTS 41 HORIZON INTERNSHIPS FOR SEMINARIANS
01-287-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) helped arrange seminary internships in 41 churches and other
ministry settings from Oregon to the U.S. Virgin Islands and around the
world this academic year.  The ELCA Horizon Internship Program provided
the necessary funding for the internships.
     A master of divinity is the minimum degree required of ELCA
clergy.  Earning the degree usually requires a bachelor's degree and
four years of seminary education, including a parish internship during
the third year.  Horizon interns complete that third year of seminary
education with rural, urban, multicultural, mission development or
international ministries.
     Thirty-five sites in the United States and Caribbean are
participating in the ELCA's Horizon Internship program during the
2001-2002 academic year:

 + Angelica Lutheran Church, Los Angeles
 + Resurrection Lutheran Church, Oakland, Calif.
 + Central City Mission, San Bernardino, Calif.
 + Resurrection Lutheran Church, New Haven, Conn.
 + Luther Place, Washington, D.C.
 + New Hope Lutheran Church, Shoshone, Idaho
 + Chicago Uptown Ministry, Chicago
 + Cristo Rey Lutheran Church, Chicago
 + Iglesia Luterana Santa Cruz, Joliet, Ill.
 + Abundant Life Lutheran Church, Plainfield, Ill.
 + University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Mass.
 + Goodridge Lutheran Parish, Goodridge, Minn.
 + El Milagro Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
 + St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
 + Salem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
 + Norland Lutheran Church,  Paynesville, Minn.
 + Grace Lutheran Church, Camden N.J.
 + St. John Lutheran Church, Jersey City, N.J.
 + Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Bronx, N.Y.
 + Salam Arabic Church, Brooklyn, N.Y.
 + Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, Durham, N.C.
 + Sheyenne Oberon Area Ministry, Sheyenne, N.D.
 + Saint Timothy Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio
 + Trinity Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio
 + Christ Lutheran Church, Carey, Ohio
 + Faith Mission (Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio), Columbus,
Ohio
 + St. Timothy Lutheran Church (Lutheran Social Services), Columbus,
Ohio
 + Redeemer Lutheran Church, Portland, Ore.
 + Reformation Lutheran Church, Philadelphia
 + Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh
 + Peace Center, San Antonio, Texas
 + Attoway-Kimberlin Lutheran Parish, Rural Retreat, Va.
 + Christ the King Lutheran Church, Combined Locks, Wis.
 + Incarnation Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
 + Frederick Lutheran Church, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands

     Horizon internship sites in the United States and Caribbean are
approved for a two-year cycle, which may be renewed following the second
year with an updated application.
     The ELCA Division for Ministry and Division for Outreach review
and approve Horizon internship applications in consultation with a site
selection team.  They recruit and screen seminarians and congregations
to match the needs of each.
     The divisions and site selection team work closely with the
church's 10,816 congregations through 65 synods, eight seminaries and
the ELCA Division for Global Mission.
     Interns earn a stipend and may require housing, and that could be
a financial hardship for some congregations.  The responsibility for
funding a Horizon internship is normally divided equally between the
ministry site, the synod where it is located and the divisions.  The
ELCA Division for Ministry committed $150,000 and the Division for
Outreach contributed $95,000 this year to support the Horizon Internship
Program.
     The ELCA Division for Global Mission (DGM) placed interns at six
international sites:

 + Berlin, Germany -- the American Church in Berlin, an English-speaking
congregation;
 + Cairo, Egypt -- St. Andrew's United Church, includes an outreach
ministry to refugees from other African countries and dialogue with
Muslim neighbors;
 + Copenhagen, Denmark -- International Church of Copenhagen, ecumenical
congregation with members of about 25 nationalities;
 + Oslo, Norway -- The American Lutheran Congregation, members come from
more 30 countries;
 + St. Petersburg, Russia -- The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, a
Russian-language congregation; and
 + Santiago, Chile -- Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Congregacion Belen, a
two-point parish ministry with an active community ministry among
children and women.
     DGM budgets $131,000 for the International Horizon Program each
year.  It pays the intern's expenses for international travel to and
from the site, and helps with the travel expenses of a seminary director
to visit the intern.  The division provides the intern's stipend.  The
site provides housing and utilities.
     DGM selects the international sites and interviews seminarians to
match the students with the sites.
-- -- --
     The ELCA Division for Ministry maintains information about the
Horizon Internship Program at
http://www.elca.org/dm/ethnic/English/horizon.html on the ELCA Web site.

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