wfn.org | Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Organizations Work to Diversify

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 14, 2001

LUTHERAN OUTDOOR MINISTRY ORGANIZATIONS WORK TO DIVERSIFY
01-294-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   Lutheran camp directors and other outdoor
ministry staff from across the United States are positioning
themselves to broaden and diversify programs and leadership for
effective ministry.  About 150 outdoor ministry professionals
gathered for "Rock the Boat: Tools for a Changing World," an outdoor
ministry conference the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
hosted here Oct. 24-28.
     "Our outdoor ministry centers can be unique environments where
we can model diversity, peace and justice in community," said Mark D.
Burkhardt, director for outdoor ministries, ELCA Division for
Congregational Ministries.
     Through workshops, keynote presentations, Bible study, an
"urban hike" and visit to Hope Alive!, a volunteer program focused on
improving the quality of living in the  Cabrini Green public housing
development, participants learned more about "what it means to serve
a diverse society," Burkhardt said.
     The Rev. Carole Burns, Messiah Lutheran Church, Chicago, and
Burkhardt led a workshop on building diverse staff and boards to
serve outdoor ministry organizations across the country.
      Some board members "look alike," and "we often go back to the
same sources and geographical areas to look for people" who can fill
board vacancies, Burkhardt said.  There is little diversity in where
people come from, as well as the type of skills and experience camp
professionals bring, he said.  "Some boards are overpopulated with a
certain kind of skill set," he said.
     "Building a diverse board and staff is all about people and
relationships," according to Burkhardt, and "we have to begin by
confessing that we're uncomfortable with the idea of diversity,
unsure about where or how to start."
     Burkhardt and Burns suggested that staff and board members
begin "by building key relationships with pastors and professional
church workers" and by looking for people who have a tradition of
serving, a commitment to children, or who can identify with the
ministry's mission.
     The ability to look at concepts, systems and relationships
differently or with a "fresh new look" is an asset and skill,
according to Burns.
     "We can't assume that staff, who are entering a camp setting
for the first time, immediately understand the systems that are in
place," Burns said.  Outdoor ministry organizations must be "more
intentional about how new staff are trained," she said.
     Burns suggested that camp professionals travel to large cities
"to understand some of the challenges and contexts where some
children" live in the city.  She said it is important for children to
develop friends and familiarity with camp staff before children begin
camp.  "It's not fair for children to enter an environment they do
not understand," she said.
     Burns is a board member of the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries
Center, Oregon, Ill.  She said she's "not a camper" but is committed
to working with children.
     Kristen Kesley, Camp Onomia, Onamia, Minn., a workshop
participant, said, "Diversity should be part of the theology and
mission of the camp organization."
     The Rev. Joseph Barndt, co-founder and director of Crossroads
Ministry, Chicago, reflected on the conference theme during his
keynote presentation.
     "The 'boat' that needs to be 'rocked' is the church.  The
symbol for the church is the boat and the subject in the boat is
justice.  What is the church doing about social justice?  The ELCA
has constitutionally called itself to become multicultural, [and
that] is the issue we are most afraid of," he said.  Barndt asked
participants to think about "justice in the city as it is dealt with
by people" who are engaged in outdoor ministry.
     "The starting place for asking that question is the Bible -- an
urban handbook, a farmer's almanac and suburban handbook," he said.
"God is in the midst of the city, and the ministry of the church must
be in the city."
     Barndt offered three "biblical rocks" or assumptions for
outdoor ministry professionals "to build a foundation in the city."
The first, "God created us to be family.  One creator-parent means
that we are all sisters and brothers ... in this city and in the
world.  This relationship serves as the basis for all relationships,"
he said.
     Second, "Jesus came to restore the family and called for
justice work.  We have to take back stolen stories and reclaim a
justice-centered gospel," Barndt said.  Third, "God made sure that
everyone in this room is carried to the task [of reclaiming a
justice-centered gospel].  God has called God's people to carry out
the work of justice," he said.
     According to the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, clergy organizer,
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Los Angeles, outdoor
ministry professionals "have a unique opportunity to change society."
     "Our society has an acute hunger for escape," Salvatierra said
in an interview.  Outdoor ministry professionals "have an opportunity
to turn escape into retreat in a Christian context, an opportunity to
encounter God who [through] Moses set God's people free."  She said
camp professionals "can help people be inspired and empowered to go
back into the world and change it rather than escape it."
     "Camp professionals know how to retreat and heal the world.
They need to understand that they can help bring people to create
that healing" in the world, Salvatierra said.
     "Camps have what people need to become forces for great change.
[Outdoor ministry professionals] need intentionally to create
positive experiences [that will] yield positive change, which is
something they can do by connecting people -- an experience in itself
for social change.  They also need to create intentional
collaboration with organizations that are doing social change," she
said.
     Salvatierra added that outdoor ministries professionals do not
need to "anguish over diversity.  They are not to do this alone.
There are Hispanic, African American and other congregations and
associations that are to be involved and engaged in mutual
contribution. [Camp professionals] need to think in terms of
partnership and build relationships.  They need to change the way of
[operating] in order to welcome all people.  We are the Body of
Christ."
     The Rev. Cheryl Angela Stewart Pero, St. James Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Chicago, led Bible study.  She is also adjunct
faculty for Chicago's Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral
Education.
     Some participants attended an "urban hike" led by Deloris
Heard, Hostelling International   Chicago, which serves the
international and domestic travel community.  The walking tour
included a visit to the downtown area.  Other participants visited
Holy Family Lutheran Church and local residents in the Cabrini Green
area.
     In addition to these visits, participants engaged in an "open
forum" to share ideas about the future direction of ELCA outdoor
ministries, received a report from church outdoor ministry staff, and
took part in three business sessions of the Association of Lutheran
Outdoor Ministry Professionals.
   he boat and the subject in the boa  There are about 135 outdoor ministry programs or sites in the
United States and Puerto Rico.  Most outdoor ministries operate as
independent nonprofit corporations affiliated with the ELCA and
maintain their own boards, staff and funding.
     The mission of ELCA outdoor ministries is to "affirm and
experience" interrelationships with all of God's creation in an
intentional Christian community.  The church's outdoor ministries
seek to encourage spiritual growth for the whole person by providing
encounters with Scripture, experience and care for the environment,
witness of staff, and opportunities for worship, recreation and the
development of relationships.

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