wfn.org | Lutherans To Be Honored With The Wittenberg Award

[NEWS@ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 8, 2004

Lutherans To Be Honored With The Wittenberg Award
04-190-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Herbert F. Brokering,
Minneapolis, the Rev. J. David Simonson and Eunice Nordby
Simonson, missionaries in Tanzania, and the founders of "Davey
and Goliath" will receive the Wittenberg Award on Nov. 6.  The
Luther Institute, Washington, D.C., presents its annual
Wittenberg Award for outstanding service to church and society.
     "The annual Wittenberg Awards celebration is an important
opportunity for Lutherans to focus on servant leadership and
honor Lutherans from around the world, who have made outstanding
contributions to church and society," said Dr. Laura L. Mitchell,
president, The Luther Institute.
     "The pace of modern life is fast, and we can sometimes
forget to say 'thank you' and 'well done' to those who serve and
lead by their example.	The Wittenberg Awards is a time to
recognize those Lutheran individuals and organizations and show
our appreciation.  In so doing, we affirm our faith, celebrate
our diversity, and strengthen our ties with the global Lutheran
community," Mitchell said.
     A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), Brokering is an author, lyricist, peace partner and hymn
writer.  Also receiving the Wittenberg Award are David Simonson
and Eunice Nordby Simonson, ELCA missionaries and founders of
Secondary School for Maasai Girls, Monduli, Tanzania; Dr. Norman
E. Borlaug, Mexico City, Mexico, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
and father of the "green revolution"; and, the Rev. Julius
Jenkins, president, Concordia College, Selma, Ala.  Concordia is
a college of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
     Art Clokey, Los Osos, Calif., Ruth Clokey Goodell, Covena,
Calif., the Rev. Frank Klos (deceased), R. Marshall Stross,
Manhasset, N.Y., and Richard Sutcliffe, Dallas, created Davey and
Goliath -- a classic stop-motion animated television series
starring Davey Hansen and his talking dog, Goliath.  Aired on
commercial television in the 1960s and 1970s, Davey and Goliath
is a property of the ELCA.
     "Davey and Goliath has become a pop-culture icon, the only
one owned by a church," said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director,
ELCA Department for Communication.
     Davey and Goliath have "recognition far beyond the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's membership and far
beyond the United States of America and the Caribbean territories
of our church.	I've had African Americans tell me that they saw
their first people of color on television through Davey and
Goliath.  I've heard story after story from folks whose family
situation was sad, even abusive, who got through those tough days
because of Davey and Goliath," Shafer said.
     The founders and creative team of Davey and Goliath will be
honored with the Wittenberg Award because they are "true
visionaries," said Shafer.  "In the early days of television they
realized the power television, then a new medium.  They found
that they could teach racial and ethnic and religious tolerance
and understanding through animation.  Through Davey and Goliath
they could witness to the world and around the world of God's
love for children.  God truly worked through them to begin such a
wonderful work," he said.
     The reception and awards banquet will be held at The
Washington Club, Washington, D.C., on Nov. 6 by invitation only.
The Luther Institute, Scholastic and ELCA will host a "Davey and
Goliath Family Film Festival" on Nov. 5 at the Jurys Washington
Hotel, Washington, D.C.  Scholastic, the world's largest
publisher and distributor of children's books, is working to
publish two storybooks and two coloring/activity books about
Davey and Goliath.
     At the festival "we plan to show two classic episodes of
Davey and Goliath and a brief biography piece about some of the
founders.  The festival will also include a question-and-answer
session with the founders," said Shafer.
     The Luther Institute inaugurated the Wittenberg Awards in
1990.  The Institute is an independent center for laity and
clergy fostering education and research on social, educational
and ethical issues in the public sphere.  Based in Washington,
D.C., the Institute conducts programs to promote its mission and
to advance the role of faith and ethics in public life.  The
Wittenberg Awards are made possible in part by a grant from
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a fraternal benefits
organization based in Minneapolis.
- - -
     Information about Davey and Goliath is available on the
Internet at http://www.daveyandgoliath.org -- the official Davey
and Goliath Web site maintained by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America.
     Information about The Luther Institute is available at
http://www.lutherinst.org on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news