wfn.org | Lutherans Set Example for Gift Giving with a Purpose

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 4, 2005

Lutherans Set Example for Gift Giving with a Purpose
05-184-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) have set a creative example for gift giving
with a purpose.  Through "ELCA Good Gifts," Lutherans can honor a
family or friend's anniversary, birthday or other special
occasion with a gift that also supports the vital and varied
ministries of the church.
     "ELCA Good Gifts:	The Giving Catalog of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America" is a 2005-2007 catalog featuring
exclusive gift ideas designed to support a particular ministry of
the church.  A $10 gift can support a child for one month at a
church-based after school program; a $1,000 gift provides
training in quality control and organic production for 100 fair-
trade coffee farmers in Nicaragua.
     The 32-page catalog paints a picture of the many domestic
and global ministries of the ELCA, said Kathleen Hetland,
associate director, ELCA Vision for Mission.
     Illustrating the five strategic directions of the ELCA
churchwide organization, the catalog is divided into five
sections:  "Congregations:  Building up the Body of Christ;"
"Leadership:  Raising Up Faithful Leaders;" "Witness:  ELCA World
Hunger Appeal;" "Evangelism:  Telling the Good News;" and "Global
Mission: Walking with other People of Faith."  Each section
features stories and information on how Lutherans are living out
the directions, along with opportunities to honor family and
friends with gifts that support the church's ministries.
     The catalog includes a gift card that can be clipped out,
wrapped up in a small box or inserted in a birthday or greeting
card "to indicate you've made a gift in someone's name," said
Hetland.  Sending an "e-card" at -- www.ELCA.org/ecards -- on the
Internet is another possibility to announce that a gift has been
made, she said.
     The catalog features a special children's "mini-catalog."	A
$1 gift provides meals for a child involved in a disaster, and a
$30 gift provides one month of care for an orphan or an abandoned
street child.
     The catalog also contains information on Vision for Mission.
Established by the 1993 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Vision for
Mission supports global and domestic mission through "celebrative
giving."  Vision for Mission allows for direct support from
individual members of the ELCA through gifts used for current
operations or as an endowment.
     "Next door and around the around the world, our commitment
to life-changing ministry enriches us spiritually as we make a
difference in the lives of our global neighbors," wrote the Rev.
Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, in the catalog.
Hanson also serves as president of the 66-million-member Lutheran
World Federation.
     ELCA Good Gifts combines the former "Response:  Gift Giving
Catalog of the ELCA" and the "ELCA World Hunger Alternative
Giving Ideas Catalog."	The catalog is available from Augsburg
Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis, the publishing ministry of the
ELCA, and at www.ELCA.org/goodgifts on the Internet after
Oct. 15.

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