Lutherans See the World at Global Mission Events

SEGUIN, TEXAS (ELCA) -- About 2,600 members of the Evangelical = Lutheran Church in America gathered from around the world for two Global = Mission Events, titled, =22Look to Jesus -- Run the Race.=22 They took = place July 10-13 at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill., and again July 17-20 = at Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas. About 2,000 participants = gathered in Wheaton and about 600 in Seguin.
=22Jesus is the human face of God,=22 said Dr. Elsa T=E1mez, = president of the Latin American Biblical Seminary, San Jos=E9, Costa Rica. = =22To look at Jesus is to feel sure and confident about ourselves because = we know God is there; to put our eye on Jesus is to discover the will of = God for our day.=22 T=E1mez was the keynote speaker at each event.=20
=22Instead of running a race to strengthen our body and spirit, we = dehumanize ourselves and others through competition,=22 said T=E1mez. For = Christians, our race in life is not the one set by American society, she = said. =22The race is a struggle,=22 not a competition where =22a neighbor = becomes an obstacle to overcome. When our eyes are on Jesus, this type of = competition does not exist.=22 Patience and perseverance are more = important than =22being number one. God will give us the strength to run = the race of life,=22 T=E1mez said.
The Rev. Bonnie L. Jensen, executive director of the ELCA=27s = Division for Global Mission, Chicago, spoke at the events=27 opening = celebrations. =22We, who are members of the most powerful nation in the = world, dare not speak of mission as conquest; but mission is walking with = the outcast, the humble,=22 said Jensen. Americans can learn from other = Christians around the world to pray from their hearts, to talk boldly = about Christ, to be less preoccupied with material things and to dismantle = racism, she said.
Dr. He Qi, art instructor at Nanjing Theological Seminary and Nanjing = University in China, said he was introduced to the =22imported religion=22 = of Christianity through art. He spoke to participants via videotape = followed by a live telephone conference. =20
=22I have a dream,=22 he told the participants, =22to use Christian = art to let the Chinese people know that Christianity is not just a Western = religion. It belongs to our Chinese people, too.=22 Dr. He said his = dream =22shares a message of love and peace.=22
ELCA missionary staff came from many countries to take part in the = Global Mission Events, along with international guests from partner = churches around the world. Worship included music from Africa, Asia, = Latin America, North America and Europe.
=22Jesus was once a refugee. As a child, he and his parents escaped = Herod=27s death squads and fled to Africa,=22 said the Rev. Stephen = Larson, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Geneva, Switzerland, = during the event=27s Sunday worship service. =22Look to Jesus and you may = find yourself looking into the face of a Rwandan refugee child.=22
The event=27s theme served as the focus of a =22Global University=22 = that offered 95 courses in more than 200 seminars and another 80 sessions = of videotapes or conversation. Topics ranged from the current peace = process in Liberia to HIV/AIDS, from promoting gender equity to Christian = outreach in Chinese Hong Kong. A special =22track=22 of courses offered = in Seguin concentrated on Latino ministry while courses in Wheaton gave = insight into Islam, a world religion. Youth participated in global = programs designed for junior high and senior high school ages at each = event.
The offering from the opening worship service in Seguin -- =242,400 = -- was divided among the Oak Indian Center, Oaks, Oklahoma; the =22Z=22 = Place, Zion Lutheran Church, San Antonio, Texas; and the ELCA=27s Corridor = Ministry on the border between Texas and Mexico. The offering from the = opening worship service in Wheaton -- =246,300 -- was divided between = Lutheran Family Mission of Chicago and the Southwest Asian Outreach = ministry of Central Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa. A second offering = was given to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.