LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION SUNDAY
Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are
celebrating the Lutheran World Federation's 50th anniversary on "LWF
Sunday" Oct. 5. Prayer, music and special anniversary gifts toward the
ministry of LWF are three immediate ways ELCA members and
congregations are celebrating. The LWF, based in Geneva, is a
communion of 56 million Lutherans in 124 member church bodies in 68
countries. It was founded in Lund, Sweden, in 1947. Designated LWF
anniversary projects include the Augusta Victoria Hospital, Mount of
Olives, Jerusalem, a strategic health care center in East Jerusalem
serving Palestinians; Madagascar Disaster Response, supporting
continuing recovery work following the January 1997 cyclone that left
more than 100,000 people homeless and destroyed crops; and the
Cambodia Country Program, a program that supports rural development
projects, vocational training and land mine removal. ELCA
congregations will be using a poster, worship bulletin inserts, a
videotape called "LWF: Healing a Broken and Needy World" and "LWF:
Where Faith Meets Need," a theme brochure that explains partnerships
and hunger-related work of the LWF. The 5.2-million member ELCA is
the second largest member church in the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF). The Church of Sweden has the most members.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
