CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) is providing relief assistance to an estimated 30,000 people that have fled areas of Kosovo in Yugoslavia that have experienced civil unrest and violence. An ACT-related agency operating out of Pristina distributed emergency food, hygiene and medical assistance in the Srbica and Shipolje areas to vulnerable, displaced and other affected people.
Troubles in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia resulted from extreme force used by Serbian police and military units to crack down on the Kosovo Liberation Army. ACT reports that more than 70 people were killed, villages and houses were destroyed, and thousands of women and children fled their homes for safety in the woods or nearby villages.
ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including the Lutheran World Federation, meeting human need through coordinated emergency response.
According to ACT the short-term goal in Kosovo is to help stabilize the current situation by assisting the return of displaced families in nearby areas to their homes. ACT provided $25,000 to the Kosovo program to meet immediate needs for food and medical assistance for people there.
A joint letter from the general secretaries of three church organizations -- the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) -- appealed to church leaders in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to do all they can to stop the violence and to ensure that the "identities and history" of all the ethnic and religious groups in the province are respected.
The letter signed by the Rev. Keith Clements of CEC, the Rev. Konrad Raiser of the WCC and the Rev. Ishmael Noko of the LWF said, "Our organizations appeal to the leadership and members of the churches in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to do everything possible to contribute to a peaceful and negotiated solution to the civil violence in the province of Kosovo."
The letter continued, "It is of utmost concern to Christians and churches everywhere that a repetition of the violent conflict experienced in Bosnia in recent years must be avoided. Everything must be done to overcome the confrontation and to avoid a further spread of this conflict to neighboring countries."
The Lutheran World Federation is a communion of 124 Lutheran churches worldwide, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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
