CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) called upon leaders in federal and state government to take steps to help farmers in crisis, and called on ELCA churchwide units to educate the church's 5.2 million members about the = farm crisis and about how to respond.
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between meetings of the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly. The council met here Nov. 13-16. Assemblies are = held every other year; the next is August 16-22 in Denver.
Severe weather conditions the past five years in the Red River Valley in the northern United States and this year's severe drought in parts of the country's south and southwest have adversely affected agricultural income in those regions, the council said. Coupled with that are weather losses which greatly reduced prices for farm commodities this year.
D. Mark Klever, a church council member from Dayton, Iowa, proposed the resolution. It serves as a model to teach people how to respond to = the farm crisis, he said. In previous crises many people "didn't know what to do or how to act," he observed.
The council called on ELCA members to "listen, learn and pray" with and for people in America's rural communities. It asked ELCA churchwide units to "prepare materials to interpret for members the scope of the farm crisis affecting so many Lutherans" and to suggest ways in which people = may respond.
The resolution noted the creation of a "rural desk" in the churchwide offices to help address some of the issues in America's rural communities.
The Church Council action seeks help from the Clinton Administration and Congress to acknowledge the severity of the plight of farmers, to = enact measures that would restore security to those in greatest need, to re- examine policy changes that may have fueled the crisis and to take steps halting further critical farm losses.
For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director (773) 380-2955 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
