CHICAGO (ELCA) After finishing a three-week orientation session Aug. 2, 33 missionaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will depart for 17 countries on four continents, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communications, ELCA Division for Global Mission. An additional 15 missionaries will be deployed in August and September, he said.
Missionaries spent the first two weeks at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago as part of an ecumenical missionary orientation. More than 120 new missionaries from the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The Episcopal Church and other denominations attended the joint orientation that celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.
The final week of training was done in conjunction with the annual ELCA missionary conference held this summer in Lincoln, Neb. Past, present and future missionaries taught and learned from each other, Ishida said.
"Meeting other missionaries makes me feel humble compared to what they went through," said Janna Haug, Minneapolis, who left for Lithuania.
Missionaries will serve in Argentina, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chile, Germany, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Slovakia, Tanzania and Thailand. Teachers will also be sent to China.
Ishida said missionaries will teach English, teach at seminaries, practice medicine, minister in parishes and work in community development.
Chris and Helen Repp, Chicago, will teach at two seminaries in St. Petersburg, Russia. They share a passion for Russia and a sense of call, Helen Repp said.
"The Church is calling us and if we believe the Church is the Body of Christ, then God is calling us," Chris Repp said.
Amanda Grell, Runnells, Iowa, will go to Slovakia for a second time. Grell was a Global Mission Volunteer in Slovakia in 1996-97.
"I felt so good about it (serving in Slovakia), I'm going back," Grell said.
Missionaries are called to long- or short-term service, Ishida said. Long-term missionaries may stay seven to eight years, while=20 short-term programs are two years, he said. Global Mission Volunteers may serve two months to two years and are financially self-supported, Ishida said.
"The growth of the volunteer program is significant. They're not just volunteers, they are a significant part of the church," Ishida said.
This year there are more than 80 volunteers, compared to "a mere handful" 10 years ago, he said.
Ishida said the ELCA Division for Global Mission works carefully to match missionaries to countries.
"We put a lot of effort into making opportunities available to people. We match the needs of the country to the resources and gifts that people have," he said.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.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
