Mission Development, Justice Issues Highlight GME Workshops

LINCOLN, NEB. (ELCA) -- More than 70 workshops and seminars, known as the "Global University" highlighted a variety of Christian concerns at this summer's Global Mission Events (GMEs). The annual events, which highlight domestic and international ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), are sponsored by the ELCA Division for Global Mission with support from several other church units and local organizing committees.
More than 2,400 people attended the 1999 GMEs held at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., the Marriott World Center, Orlando, Fla., and here at the University of Nebraska.
The theme of this year's GMEs, "Walking Together Into the Next Century," was based on the Bible story in the Gospel of Luke about two disciples on the road to Emmaus following Jesus' crucifixion.
Workshops included discussion of mission in the 21st century, international debt reduction, the plight of refugees, the changing face of Lutheranism, international volunteer opportunities, understanding Islam and the multicultural church.
In "Between Bombs and Bread: Seeing Christ in Kosovo," Jonathan C. Frerichs called Kosovo a "humanitarian disaster" and expressed hope that it is the last of its kind this century. Frerichs, who spent considerable time in Macedonia during the crisis, is director for communication, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), an international relief and development ministry supported by the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri= =20 Synod. He said LWR, in partnership with Action by Churches Together (ACT), a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response, served people on both sides of the conflict.
Land mines placed on the Kosovo borders with Macedonia and Albania are a current concern, Frerichs said. LWR is involved in teaching former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerillas to clear land mines, he said.
Land mines are a serious problem in many international "hot spots," including Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Kosovo, Frerichs said. The devices are "10 percent weapons," meaning that for every soldier they kill, they also kill nine civilians who step on them accidentally, he said.
"Imagine living with the thought in your mind that where you put your foot might be your last step or the step that removes your leg from you," Frerichs said. "The land mine crisis has its impact on people who have to walk to make a living -- people who are farmers, people going to market, children going to school. It affects the poorest people in a country disproportionately."
An international treaty to ban land mines was recently signed by several countries, and the United States was a notable exception, Frerichs said.
In her workshop, "Re-thinking Global Mission for the Next Century," the Rev. Bonnie L. Jensen said, "4 billion of the six billion people in the world live outside of a faith relationship with Jesus Christ."
"That means we have a tremendous message to share with two-thirds of the world's people," said Jensen, executive director, ELCA Division for Global Mission. Many of these people are impoverished, and the church is called to serve and speak for those "who are suffering and who are oppressed," she said.
The United States and Caribbean make up the fourth largest mission field in the world. There are some 120 million people in this area who do not have a relationship with a Christian faith community, Jensen said.
ELCA global relationships are significant, Jensen said. All of the ELCA's 65 synods relate directly to companion churches in other countries. There are some 100 "companion relationships" with the ELCA synods, she said. The ELCA is also a member of the Lutheran World Federation, a global communion of 128 Lutheran churches.
International mission work requires "walking with" local Christians as they create churches that are self-propagating, self-governin= g=20 and self-supporting, Jensen said. A new element in working with Christians in other countries is that they are increasingly "self-arti= culating."
"They are articulating what they want and how they want us to walk with them," she said.
The ELCA Division for Global Mission, which oversees the church's ministry in 70 countries, needs missionaries with specific skills. These include health workers, seminary professors, people with computer skills and English, science and math teachers, Jensen added.
The ELCA's domestic mission was also discussed in some workshops. Liz Conner, director of El Centro Luterano, Lexington, Neb., presented "One Lord, Many Colors: Hispanic Ministry in a Rural Setting."
El Centro Luterano is a ministry that serves people from Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Most have come to Nebraska to work in meat packing plants. El Centro Luterano provides social services and offers Sunday worship services, Conner said. The ministry is supported by the ELCA Division for Outreach and the ELCA Nebraska Synod.
"These people come with a dream of bettering themselves and their families," she said. "(They want) hope for the future and for their children to have a better education."
Conner, who was raised a Roman Catholic in Mexico City, became acquainted with the Lutheran church in south Texas and was eventually recruited to do missionary work among Spanish-speaking people in Nebraska. The need in the Midwest is significant, she said. In Lexington, nearly half of the town's 10,000 people speak Spanish as their primary language.
"They need to hear the message of love, the message of compassion and the message of grace," Conner said. "This work of EL Centro Luterano has been truly blessed by God. It's been the spirit of the Lord that has moved it and has made it possible to flourish and continue to grow."

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