CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), along with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The Episcopal Church and the Volunteer Missionary Movement, a lay mission organization rooted in the Roman Catholic Church, will hold their annual summer orientation and preparation program for missionaries. The program will be held at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago from July 9-21.
Members of the Reformed Church in America and the Church of the Brethren will also participate in the program. The denominations have conducted joint missionary programs since 1990.
There will be about 144 participants in the orientation; 42 will become ELCA missionaries.
The seminar will focus on cross-cultural dynamics from a Christian mission perspective in an international context, said Harold T. Hanson, director for international personnel, ELCA Division for Global Mission. Presentation topics will include community-building skills, how to become integrated into a new community, how to maintain one's health while overseas and how to live safely in violent situations, Hanson said.
There will also be discussions on the impact of social structures and systems, privilege and oppression in the context of the challenge to build a community, how daily decisions can send important messages, and gender issues in different cultures, Hanson said.
"To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical," Hanson said. "These churches have a common sense of what mission is about."
Hanson emphasized that the orientation is not a conference. "This is going to be work," he said. "The work to seriously prepare for mission service is part and parcel of mission service itself. This event is a significant element in the process of preparation which continues into the first several months of someone's arrival at their place of service."
"It's good stewardship," said the Rev. Joel S. Bjerkestrand, board member of the Division for Global Mission, ELCA. "We have much more in common in ministry than that which separates us."
"An evident advantage of working together like this is that we have multiple perspectives on issues of common concern," said Mike DeArruda, coordinator for mission personnel care for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a participant in the program. "I think Harold Hanson made a good point when he asked, 'why do alone what we can do better together?'"
[*Michael N. Hoffman is a junior at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. This summer he is an intern with ELCA News and Information.]
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
