ELCA Board Urges Concern for International Conflicts

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Resolutions calling for specific responses from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its members to violence in the Middle East, in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and in Colombia were adopted by a board that supports the ELCA's international ministry.
The resolutions were among several actions of the board for the ELCA Division for Global Mission (DGM), which met here Oct. 19-21.
In its resolution on the Middle East, the board asked the ELCA Church Council "to encourage members of the ELCA to support, through prayer and material assistance, the people in the region affected by civil strife." The council is the church's interim legislative authority between churchwide assemblies, held every two years.
The board also asked DGM staff to explore, with other churchwide staff, the possibilities for "particular expressions of concern," including a letter from the presiding bishop to all congregations, coordinated days of prayer and fasting to end the violence and an ELCA delegation to visit the region soon.
The board also affirmed expressions of "peace, justice and reconciliation conveyed to U.S.-policy makers" and encouraged members to engage in similar advocacy, using a variety of available resources related to the Middle East.
In its West Africa resolution, the board requested that the ELCA Church Council call on members "to pray for the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and better familiarize themselves with the ongoing conflict and its causes." It also called for continued assistance to meet humanitarian needs through the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and other partners.
LWF is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries, representing 59.5 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. LWR is the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.
The board also encouraged members to use resources available though the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, the ELCA's federal public policy advocacy office in Washington, D.C.; the Lutheran Office for World Community, which represents the ELCA and the LWF at the United Nations in New York; Washington Office on Africa, an ecumenical agency that raises awareness in the United States of issues faced by Africans; and DGM.
The Rev. Martha L. McCracken, board member from Santurce, Puerto Rico, spoke about the situation in Liberia. She recently returned from a visit to that country.
"People are still afraid to put curtains in their windows, to have any kind of decorative objects," she said. "People want to work, but there are no jobs."
Curran Memorial Hospital, one of two Lutheran hospitals in Liberia, was heavily damaged after having just been rebuilt with assistance from the ELCA, said Dr. Walter Gwenigale. Gwenigale is medical director of Phebe Hospital, also a Lutheran Church in Liberia hospital. He was a guest at the board meeting.
In a third action, the board expressed its concern about human rights abuses in Colombia. The board, through DGM, conveyed its "pastoral concern" to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia and other churches, and called on ELCA members to pray for an end to conflict there. It also asked for the church to "consider ways in which it may provide financial and material assistance on behalf of the ELCA to the people of Colombia and the region."
The board also asked the division to promote awareness of the situation to members of the ELCA and encouraged the church to use many resources already available through the church.
"It's our responsibility to get this information out," said the Rev. Harvey L. Nelson, board member from Litchfield, Minn. "It's incumbent upon us to take action."
"We want to thank you in a special way for this resolution on Colombia," said the Rev. Nehemias Paradas, bishop of the Iglesia Evangelica Luterana de Colombia. The bishop was an invited guest at the board meeting.
In other actions, the board:
+ Affirmed development of "Stand With Africa: A Campaign of Hope," a joint ELCA-LCMS-LWR effort to raise awareness about Africa, emphasizing the HIV/AIDS crisis, peacemaking and sustainable development. The three-year educational program is expected to begin in early 2001.
+ Requested funding to continue a mission history and research project through the ELCA Archives and Records Center. A new phase of the project includes processing records of women's missionary societies and a transcription of oral history tapes of women missionaries in the former American Lutheran Church. The board asked the Church Council to approve transfer of $75,000 to the archives from the division's Global Mission Fund for the project, and it asked for more funds if an additional $75,000 cannot be raised in one year.
+ Asked the Church Council to establish a designated fund to be invested as "funds functioning as endowment" for the ELCA Wittenberg Center. The board also asked that the Wittenberg Center fund be established through a transfer of $50,000 from the World Mission Education Fund. The Wittenberg Center was opened in 1999 as a three-year pilot project, and offers a place for study, tour and dialogue for congregational members, seminarians and college students. Wittenberg was home to 16th-century German church reformer Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina.
+ Was introduced to a page on the ELCA's Web site that will assist the division in recruiting global mission personnel. The address is http://www.elca.org/dgm/mispos.html.

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