CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Eleven pastors and 12 lay leaders from 10 states took an intensive course designed for congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that have organized in the past seven months or are involved in a significant transition. The ELCA Division for Outreach sponsored the conference here May 14-16.
The conference provided instruction on insurance matters, organizational change, health and wellness, leading steward lives, conflict management, building disciples, and church building and finance. It also gave participants the opportunity to learn from the experiences of each other.
Susan A. Thompson, executive for newly organized congregations, ELCA Division for Outreach, said over the past three decades she has seen many changes in the ways new missions are developed. "Yet there are some things that haven't changed and don't and won't ... God's love for creation, for you and me, and for all the 'yous and mes' everywhere ... and Jesus' request that we witness to that love through our love for one another," she said.
"Continue to love one another and to let God's love flow through you to others so that those who are already part of your faith community will be renewed constantly in their journey through the ups and downs of life; and that those who are not yet there will experience God's love active in you and may, indeed, come to the living water," said Thompson.
Representatives from 11 congregations attended the conference: + Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Fairhope, Ala. + Celebration! of Life Lutheran Church, Mesa, Ariz. + Iglesia Luterana Fe y Esperanza, South Gate, Calif. + St. Elias Arabic Christian Church, Chicago + Community of Hope Lutheran Church, Macomb, Mich. + Jordan New Life Community Church, Minneapolis + People of Hope Lutheran Church, St. Cloud, Minn. + Christ the King Deaf Lutheran Church, West Chester, Pa. + Joy Lutheran Church, Spartanburg, S.C. + Rejoice Lutheran Church, Frisco, Texas + Living Water Lutheran Church, Sun Prairie, Wis.
St. Elias will formally organize on May 27. Rejoice organized earlier but recently welcomed a new pastor.
Five mission directors also attended the conference. Directors are deployed staff of the ELCA Division for Outreach who coordinate mission development in specific regions of the church.
In November 2000, representatives from nine congregations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Utah and Washington attended a similar conference here.
The ELCA has 5.15 million members. At the end of 1999 the church had 10,851 congregations across the United States and Caribbean.
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
