Aid Association for Lutherans Awards Grants to ELCA Synod Projects

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) awarded 19 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) synod ministry projects grants totaling $244,000 as part of the agency's Judicatory Grant Program 2001 Project Awards.
AAL is a fraternal benefit organization based in Appleton, Wis. Recently, AAL announced plans to merge with Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation, Minneapolis, also a fraternal benefit organization, by the end of this year.
The Judicatory Grant Program is funded annually by AAL for the purpose of assisting the synods of the ELCA to develop and pursue projects that impact the outreach mission of the church.
"The projects awarded this year support synodical efforts in evangelism and outreach, including 'ethnic specific' initiatives, family and youth ministry, and leadership development and training," said Tammy Jackson, associate director, ELCA Department for Synodical Relations.
"The ELCA grant allocation decisions are made jointly by the Synodical-Churchwide Relations Committee of the Conference of Bishops and AAL," she said.
"We are deeply grateful for AAL's partnership and the many ways they support the ELCA's mission. New synodical initiatives and visions of future endeavors are made possible through the Judicatory Grant Program," Jackson said.
Proposals for grants were considered from 43 ELCA synods and awarded as follows:
+ "Be an Inviting Place," ELCA Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, $9,000: This training seminar will include resource materials and media outreach to help pastors and lay leaders build inviting ministries in their congregations.
+ "Candidacy Web Cards," ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, ELCA La Crosse Area Synod and ELCA Northwestern Synod of Wisconsin, $20,000: This grant will help produce a Candidacy Web Card -- a card the size of a credit card that is inserted into the CD drive of a computer = --=20 designed to interest young people in pursuing careers in ministry and providing hyperlinks to the three synod Web sites.
+ "The Child in Our Hands Conference," ELCA Northeastern Minnesota Synod, $6,000: This conference, conducted by the Augsburg College Youth and Family Institute, will help congregations learn how to nurture and teach the faith to young people more effectively.
+ "A Child in Our Hands Training Event," ELCA Southwestern Washington Synod, $8,000: This project will provide scholarships for congregational leaders to attend the "A Child in Our Hands" training event to help congregational leadership teams develop action plans for effective youth and family ministry.
+ "Come2go Ministries," ELCA Indiana-Kentucky Synod, $10,000: This program will conduct satellite mission outreach among young adults in the proximity of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Ind., to engage people in worship, small group Bible studies and to encourage each person to use his or her gifts and talents for serving others in the community.
+ "Developing Healthy Congregations," ELCA Pacifica Synod, $15,000: This grant will enable the synod to train and deploy pastor representatives from each of the synod's 10 conferences to be facilitators for Healthy Congregation Workshops.
+ "Evangelical Outreach in Latino Communities," Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, $9,000: This grant will be used to design and develop resources for church leaders to reach out to the Latino community.
+ "Evangelical Partners," ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod, $5,000: This program will train 12 clergy and laity to serve as a group of congregational leadership consultants.
+ "Faith-Based U.S.S. Congregation Preschool Ministry," ELCA Upper Susquehanna Synod, $5,000: This grant will fund a series of meetings that will help congregational and preschool leaders to understand, promote and develop preschool ministries as an evangelism and teaching resource of a congregation.
+ "A Movement for Mission," ELCA Oregon Synod, $20,000: This 12- month consultation process will produce and equip congregational missional strategies, start new congregations, initiate multicultural ministries and equip leaders for contextual missional engagement in all of the congregations of the synod.
+ "Multi-Synodical Leadership Training," ELCA North/West Lower Michigan Synod, $20,000: This synod will use the grant to conduct a leadership training event to help church workers reach out to an increasingly multicultural unchurched population.
+ "Outreach and Evangelism through Service -- Morgan State University," ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod, $20,000: Campus ministry outreach to college students will be improved through promotion and involvement in community service and justice-oriented activities, including providing services needed by children at risk, the homeless and addicted.
+ "SproutReach -- New and Through," ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, $20,000: This grant will be used to train and deploy lay ministers in 20 congregations to expand outreach ministries in cross- cultural ethnic communities.
+ "Synod Resource Center," Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, $20,000: This grant will be used to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the synod's resource center as a hub of accessible information for ELCA synods and congregations.
+ "Synodically Authorized Ministry Program Development and Implementation," ELCA Southwestern Texas Synod, $20,000: This program will develop and implement a ministry to train people to become lay pastors by helping lay people fulfill their calling as the people of God in unique leadership positions and to offer congregations of this church trained leadership for mission.
+ "Tri-Synodical Latino Leader's Retreat," ELCA Southwestern Texas, Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast and Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synods, $9,000: These synods will conduct a Latino leaders retreat, drawing together pastors and mission developers for the purpose of developing mission strategy, holistic care, contextual ministry and leadership development.
+ "Venture in Vocation," Northern Texas-Northern Louisianan Synod, $3,000: Three different church worker recruitment open house events for junior and senior high school youth will be conducted with the intent of both nurturing and challenging the faith of young adults to become active in professional church service as pastors, diaconal minsters, deaconesses or associates in ministry.
+ "The Virginia Synod Academy for Ministry," ELCA Virginia Synod," $15,000: The synod will develop four Lay Schools of Theology that will train students to be teachers and witnessing agents in their homes, churches and communities.
+ "Young Adult Ministry," ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod, $10,000: The synod will use this grant to create a unique ministry source and resource to reach out to young adults (ages 18-35) in downtown Minneapolis who comprise a larger proportion of residents in the city than neighboring cities. -- -- -- *Michelle T. Mills is a senior at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. This summer she is an intern with ELCA News & Information.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html