CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Some 230 elementary and secondary schools, and 2,000 early childhood education centers operated by congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will celebrate Lutheran Schools Week March 4-10, 2002. About 20,000 teachers work with 250,000 students who attend ELCA-affiliated schools and early childhood education centers.
The theme of this year's observance is "Linking Hearts and Hands for Peace."
The ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES), based at the ELCA churchwide office here, relates to ELCA early childhood education centers, elementary and secondary schools.
"Your school, teachers, staff and congregations are gifts from God who need to be lifted up and celebrated," said Donna R. Braband, ELCA acting director for schools, DHES, in a letter to education centers and schools. "Through you the Holy Spirit works to reach out with the Gospel to the hearts and souls of the children placed in your care as well as to their families and your congregations.
"You bring hope and meaning to families who find themselves in a world that is often self-serving," she continued. "Through your school you provide a welcoming atmosphere for those among you who are unchurched and looking for direction in their lives."
ELCA schools and staff strive to be ethnically diverse, and many children who attend are not Lutheran, but their parents want their children to be educated in a Christian environment, Braband said. Average enrollments are from 250 to 400 students at ELCA-affiliated elementary and secondary schools.
Lutherans have well-established roots in education. Martin Luther, a German monk whose writings led to the Protestant Reformation, was a professor and theologian. Today there are 28 ELCA colleges and universities and eight seminaries, in addition to the education centers, elementary and secondary schools.
Staff of many Lutheran schools and early childhood education centers work with the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA). ELEA provides a certification process for education centers and schools, offers educational workshops and conferences, and publishes resource materials. -- -- --
More information about Lutheran Schools Week can be found at http://www.elca.org/dhes/schools/index.html on the DHES Web site. Information about ELEA can be found at http://www.eleanational.org/ on the Web.
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
