PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Thousands of Lutherans walked through 'Unity Village' at the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Fifth Triennial Gathering. Unity Village was designed to display the works and resources of the many units, ministries, institutions and agencies of the ELCA.
Women of the ELCA's Triennial Gathering is meeting here July 8-14 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The organization's three-year theme, "Listen, God is Calling," is being unveiled at the convention amid Bible study, keynote addresses, workshops, field trips, business sessions and elections. More than 3,200 women from across the United States and around the world are participating.
Unity Village is "a busy place, reflecting many choices and challenges [faced] daily" by women that are asked to respond to God's call, according to the gathering's guide book.
At Unity Village, women had the opportunity to meet under a gazebo and talk with Linda Post Bushkofsky, Women of the ELCA executive director-elect, Chicago. ELCA institutions such as Pacific Lutheran University, Wittenberg University and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia had representatives ready to discuss their academic programs with participants. There are 28 ELCA colleges and universities and eight ELCA seminaries.
A "New in 2002" section of the village displayed new brochures and resources for women in the church. Organizations such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and ELCA units such as the Division for Global Mission and the Division for Church in Society had display boards set up to educate women on the group's latest news.
The Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence, an international theme for 2000-2010 started by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, had a display of paper flowers featuring the names of survivors of domestic violence written on them and paper tombstones with the names of deceased victims. Many women at the convention responded emotionally to the display, said T. Michael Nisbet, ELCA coordinator for the Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence task force.
"One woman, who was a survivor of domestic violence, came up to me after putting her name on a flower and said 'I'm friends with it [my past] now," said Nisbet. "The sad thing is that we are running out of tombstones before flowers."
Women at Unity Village walked through makeshift stores where they could buy clothing, food products, musical instruments and many Augsburg Fortress products. Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, is the ELCA's publishing house.
A popular display was the Glories Helping Adolescents to Succeed (HATS) Project. Women sat around large tables sewing "Happy Hats" for sick children who are in hospitals. The project spans eight states, said project director Susan Khorsand.
"The process starts when youth in different areas sew the base hat. They get to see themselves doing something productive and 'cool,'" said Khorsand. "The hats are taken to seniors and the special touches are added. The making of the hats brings together all generations and therapeutically helps the sick children."
Naim El-Yateem, Brooklyn, N.Y., used his woodwork booth to raise money for needy families in Palestine. All of the proceeds from Nativity Olive Wood Factory products sold at the gathering are sent to fifteen families who work at the factory in Palestine.
Women also had the opportunity to use computers to search the ELCA website and have online chats with others. Participants enjoyed all aspects of Unity Village, said Kandy Pflaster, Cozard, Neb.
"It was a great place to be," said Pflaster. "I've seen people from different states trading pins. It's good networking."
Editors: Photographs from the Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering are
maintained at
http://www.elca.org/wo/events/tg/tg02/connect/photos.html on the Web.
News releases and other information about the gathering are maintained
at
http://www.elca.org/wo/events/tg/tg02/connect/news.html on the Web.
For more information contact: Melissa Ramirez, newsroom manager, (215)
418-2045 or mramirez@elca.org
*Amy Wineinger is a junior at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News and Media Production.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
- - -
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
