ELCA Awards 'In The City for Good' Grants Totaling $278,000

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The "In the City for Good" Fund Team of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) awarded 44
grants totaling $278,000 in 2003 to revitalize ELCA ministries in
urban areas. Grants ranged from $1,000 for Project Hope in
Houston to $30,000 for the Noah's Ark Community Coffee House in
Davenport, Iowa.
The fund team received 123 applications, with requests for a
total of more than $2.1 million in funding. It can allocate up
to $500,000 each year.
This year the team awarded grants to projects in 20 states -
- Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey,
New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and
Wisconsin -- and Puerto Rico.
This year we had more requests than ever from sites around
the ELCA," said the Rev. David D. Daubert, the program's director
and executive for renewal of congregations, ELCA Division for
Outreach.
Daubert said the fund team looked at the types of requests
it received in the past years and decided, "for In the City for
Good to have a lasting and transformational effect on urban
ministry in the ELCA, we have to provide more than funding to
ministries. Training and coaching may be as important, or even
more important, than money."
In addition to the projects, an In the City for Good grant
of about $35,000 helped 46 clergy and lay leaders attend a Summer
Urban Ministry Institute here Aug. 4-8. The Seminary Consortium
for Urban Pastoral Education developed the curriculum on
theology, congregational context, community context and
leadership. The ELCA sponsored the institute in partnership with
the Reformed Church in America.
The fund team consists of 15 people appointed by the ELCA
presiding bishop and the Division for Outreach. Team members are
urban pastors and laity, churchwide representatives and
representatives of institutions and agencies of the church.
The fund was created with money from several sources,
including an initial $1 million grant from the Lutheran
Brotherhood Foundation. Lutheran Brotherhood merged with Aid
Association for Lutherans to form Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans, a fraternal benefit society based in Minneapolis.
In 1999 the ELCA awarded $350,079 in grants to 23 urban
ministry projects. In 2000 the church gave $493,957 in grants to
38 initiatives. Thirty-six projects received $456,175 in grants
in 2001. The fund team awarded 36 grants totaling $339,289 in
2002.

Below is a list of the projects funded in 2003:

1. Middle School Mentorship - Anchorage, Alaska
Central Lutheran Drop-In Center (the Rev. Michael Keys)
Requested $9,665/Funded $4,000

2. Rainbow Transformation Teams - Seattle
ELCA - Region 1 (the Rev. Kathy Buffum)
Requested $20,000/Funded $3,000

3. The SMILE Project - Fresno, Calif.
Lutheran Campus Ministry of Fresno (the Rev. Don Romsa)
Requested $11,550/Funded $5,000

4. REACH Literary Program - Modesto, Calif.
Emanuel Lutheran Church (the Rev. Barbara Caine)
Requested $5,000/Funded $1,000

5. One Voice - Palo Alto, Calif.
Grace Lutheran Church (the Rev. Randall Wilburn)
Requested $5,000/Funded $2,500

6. The St. Andrew Welcome Center- Whittier, Calif.
St. Andrew Church (the Rev. Stephen Herder)
Requested $22,000/Funded $2,000

7. Grace in the Neighborhood - Anaheim, Calif.
Grace Lutheran Church (the Rev. Stephen Fiechter)
Requested $20,000/Funded $2,000

8. Temp-to-Hire Program - Denver
Our Savior's Lutheran Church (the Rev. John Backe)
Requested $20,000/Funded $5,000

9. Outreach to the De-Churched - Minneapolis
Bethany Lutheran Church (the Rev. Steven Benson)
Requested $20,000/Funded $5,000

10. The Second Mile - Developing Congregational Leadership
for Community Development - Minneapolis
Minneapolis Area Synod (Bishop Craig Johnson)
Requested $10,000/Funded $5,000

11. Assisting Asian Assimilation - Dakota City, Neb.
Salem Lutheran Church (the Rev. Tom Lo Van)
Requested $14,250/Funded $3,500

12. Lat Wech Project - Omaha, Neb.
Cush Community Lutheran Church (the Rev. Damon Laaker)
Requested $36,400/Funded $5,000

13. Summer Program - Olathe, Kan.
Laotian Worshipping Community (the Rev. Ben Diduangleuth)
Requested $3,000/Funded $1,500

14. Center City Organized Revitalization
Effort/Neighborhood Revitalization - Wichita, Kan.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church (the Rev. Carolyn Campbell)
Requested $40,000/Funded $7,000

15. Kids First - Oklahoma City
Grace Lutheran Church (the Rev. Sara Litzner)
Requested $25,000/Funded $5,000

16. Blended Worship Service - Grand Prairie, Texas
St. John Lutheran Church (the Rev. Susan Rodriguez)
Requested $24,410/Funded $10,000

17. Community Outreach Program - Houston
First Taiwanese Church (the Rev. Harvey Chi)
Requested $30,000/Funded $6,000

18. Project Hope - Houston
Resurrection Community Church (the Rev. Mary Lewis)
Requested $30,000/Funded $1,000

19. Living Faith - Aurora, Ill.
San Francisco de Asis Lutheran Church
(the Rev. Hector Garfias-Toledo)
Requested $15,506/Funded $5,000

20. Trinity Spiritual & Natural Feeding Ministry - Kankakee,
Ill.
Trinity Lutheran Church (the Rev. Sandra Jewell)
Requested $50,000/Funded $5,000

21. Noah's Ark Community Coffee House - Davenport, Iowa
Zion Lutheran Church (the Rev. Del Preston)
Requested $50,000/Funded $30,000

22. Pre-School Bible Studies - Des Moines, Iowa
Capitol Hill Lutheran Church (the Rev. Leighton Carlson)
Requested $25,000/Funded $15,000

23. Gateway Transitional Housing - Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Zion Lutheran Church (the Rev. Paul Ostrem)
Requested $25,000/Funded $15,000

24. Getting the Good Word Out - Sargeant Bluff, Iowa
Spirit of Life Lutheran Church (the Rev. Gary Harris)
Requested $2,500/Funded $2,500

25. Lao Outreach Ministry - Milwaukee
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
(the Rev. Charles Peterson & the Rev. Cheryl Peterson)
Requested $10,000/Funded $5,000

26. Latino Lutheran Academy - Milwaukee
Greater Milwaukee Synod (the Rev. Walter Baires)
Requested $21,900/Funded $5,000

27. Racine Neighborhood Camp - Racine, Wis.
Emmaus Lutheran Church (the Rev. Mary Janz)
Requested $15,000/Funded $10,000

28. come2go Outreach Initiative - Ft. Wayne, Ind.
come2go ministries (the Rev. Mark Minnick)
Requested $30,000/Funded $10,000

29. Youth Drama, Poetry & Music Ministry - Toledo, Ohio
Redeemer Lutheran Church (the Rev. John Norquist)
Requested $2,500/Funded $2,500

30. Hope Through the Arts - Camden, N.J.
Christus Evangelical Lutheran Church
(the Rev. Lee M. Miller II)
Requested $12,000/Funded $6,000

31. Leadership Training for Community Organizing - Jersey City, N.J.
St. Matthew's Lutheran Church (the Rev. Gladys Moore)
Requested $15,000/Funded $5,000

32. Grace Community Health Ministry - Newark, N.J.
Grace Community Lutheran Church
(the Rev. Moacir Weirich & the Rev. Maristela Freiberg)
Requested $20,000/Funded $5,000

33. Community Outreach Ministries - Trenton, N.J.
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (the Rev. Christopher
Gentile)
Requested $20,000/Funded $10,000

34. African Women's Empowerment Group - Lynn, Mass.
First Lutheran Church (the Rev. Neal Halvorson-Taylor)
Requested $15,000/Funded $3,000

35. Resurrection's Latino Initiative - Roxbury, Mass.
Resurrection Lutheran Church (the Rev. John Heinemeier)
Requested $4,000/Funded $4,000

36. Parish Health Ministry - Freeport, N.Y.
Christ Lutheran Church (the Rev.