CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are committed to deepening and extending their global relationships. To celebrate that commitment and learn more about the church's work in the world, Lutherans will gather at two Global Mission Events (GME) this summer.
GMEs are scheduled July 15-18 at Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont., and July 29-Aug. 1 at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee. Thousands of Lutherans are expected to reflect on the 2004 GME theme, "Claimed by God's grace … for the sake of the world."
"A Global Mission Event is a place of dialogue and intersection with the world, where we can meet global brothers and sisters and share our concerns face to face. It is also a place of discovery and challenge. Together we can honor one another's voices and experiences, especially when what we learn stretches our thinking," said Anne Basye, associate director for global resources, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
Basye said the GMEs' theme will help Lutherans "explore our identity as Lutherans personally and globally. Because of God's grace and through our baptism we are called to live in trust, not in fear. We are called to be people of faith in a world shaped by God's grace that is filled with contradictions and struggle. Together we will learn what churches around the world are doing to replace systems of dishonesty and violence with God's realm of love and safety."
The ELCA Division for Global Mission primarily organizes GMEs with support from other ELCA churchwide units and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a fraternal benefits organization based in Minneapolis. The event in Bozeman is being co-sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Volunteers from Bozeman and Milwaukee will assist the division in organizing the events.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, will open the GME in Milwaukee, and the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, Division for Global Mission, will open the GME in Bozeman.
Both GMEs will focus on young adults in global mission. Half of ELCA mission personnel who began assignments overseas in 2003 are under 35 years of age; 20 percent of them are under 30. At each GME a group of young adults will share their stories and experiences of serving overseas.
The events will also give special focus to the church's peace work around the world. Leymah Gbowee, a member of the Lutheran Church in Liberia and an active leader among Lutheran women working for peace in Liberia, and Jenny Neme, a peace activist and staff member of Justapaz, an ecumenical peace organization in Bogota, Colombia, will talk about Lutheran peace work in Colombia and Liberia. The Rev. Ann Helmke, director, peaceCENTER, San Antonio, Texas, will serve as moderator of the discussion.
The Rev. Chandran Paul Martin, executive secretary, United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, and the Rev. David Pfrimmer, director, Lutheran Office for Public Policy, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, will talk about the "powers of economic globalization."
Daniel Kemmis, director, Center for the Rocky Mountain West, a studies and public policy center at The University of Montana in Missoula, and former mayor of Missoula, will also speak to the topic of globalization at the Bozeman event.
At the Milwaukee event Jim Goodman, a farmer, will share some of his experiences of farming in Wisconsin, and the Rev. Santiago Rodriguez, a pastor of the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod, San Salvador, El Salvador, will talk about the privatization of water in El Salvador.
Participants will also hear from ELCA mission personnel from around the world.
Workshops and seminars -- known as "Global University Sessions" -- highlight the GMEs. Topics range from pilgrimages in Africa to prison congregations in the United States, from religious practices and symbols to global trade, and from "post Sept. 11" U.S. border security to maritime ministry. Participants at the Bozeman event will address agriculture and the environment, and participants at the Milwaukee event will talk about industry.
Another highlight of the events is GlobalFest, which features interactive exhibits, stage presentations, music, dance and dress from countries around the world. GlobalFest is led by ELCA mission personnel, international students and others in mission. This year's GlobalFest will begin with an outdoor fest and includes an evening indoor concert of global music.
"It's exciting when Christians from around the world gather to engage in mission through worship, celebration, art, learning and action," Basye said.
Program, registration information and a promotional video clip for the 2004 ELCA Global Mission Events are available at http://www.elca.org/gme/ on the Internet.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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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
