by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service
The All-Lutheran Candle Lighting for Mental Illness will be held
during the month of October. On a Sunday of their choice,
congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are
encouraged to light a candle and pray for people with mental
illness and their families. The Lutheran Network on Mental
Illness/Brain Disorders, a joint program of the ELCA and LCMS,
sponsors the candle lighting and offers a downloadable (PDF
format) bulletin insert for congregations which includes a
litany prayer. The network addresses issues of mental illness
and supports congregations in their efforts to be inclusive and
supportive of families living with mental illness.
Applications for the 2006 ELCA Accessibility Award will be
accepted until Oct. 20, 2006. The award is given annually to a
congregation of the ELCA that displays commitment to providing
care and concern among people who are living with disabilities.
This year two awards will be given -- one to a church with 300 or
less members, and another to a church with more than 300 members.
Each winner will receive a grant of $1,000 from the ELCA Mission
Investment Fund and the National Organization on Disability and a
plaque from ELCA Disability Ministries, part of the Vocation and
Education program unit of the ELCA. The winner of the 2005
Accessibility Award was First Lutheran Church, Topeka, Kan.
A guide designed to help plan meetings and conferences that are
welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities and those
who are deaf is available from ELCA Disability Ministries. The
ELCA Accessibility Guide provides information on standards for
mobility, currently preferred terminology, tips and suggestions
for planning meetings that include all people, helpful Web sites
and more. The guide can be ordered through Augsburg Fortress
Publishers in Minneapolis, the publishing ministry of the ELCA,
or downloaded free (PDF format) on the ELCA Web site.
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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
