by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) will inaugurate
a Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice
(CCME) Sept. 21. LSTC is one of eight seminaries of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). According to an
LSTC news release, the center will provide cultural and
educational opportunities where Christians, Muslims and members
of other faith traditions can meet in an atmosphere of trust and
respect to address issues of mutual concern. The center is the
outgrowth of relationships LSTC has been building with the Muslim
community in Chicago for more than two decades.
The center's first conference, "Christians and Muslims Together:
Owning Our Pasts - Visioning the Future," will be held Sept. 21-
23 at LSTC and the Chicago Cultural Center. CCME will
periodically host guest speakers at LSTC and sponsor conferences
and workshops for members of both faith communities. LSTC and the
center will also work with the ELCA to form a Muslim-Christian
panel similar to the ELCA panel on Lutheran-Jewish relations. The
center will provide orientation programs for church workers and
others who plan to live in primarily Muslim countries.
The center was made possible through the work of Dr. Harold S.
Vogelaar, LSTC professor of world religions, and by gifts from
Gerald A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky, a Lutheran couple with an
interest in interfaith relations, and the Gerald A. and Karen A.
Kolschowsky Foundation.
*Katherine R. Hinck is a senior journalism and religion major at
Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer she is an
intern with the ELCA News Service.
Links
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago: http://www.lstc.edu
eight seminaries:
http://www.ELCA.org/theologicaleducation/seminaries/
Lutheran-Jewish relations:
http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical/interfaithrelations/jewish/index.h
tml
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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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
