News
Women join womanist theologians in Ghana U
nder the theme “Hope is as Strong as a Woman’s
Arms,” 40 African and African- American womanist theologians from Lutheran and other Christian, Muslim and other religious tradi- tions met with leaders of nongov- ernmental organizations and others July 8-14 at the Talitha Qumi Center at Trinity Theological Seminary in Legon, Ghana. The inaugural African and Afri- can Diasporic Women in Religion and Theology Conference brought participants together to address racism, sexism and issues of vio- lence against women and girls of African descent. Participants dis- cussed sex trafficking and practices such as female genital mutilation, and strategized about how wom- anist religious scholars can use resources and develop projects that respond to those issues. Co-sponsored by the American
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women.” The convention, so far signed by 20 of the council’s 47 member-states, criminalizes forced marriages, female genital mutilation and stalking.
Taking it to the street
Chanting “Stop violence, choose peace,” members of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Detroit, took their service to the streets July 29. More than a hundred people marched from the church to an open-air service with their message against gun violence in the city. They prayed at the site where a young man was killed the previous week before marching to a vacant block for worship. This was the con- gregation’s third anti-violence ser- vice this summer. Parishioners urged residents to speak up when they have information about crimes.
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Academy of Religion’s womanist approaches to religion and society group and The Circle of African Women Theologians, the event was hosted by Mercy Oduyoye, founder of African feminist the- ology and director of the Talitha Qumi Center. The center houses the Institute of Women in Religion and Culture, which orchestrates and accompanies women’s efforts toward gender justice and gender sensitivity.
Participants included Beverly
Wallace, an ELCA pastor and assis- tant professor at the Interdenomi- national Theological Center in Atlanta, and Judith Roberts, ELCA program director for racial justice ministries. Rosetta Ross, professor of religion at Spelman College and the spouse of Ron Bonner, pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Atone- ment in Atlanta, helped coordinate the event.
Goat tale
When Curly escaped from the nativ- ity scene at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Fergus Falls, Minn., last Christmas, much of the surrounding area was put on “goat watch,” with sightings reported on the local radio (March, page 11). Twenty-five days later she wandered onto the Tony Loomer farm and was returned to her owners, Jim and Karen Aakre. Karen, a former art teacher, wrote a book from Curly’s perspective called Curly Gets Cold Feet. The book, which she also illustrated, is sold by its publisher, the Victor Lundeen Co. (
www.victorlundeens.com).
Circumcision banned Germany’s District Court of Cologne banned circumcision of male chil- dren, upsetting leaders from the Mus-
lim and Jewish faiths as well as the German Medical Association. Threat- ening to prosecute parents, the court ruled that circumcision “for the pur- pose of religious upbringing consti- tutes a violation of physical integrity.” The chief rabbi of Lower Saxony called the decision “beyond the imag- ination.” A leader of Berlin’s Katijah Mosque worried some families would circumcise boys under unsafe condi- tions abroad. The German Medical Association president said the ruling brings into question the rights of par- ents on a variety of issues.
Bikes for Christmas When folks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, discovered kids without bicycles and a glut of discarded bikes at a land- fill, they had an idea. First Lutheran Church held a Christmas in July bike giveaway in late July-early August. More than 100 bikes were collected from the community, while volun- teers and resident Shawn Laurion, who fixes bikes as a side job out of his garage, helped refurbish them. When Laurion asked kids why they weren’t riding bikes, they told him, “My bike was stolen” or “My mom and dad can’t afford a bike right now.” Member Louanne Neville said the church is just living out its motto, “The Heart of the City.”
Chaplain heads ceremony Navy chaplain and ELCA member Kay Reed performed a civil union ceremony in June—one of the first gay marriages in the country to hap- pen on a military base. The ceremony between Air Force Sgt. Erwynn Umali and his partner Will Behrens was held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst in New Jersey. Air Force Col. Timothy Wagoner, who serves as the chaplain for a denomination that is against same-sex relation- ships, even attended. The event was a marker of “how things have changed
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