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News


By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service


Crisis in Syria continues W


inter is on the way for a grow- ing number of people who fled Syria to Jordan and other surround- ing countries. Some 95,000 Syrian refugees are registered in Jordan, but at presstime in October the U.N. projected that number would increase to 250,000 by year’s end. At one refugee camp in Za’atri, Jordan, “52 percent of the popu- lation here are children, facing a winter soon to come with low tem- peratures and rain,” said Lutheran World Federation General Secre- tary Martin Junge. Junge traveled to the camp Sept. 27 with LWF President Munib A. Younan to see the LWF-supported humanitarian effort. Helping the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, which man- ages the camp, the LWF is provid- ing winterized tents, prefab con- tainers and warm clothing for chil- dren. Few have shoes. With little to do, the children’s restlessness often ends in quarrels or fights.


“I see traumatized people that have escaped violence, and how violence is shaping the way peo- ple relate to the situation,” Junge


Endangered future


said. “We will have to scale up our efforts jointly so people can live in basic dignity.” The LWF is sought-after for its expertise and experience in the region. When drought struck from 1958 to 1962, the organization helped the Jordanian government distribute food, especially flour, to Bedouin communities at risk of starvation. Over a period of three years, nearly 5 million pounds of flour was distributed to more than 179,000 people. For the current crisis, the ELCA sent $450,000 ($200,000 for inter- nal use in Syria and $250,000 for the camp). To help, send checks (write “Syria Response” in the memo line) to ELCA Disaster Response, 39330 Treasury Cen- ter, Chicago, IL 60694-9300; visit www.elca.org/disaster; or call 800-638-3522.


Munib Younan (left), president of the Lutheran World Federation, and Martin Junge (right), LWF general secretary, meet Nabeel, one of the children who make up 52 percent of the refugee camp in Za’atri, Jordan.


Christians in the Middle East have an endangered future, said Rosangela Jarjour, general secretary of the Beirut-based Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches. Speak- ing Sept. 21 in Florence, Italy, Jar- jour told the General Assembly of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe that more than 50,000 Christians have fled Egypt and Syr- ian Christians “have lost their homes, livelihoods and churches, and been the victims of widespread looting, destruction and arson.” She added, “We don’t want to become refugees, but [want] to live in peace and with full citizens’ rights and duties in our own land.”


Greater advocacy for poor The plight of Americans living in poverty hasn’t improved during the last year, according to Census data, and Christian leaders said the issue must become a priority for Chris- tians. “Across the political and theo- logical spectrum, the faith commu- nity is putting aside differences and taking up the biblical vocation of protecting the poor and bringing their stories and struggles to light,” said Jim Wallis, president and CEO of Sojourners, a progressive Christian group. U.S. Census data released in September says median household income declined in 2011 and the pov- erty rate remained mostly unchanged from 2010, at 15 percent. The fed- eral government defines poverty as annual income of $23,021 for a fam- ily of four.


A revitalized NCC


The National Council of Churches Governing Board approved a plan for re-envisioning and restructuring the organization. The NCC will be based on the interaction of three areas: theological study and dialogue, inter- religious relations and dialogue, and


8 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


 THOMAS EKELUND/LWF


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