Y. FRANKLIN ISHIDA
and Xichong. For the national church, these provin- cial programs have together become models of social services that meet the needs of the people and work in cooperation with local governments. Notably, ELCA funds have helped to leverage church, other nonprofit and government programming. In Luzhou, for example, connections between the church, the People’s Hospital, the Federation for the Disabled and the local government are raising the quality of peo- ple’s lives.
The church used ELCA funds to catapult the Federa- tion for the Disabled into care for children with hearing impairments and autism. The federation also works closely with the Luzhou parish social services to carry out community-based rehabilitation programs for chil- dren with cerebral palsy. In rural mountain areas, ELCA support helped bring
irrigation and drinking water into communities of the Miao ethnic minority group. At the Luzhou First People’s Hospital, Hanson wit- nessed firsthand the life-giving treatment facilitated through the ELCA. Neonatal respirators acquired with ELCA assistance help save many lives. “For us Christians, we know that that word of breath is the same as spirit and wind,” Hanson said. “The ventilator is not just a machine: it is giving breath and
Bishop Mark S. Hanson; his wife, Ione; and Peter Chen, ELCA Global Mission consultant for China, visit with hear- ing impaired children at the Federation for the Disabled, a partner of the Luzhou city parish in southeastern Sichuan province.
life. This is that life we share with all people in every country.”
And even as the local church has opened Luzhou
Gospel Hospital, opportunities for cooperation between the government and church hospitals have increased. This connection is needed, Hanson said, adding, “For us Christians we believe there is a connection of the whole- ness of people in body, mind and spirit. We are also committed to the healing of family and communities. We need the partnerships of the church and hospital.” While social services carry the work of the gospel forward for the Luzhou city parish, the life of its congre- gation also continues to grow. Preaching a sermon at the church, Hanson addressed the theme of “hope,” empha- sizing that amid all the challenges and needs around us, amid things we understand and things we don’t, we as Christians live in hope through Jesus Christ. “The challenge,” Hanson told parishioners, “is how people in our church can learn from you and how, together, we can grow the church.”
December 2012 39
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