DANA LOCKHART News
By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service
Energy stewards ELCA congregations and camps can apply now (deadline is May 1) for the Energy Stewards Initiative, a one- to two-year national program beginning this June through Lutherans Restor- ing Creation. The program, which costs $120 a year, helps congregations track and reduce energy use, lower their carbon footprint, get help from bimonthly webinars, and free up funds for ministry and mission. Apply, learn more or sign up for a March 25 (7 p.m. CDT) informational webinar at www.
lutheransrestoringcreation.org.
Grants for seminaries High student debt levels can keep pas- tors in financial hardship and unable to serve congregations where they are most needed. ELCA seminaries, together with Lilly Endowment Inc., hope to change that. Seven of the ELCA’s eight seminaries have received more than $1.7 million in Lilly grants to address the economic challenges facing future ministers. “These gen- erous grants allow our schools to continue improving financial under- standing and practice among semi- narians and carry out other strategic efforts,” said Jonathan Strandjord, ELCA director for theological educa- tion. “These efforts include growing enrollment, strengthening scholar- ships and revising the educational process in ways that reduce costs borne by students.”
Mansholt is interim The East-Central Synod of Wiscon- sin appointed Gerald L. Mansholt as interim bishop. From 2001 to 2013, Mansholt served as bishop of the Cen- tral States Synod. Ordained in 1974, he served congregations in Oklahoma,
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ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton (right) walks with Janet Jorgensen during a visit to South Dakota ranchers who lost cattle in last October’s early winter storm.
Eaton visits S.D. area hit hard by October storm
W
inter came early to South Dakota last October in a deadly storm called Atlas. In
January, ELCA Presiding Bishop Eliz- abeth A. Eaton visited the devastated area to tell ranchers they won’t be for- gotten and to pledge help. Eaton and David Zellmer, South
Dakota Synod bishop, visited ranches and the towns of Bison, Meadow, Piedmont and Sturgis to see firsthand how Atlas impacted 14 western coun- ties that suffered livestock casualties. The state estimated a loss of 30,000 livestock, but Lisa Adler, Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota in Aberdeen, reported a loss of 91,000
I drove as close as I could to where the herd should be, saddled up and headed south. Three miles later [I found] my nephew’s favorite cow, “the blue roan,” alive and well, but there was but a fraction of the cattle that there should be.
A look over the ridge in the creek will find the remainder, trapped but
cows, horses and sheep based on applications it received. But that num- ber may be low, she added. When the storm struck, cattle had
yet to grow their winter coats and were still in less-protected summer pas- tures. Freezing rain turned to several feet of snow. In 60-70 mph winds, live- stock tried to find shelter in the draws, creek areas and near the banks of a dugout. Instead, they became snow- covered and died of water in their lungs and hypothermia. Eaton visited land still dotted with
the corpses of cattle and heard the ranchers’ emotional stories. Adler, also on the tour, said South
alive, I thought. “Dear God in heaven,” I heard myself say out loud. I had found the cattle. Instead of trapped and alive, I found what once was the culmination of years of hard work and determination, and now could only be described as a pile of cattle in the bottom of the creek. Drowned, buried by the snow and suffo-
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