Lutherans provide shelter L
utherans are on the front- line of sheltering the surge of unaccompanied immigrant
children detained at the Texas- Mexico border. More than 400 children
this month will cycle through Lutheran Social Services of the South’s three transitional shelter facilities in Corpus Christi and El Paso, Texas. A fourth shelter, which will serve as many as 160 kids at a time, will open this fall in McAllen, Texas. “For us, this isn’t a political
issue,” said Evan Moilan, chief mission officer for the nonprofit, which is the largest provider of children’s residential care in Texas. “This is an issue of serving children in need.” Since October federal agents
have apprehended more than 57,000 unaccompanied children at the border. Through a contract with the federal government, the children receive care, educa- tion and health services at LSS shelters after fleeing countries including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Children arriving at LSS shel-
ters range in age from 4 to 17, and stay an average of two weeks,
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Moilan said. While most are reunited with family members, some move on to foster care programs and other service groups. LSS has provided care for unac-
companied children at the border for eight years at its Bokenkamp Children’s Shelter in Corpus Christi, Moilan said. The dormitory-style shelter, which serves youth ages 12 to 17, provides counseling, vocational training, education and spiritual care. To help support the agency’s
work with unaccompanied children, Moilan suggests: • Prayers. Add LSS and the children the group serves to your congrega- tion’s prayer concerns. • Advocacy. Learn about and support the agencies in your area that serve immigrants and refugees. Children initially sheltered by LSS move on to communities nationwide and their needs continue in their new loca- tions, Moilan said. • Cash donations. Although cloth- ing and other in-kind items might be well-intended, they are difficult for the agency’s staff to process, store and distribute. Gifts to LSS can be made at
www.lsss.org.
By Diana Dworin, a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.
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Ancient papyri found This year Brittany Anderson, a junior at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, discovered nine nearly 2,000-year- old papyri (made with fibers from the papyrus plant) documents in a card- board box at the school’s archives. The work-study student was con- ducting a routine inventory of letters and journals donated in the 1980s by the late Orlando W. Qualley, a for- mer classics professor. The papyri are written in ancient Greek and in good shape. Luther hopes to put the frag- ments on display in the library and in an online catalog to increase access for scholars around the world.
9/11 cross stays A cross-shaped beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center can remain on display in the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, dismissing a lawsuit brought by atheists. American Atheists sued in 2012, claiming the 17-foot display at the museum built with a mix of public and private funds was uncon- stitutional. The beam was found by rescue workers two days after the ter- rorist attacks and is part of the 1,000 artifacts in a 100,000-square-foot underground museum.
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No laughing matter Many Turkish women were doubled over with laughter after their coun- try’s deputy leader said women should not laugh in public and should not talk on their mobile phones so much. Social media lit up as news of his speech assailing “moral corruption” spread, with hundreds of Turkish women posting photos of themselves and friends laughing in public places. Popular hashtags included #kahkaha (laugh) and #direnkahkaha (resist, laugh).
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