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for the ELCA, a five-year compre- hensive fundraising campaign. That’s 12 percent of the total goal of $198 million by Jan. 31, 2019, to sustain and grow ELCA ministries. Of that nearly $25 million, $12.6 is support for the ELCA Malaria Campaign, which seeks to raise $15 million by the end of 2015. “People are responding to the call to give generously. They want this church and campaign to succeed,” said campaign director Ron Glusen- kamp. “We’re hearing from indi- viduals, families and congregations who want to do more, together, in Jesus’ name.” An additional $4.8 million in pledges and $1.9 million in planned gifts bring the total cam- paign commitment so far to $31.5 million.
Eaton on Ferguson After Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was shot by a police offi- cer in Ferguson, Mo., ELCA Presid- ing Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton called for prayer and peace. “Throughout the gospels, Jesus reached out to the ‘others,’ those whom society deemed utterly foreign,” she said. “We are at greatest risk when we divide into ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Then we are unable to see each other’s humanity. … In Christ, there is no ‘them,’ not Michael Brown, not the community, not the police. All are one. All are ‘us’ and all are Christ’s. … We pray that peace will come to Ferguson and the Brown family—peace is founded on the knowledge that in Christ, there is no ‘other,’ only brothers and sisters.”
Input sought
The ELCA needs your input on gender- based violence. The ELCA has drafted a proposed social message on this topic, which is available on the ELCA website. ELCA members can read the draft and share their
comments or suggestions by Nov. 15 through an online form at www.elca. org/socialmessages. Adopted by the ELCA Church Council on behalf of the denomination, social messages are relatively brief documents that draw attention to social concerns.
Storm recovery in S.D.
Lutheran Disas- ter Respons e commit ted an initial $100,000 to work with Lutheran Social Ser vices of South Dakota on long-term recovery after severe weather this summer. The night of June 16, Lin- coln County received 8.5 inches of rain—a month’s worth of precipita- tion. Paired with continued storms that week, it caused significant flood- ing to homes and businesses. Can- ton [S.D.] Lutheran Church also was severely damaged by the flooding. On June 18, a tornado went through Wessington Springs, S.D., damaging or destroying 67 of the town’s 485 homes. Learn more or support the work at https://community.elca. org/lutherandisasterresponse.
Seminary in churches Breaking down the barriers between seminary and pew, the Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta is holding some classes in congrega- tions, beginning with the Southeast- ern Synod’s largest—the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta. Everybody wins: Laypeople get to learn more about Lutheran theology and seminarians get to practice their learnings, not just with the professor but with laity. LTCA is affiliated with the Interdenominational Theological Center, the largest accredited histori-
cally African-American seminary.
Sharing solidarity Trinity Lutheran Church, Park For- est, Ill., changed its method of shar- ing the peace in August because of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, where their pastor’s husband is bishop of the Lutheran Church in Libe- ria. Parishioners in Liberia stopped shaking hands, hugging or touching one another because of the virus, so Trinity council members decided to do the same. At first the Liberians did fist bumps, but then decided to flash a peace sign instead. Trinity
did likewise. There was some awk- wardness at first, but the act of soli- darity was meaningful for worship- ers, said Linda Johnson Seyenkulo, pastor, who was at presstime awaiting clearance to join her husband, Jen- sen, in Liberia.
Precautions for Ebola Churches in Africa issued guidelines to prevent Ebola infection, such as giving communion wafers on the palm of the hand rather than on the
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What I would say to anyone who is engaged in violence is that approach will not ulti-
mately yield the greatest benefit for the community. It may temporarily accom- plish an objective. If the philosophy of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth was one we all embraced, most of us would be without eyes and teeth.
Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr., asked what he would say to vio- lent protesters in Ferguson, Mo., where an unarmed African-American teen was shot and killed Aug. 9 by a police officer. He was quoted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
” October 2014 9
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