News
ELCA sends relief to Japan E
LCA members contributed $750,000 by the end of March to aid survivors of a March earthquake and tsunami that devastated north- ern Japan, killing more than 10,000 people and displacing some 250,000 others. As of March 18, the ELCA had released an initial $240,000 to part- ners, including the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church.
No JELC members suffered fatali- ties and church buildings had no major damage. The JELC is distribut- ing food and items to families in Sen- dai, said Megan Bradfield, associate director, ELCA International Disaster Response. Leaders set up aid distribu- tion points at churches and preschools for materials transported from Tokyo to Sendai, she said.
JELC President Sumiyuki Wata- 11
S. Hanson is included in It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living by Dan Savage and Terry Miller. His essay is a transcript of his “It Gets Better” video that was posted on the project’s YouTube channel last October (www.ELCA. org/itgetsbetter). Savage and Miller launched the “It Gets Better” project when they created a YouTube video that reached out to lesbian, gay, bi- sexual and transgender youth facing harassment and bullying. According to the book’s notes, more than 6,000 videos with messages of hope and encouragement have been posted, with more than 20 million views the first three months.
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12 The Lutheran •
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nabe expressed “deep gratitude” to ELCA members for their “heartfelt prayers” and financial gifts. “Within this sudden disaster, we have asked ourselves what can we, as humans, do?” he said. “But we come back to [these] words [from Hebrews]: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ Behind these words is the understanding that while there is a limit to what is human, we proclaim there is no end with God.” Watanabe said the JELC is working with the Japan Lutheran Church, Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church and West Japan Lutheran Church to coordi- nate response to the disaster. The JELC also partners with the Roman Catholic Church and Japan Episcopal Church, among many others. Franklin Ishida, ELCA Global Mis-
sion, reported from Japan that some JELC congregations have contrib- uted food. And one pastor called upon a business connection that led to a contribution of 5 tons of rice. Ishida said a Lutheran World Fed- eration staff member from India was coming to help advise, coordinate and improve communication around relief efforts. To help with relief efforts, pray
and give online at www.ELCA. org/japanearthquake; by phone at 800-638-3522 or send checks (write “Pacific Earthquake and Tsu- nami” on the memo line) to: ELCA Disaster Response, 39330 Treasury Center, Chicago, IL 60694-9300. One hundred percent of gifts go to help with the disaster. Learn more at
http://www.ELCA.org/japan.
Come on in! Les Sheridan, a seminarian doing fieldwork at Cross & Crown Lutheran Church,
Atlanta, noticed employees in front of businesses waving signs to lure people into their stores. Cross & Crown had been in a state of decline until two years ago when it embraced a renewed sense of mission and outreach, and Sheridan wanted to make the church more visible in the community. On Saturdays, he stands on the busy road in front of the church with his sign, inviting motorists to worship. It’s too early to tell whether this has had significant results, but Sheridan is certain more people now know there is a church in their area that welcomes strangers.
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