News 10 Swamp people
Members of Swamp Evangelical Lutheran Church, Reinholds, Pa., acquired the name “Swamp People” after much of their church burned down in February 2010. While their church was being restored, members began worshiping with area congrega- tions, which dubbed them “the swamp people,” said Bonnie Trout, the pas- tor’s wife, adding that they have taken the name to heart. In September, a year and a half after the fire, the swamp people dedicated and moved back into their new wing, replacing the social hall, kitchen, Sunday school rooms and offices that burned to the ground.
Sixty school bags
More than 120 students and their adult, middle school and high school volunteers participated in vaca-
tion Bible school at Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Ind., under the theme “Pandamania: Where God’s Wild About You!” God was likely wild about their craft/service project: 60 backpacks decorated with “Jesus Loves You” in Spanish, as well as bookmarks and Spanish Bibles for children in Latin America.
Closure leads to openings The closing of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Raymond, Wash., in 2008 resulted in the first community food bank in nearby South Bend, as well as a senior center. Members switched to First Lutheran Church of South Bend and brought with them the proceeds of the sale of their building. The money was used for the Legacy Community Outreach Food Bank, now serving 237 families a month. Within weeks,
a senior center opened in the closed church.
For the record
According to the ELCA Office of the Secretary, 533 churches have with- drawn from the official roster of congregations from Aug. 14, 2009, through Sept. 1, 2011. States most impacted by votes to disaffiliate are Minnesota (64 congregations), Iowa (50) and Ohio (47). Synods losing the most congregations are Southwestern Texas (19 percent) and Western Iowa and North Carolina (both 15 percent). Synods losing the fewest are Metro- politan Washington, D.C., and Slovak Zion (none), and Alaska, Arkansas- Oklahoma, Caribbean, New England and New Jersey (one each).
Lutheran wins Peace Prize The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was pre- sented to three women Oct. 7, includ- ing Leymah Gbowee, a Lutheran peacemaker, activist and mother from Liberia. Gbowee led thousands of women to defy warlords and carry Liberia from a long-running civil war to peace in 2003. “I had had enough of war,” she told participants of the 2011 Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering in Spokane, Wash., in July. The other winners were Liberia’s first elected female president, Ellen John- son Sirleaf, and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen, who campaigns for peaceful, democratic change in the Arab world.
COURTESY OF TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH.
Harvest blessing Bill Nelsen, pastor of Trinity and St. Paul Lutheran churches, between Gaylord
and Le Sueur, Minn., blesses a farm family Sept. 18 in front of their tractor. About 50 farm families in cars, tractors, combines, loaders and feed trucks lined up for the annual Tractor Roll-in and Harvest Blessing Service, sponsored by Scandian Grove Lutheran Church, St. Peter, Minn., Trinity and St. Paul. Participants also raised more than $1,300 for the ELCA World Hunger.
12 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Papal prosecution sought The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) filed a complaint to hold Pope Benedict XVI partly responsible for the “systematic and widespread concealing of rape and child sex crimes throughout the world.” SNAP wants prosecution of the pope and former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, current Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio 14
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