gations dropped following enact- ment of a state immigration law, wrote Scott Alessi Nov. 17 on www.
uscatholic.org. Paul Zoghby, a priest in Foley, Ala., said his parish has lost 20 percent of its members. More than half of U.S. Roman Catholics age 25 and under are of Hispanic or Latino descent, according to demographics from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Extremism condemned Lutherans and Muslims in Norway condemned religious extremism as “contrary to the teachings of our reli- gions, especially with respect to the basic dignity and rights of all human beings.” In a Nov. 22 statement, the Church of Norway and the Islamic Council of Norway urged their mem- bers to prevent and oppose religious extremism in their communities. They are “concerned that possible tenden- cies to religious extremism in our own ranks should come to light.” The country is still shaken after the July 2011 attacks in which a self-described “cultural Christian” killed 77 people.
Rain & relief
As seasonal rains came to the Horn of Africa from October to January, fewer displaced people sought shel- ter at the Lutheran World Federation- managed refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, said Moses Mukhwana, LWF Dadaab project coordinator. The rainfall has allowed people to plant, have pasture for livestock and access river water. Many still need help since crops won’t be ready until spring and some areas flooded.
On an empty stomach
As church agencies struggle to cope with a rise in food prices in the Horn of Africa, a new problem has emerged: treating HIV. If they haven’t eaten, those taking anti-viral medications on an empty stomach
can feel side effects ranging from gastric pain to nausea. At the end of last year, the cost of rice in Kenya had doubled from about 50 cents for 2.2 pounds to $1.35, causing many poor families to skip meals.
Somalia aid threatened Lutheran-related Norwegian Church Aid and the Danish Refugee Council were among 16 humanitarian agen- cies banned from southern Soma- lia at the end of 2011 by the radical Islamic group Al-Shabab. It accused the agencies of working against the Islamic penal system. The ban could affect 160,000 malnourished chil- dren and others recovering from
famine, the agencies said. Mean- while, Al-Shabab militants report- edly bombed a Pentecostal church 60 miles from the Lutheran World Federation-managed refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya. The camps are home to more than 460,000 people, mostly Somalis.
Gender justice
Gender justice and women’s empow- erment are theological priorities for Lutheran churches, said Elaine Neuenfeldt, secretary of the Lutheran World Federation’s Women in Church and Society desk. “There is fear and insecurity about women’s 12
PLTS, CLU explore possible merger C
alifornia Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary are exploring a proposed merger by which PLTS would remain in Berkeley, Calif., as a full semi- nary of the ELCA. This fall, both schools’ governing boards for- mally endorsed the exploration process. A decision on the merger could come as soon as May 2012. PLTS President Phyllis Ander- son and CLU President Chris Kim- ball both say it would strengthen the schools’ Lutheran identity and service.
They also agree that Columbia,
S.C.-based Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary’s recent merger with Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, N.C., influenced the pro- posal. “That’s a model we’re evalu- ating for ourselves,” Anderson said. “In a challenging time for seminar- ies, we’re looking for ways to secure our future as the Lutheran seminary in the West.” A merger could be a step to increased enrollment, delivery of
shared programs for the ELCA and growth in fundraising capacity, she said. PLTS “achieves some econo-
mies of scale” through sharing a library, IT services and cross-regis- tration with eight other seminaries in the 1,000-student Graduate Theo- logical Union in the Berkeley area, Anderson said. “Merging with CLU would enable us to plan and deploy resources together to reach out in new ways to our Lutheran constitu- encies,” she added. Though the proposal is in early
stages, “there’s a sense of tremen- dous potential for [undergraduate and graduate] education, [a CLU] foothold in the Bay area and serv- ing the church,” Kimball said. Noting that a merger could be a “game-changer” for CLU, he said, “Seminaries have relationships and commitments to the ELCA that are very different from those of [ELCA] colleges. Moving into that relationship is appealing and an opportunity to reflect on what a university of the church is.”
January 2012 11
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