News “
By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service
Mount of Olives housing update T
he need for affordable housing in Jerusalem for Palestinians,
particularly Palestinian Chris- tians, continues to be great,” Mark B. Brown, an ELCA pastor who serves as Lutheran World Fed- eration regional representative in Jerusalem, told The Lutheran in August. Brown said the LWF has been working unceasingly to acquire building permits from authorities for the Mount of Olives Hous- ing Project and to obtain Israeli approval of a master site plan for the LWF-owned property. “There [are] countless complications, but there is progress,” he said. In 2012, the Israeli government
acknowledged LWF ownership of the land. Although the LWF’s land survey has been accepted, leaders are working to “secure the required adjustments to the exist- ing master site plan and thereby clear the way for the acquisition of the building permits for the [hous- ing project] and the pavilion,” Brown said.
One requirement was the 2011 completion of a massive retaining wall on the southern border of the LWF property. The fundraising goal is within reach, with three-quarters of the project’s costs “in hand or pledged,” Brown said, adding, “We could begin construction of the
apartments immediately if we had the building permits.” When the LWF receives the per- mits, the final fundraising drive will begin, he said.
Fundraising is also under way for
a special pavilion that would pro- vide care for seniors. “This pavilion is encouraged by the Israeli govern- ment’s Health Ministry due to the pressing need for elder care beds,” Brown said. “[That] may help us to leverage agreement for the housing project.”
As previously reported in The
Lutheran, a tax case that threatened the project and all of the LWF’s humanitarian programs in the area was resolved in 2009.
‘Tireless’ Lutheran efforts
Lutheran World Federation Gen- eral Secretary Martin Junge thanked LWF member churches, including the ELCA, for their “tireless effort” in responding to people affected by drought, violence and hunger. With support from global Lutheran churches, about 5,000 LWF World Service staff provide assistance to 1.5 million refugees and internally displaced people, regardless of race, gender, creed, nationality or political conviction, he said. These humani- tarian efforts are an “expression of [member churches’] faith and there- fore an integral part of their mis- sion,” he added.
Supply stack The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that many public
school teachers spend between $400 and $1,500 of their own money to buy sup- plies for students in need. With that in mind, The Teachers’ Closet, run by volun- teers, collects and buys supplies and gives them to public or parochial teachers. Peace Lutheran Church, Oshkosh, Wis., donates the space. Last year’s wish list— everything from tissues to tape—provided 324 teachers with supplies. For more information, contact Carol Klabunde, coordinator (
cklabunde@sbcglobal.net).
Funds to fix cathedral One year after an earthquake caused extensive damage to the Washington National Cathedral, church officials received a gift to help restore the structure. The $5 million grant came from Lilly Endowment Inc. The announcement came Aug. 23 amid
8 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
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