ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 2, 2007

2007 Global Mission Opportunities Begin with Events in Florida, Arizona
07-001-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) will offer two winter global mission programs in 2007, and
one significant Global Mission Event in July. All three events
feature worship, music and learning, with emphasis on how the
ELCA can "accompany" Lutherans in mission throughout the globe.
     An "ELCA Global Mission Festival" will be held Jan. 26-28 at
St. John Lutheran Church, Winter Park, Fla. The following
weekend, Feb. 2-3, an "ELCA Global Mission Fiesta" is planned at
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Phoenix.
     This summer an ELCA Global Mission Event is to be held July
19-22 at The Ohio State University, Columbus.
     The winter events are new, said Sunitha Mortha, associate
director for Global Mission Events and mission interpretation,
ELCA Global Mission. Both are designed to be smaller and shorter
in length than the traditional Global Mission Event, and focus on
regional versus national participation, she said.
     "Global Mission is looking to support congregations engaged
in global mission at the grassroots level," Mortha said.
Feedback from all of the 2007 global mission opportunities is
expected to help shape future events, she added.
     The Florida Global Mission Festival will feature two plenary
speakers: the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, Jerusalem, and the
Rev. Ruben F. Duran, director for development of new
congregations, ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational
Mission.
     The festival will feature a series of learning
opportunities, known as Global University sessions, for people
aged 14 and older. Confirmed workshop leaders include the Rev.
Paul Moonu, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana; Stephen Deal,
ELCA regional representative in Central America; and the Rev.
Judith VanOsdol-Hansen, ELCA missionary, Argentina.
     The festival will conclude Jan. 28, when participants will
worship in area congregations, where they will use global music
and worship resources.
     Registration deadline for the festival is Jan. 24.
     In Arizona the Global Mission Fiesta will focus on
leadership development for congregations engaged in or
considering global ministry through the ELCA or a Lutheran-
related organization. The featured plenary speaker is the Rev.
Pierre Sene, president, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Senegal.
Registration deadline is Jan. 28.
     The fiesta precedes the popular "Lutheran Seniors Assembly,"
Feb. 5-6 at La Casa De Cristo Lutheran Church, Scottsdale, Ariz.
     Registration for the Global Mission Event opens Feb. 1. That
program includes a variety of worship, music and learning
opportunities for people of all ages. The featured speaker is
Immaculee Ilibagiza, a young woman from Rwanda who survived the
1994 genocide by hiding for three months in a bathroom in a
pastor's home.
     Music at all three global mission opportunities in 2007 will
be led by "Bread for the Journey," featuring the Rev. Jose
Antonio Machado, Mary Preus and Tom Witt. The group is familiar
to global mission audiences.
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     Information about the 2007 global mission programs,
including registration information, is at
http://www.ELCA.org/gme/gme07.html on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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