ELCA NEWS SERVICE May 23, 2005 Thrivent Financial For Lutherans Awards $1,875,000 To The ELCA 05-094-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a not- for-profit financial services organization based in Minneapolis, announced May 11 that it awarded $1,875,000 in grants to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The money will help start new congregations, support several events and back nine other initiatives of the ELCA. "We're very grateful to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for its generous gift to the ELCA churchwide organization," said the Rev. Charles S. Miller, ELCA executive for administration and executive assistant to the presiding bishop. "The gift permits us to expand our outreach through the start of new congregations, provides vital support for a host of churchwide events including the upcoming Churchwide Assembly, and gives us the opportunity to try some innovative programs in evangelism and leadership development. The gift really increases our capacity for essential ministries in behalf of this whole church," Miller said. One million dollars of the total will assist the efforts of the ELCA Division for Outreach, which works with the church's 65 synods, 10,657 congregations and other mission partners to develop new congregations, renew congregations that have plateaued or are in decline, and support congregations in transition or with special needs. Thrivent Financial gave $561,000 to support 11 ELCA events: Churchwide Assembly, Youth Gathering, Conference of Bishops, "Mega" Consultations, Bishops' Assistants Gathering, Lutheran Men in Mission events, Global Mission Events, Synod Communicators Event, Women of the ELCA Triennial Convention, Outdoor Ministries Conference, and the Lutheran Youth Organization, Multicultural Youth Leadership Event and Definitely Abled Youth Leadership Event. A block grant of $314,000 went toward nine ELCA initiatives: "Mission Interpretation: A Narrative Approach to Growing Giving," "Cruzando: Journeying with Jesus in Bosnia," Multicultural Gathering, "Interfaith Initiative," "Kidfaith: Nurturing Children in Faith and Community," ELCA Small Town and Rural Ministry Alliance, Legal Issues Forum, college reception at Churchwide Assembly and strategic planning for the Decade for Nonviolence. "Thrivent Financial has been privileged to serve the Lutheran community for more than a century, and developing new mission congregations is critical to the health, vitality and growth of the Lutheran faith," said Tim Schwan, Thrivent Financial vice president of church and community outreach. "We are delighted to assist the ELCA in its ministries that touch people's lives both in the Lutheran church and in the broader community," he said in a Thrivent Financial news release. -- -- -- The home page of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is at http://www.thrivent.com/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news