ELCA NEWS SERVICE
July 3, 2006
ELCA to Offer Global Mission Event in Amherst
06-092-KH*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) will present a Global Mission Event (GME) July 27-30 at
the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Co-sponsored by the
Episcopal Church and endorsed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Canada, the event will draw more than 1,000 participants from
the United States and around the world. The theme for this
year's event is "Sent! by God's grace for the sake of the world."
"[The] Global Mission Event is one of our global events, and
it works specifically to become an avenue where we're sharing the
bigger message of how to receive from our [global] companions,"
said Sunitha Mortha, associate director for global events and
mission interpretation, ELCA Global Mission. "As we look around
in our world right now, we can see the world coming closer and
closer together, and there's curiosity. We think that's one of
our biggest advantages -- that people are curious about one
another. But there's fear mingled in there, and part of what
we're trying to do at the event is to be honest about these
issues and invite curiosity to bloom," she said.
Mortha added that the event will "address the fears in a
real manner and equip people with tools to deal with this fear
that we have of trying to protect what is our own and at the same
time wanting to share."
The event will feature more than 50 "Global University"
sessions, global music and worship, general sessions and three-
part Global University tracks. Each plenary session will feature
a keynote speaker. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of
the ELCA and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF),
and the Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal
Church will present during the opening celebration Thursday
evening. The LWF is a global communion representing 62.3 million
of the world's nearly 65.4 million Lutherans. It is based in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Friday morning the general session will feature He Qi, a
renowned contemporary Chinese Christian artist. He Qi is a
professor at the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, China, and a
tutor for master candidate students in the Philosophy Department
of Nanjing University. The Al-Raja (Hope) Folkloric Dance
Troupe, whose members are Palestinian Christian and Muslim
students from the Lutheran School of Hope, Ramallah, will perform
Friday evening. The school is a ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.
On Saturday morning the Rev. Lisandro Orlov, Latin American
regional coordinator of the LWF HIV/AIDS campaign, United
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina, will participate in a
panel discussion on ministry, faith and challenge in the Latin
American context. Saturday afternoon participants will have the
opportunity to attend a celebration of culture at a global "fair"
where they can sample flavors, sounds, sights and smells from
around the world. There will be a presentation of global music
and dance, and celebration of the service and commitment of
current and former ELCA missionaries who are attending the GME.
Wahu Kaara, Millennium Development Goals campaign program
coordinator, the All Africa Council of Churches, Nairobi, Kenya,
will preach Sunday morning. She is a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize
nominee. Kaara directed the Kenya Debt Relief Network, where she
led campaigns for debt cancellation and economic injustice.
This year's event will allow the participants to choose from
four program tracks that will offer extended workshop sessions in
the areas of asset mapping, sustainable development, cross-
cultural relationships and hunger connections. The sessions will
incorporate simulation games, lectures and small-group
discussion. The gathering also features programs for children,
junior high and high-school-age youth.
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More information about the Global Mission Event is available
at http://www.ELCA.org/gme on the Web.
*Katherine R. Hinck is a senior journalism and religion major at
Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer she is an
intern with the ELCA News Service.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
