Title: Women of the ELCA Contributes Gift to Support ELCA Mission
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 5, 2002

WOMEN OF THE ELCA CONTRIBUTES GIFT TO SUPPORT ELCA MISSION
02-074-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) gave a $700,000 gift to the ELCA for its ministries
around the world in 2001.  Among other business, the amount of the gift
was announced at the Women of the ELCA executive board meeting here
March 14-17.
     Women of the ELCA budgets a financial gift to the ELCA every year.
The 2001 gift includes $307,980 to the ELCA budget; $155,516 to the ELCA
World Hunger Appeal; and $35,969 to Lutheran World Relief, the overseas
relief and development agency of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod.  The gift also supports domestic ministries of the church.
     "The gift represents the passion and commitment of women
throughout the church," said Catherine I.H. Braasch, executive director
for the women's organization of the ELCA.  "Second and third-mile gifts
are yet another sign of God's active presence in the lives of women and
congregations," she said.
     In a separate report, the executive board learned that gifts to
Katie's Fund have totaled more than $277,000.  Katie's Fund is a
permanent endowment fund named after Katharina "Katie" von Bora, a
former nun who married Martin Luther, the 16th century German monk whose
work led to the Protestant Reformation.  In addition to her traditional
roles, Katie managed the family's finances.
     Interest from the endowment supports Women of the ELCA programs,
resources and opportunities for women in the areas of "global sharing,"
leadership development and "living theology."
     The first allocation from the fund is being used for "Young Women
Seeing Visions," a program designed for "women of all ages to support
young women in their ministries," said Braasch.  A special "Young Women
Seeing Visions" track will be held at the Women of the ELCA Fifth
Triennial Gathering in Philadelphia, July 8-14.
     Katie's Fund was established in 1997 to mark the 10th anniversary
of the women's organization. Women of the ELCA became an official
organization when 2,500 women from three former Lutheran church bodies
gathered in a constituting convention in Milwaukee, July 11-14, 1987.
     Women of the ELCA has more than 7,800 "local units" in
congregations and institutional settings across the United States and
Caribbean.
     The board received information about the first Women of the ELCA
"special unit" on a college campus.
     "The first special unit on a college campus was formed at the
Lutheran Student Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln," said Karen S.
Tjarks, director for stewardship and fund development, Women of the
ELCA.
     Tjarks said there are about 10 students who worship together and
share meals there.  The special unit at the university is "one more
expression of Women of the ELCA.  As congregations have discovered the
value of having a women's organization within the congregation, so too
this student congregation will benefit," Tjarks said.
     "Whether students are new to Women of the ELCA or were already
participating in the ministry through their congregations back home,
their campus unit can offer opportunities for sisterhood in Christ,
growth in faith and service in Christ's name," Braasch said.
     Authorized in July 1999 by the Fourth Triennial Convention of
Women of the ELCA, special units provide an important link in women's
ministry from generation to generation and place to place, said Braasch.
Special units are also being added on seminary campuses, nursing homes
and other institutional settings.
     In other business the executive board reviewed four priorities for
the 2002-2005 triennium that will guide the development of resources and
programs by the churchwide women's organization staff.  Within the
context of the organization's purpose statement and new mission
statement -- "to mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus
Christ" -- the priorities are family, leadership development,
spirituality and stewardship.  The priorities will be introduced and
examined at the Women of the ELCA's Fifth Triennial Gathering this
summer.
-- -- --
     Information about Women of the ELCA Fifth Triennial Gathering is
maintained at www.elca.org/wo/events/tg on the ELCA's Web site.

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