ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 2, 2004

ELCA Global Mission Events In Montana, Wisconsin
04-113-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) are committed to deepening and extending their global
relationships.  To celebrate that commitment and learn more about the
church's work in the world, Lutherans will gather at two Global Mission
Events (GME) this summer.
     GMEs are scheduled July 15-18 at Montana State University, Bozeman,
Mont., and July 29-Aug. 1 at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee.
Thousands of Lutherans are expected to reflect on the 2004 GME theme,
"Claimed by God's grace … for the sake of the world."
     "A Global Mission Event is a place of dialogue and intersection with
the world, where we can meet global brothers and sisters and share our
concerns face to face.  It is also a place of discovery and challenge.
Together we can honor one another's voices and experiences, especially
when what we learn stretches our thinking," said Anne Basye, associate
director for global resources, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
     Basye said the GMEs' theme will help Lutherans "explore our identity
as Lutherans personally and globally.  Because of God's grace and through
our baptism we are called to live in trust, not in fear.  We are called to
be people of faith in a world shaped by God's grace that is filled with
contradictions and struggle.  Together we will learn what churches around
the world are doing to replace systems of dishonesty and violence with
God's realm of love and safety."
     The ELCA Division for Global Mission primarily organizes GMEs with
support from other ELCA churchwide units and Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans, a fraternal benefits organization based in Minneapolis.  The
event in Bozeman is being co-sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Canada.  Volunteers from Bozeman and Milwaukee will assist the division
in organizing the events.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, will open the
GME in Milwaukee, and the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director,
Division for Global Mission, will open the GME in Bozeman.
     Both GMEs will focus on young adults in global mission.  Half of ELCA
mission personnel who began assignments overseas in 2003 are under 35
years of age; 20 percent of them are under 30.  At each GME a group of
young adults will share their stories and experiences of serving overseas.
     The events will also give special focus to the church's peace work
around the world.  Leymah Gbowee, a member of the Lutheran Church in
Liberia and an active leader among Lutheran women working for peace in
Liberia, and Jenny Neme, a peace activist and staff member of Justapaz, an
ecumenical peace organization in Bogota, Colombia, will talk about
Lutheran peace work in Colombia and Liberia.  The Rev. Ann Helmke,
director, peaceCENTER, San Antonio, Texas, will serve as moderator of the
discussion.
     The Rev. Chandran Paul Martin, executive secretary, United
Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, and the Rev. David Pfrimmer,
director, Lutheran Office for Public Policy, Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Canada, will talk about the "powers of economic globalization."
     Daniel Kemmis, director, Center for the Rocky Mountain West, a
studies and public policy center at The University of Montana in Missoula,
and former mayor of Missoula, will also speak to the topic of
globalization at the Bozeman event.
     At the Milwaukee event Jim Goodman, a farmer, will share some of his
experiences of farming in Wisconsin, and the Rev. Santiago Rodriguez, a
pastor of the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod, San Salvador, El Salvador, will
talk about the privatization of water in El Salvador.
     Participants will also hear from ELCA mission personnel from around
the world.
     Workshops and seminars -- known as "Global University Sessions" --
highlight the GMEs.  Topics range from pilgrimages in Africa to prison
congregations in the United States, from religious practices and symbols
to global trade, and from "post Sept. 11" U.S. border security to maritime
ministry.  Participants at the Bozeman event will address agriculture and
the environment, and participants at the Milwaukee event will talk about
industry.
     Another highlight of the events is GlobalFest, which features
interactive exhibits, stage presentations, music, dance and dress from
countries around the world.  GlobalFest is led by ELCA mission personnel,
international students and others in mission.  This year's GlobalFest will
begin with an outdoor fest and includes an evening indoor concert of
global music.
     "It's exciting when Christians from around the world gather to engage
in mission through worship, celebration, art, learning and action," Basye
said.
     Program, registration information and a promotional video clip for
the 2004 ELCA Global Mission Events are available at
http://www.elca.org/gme/ on the Internet.

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