ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 7, 2005

Thousands Of Lutherans To Celebrate Global Mission In Fargo
05-098-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Cass County, North Dakota, is "one of the
largest refugee resettlement sites in the United States in the
past 10 years."  To celebrate that diversity and learn more about
building global relationships, members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather at the ELCA Global
Mission Event (GME) July 14-17 at North Dakota State University
and the FargoDome, Fargo, N.D.
     Thousands of Lutherans are expected to reflect on the 2005
GME theme, "Gathered by God's Grace for the Sake of the World" in
Fargo and August 25-28 at the Baltimore Convention Center at the
Wyndham Hotel in Baltimore.
     "Global Mission Events are four-day events that bring
together an amazing collection of people," said Anne Basye,
associate director for global resources, ELCA Division for Global
Mission.
     The events "bring together Christians from around the world
-- church leaders, missionaries, former missionaries, people who
are going to be missionaries and don't know it yet, and [other]
people from congregations.  Together they learn about God's
mission in the world, worship and have a great time," she said.
     The ELCA Division for Global Mission primarily organizes
GMEs with support from other ELCA churchwide units and Thrivent
Financial For Lutherans, a not-for-profit financial services
organization based in Minneapolis.  Volunteers from the Fargo and
Baltimore areas will play key roles in organizing the events.
     "When I began working with the Fargo local planning
committee, it came as a surprise" to learn that Cass County is
"one of the largest refugee resettlement sites in the United
States in the past 10 years," Basye said.
     "Fargo is in a part of the country that is traditionally one
of the strongest senders of missionaries for the ELCA.  Many
former and current missionaries come from North Dakota, Minnesota
and South Dakota.  There is a natural affinity between this
region and global mission," she said.
     Participants of GMEs will hear from ELCA mission personnel
currently serving in Argentina, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Jamaica, Jerusalem, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and other
places in the world.  Workshops and seminars -- known as "Global
University Sessions" -- highlight the GMEs.  Topics range from
Christianity in Japan to migrant worker issues in Fargo and
Moorhead, Minn.
     Featured speakers will include Vidhya Rani, secretary of the
Women's Desk, United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India; Leymah
Gbowee, Women in Peace Building Network, Liberia; and the Rev.
Ibrahim Azar and family, Evangelical Lutheran Church of the
Redeemer, Jerusalem.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, will
preach at the GME closing worship on July 10.  Hanson is also
president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a global
communion of 138 Lutheran churches in 77 countries, with 66
million members.  The LWF is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
     GMEs are multigenerational and include programming for all
people, Basye said.  "A children's program will offer a creative
mix of learning experiences for kids ages 3 to 10. Junior high
school students will participate in an immersion experience on
China, facilitated [in part] by the Global Language Villages of
Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. Special programming that
connects senior high school Lutheran culture to a global
perspective is also planned," she said.
       "Global mission is a very strong focus of congregations in
the Fargo area, and this is an excellent way for people who are
already interested in global mission through the activities of
their congregations to really connect with the big picture of
what's happening through the ELCA in global mission," Basye said.
     "Fargo congregations have many existing international
connections," she said.  "Olivet Lutheran Church has strong
connections with Palestinian Christians who are producers of
olive woodcrafts, and they have been supporting that ministry for
a long time," she said.
     Dade County in Florida and Cook County in Illinois are the
top two counties that resettle refugees, said Basye.
     "While we think of North Dakota as a really homogeneous
place, there are people from Bosnia, Kurdistan, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam.  The world already lives in
Fargo.  Part of what this GME will do is lift up the surprising
diversity that is in Fargo, thanks to the efforts of Lutheran
Immigration and Refugee Service, which was instrumental in making
them a part of the community." Basye said.
     "The cultural gifts of the refugee community will be
highlighted during the GME GlobalFest, which features interactive
exhibits, special presentations, music, dance and dress from
countries around the world.
- - -
     Program, registration information and a promotional video
clip for the 2005 ELCA Global Mission Events are available at
http://www.ELCA.org/gme on the Web.

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