LISTSERV mailing list manager LISTSERV 16.0

Help for ELCANEWS Archives


ELCANEWS Archives

ELCANEWS Archives


ELCANEWS@LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

ELCANEWS Home

ELCANEWS Home

ELCANEWS  August 2006

ELCANEWS August 2006

Subject:

Lutherans at Ecumenical Sessions Before 2006 International AIDS Conference

From:

[log in to unmask]

Reply-To:

[log in to unmask]

Date:

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 13:05:10 -0500

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (108 lines)

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 14, 2006  

Lutherans at Ecumenical Sessions Before 2006 International AIDS Conference
06-124-JB

     TORONTO (ELCA) -- Lutherans came from around the world to
participate in an ecumenical pre-conference Aug. 10-11 at the
University of Toronto in advance of the 2006 International AIDS
Conference, Aug. 13-18 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The Christian Host Committee (Canada) and the Ecumenical Advocacy
Alliance, based in Geneva, hosted the pre-conference, "Faith in
Action: Keeping the Promise."
     "We cannot talk about religious leaders keeping a promise
until religious leaders and the faith communities they lead make
a promise," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chicago, and president,
Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in a plenary session. "I believe
that our public promises as religious leaders must be spoken with
both clarity and humility ... humility because we need to repent
publicly of our failure to abide by these commitments," he said.
     "As a global religious leader of 66 million Lutherans in the
world and the U.S. religious leader of 5 million Lutheran
Christians in the United States, I promise publicly to stand in
solidarity with you and let the commitments made here and
articulated here shape my leadership and my rhetoric," Hanson
said.
     After making and keeping promises, Hanson said, religious
leaders must hold themselves and others accountable to those
promises. "We will acknowledge we have power, and we have
responsibility to use that power for the sake of justice, mercy
and peace. When [global] religious leaders begin to lead by
example, religious leaders in local communities will have the
courage to lead and follow," he said.
     The 500 participants chose to attend as many as six of 40
workshops during the ecumenical pre-conference.  Topics followed
eight streams: building welcoming communities, delivering on
universal access, preventing new infections, engaging and
transforming churches and faith-based communities, youth in
action for an AIDS-free world, advocating for justice and
accountability, developing new tools for biblical, theological
and ethical reflection, and building basic skills.
     "Are you playing with a full deck?" was the question several
Lutherans asked while leading a workshop on tools for
incorporating HIV and AIDS ministries into the life of the
church.  The Rev. Janet B. Grill, St. Andrew Lutheran Church,
Pittsburgh; Andrena Ingram, seminarian, Lutheran Theological
Seminary in Philadelphia; the Rev. Ngandaneni Phaswana, bishop,
Central Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa,
Johannesburg; and Patricia Zerega, ELCA director for corporate
social responsibility, Pittsburgh, led the workshop.
     The four distributed a deck of cards to everyone who
attended the workshop.  Instead of playing cards, the cards had
information from the history of the red ribbon associated with
HIV and AIDS to Internet addresses for details on specific HIV
and AIDS ministry techniques.  The deck included blank cards, and
participants received pens to add information about their own
ministries or other ministries.
     "Love doesn't protect you from contracting HIV."  This
simple truth is not easy for many women to accept, said Sonia
Covarrubias, a social worker and health educator from Chile.  She
made her comments at a session focused on concerns about the
impact of HIV and AIDS on women.
     "The church should be open to meet with the community and
develop programs together," Covarrubias said.  "The role of the
church is to place itself on the side of the marginalized in
order to overcome social injustice," she said.
     The LWF brought a delegation of Lutherans from around the
world to the pre-conference and International AIDS Conference,
including Covarrubias.  The delegation also included a dozen
young Lutherans.
     Emily Freeburg, assistant to the director, Lutheran Office
for World Community, said there are many opportunities for youth
to get involved in campaigns focused on HIV and AIDS in a faith-
based environment.  "If you are part of a church, you can use
your youth group and there are young professional groups that are
active around different development issues." The challenge is "to
find a niche wherever you are," she said.
     The Lutheran Office for World Community is a ministry of the
ELCA and Lutheran World Federation at the United Nations in New
York.
     "When you have young people dialogue with church leaders,
they're the ones who are not going to be afraid to ask the
questions," Freeburg said.  "They are going to bring up these
issues where others are going to pretend they're not there. Young
people have the fearlessness," she said.  "So I think, wow, the
church can really use youth to break the silence that the church
structure can't break on its own."
     To help increase youth involvement in AIDS campaigns, Helge
Andersen, 21, led a pre-conference session called "How Can
Youth?"  Andersen, a student activist from Changemakers, Oslo, a
Norwegian Church Aid youth initiative founded in 1992 that now
counts 2,000 members in 20 local groups, described an anti-stigma
campaign to distribute 50,000 'Positiv' buttons.
     "We got global attention because the Norwegian bishops
thought this was a cool idea," Andersen said.  "The media just
loved it.  When you have religion and sex you can get through to
the media," she said.
---
     Information about the proceedings at the ecumenical pre-
conference and the 2006 International AIDS Conference is at
http://iac.e-alliance.ch/index.php on the Web.

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

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

Advanced Options


Options

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password


Search Archives

Search Archives


Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe


Archives

October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
September 1999
August 1999
July 1999
June 1999
May 1999
April 1999
March 1999
February 1999
January 1999
December 1998
November 1998
October 1998
September 1998
August 1998
July 1998
June 1998
May 1998
April 1998
March 1998
February 1998
January 1998
December 1997
November 1997
October 1997
September 1997
August 1997
July 1997
June 1997
May 1997
April 1997
March 1997
February 1997
January 1997
December 1996
November 1996
October 1996
September 1996
August 1996
July 1996
June 1996
May 1996
April 1996
March 1996
February 1996
January 1996

ATOM RSS1 RSS2



LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG

CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager