ELCA Department for Communication, News & Information
8765 West Higgins Rd, Chicago, IL 60631 800/638-3522 ext. 2963
HEADLINES FOR ELCA NEWS RELEASE ISSUE #05, February 24, 1994
-- CHURCHES ARE THERE BEFORE, AFTER DISASTERS
-- MISSION BUILDERS HELP NINE CONGREGATIONS
-- ALMOST 60 MILLION LUTHERANS IN THE WORLD
February 24, 1995
CHURCHES ARE THERE BEFORE, AFTER DISASTERS
95-05-016-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Churches and synagogues are uniquely
qualified to respond to disasters, according to the Rev. Leon A. Phillips
Jr., director for Inter-Lutheran Disaster Response (ILDR) -- a ministry of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod. "Churches are there before the disaster, and
they're there long after the disaster," he said.
The two Lutheran church bodies have more than 17,000
congregations based across the United States and Caribbean. When
disaster strikes, a structure is nearby for coordinating relief efforts.
Those efforts are capable of lasting for years, because the churches
remain in the neighborhoods.
Floods in United States over recent years illustrate that public and
media interest prompt each other to respond quickly to disasters, Phillips
said. That interest is also quick to move on to the next disaster while
people are still trying to cope with the old disasters.
"In California we're still dealing with the recent flooding, even
though it's not in the media much," he said. "We're involved ecumenically
in rebuilding in northern California, helping people get back in their homes
and starting to put up wallboard and so forth.
"In southern California we're working a lot with low income
people, helping replace lost goods and providing counseling," said
Phillips. "We have one ELCA congregation in southern California that has
been badly damaged and many of its people there -- all senior citizens --
have lost their homes or have major damage."
"A rebuilding effort continues in the area north of Houston in
Texas. It's about a 70-mile strip. Volunteers are helping people now to
put their homes back in order again," he said.
"In Albany, Ga., many people are only now -- since last August --
learning that they are allowed to rebuild, so we have volunteers coming
into Georgia every weekend right now -- college students on spring
break -- to help begin the process of rebuilding the homes," said Phillips.
"Susan Keefer, ILDR flood coordinator for Albany, reported that
six months after the flood less than 10 percent of flooded families are
back in their homes," he added.
"We certainly notice that disaster response in general is more and
more media-driven. Media try to report quickly," said Phillips. "What
that's meant for disaster response is that decisions have to be made
quickly and early. People begin to respond and to send their support
earlier and earlier, mostly because of media attention."
Quick decisions have to consider a slow recovery. "Part of the
challenge in disaster response is to pace ourselves, to make sure that
enough resources are there for the long haul," he said.
"We can't and don't spend all of the money we receive as soon
as we receive it. We try to keep some back to support work in rebuilding
and recovery efforts, buying building materials long after the stories are
gone from the media," said Phillips.
"A few months ago we finished the long-term grants for the
Midwest floods," he said. "Our agencies and social ministry
organizations that worked with the flood are now beginning long-term
building projects with gifts that were given two years ago. They're
helping to relocate towns and helping to rebuild houses -- many things
that aren't on the front page any more."
Volunteers interested in helping rebuild in Georgia are asked to
contact Susan Keefer at 912-436-1450.
##########
February 24, 1995
MISSION BUILDERS HELP NINE CONGREGATIONS
95-05-017-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Sixty-three people came from across the
country to attend an annual Mission Builders conference here Feb.
17-19. Instruction and inspiration were objectives for bringing
construction managers to the offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America.
Builders are retired carpenters, construction workers or other
volunteers willing to share their building talents for minimum wage. They
may work constructing a church facility for an ELCA congregation
anywhere in the United States or the Caribbean.
"We have assisted on 50 projects" since the program began in
1986, said the Rev. William J. Hanson, ELCA director for Mission Builders.
Nine congregations were assisted with building projects in 1994:
+ Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Birmingham, Ala.,
+ Christ the King Lutheran Church, Cumming, Ga.,
+ Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kan.,
+ Feast of Victory Lutheran Church, Acme, Mich.,
+ Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Lakeville, Minn.,
+ Peace Lutheran Church, Lincoln, N.D.,
+ Christ the King Lutheran Church, Greenville, S.C.,
+ American Lutheran Church, Newport, Wash., and
+ Ocean Park Lutheran Church, Ocean Park, Wash.
The number of projects selected each year depends heavily on
the number of builders available. "The Mission Builders family now
numbers 100 active builders from 28 states," said Hanson. A crew of
four to six builders report to a construction manager on a project. This
Mission Builders conference welcomed four new managers.
"These are some of God's very special people," said the Rev.
Donald D. Johnson, mission education director, ELCA Division for
Outreach, who plans to retire in September. "People are touched by their
witness, and I am too."
The Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, bishop of the ELCA, told the
group, "I know how much it means to that congregation to get off to a
fast start with the help of folks like this," he said.
The Mission Builders Endowment Fund has been established,
with Donald Kieffer, Tucson, Ariz., as its volunteer director for
development. Kieffer accepted the one-year assignment, effective Feb.
1.
The first major gift to the fund was $1,350 from Lutheran Men in
Mission, the men's organization of the ELCA. The money was collected
during the LMM national assembly, July 15-17, at Wittenberg College,
Springfield, Ohio.
Kieffer called Mission Builders "the best kept secret in the ELCA."
He said, "The mission congregations that are building need us. They just
don't understand what we can do for them." Beyond helping them
construct churches, "we bring them the opportunity to enrich the spiritual
outlook of their members," he said.
The managers compared notes on techniques that have proved
successful in saving time, money, energy or grace. There were
workshops on legal liability questions, job safety issues and architectural
design.
##########
February 24, 1995
ALMOST 60 MILLION LUTHERANS IN THE WORLD
95-05-018-LWI
GENEVA (ELCA) -- The number of Lutherans worldwide was
59,730,416 in 1994, according to information released here by the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The comparable figure for 1993 was
58,487,492.
The 120 member churches and 12 recognized congregations of
the LWF totaled 56,082,694 members in 1994, compared with 54,73,109
in 1993. At the end of 1994, 3,647,722 million Lutherans worldwide did
not belong to the LWF. The comparable figure for 1993 was 3,751,383.
The 7.6-million-member Church of Sweden, which is affiliated
with the LWF, remained the world's largest Lutheran church, followed by
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 5.2 million and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland with close to 4.6 million.
Germany, where the Lutheran tradition has its origin, had the largest
number of Lutherans in any one country, its Lutheran churches having a
combined membership of 14.3 million, ahead of the U.S. with 8.3 million.
The most significant changes were increases in the memberships
of Lutheran churches in Tanzania, Papua New Guinea and Ethiopia. The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania recorded an increase of
700,000 members since 1991, while, since last year, the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea grew by nearly 250,000 and the
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus by 230,000.
The largest concentration of Lutheranism and the LWF is in
Europe, with just under 37.3 million members. North America has more
than 8.6 million Lutherans, of whom 5.4 million belong to the LWF. Almost
all of Africa's 7.6 million Lutherans are members of the federation. Asia
has 4.8 million Lutherans, of whom almost 4.7 million belong to the LWF.
Of the nearly 1.4 million Lutherans in Latin America, more than 1.1 million
are members of the LWF.
The statistical details are based on information supplied by the
churches. The data of several churches were based on estimates, in
some cases made in terms of baptized members and in other cases in
terms of members making financial contributions.
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