Title: LUTHERAN YOUTH SEEK TO IMPROVE THE
WORLD
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 25, 1997

LUTHERAN YOUTH SEEK TO IMPROVE THE WORLD
97-YG-02-MR

     NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- "Almost
one-fourth of our children in the
United States live in poverty.  That is not
an act of God; there is no
divine intervention saying that children
must live in poverty," Paul Simon
told 1,600 young people attending "Pale Blue
Dot" -- a "trek" on political
solutions to global problems -- offered at
the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America's Youth Gathering here July
23-27.  Simon, a former U.S. Senator
from Illinois, is a member of the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod.
     "Poverty exists because of law and
policy, and we have to help.  You
and I are people of hope, and you have to
give of yourself and sacrifice
some of yourself," said Simon.  He offered
several ways for young people to
help.
     "You must begin by studying the issues
and write letters to your
members of Congress," he said.  "When you
write a letter, you save a life.
Many die before their natural time."
     "The two greatest gifts from God are
health and time.  Use your time
appropriately," urged Simon.  "You must also
be willing to show courage.
Explore the area where you live and get
acquainted with someone living in
parts of the inner city or visit a prison,"
he said.
     Simon challenged young people to answer
two questions:  "What kind of
world do you want?  What are you going to do
to help build it?"
     "I want you to be a person who doesn't
walk by.  What we need are
people to link arms and are willing to reach
out and cross barriers," he
said.
     "I was impressed by Senator Simon,"
said Jonathan Titus, Bethesda
Lutheran Church, Ames, Iowa.  "His message
-- for us to do our part in our
communities and for the world -- was
important.  I think one person can
make a difference, and I am going to do my
best," said Titus.
     Young people also heard from Charles R.
Baquet III, deputy director
for the U.S. Peace Corps and former U.S.
Ambassador to Djibouti.  "I am a
citizen of the world.  My home is where I
choose," he said.  Baquet is a
native of New Orleans.
     Baquet spoke about the "meaning of
hope" peace corps volunteers offer
to help countless numbers of people around
the world prepare for the
future.  "Any volunteer will tell you that
they gain more from their
experience than they gave.  As a volunteer,
I learned about attributes that
I thought I never had, like perseverance,
dedication, innovation and the
ability to solve problems," he said.  "It
takes a lot of work to become a
winner.  It takes a lot of work to become a
volunteer."
     "We need to help support the Peace
Corps, because the wealth and size
of the United States should allow lots of
money to be given for foreign
aid," said Matthew Brent, Calvary Lutheran
Church, Bronx, New York.  "It is
ridiculous that other countries, smaller in
size like Denmark and Norway,
give up to six percent more than the United
States in foreign aid.  The
U.S. only provides one percent of its money
to foreign aid," he said.
     Participants took part in worship and
sang with "Nightmusic," a jazz
musical group, and gospel music soloist
Romenita Henderson, Washington,
D.C.  Participants also heard from the Rev.
Paul A. Wee, pastor of
Reformation Lutheran Church, Washington,
D.C., and the Rev. Christopher M.
Thomforde, president of Bethany College,
Lindsborg, Kansas.  Bethany is one
of 28 colleges and universities associated
with the ELCA.
     The trek included workshop topics such
as feeding the world in the
21st century, the future of the church and
simple lifestyles that can
sustain the environment.

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For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director, News and Information
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html