ELCA NEWS SERVICE September 19, 2003 ELCA Awards 'In The City for Good' Grants Totaling $278,000 03-173-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The "In the City for Good" Fund Team of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) awarded 44 grants totaling $278,000 in 2003 to revitalize ELCA ministries in urban areas. Grants ranged from $1,000 for Project Hope in Houston to $30,000 for the Noah's Ark Community Coffee House in Davenport, Iowa. The fund team received 123 applications, with requests for a total of more than $2.1 million in funding. It can allocate up to $500,000 each year. This year the team awarded grants to projects in 20 states - - Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin -- and Puerto Rico. This year we had more requests than ever from sites around the ELCA," said the Rev. David D. Daubert, the program's director and executive for renewal of congregations, ELCA Division for Outreach. Daubert said the fund team looked at the types of requests it received in the past years and decided, "for In the City for Good to have a lasting and transformational effect on urban ministry in the ELCA, we have to provide more than funding to ministries. Training and coaching may be as important, or even more important, than money." In addition to the projects, an In the City for Good grant of about $35,000 helped 46 clergy and lay leaders attend a Summer Urban Ministry Institute here Aug. 4-8. The Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education developed the curriculum on theology, congregational context, community context and leadership. The ELCA sponsored the institute in partnership with the Reformed Church in America. The fund team consists of 15 people appointed by the ELCA presiding bishop and the Division for Outreach. Team members are urban pastors and laity, churchwide representatives and representatives of institutions and agencies of the church. The fund was created with money from several sources, including an initial $1 million grant from the Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation. Lutheran Brotherhood merged with Aid Association for Lutherans to form Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a fraternal benefit society based in Minneapolis. In 1999 the ELCA awarded $350,079 in grants to 23 urban ministry projects. In 2000 the church gave $493,957 in grants to 38 initiatives. Thirty-six projects received $456,175 in grants in 2001. The fund team awarded 36 grants totaling $339,289 in 2002. Below is a list of the projects funded in 2003: 1. Middle School Mentorship - Anchorage, Alaska Central Lutheran Drop-In Center (the Rev. Michael Keys) Requested $9,665/Funded $4,000 2. Rainbow Transformation Teams - Seattle ELCA - Region 1 (the Rev. Kathy Buffum) Requested $20,000/Funded $3,000 3. The SMILE Project - Fresno, Calif. Lutheran Campus Ministry of Fresno (the Rev. Don Romsa) Requested $11,550/Funded $5,000 4. REACH Literary Program - Modesto, Calif. Emanuel Lutheran Church (the Rev. Barbara Caine) Requested $5,000/Funded $1,000 5. One Voice - Palo Alto, Calif. Grace Lutheran Church (the Rev. Randall Wilburn) Requested $5,000/Funded $2,500 6. The St. Andrew Welcome Center- Whittier, Calif. St. Andrew Church (the Rev. Stephen Herder) Requested $22,000/Funded $2,000 7. Grace in the Neighborhood - Anaheim, Calif. Grace Lutheran Church (the Rev. Stephen Fiechter) Requested $20,000/Funded $2,000 8. Temp-to-Hire Program - Denver Our Savior's Lutheran Church (the Rev. John Backe) Requested $20,000/Funded $5,000 9. Outreach to the De-Churched - Minneapolis Bethany Lutheran Church (the Rev. Steven Benson) Requested $20,000/Funded $5,000 10. The Second Mile - Developing Congregational Leadership for Community Development - Minneapolis Minneapolis Area Synod (Bishop Craig Johnson) Requested $10,000/Funded $5,000 11. Assisting Asian Assimilation - Dakota City, Neb. Salem Lutheran Church (the Rev. Tom Lo Van) Requested $14,250/Funded $3,500 12. Lat Wech Project - Omaha, Neb. Cush Community Lutheran Church (the Rev. Damon Laaker) Requested $36,400/Funded $5,000 13. Summer Program - Olathe, Kan. Laotian Worshipping Community (the Rev. Ben Diduangleuth) Requested $3,000/Funded $1,500 14. Center City Organized Revitalization Effort/Neighborhood Revitalization - Wichita, Kan. St. Paul's Lutheran Church (the Rev. Carolyn Campbell) Requested $40,000/Funded $7,000 15. Kids First - Oklahoma City Grace Lutheran Church (the Rev. Sara Litzner) Requested $25,000/Funded $5,000 16. Blended Worship Service - Grand Prairie, Texas St. John Lutheran Church (the Rev. Susan Rodriguez) Requested $24,410/Funded $10,000 17. Community Outreach Program - Houston First Taiwanese Church (the Rev. Harvey Chi) Requested $30,000/Funded $6,000 18. Project Hope - Houston Resurrection Community Church (the Rev. Mary Lewis) Requested $30,000/Funded $1,000 19. Living Faith - Aurora, Ill. San Francisco de Asis Lutheran Church (the Rev. Hector Garfias-Toledo) Requested $15,506/Funded $5,000 20. Trinity Spiritual & Natural Feeding Ministry - Kankakee, Ill. Trinity Lutheran Church (the Rev. Sandra Jewell) Requested $50,000/Funded $5,000 21. Noah's Ark Community Coffee House - Davenport, Iowa Zion Lutheran Church (the Rev. Del Preston) Requested $50,000/Funded $30,000 22. Pre-School Bible Studies - Des Moines, Iowa Capitol Hill Lutheran Church (the Rev. Leighton Carlson) Requested $25,000/Funded $15,000 23. Gateway Transitional Housing - Muscatine, Iowa 52761 Zion Lutheran Church (the Rev. Paul Ostrem) Requested $25,000/Funded $15,000 24. Getting the Good Word Out - Sargeant Bluff, Iowa Spirit of Life Lutheran Church (the Rev. Gary Harris) Requested $2,500/Funded $2,500 25. Lao Outreach Ministry - Milwaukee St. Paul's Lutheran Church (the Rev. Charles Peterson & the Rev. Cheryl Peterson) Requested $10,000/Funded $5,000 26. Latino Lutheran Academy - Milwaukee Greater Milwaukee Synod (the Rev. Walter Baires) Requested $21,900/Funded $5,000 27. Racine Neighborhood Camp - Racine, Wis. Emmaus Lutheran Church (the Rev. Mary Janz) Requested $15,000/Funded $10,000 28. come2go Outreach Initiative - Ft. Wayne, Ind. come2go ministries (the Rev. Mark Minnick) Requested $30,000/Funded $10,000 29. Youth Drama, Poetry & Music Ministry - Toledo, Ohio Redeemer Lutheran Church (the Rev. John Norquist) Requested $2,500/Funded $2,500 30. Hope Through the Arts - Camden, N.J. Christus Evangelical Lutheran Church (the Rev. Lee M. Miller II) Requested $12,000/Funded $6,000 31. Leadership Training for Community Organizing - Jersey City, N.J. St. Matthew's Lutheran Church (the Rev. Gladys Moore) Requested $15,000/Funded $5,000 32. Grace Community Health Ministry - Newark, N.J. Grace Community Lutheran Church (the Rev. Moacir Weirich & the Rev. Maristela Freiberg) Requested $20,000/Funded $5,000 33. Community Outreach Ministries - Trenton, N.J. Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (the Rev. Christopher Gentile) Requested $20,000/Funded $10,000 34. African Women's Empowerment Group - Lynn, Mass. First Lutheran Church (the Rev. Neal Halvorson-Taylor) Requested $15,000/Funded $3,000 35. Resurrection's Latino Initiative - Roxbury, Mass. Resurrection Lutheran Church (the Rev. John Heinemeier) Requested $4,000/Funded $4,000 36. Parish Health Ministry - Freeport, N.Y. Christ Lutheran Church (the Rev. Michael Wilker) Requested $7,000/Funded $5,500 37. The Project Education for Transformation - Floral Park, New York, N.Y. Ashirwad Lutheran Ministry (the Rev. Daniel Peter) Requested $30,000/Funded $10,000 38. Inspiring Our Youth - Allentown, Pa. St. Luke's Lutheran Church (the Rev. David Hill) Requested $4,000/Funded $4,000 39. Cultivating God's Garden - Chester, Pa. Nativity Lutheran Church (the Rev. Robert Hegdal) Requested $15,480/Funded $7,500 40. The Goodlands - Philadelphia Iglesia Luteran Nueva Creacion (the Rev. Luisa Cabello-Hansel) Requested $5,000/Funded $5,000 41. Skills for Life for Youth (SLY) at Trinity/Avalon - Pittsburgh Trinity Lutheran Church (the Rev. Roger Steiner) Requested $15,000/Funded $11,000 42. DE-MD Synod Strategy for Mission & Ministry in Baltimore Baltimore Urban Regional Partnership (the Rev. Gerry Rickel) Requested $20,000/Funded $9,500 43. Messiah Korean Lutheran Ministries - Norcross, Ga. Messiah Korean Lutheran Church (the Rev. Min Chan Park) Requested $25,000/Funded $6,000 44. Leaders for Mission - Dorado, Puerto Rico Caribbean Synod/Lutheran Theological Formation Center (Sr. Carmen Ramirez-Marrero) Requested $28,500/Funded $8,000 -- -- -- The Division for Outreach maintains information on its urban ministry programs at http://www.elca.org/do/urban.html on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news