The plight of refugees and migrants from South America grows more drastic and their fate more uncertain. Refugee Stories are testimonies from children, adults, and families, gathered by the Salvadorean Lutheran Church, our companion synod in El Salvador, and CARECEN, an organization working to change the immigration system, win legal
Continue readingAt the 2014 and the 2017 Women of the ELCA Triennial Conventions, members voted to bring awareness to and prevent human trafficking. Below are ways that WELCA is working to end human trafficking. What is your WELCA group doing? Resources about Human Trafficking from the WELCA website that can be
Continue readingby Sharon Heck heck37@verizon.net The following article appeared in the Bread for the World newsletter. It shows the urgent need for our activism with elected officials in Washington D.C. Thanks to you and other members, Bread for the World (BFW) has been able to address the alarming rise in global
Continue readingThe Rev. Dr Mitri Raheb, Pastor Emeritus at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, Director of the Dar al-Kalima College of Culture and the Arts in Bethlehem, and founder of Bright Stars in Bethlehem, a non-profit organization providing funding and support to the initiatives of the Diyar Consortium (a Lutheran-based, ecumenically-oriented organization serving the whole
Continue readingThe speakers at July’s 2017 Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering in Minnesota all spoke to JUSTICE. The theme was ALL ANEW, and Leymah Gbowee, a Nobel Peace Prize winner from Liberia, stated that Anew is not an event, it is a process. The word All means you can’t act
Continue readingStudent volunteers for the Guardian Angels ministries met at the SWCA Synod offices with Latino Ministries Coordinator Maria Paiva earlier this month. These college students – team leader Valeria Avalos, a senior at UCLA; Shannon Burghardt, a junior at CSULA; Sarahi Cano, a sophomore at CSULB; Aaliyah Hayes, a junior at CSULB; and Glafira Lopez, a junior at
Continue readingWe have a tendency to describe our economic systems as though they are outside of our control and unchangeable. We talk about economic forces, upturns, and downturns as if they are naturally occurring phenomena. In fact, the rules of these systems are created by humans. And, since we made them
Continue readingAt the 2017 Southwest California Synod Assembly, held at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on June 2 – 3, members voted overwhelmingly in favor of resolutions to become both a Sanctuary and a Jubilee synod. In becoming a sanctuary synod, the SWCA Synod recognizes that its territory, which ranges from San
Continue readingby Sharon Heck heck37@verizon.net Bread for the World’s 2017 Offering of Letters is titled “Doing Our Part to End HUNGER.” The United States and the world have made substantial progress toward ending hunger and poverty over the past several decades. Worldwide, extreme poverty – living on less than $1.90
Continue readingNow the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
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