NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
December 3 , 2001
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2802.
In this news release:
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For World AIDS Day, Lutheran Leader Helps Launch Africa Initiative in Washington
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Head of LCMS World Relief Retires Amid Commendations
FOR WORLD AIDS DAY, LUTHERAN LEADER HELPS LAUNCH AFRICA INITIATIVE IN WASHINGTON
The Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, the Rev. Mark Hanson, addressing a World AIDS Day related event at the National Press Club in Washington. Participating via satellite from Capetown is the Anglican Archbishop of South Africa. A new US government initiative supports LWR and community and church groups in stopping H.I.V. and AIDS.
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Baltimore, December 3, 2001 -- For World AIDS Day, Lutherans took their Stand With Africa campaign to Washington, November 30. The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Rev. Mark Hanson joined the Anglican Archbishop of South Africa and a Muslim leader from Uganda at a panel and press conference marking the launch of a new AIDS initiative by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Lutheran World Relief is an inaugural partner in the initiative.
"For us, standing with Africa means joining with others to confront the pandemic of H.I.V./AIDS," said Hanson. "To counteract AIDS, we must also address the realities of poverty and hunger...and empower women to be active partners in this effort."
As part of the initiative, Lutheran World Relief and USAID will work together to support community, church and other faith-based organizations in Africa stopping H.I.V. and AIDS. Using the grassroots capacity of LWR
and its partners and USAID's continent-wide presence, small projects that deal with AIDS-related problems effectively in one locale will then be shared for information elsewhere and, if possible, replicated more widely.
Dr. E. Anne Peterson, the USAID official who chaired the event, said the "special effectiveness and sacrificial endeavors of community efforts" in Africa helped her agency "identify and reach out to US-based partners like Lutheran World Relief." The first year of the initiative will have a budget of $1.5 million.
"The worldwide Anglican communion has declared AIDS its number one commitment," South African Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane told the National Press Club event. Speaking via satellite television from Capetown, Ndungane said that this USAID initiative will help the women's organization of his 3.3 million member church train 90,000 people to provide home-based AIDS care. "All of us in Africa are either infected or affected by AIDS," he said.
"When the Muslim leaders [of Uganda] discussed the combination of activities that were required to prevent AIDS and care for those infected and affected," said Sheikh Anasi Abdunoor Kaliisa, they realized that the struggle would be what he called a "Jihad of the soul to do good." Kaliisa is a university lecturer in Uganda and former Deputy Mufti of Uganda's Muslims.
"What we-church and government-have already done to address the AIDS crisis in Africa is a significant beginning," ELCA Presiding Bishop Hanson said in his address. "But, it is only a beginning. If we are to rise to this critical challenge of our time, the religious community can and must do more. The United States government can and must do more, such as commit more resources to reshape policies and practices to assist Africa in withstanding AIDS and achieve sustainable development." He also noted that the great resources of pharmaceutical companies "must become part of the solution."
"As Christians, we must be present with those suffering from AIDS, because I believe that is where Jesus calls us to be," Hanson said.
"May those who write the history of this period not describe Stand With Africa as a death watch, but as a story of resurrection," he said. "In that hope, we trust that the partnership announced today is only a beginning of a global mobilization of energies, resources and, most importantly, our resolve."
Stand With Africa is a three-year campaign of LWR, the ELCA World Hunger Program and LCMS World Relief to support African churches and communities in withstanding AIDS, banishing hunger and building peace.
HEAD OF LCMS WORLD RELIEF RETIRES AMID COMMENDATIONS
Baltimore, December 3, 2001 -- Dr. Elaine Richter Bryant, director of LCMS World Relief, retired November 30 after seven years in the position. Bryant was commended warmly for her work at a farewell celebration in St. Louis last week attended by LCMS headquarters staff and representatives from Lutheran World Relief, the ELCA World Hunger Program and other groups.
Well-wishers noted her career-long commitment to the worldwide mission of the church, her leadership and her unflagging energy. Under Bryant's leadership, LCMS World Relief expanded its partnerships with a variety of Lutheran organizations.
"Through relationships with Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Services in America and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, LCMS World Relief has extended its ability to respond to disaster and support specific human care projects," her retirement announcement said.
Bryant has served for 15 years under the LCMS Board for Human Care Ministries and its predecessor board. As associate director of Lutheran Disaster Response since 1993, Bryant helped lead the inter-Lutheran response to disasters in the United States, including work in New York City since September 11. Rev. Jarold Rux has been named interim director of LCMS World Relief. He is currently manager of program support there. LCMS World Relief provides basic support for Lutheran World Relief.
