NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
August 6, 2002
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2802.
In this news release:
- Longtime LWR Speaker Dies at 88
Martha Batalden, Longtime LWR Employee and Speaker Dies at 88
Martha Theresa (Bjornstad) Batalden, 88, a former member of the Lutheran World Relief staff, died July 22, 2002, in Lebanon, New Hampshire. She was born in Duluth, Minnesota, married in 1939, and raised a family in Minneapolis, where she was a leader in local and national Lutheran church activities.
The Rev. Ove Nielsen, a former Assistant Executive Director of Lutheran World Relief, said of Mrs. Batalden: "Martha brightened every corner she approached," adding "she was a person who saw the face of Christ in the faces of the needy."
Writing in Because You Cared, a book about their experiences abroad, Mrs. Batalden and her husband, Abner, said that their time with LWR "provided us some of the most meaningful and exciting activity of our lives." They noted how Christian churches and organizations, working together, pioneered basic human developments, particularly in education, increased food production, and assistance to people in need. They wrote, "Helping people to help themselves is becoming the only effective way for churches to help churches and people in other countries."
John Bachman, writing in LWR's history Together in Hope, said that the Bataldens, who worked together in Korea, Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh, were strong advocates of the LWR practice of accompaniment, of being with people and helping them deal with their needs.
Mrs. Batalden said that Americans who had heard of their experiences in other countries often commented, "I suppose you get used to the poverty." "That's a terrible thing to say," Mrs. Batalden would respond. "You never get used to it."
Lutheran World Relief President Kathryn Wolford said that Martha Batalden was a valued and valuable leader in LWR's development work and then, after returning to the United States, was a key supporter of LWR, traveling and speaking widely on LWR's behalf. "Her contributions were many," said Dr. Wolford, "and she will certainly be missed by all who knew her and benefited from her devoted Christian service."
A memorial service for Martha Batalden will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, August 24, at Trinity Lutheran Congregation in the Hoversten Chapel, Augsburg College, Minneapolis.
Mrs. Batalden is survived by her husband, Abner, two sons, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and two sisters.
