ELCA, Episcopal Presiding Bishops Urge Advocacy in Immigration Policy

January 31, 2008; 08-006-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church called for members of their churches "to advocate for just national policies on resettlement and migration." The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, and the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, made the comment in joint statement released Jan. 30 at a gathering here with refugees, staff and friends of Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries (IRIM). The gathering was at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement. Jefferts Schori is here in advance of the Feb. 2 consecration of the new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. The ELCA, based here, and the Episcopal Church, based in New York, are full communion partner churches. The churches are affiliated with IRIM through Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service or Episcopal (More)

A poem for replacing grief and worry with hope and action

Lutheran Pastor Linda Faltin offers her poem to all:

integrity...

O God of Integrity,
how often I mouth the words
which sound correct...
express indignation at the
policies of my government,
the decisions of my church,
but DO nothing.
Frozen...
immobilized by the
overwhelming reality of
need in this world,
I DO nothing.
Oh, I pray...
you know I pray, O God,
flinging my words &
thoughts into the
universe we all
inhabit...
yet how often those
prayers are simply
wails of grief &
impatience &
childish angst...
while pen & paper lie unused...
phone calls to those in Congress
go unmade...
choices about how to spend-
money
time
attention
compassion-
lack deliberation,
avoid responsibility...
Yet here I am,
a living incarnation
of a holy spirit...
holding in my
hands & life the
power to choose...
to co-create...
to be a part of
making justice...
of saying yes to life...
Help me to say- and mean-
"Here I am- use me!"
AMEN

Hispanic Teenagers in Crisis

If there was any doubt in your mind as to the need of mental health outreach to the Hispanic Community then read this article in Durham Herald. Here is an excerpt:

By Monica Chen : The Herald-Sunmchen@heraldsun.comJan 30, 2008 DURHAM -- Latino high school students are twice as likely to attempt suicide as their white and black classmates, according to a recent health survey conducted by the Durham County Health Department and Durham Public Schools. In 2007, about 32 percent of Latino high school students in Durham said they had attempted suicide in the past 12 months, according to the annual Community Health Assessment report.

Go to http://www.heraldsun.com/resources/email.cfm?StoryID=920136&pageid=4

Please take time to register to read this article. It is very important news.

Possible Logo

Here is a possible Logo design for La Vela. The image is meant to be both a candle and a door. The door was added based on Brady's comment that he imagined a door in the logo along with the candle. I tried to blend the two into one. The door may need a handle and the seam between the wall and door may need to be made more apparent for it to understood. The color can change for the website and business cards but I did black and white to show how it will reproduce on copies, fliers, etc. I made it rough to give it a hand-made look, other Latino groups like el pueblo have that same style in their logos. I started with a clean cut out of the design (created with Yareni and SHaw's help) but it seemed too corporate and uninviting to me. The lettering for "La Vela" can change as can the bi-line. Leave comments here or email me.