ELCA INTERNATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE COMMITS FUNDS TO HAITI RELIEF
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced it will immediately commit $250,000 to support response efforts to the earthquake in Haiti. It will also advance another $500,000 in anticipation of additional gifts from ELCA members. Read more and contribute gifts online at www.ELCA.org/haitiearthquake or call 800-638-3522.

For worship resources, bulletin inserts and additional information, click here. To read ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson's message: www.elca.org/bishopstatement. Read Bishop Hanson's Jan. 15 update and view video, click here.

At present most of the agencies are still encouraging cash contributions. Cash allows established organizations to purchase the exact type and quantity of items needed to help those affected by the earthquake without having to pay the high costs associated with transporting physical donations to Haiti. Cash donations often ensure that culturally and environmentally appropriate assistance is rendered. To make an online donation to ELCA Disaster Response, go to www.ELCA.org/haitiearthquake. Online donations may also be made to Lutheran World Relief at www.lwr.org.

USAID has established a volunteer portal at www.usaid.gov/haiti. USAID echoes the message that spontaneous/unaffiliated volunteers are heavily discouraged at this time. Volunteers will be needed for years to come, so if you're planning to volunteer, please consider a trip later in the spring or summer.

FEMA has re-released a brochure, "When Disaster Strikes ... How to Donate or Volunteer Sucessfully," that contains fundamental information to consider following a disaster. To download, click: When Disaster Strikes.

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PMA CONVO 2010
Dependable Strengths: Discernment for Ministry
April 23-24 -- Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Overland Park, Kan.

The PMA Convocation is held each year to provide an opportunity for Parish Ministry Associates to gather, to learn, and to pray. By coming together PMAs experience the breadth and diversity of this program, and they can appreciate more deeply the significance of these forms of ministry for the future of the church. For more information and registration, click: PMA Convo.

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WHERE YOUR OFFERING GOES

Your offering supports the mission of the whole ELCA doing God's work in the world. Together we do God's work in ways that no individual, congregation or synod can do alone. For a general information flyer, click: Where Your Offering Goes. A bulletin insert from Stories of Faith in Action addresses Frequently Asked Questions about Mission Support -- click FAQs1. For additional information and resources visit the synod Stewardship web page or the ELCA Stewardship page.

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Wellness campaign
GO! CHALLENGE

Take the Board of Pensions’ four-week GO! Challenge. This wellness campaign is founded on the Wholeness Wheel and supports whole-person health. It invites you to log your activity related to a list of healthy behaviors (exercise, nutrition, sociability, learning, centeredness and rest), and earn stars along the way. The GO! Challenge works for individuals, spouses, seminaries, synod staffs, churchwide ministry offices and congregations. ELCA-primary health plan members, participating will help you earn your 2010 personal wellness dollars.

As a GO! participant, you’ll do four important things: