Attention:  Synod Assembly Voting Members
 
The deadline to submit requests for Voting Member Travel Cost Sharing for the 2011 Synod Assembly is tomorrow, June 30.  Blank forms are available for download here and may be submitted via email to hliersch@elca-ses.org or via fax to 404-521-1980. 

2011-2014 Health Ministry Project

for the Augustinian Lutheran Church in Guatemala (ILAG)

"El Año del Baño"

The Year of the Latrine

It's almost July!  Have you begun your Christmas shopping? This year, why not spend $330 to buy a dry composting latrine for a family in Guatemala to honor your loved ones?

While this might not be an item on the wish list of anyone you know, we invite you to imagine this scenario:  You live in a rural village in Guatemala, and you are extremely poor. Your one- or two-room house consists of a sleeping area, dirt floors, no running water or plumbing, and little, if any, electricity.  Most functions, such as bathing, cooking, and washing clothes, take place outside. There is no bathroom, and perhaps even no latrine. Then answer this question: How would you and your family handle your necessary functions?

Let's be honest ... you would probably do as the Guatemalans do:  You would find a discreet area, perhaps behind a bush, and do what you need to do.  And, if you had small children and didn't have (and certainly couldn't afford) disposable diapers, you would follow the customary practice and let your babies and toddlers go without pants until they were potty trained.

The system makes practical sense until one considers the sanitary side of things. Even where there are existing latrines, they typically use underground pits that pollute the ground water and wells, which compound the spreading of disease.  The World Health Organization has reported that, world-wide, 2.6-3 billion people are without proper sanitation and that approximately 6,000 children die daily from diarrhea caused, primarily, by improper sanitation.

The Health Ministry of our companion church, the Augustinian Lutheran Church in Guatemala (ILAG), is seeking to address this issue by providing a dry latrine for every family in their 17 churches over the next three years.

 Dry latrines are above ground, they do not use water, inexpensive to build ($330/latrine), easy to take care of, and renew the environment.

Right now, a census is being conducted to determine how many families are willing to receive the necessary education required for this project, and funds are being collected to purchase materials.  The leaders of ILAG expect there may be as many as 300 families ready within the next year.

 And, that's where we participate with our Christmas gifts!  A dry latrine is a gift of life - a gift of hope for the future!

Donations for the "El Año del Baño" project can be made to the Southeastern Synod.  Every cent you give will be tax-deductable, and will go directly to the building of dry latrines in Guatemala. 

Make checks payable to the Southeastern Synod (with "ILAG latrine project" on the subject line), and mail to 100 Edgewood Ave., Suite 1600, Atlanta, GA 30303.

Together, we can make a real difference!        

(For ease of reprinting, here is a link to this article in Word format, along with a sample Christmas Gift card.) 

Two Southeastern Synod Congregations Tie in Hunger Walk Receipts

Career Crossroads - September 2011

Vote for Southeastern Synod Congregations "Living Lutheran"

Congregational:

Gloria Dei Lutheran in Knoxville, TN
http://www.livinglutheran.com/contest/living-lutheran-in-knoxville-hunger-education-and-accompaniment.html

Cross of Grace in Jonesborough, TN

http://www.livinglutheran.com/contest/embedded-in-the-community.html

Winners will be announced at the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Aug. 15-19 in Orlando, FL.

VOTE TODAY!

Adult Lutherans Organized for Action

Around the Synod

Recently, Pastor John Barichivich of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Rincon, GA, gave an interview with the local NBC TV station in Savannah, WSAV, who is doing a summer series titled "Our Hometown." Check it out!

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Did you know?

Pastor Rick Barger, Epiphany, Suwanee, GA, was recently elected to the Board of Visitors of Emory University. The Board of Visitors consists of a selected group of business, cultural, civic, and educational leaders from Atlanta and the region.  The Board brings counsel and advice to the University.  In its role, the Board enables Emory to increase the volume and quality of Emory's outreach with the specific intention of creating ambassadors, identifying potential Emory volunteer leadership, cultivating new donors, and enhancing the level of stewardship of existing donors.  It is a program that assists the University in reaching out to the leaders of Atlanta and the community, and introducing them to Emory's most successful programs, leaders, faculty and researchers. Congratulations, Pastor Barger! 

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LBWs -- Free to a Good Home

Looking for free copies of the Lutheran Book of Worship?  Contact Pastor Deb Halter at pastordebhalter@gmail.com or call 404-580-5703.

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Lutheran Hymns Take the Day

It was a "Lutheran Sweep" in the recent hymn contest sponsored by Macalester Plymouth United Church in Saint Paul, MN.  Winning the first prize was Pr. Paul Bailie of Iglesia Luterana San Luca in Eagle Pass TX, a Spanish-speaking congregation near the US-Mexico border.  The second award (an honorable mention) went to Bill Pasch, musician at Emmanuel, Atlanta.  Bill is also the first three-time awardee in this longest-running English-language hymn competiton, whose other winners have included Timothy Dudley-Smith, Richard Leach, and Mary Louise Bringle.  More information on the contest can be found at http://thehymnsociety.org/macalester-winners.pdf.

Bill's hymn, "Land of Bounty! Land of Beauty!," incorporates images from the contest model (Katharine Lee Bates' "America the Beautiful") while also addressing the contest's social justice theme: the widening economic gaps in society.  Congregations wishing to use the hymn on July 3 are welcome to do so (please credit the author).  Bill can also send a Word file with a setting of the hymn to the tune BEECHER (contact kbpasch@comcast.net).

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The Southeastern Synod's own Crystal Rowe Oxner's blog entry, "Give yourself a break," was picked up today by LivingLutheran.com.  Read it here.

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Snapshot of the week

Pastor Barb Gibson, Megan Pearce and Bishop Julian Gordy on the occasion of Megan's Affirmation of Baptism (Confirmation) at Resurrection, Newnan, June 12.