Fill… Spill… Thrill…

John Striebel and Melissa Theesen will soon embark on a one-year fellowship through Mosaic’s International Fellowship Program. Funded in part by a $5,000 personnel grant from the ELCA World Hunger Program, John and Melissa’s Fellowship will focus on poverty alleviation strategies for families who participate in Mosaic’s Building a Caring Community (BCC) Program in Tanzania.

Mosaic began BCC in 2007 in partnership with IMPACT, an international alliance of Lutheran service organizations, and the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) to address poverty, women’s rights and the needs of children and youth with disabilities in the Moshi area. Located in the Kilimanjaro region, BCC serves more than 230 children with disabilities through 11 neighborhood day centers and in-home supports, giving mothers and caregivers the time they need to seek and obtain employment. The services are provided at no cost to the families.

(more…)

Rev. Martin Russell
Assistant to the Bishop
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Together, we live love… building homes.

From its earliest days, the Christian church has moved outward. Disciples and apostles moved away from their home cultures, sharing their faith over unfamiliar meals with strangers whose ways were new to them. As Christ was made known in these relationships, the act of sharing changed guest and host. Teacher became learner, learner became teacher. Within the Nebraska Synod, our global mission efforts have found a wonderful expression in our two companion synod relationships: the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Argentina and the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

(more…)

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Psalm 46:1-3)

One year ago, a catastrophic earthquake struck the nation of Haiti, killing nearly 250,000 people and leaving more than one million homeless.

(more…)