CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) helped arrange seminary internships in 40 churches and other ministry settings from Oregon to the U.S. Virgin Islands and around the world this academic year. The ELCA Horizon Internship Program provided the necessary funding for the internships.
A master of divinity is the minimum degree required of ELCA clergy. Earning the degree usually requires a bachelor's degree and four years of seminary education, including a parish internship during the third year. Horizon interns complete that third year of seminary education with rural, urban, multicultural, mission development or international ministries.
Thirty-four sites in the United States and Caribbean are participating in the ELCA's Horizon Internship program during the 2001-2002 academic year:
+ Angelica Lutheran Church, Los Angeles
+ Resurrection Lutheran Church, Oakland, Calif.
+ Central City Mission, San Bernardino, Calif.
+ Resurrection Lutheran Church, New Haven, Conn.
+ Luther Place, Washington, D.C.
+ New Hope Lutheran Church, Shoshone, Idaho
+ Chicago Uptown Ministry, Chicago
+ Cristo Rey Lutheran Church, Chicago
+ Iglesia Luterana Santa Cruz, Joliet, Ill.
+ Abundant Life Lutheran Church, Plainfield, Ill.
+ University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Mass.
+ Goodridge Lutheran Parish, Goodridge, Minn.
+ El Milagro Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
+ St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
+ Salem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
+ Norland Lutheran Church, Paynesville, Minn.
+ Grace Lutheran Church, Camden N.J.
+ St. John Lutheran Church, Jersey City, N.J.
+ Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Bronx, N.Y.
+ Salam Arabic Church, Brooklyn, N.Y.
+ Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, Durham, N.C.
+ Sheyenne Oberon Area Ministry, Sheyenne, N.D.
+ Trinity Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio
+ Christ Lutheran Church, Carey, Ohio
+ Faith Mission (Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio), Columbus,
Ohio
+ St. Timothy Lutheran Church (Lutheran Social Services), Columbus,
Ohio
+ Redeemer Lutheran Church, Portland, Ore.
+ Reformation Lutheran Church, Philadelphia
+ Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh
+ Peace Center, San Antonio, Texas
+ Attoway-Kimberlin Lutheran Parish, Rural Retreat, Va.
+ Christ the King Lutheran Church, Combined Locks, Wis.
+ Incarnation Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
+ Frederick Lutheran Church, Charlotte Amalie, and Reformation Lutheran
Church, Estate Tutu, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Horizon internship sites in the United States and Caribbean are approved for a two-year cycle, which may be renewed following the second year with an updated application.
The ELCA Division for Ministry and Division for Outreach review and approve Horizon internship applications in consultation with a site selection team. They recruit and screen seminarians and congregations to match the needs of each.
The divisions and site selection team work closely with the church's 10,816 congregations through 65 synods, eight seminaries and the ELCA Division for Global Mission.
Interns earn a stipend and may require housing, and that could be a financial hardship for some congregations. The responsibility for funding a Horizon internship is normally divided equally between the ministry site, the synod where it is located and the divisions. The ELCA Division for Ministry committed $150,000 and the Division for Outreach contributed $95,000 this year to support the Horizon Internship Program.
The ELCA Division for Global Mission (DGM) placed interns at six international sites:
+ Berlin, Germany -- the American Church in Berlin, an English-speaking
congregation;
+ Cairo, Egypt -- St. Andrew's United Church, includes an outreach
ministry to refugees from other African countries and dialogue with
Muslim neighbors;
+ Copenhagen, Denmark -- International Church of Copenhagen, ecumenical
congregation with members of about 25 nationalities;
+ Oslo, Norway -- The American Lutheran Congregation, members come from
more 30 countries;
+ St. Petersburg, Russia -- The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, a
Russian-language congregation; and
+ Santiago, Chile -- Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Congregacion Belen, a
two-point parish ministry with an active community ministry among
children and women.
DGM budgets $131,000 for the International Horizon Program each year. It pays the intern's expenses for international travel to and from the site, and helps with the travel expenses of a seminary director to visit the intern. The division provides the intern's stipend. The site provides housing and utilities.
DGM selects the international sites and interviews seminarians to match the students with the sites. -- -- --
The ELCA Division for Ministry maintains information about the Horizon Internship Program at http://www.elca.org/dm/ethnic/English/horizon.html on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
