Yes, Lutheran women do love a challenge. Lutheran World Relief finds this out every time it issues a call to Women of the ELCA asking for more quilts, or for support in adding thousands of names to a petition asking the U.S. government to sign a treaty banning land mines, or to respond to the 90-Ton Challenge, when Lutherans bought more than twice as much fair-trade coffee as the year before.

And Women of the ELCA loves its own challenges, too:

— The challenge of keeping evangelism front and center, using especially its Witness of Women materials. This program has trained more than 3,000 groups of women, and some men, each of whom has come to love anew the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, in John 4 — the basis of the WOW Evangelism Strategy.

— The challenge of remembering those who’ve been abused, forgotten, or victimized by violence. One example is seen in Rachel’s Day, an initiative from the 1996 Triennial Convention that set aside the first Sunday in May as Rachel's Day — a time to call women and the church to remember the littlest victims of violence, and to reflect on how to help eliminate such violence.

— The challenge of keeping the organization financially sound, providing a variety of ways of giving: regular offerings, Thankofferings, designated gifts, and special offerings. Katie’s Fund, an endowment fund, was developed in 1998 to mark the organization's 10th anniversary and the 500th anniversary of the birth of Katherine von Bora, wife of Martin Luther. Interest income from this fund supports three ministry areas: global sharing, living theology, and leadership development. Other planned giving options for Women of the ELCA exist through the ELCA Foundation. And you can give online at www.womenoftheelca.org/giving_basket.html

— The challenge of providing ongoing education for women on the role and power of money and how to be faithful stewards. An early program, "Money, Security, and Spirituality," called women to explore the interplay of these three elements in their lives, and helped enrich other stewardship endeavors. The organization’s yearly stewardship materials, with their devotions and program ideas for giving, are an example of our commitment to help women grow in their stewardship.

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