 
 Not
able to attend the Triennial Convention this
summer? Your congregational unit can still participate in the Triennial
Convention offering and make a significant contribution to the life and
ministry of Women of the ELCA. Our organization has more than 7,000
units but fewer than 400 delegates to the convention. We are making it
possible for every congregational unit to contribute to the convention
offering because we know how much you care about the ministries it will
support.
Two offerings will be taken at the convention, one at the opening
business on Tuesday, July 8, and one at the close of business on
Thursday, July 10. The offerings collected are designated as follows:
half to the Women of the ELCA churchwide organization for its ongoing
ministries; one quarter to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
for its work in the area of commercial sexual exploitation; and one
quarter to the Stand With Africa/Lutheran World Federation Water
Project. These designations were made by action of the churchwide
executive board and are in response to resolutions passed at the Sixth
Triennial Convention in 2005.
By contributing, your unit will be making a difference for women and
children who are sexually exploited or do not have access to clean
drinking water. Please consider contributing generously, as the work of
these organizations needs your help to make a difference in the world.
How might you collect this offering? At an upcoming meeting, you could
take up a special offering after sharing this information, and the front
page article from the
February issue of Interchange, with the women in your
congregational unit. If you are holding a fundraiser to help women in
your congregation attend the triennial gathering, you could add in a
special free-will offering for this purpose. As you review your unit's
treasury, you might choose to designate a gift from the treasury for the
triennial convention offering.
Whatever creative way you choose, you will find an envelope enclosed in
the April issue of
Interchange for your convention offering. You can mail your offering
to the churchwide office in this or another envelope (mail to Convention
Offering, Women of the ELCA, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631-4101
and indicate the name and location of your congregational unit and write "convention offering" on your check memo line), and your
unit's gift will then be publicly recognized during the convention. You
can also ask someone you know who will be attending the convention to
carry it to Salt Lake City on your behalf. There's no better way for
your support of the organization to be witnessed by others. Thank you
for your contribution!
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