| About Us | Our History | Our Logo | Awards | Staff | 2008 Board of Directors |

AWARDS

Rev. Kenneth Senft of The Luther Institute presented the Wittenberg Award to LWR. Following are his remarks:

It is a privilege and an honor for the Luther Institute to present the Wittenberg Award to Lutheran World Relief. Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is the relief and development organization supported consistently through its history by the Lutheran Churches in the United States.

	The Luther Institute's Wittenberg Award.

Lutherans of several generations, seeing through the windows of Lutheran World Relief, saw and see people - brothers and sisters - hungry, thirsty, afraid, suffering and sick, and were motivated to give - food, clothing blankets, quilts, medicine, money - to feed, clothe, comfort and heal. For so many - yesterday and today - hope turns into a future that includes neighbor . Luke quotes the words of Isaiah heard through the lips of Jesus -

"the spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor,

he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord".

Through Lutheran World Relief, Lutherans have participated with - not our own - but God's gifts shared with multitudes of neighbors in God's world.

When Lutheran World Relief began, more than 50 years ago (post WW II), the motivation included serving cousins living in countries devastated by oppression, fear and war from which we and our ancestors had emigrated in years past.

The most important part of that story is not that Lutherans in North America were motivated to send food, clothing, essentials for cousins - people from our own heritage - but that Lutheran World Relief grew and expanded its reach to include and serve fellow human beings - all neighbors from - Northern and Southern Europe to Africa - Islands in the Caribbean to South America - East to West from the Middle East through Asia - all to serve neighbors in the cultures and among the religions of the familiar and different worlds - all neighbors.

Lutheran World Relief

thank you for being forward-looking and helping us to understand what it means to participate in the mission of God in the world

thank you for helping us to understand that service among those suffering from injustice must be accompanied with a strong voice and effective action for justice

thank you for being our witness to give us voice as we call for justice from our own government when the needs of people we serve are clearly caused by excesses in policies of our government too often condoned by us

thank you for helping us to understand that support accompanied with education and experience - we call development - can lead to new levels of fulfillment as God's people use the rich resources God provides for humankind.

Through this Wittenberg Award, the Luther Institute is giving voice to what we know is the gratitude of Lutherans throughout the land as we say thank you for giving us the window through which to see the twin causes of justice and service at work as we participate in God's mission in the world!

Through these years strong leaders have been the stewards of gifts given and shared through Lutheran World Relief.

Hear the names - a who's who among Lutherans in our history -

Board Chairs:

Franklin Clark Fry
Paul Empie
Robert J. Marshall
Norman D. Sell
Howard E. Wennes
Elizabeth Duda

Executive Directors/Presidents:

Bernard Confer
Norman Barth
Kathryn Wolford

We invite the present Chair of the Board, Elizabeth Duda, and the present President, Kathryn Wolford, to receive the Wittenberg Award given to Lutheran World Relief.