NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
November 7, 2003
In this news release:
- Betty Lee Nyhus, Pioneer for Women in Leadership and Mission
- Moving 90-Ton Mountain of Fair Trade Coffee:
Parishes Make Strong Start
- Youth Stand, and Learn, With Africa On-Line
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2800.
BETTY LEE NYHUS, PIONEER FOR WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP AND MISSION
Baltimore, November 7, 2003 - Betty Lee Nyhus, former church executive, church women’s leader and board member of Lutheran World Relief, died this week in Edina, Minnesota, after a period of illness. A memorial service will be held November 8 at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Serving on the LWR board from 1991-99, Nyhus was instrumental in broadening the participation of women in LWR’s ministry. Her commitment in this regard spanned the globe-from being the voice of parish women’s groups in the U.S., to mentoring women in new leadership roles at LWR, to becoming an advocate for women marginalized by their gender and by poverty in countries where LWR works overseas.
“Betty Lee was a major proponent of LWR's emphasis on gender equity, having traveled overseas and seen firsthand the discrimination faced by poor women and the tragic consequences of women's exclusion from family and community decision making,” said LWR President Kathryn Wolford.
“She helped put LWR at the forefront among its peer organizations in efforts to integrate gender concerns into all aspects of organizational life and programs,” Wolford said.
Until retirement Nyhus worked in the stewardship program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and, prior to that, was a leader in the women’s organization of the former American Lutheran Church.
“She made change happen-few people were better at getting others involved and focused on the mission of the church,” said Myrna Sheie, an ELCA church official and long-time colleague of Nyhus. “She had a sense for mission both in the broadest sense and right down to a woman in India weaving a scarf.”
In tribute to Nyhus, the Women of the ELCA board recently purchased a memorial brick to place in the Good Samaritan Quilt Plaza at LWR headquarters. Funds raised in this way pay to ship humanitarian aid overseas through LWR’s Project Comfort, a project Nyhus helped initiate.
At Nyhus’s request, memorial gifts may be sent to Lutheran World Relief.
MOVING 90-TON MOUNTAIN OF FAIR TRADE COFFEE: PARISHES MAKE STRONG START
Baltimore, November 7, 2003 - A year-long bid to double Lutheran support for fair trade with small-scale farmers is off to a strong start. In just the first month of the ‘90 Ton Challenge,’ Lutheran parishes and individuals purchased 16,000 pounds (eight tons) of fairly traded coffee through the LWR Coffee Project. The Women of the ELCA are sponsoring the challenge.
“It’s very exciting to see how many folks are doing holiday bazaars with the coffee, plus fair trade tea and cocoa. It’s a good start, a 51 percent increase over last October,” said Erbin Crowell of Equal Exchange, LWR’s fair trade coffee partner organization.
“There is good growth in the number of parishes active in the project during the month of October-590 parishes compared to 376 last year,” said Brenda Meier, who manages the project for LWR. The total number of congregations in the LWR Coffee Project is now 3,400, also an increase, she noted.
“As parishes join the challenge we are encouraging them to find out more about why fair trade coffee is so good for farmers,” Meier said. A fresh look at the benefits of fair trade, Fair Trade and Human Rights: The Perfect Combination, is available on-line at <www.lwr.org/fairtrade> and in the September issue of the LWR newsletter TOTO.
For three years the price of coffee on the world market has been so low that small coffee farmers cannot make a living from coffee. Fair trade, meanwhile, has kept tens of thousands of coffee farmers in business.
YOUTH STAND, AND LEARN, WITH AFRICA ON-LINE
Baltimore, November 7, 2003 - Middle school youth and teachers are now using new on-line educational resources from the Stand With Africa campaign. A Bible-based activity teaches students about hunger and what they can do about it, and an interactive language module teaches everyday expressions that kids use in Kenya, Congo, Nigeria and Ethiopia. There is also a game called “Detest The Pest,” a puzzle, video previews, maps, project summaries and background articles-all available at <www.StandWithAfrica.org>.
Stand With Africa is a special initiative by LWR, the ELCA World Hunger Program and LCMS World Relief to support African churches and communities as they overcome AIDS, hunger and conflict.
