MetroLutheran-Volume 24, No. 2
February 2009

Faith in the City to equip ‘the servant church’

Faith in the City, a partnership of five major Lutheran institutions in the Twin cities, as well as the two Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) synods, is dedicated to improving the quality of life within the communities its members serve. Faith in the City seeks to be a catalyst for collaboration among people, neighborhoods, congregations and community organizations, according to the Rev. Deborah Hutterer, its executive director.

To that end, Faith in the City is sponsoring “The Servant Church Arises: Lutherans Unite to End Poverty,” a four-hour conference to learn about initiatives by Lutheran groups across Minnesota. The conference will be held February 17 at 10 a.m., at the Earle Brown Heritage center in Brooklyn Center.

“Lutherans have been innovators in launching social ministries,” explained Hutterer. “Our educational institutions have a tradition of training leaders who are aware and responsive.” She adds that the present moment is calling for such creative leadership and innovative solutions.

The responses aren’t prescribed, Hutterer contends. “We have a mandate to care about people,” she says, “but how we do that is contextual.”

Representatives of Augsburg College, Fairview Health Services, Luther Seminary, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will present efforts underway by each institution to address issues of poverty. “These institutions are willing to prod the discussion,” Hutterer says. “But it is the experimental work of the congregation that they are excited about and want to resource.”

Information about the conference is available at www.augsburg.edu/faithinthecity or by calling Hutterer at 612/359-6499.