Hundreds of homes are damaged or destroyed as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Illinois and Iowa.

CLWR’s partners are already on the ground, assessing the immediate and long-term needs of those affected by the tornadoes. Your gifts are needed to begin coordinating volunteers, rebuilding homes and offering spiritual and emotional care to those in need. Support will be provided through our partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and their disaster response efforts.

Join us and help provide the type of immediate and long-lasting support that is already underway in the affected regions.

You can also donate by phone (1.800.661.2597), online, by mail (send cheque to CLWR, 600-177 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0W5), or by making a designated offering at a Lutheran church in Canada. Please indicate you wish to donate to the “Tornado Response in the US.”

• Ask your Member of Parliament to keep aid focused on helping those in need
• New photos from the Vocational Training Program in Jerusalem and Ramallah
• Stories and photos from the Young Adult Global Encounter to Peru
• Visit the Holy Land with CLWR

Ask your Member of Parliament to keep aid focused on those in need

In March, the federal government announced that it was merging the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Bill C-60, which was tabled in Parliament on April 30, 2013, provides guidelines on what will become the new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

The House of Commons will be voting on Bill C-60 in June. Before that happens, we need you to reach out to your Member of Parliament and urge them to ensure that ending poverty and promoting human rights are at the heart of our international development efforts.

You can find your MP’s email address on this page: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=current

The Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) provides background information on the merger and an example of a letter to send MPs here:

http://www.ccic.ca/what_we_do/call_to_action_e.php?utm_source=Email+Created+2013%2F05%2F16%2C+10%3A29+AM&utm_campaign=CIDA-DFAIT+call+to+action+May+2013&utm_medium=email

New photos from the Vocational Training Program in Jerusalem and Ramallah

Earlier this month, CLWR’s Jenn Ardon joined the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary on a study tour of the Holy Land. While there, they visited our partners in the region, including the Vocational Training Program run by Lutheran World Federation-Jerusalem.

The VTP makes a big difference in the lives of Palestinian youth and young adults, by providing them with training in jobs including auto-mechanics, plumbing and central heating repair, catering and office administration. Ninety per cent of graduates find work at least six months after graduating.

In a region where poverty and unemployment are all too common, the VTP brings success to its students. We’re pleased to support it.

View new photos from the VTP:

Vocational Training Centre – Ramallah

Vocational Training Centre – Beit Hanina

Read Jenn’s reflections on her visit: http://clwr.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/lutherans-in-the-holy-land-part-2-2/

Stories and photos from the Young Adult Global Encounter

A group of young Lutheran Canadians have just wrapped up a visit to Peru with CLWR! If you would like to see photos and read about the trip, please click on the link below. There, you will find links to CLWR’s youth Facebook page and three blogs written by trip participants.  http://www.clwr.org/News/news-brief.cfm?news_id=300

Visit the Holy Land with us

CLWR will be hosting a Global Encounter to Palestine and Israel, from February 19 – March 3, 2014.

The encounter will provide an opportunity for participants to meet with CLWR project partners in Palestine and experience some of the religious heritage sights and rich culture of the region. We will see the quality care provided by the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, as well as the training offered to students at the Lutheran World Federation’s Vocational Training program in Beit Hanina and Ramallah. We will also engage with the Dar al-Kalima high school and college in Bethlehem and see the results of CLWR support.

There will be opportunities to spend time in the old city of Jerusalem and participate in a religious pilgrimage to other parts of the West Bank.

Come and join us for what will be a rich experience that will make a permanent impression on all who participate! A deposit of $1000 is required by June 30, 2013 to secure your position on the tour. Final costs for all accommodation, travel from your local airport and all meals is expected to not exceed $6000 in total. The final budget and itinerary are pending.

Please register by June 30, 2013 by contacting Tom Brook, CLWR Community Relations Director, at tbrook@clwr.mb.ca or 1.800.661.2597.

Visit our website for more information, including a poster - http://www.clwr.org/Get-Involved/visit-our-program-communities.cfm#geholyland

Subscribe to receive these updates by email by emailing jennifer@clwr.mb.ca. Please provide your name, address and email. 

BC Baling Days volunteers prepare a shipment. Photo: Cathy Schreirer

Abbotsford, B.C. – Volunteers from Lutheran congregations in Abbotsford and other communities in the Lower Mainland will gather together on May 13 and 14 to send aid to people halfway around the world.

They are working with Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) to ship donated clothing, blankets, hygiene supplies, medical supplies and other needed items to Tanzania. A 40-foot shipping container is being loaded at 31414 Marshall Road, at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) warehouse, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.

This annual event, called B.C. Baling Days, has been happening for over 20 years. Volunteers will sort the items, pack them into bales and load them into the shipping container.

Long-time volunteer Ed Jacob, of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Richmond, B.C., has been helping with Baling Days since the mid-‘90s, and in recent years, he has acted as the project’s coordinator. He has seen the project evolve as more donations come in.

“In the last few years, we have found that there was too much to be baled in a day, so we recruited a number of people to start baling the day before,” says Jacob. “It has now developed into a two-day affair.”

“We appreciate the use of MCC’s warehouse to bale and pack the shipment.”

Even though almost 90 per cent of people living in Tanzania live on less than $2 a day, the eastern African country is generous in providing refuge to people fleeing wars in neighbouring countries. The items in the shipment will go to help refugees and Tanzanians who are in need.

The goods are donated by Canadian Lutherans who participate in CLWR’s We Care program, and by local and national partner organizations. A new partner, Compassionate Resource Warehouse in Victoria, B.C., donated hand tools and work boots.

“It is only through the outstanding generosity of our supporters that we can send items to those in need,” says Patrick Stewart, coordinator of CLWR’s We Care program. “This is one way that Canadian Lutherans make a difference in the lives of those far away from them.”

CLWR’s We Care program sends about four relief shipments a year to countries around the world.

PHOTO/VIDEO OPPORTUNITY: The 40-foot shipping container will be loaded at the Mennonite Central Committee’s warehouse (31414 Marshall Road, Abbotsford) from May 13-14, 2013, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Canadian Lutheran World Relief carries out international relief, development, and refugee resettlement on behalf of Lutherans in Canada. Our vision is a world where people live in justice, peace and dignity, united in diversity, and empowered to achieve their universal rights to basic needs and quality of life. www.clwr.org

The Young Adult Global Encounter participants meet at the Toronto airport. CLWR/T.Gingrich

The Young Adult Global Encounter to Peru has begun! The group is now currently experiencing the work of CLWR in Peru – for example, seeing how agricultural training allows people to produce more food and income for their families.

You can learn more about some of the people they’re meeting by watching this video, created by our Peruvian partner organization Diaconia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDMp0vjFVoA&feature=share&list=PL-JgTaBR4kxowKL8QlED0eN-60uy7jUSp

You can view updates on the trip on the CLWR Youth Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CLWRyouth

At least three participants are keeping blogs. You can visit them here:

Melissa C: http://melissaperu2013.blogspot.com/

Joanne: http://windoftheprairie.blogspot.ca/

Kimberly: http://kimberlyhealdperu2013.blogspot.ca/

While the current Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act says little about the role of the Minister of International Cooperation, Bill C-60 clearly spells out the duties of the new Minister for International Development.

The Minister will oversee Canada’s contributions to sustainable international development and poverty reduction in developing countries, and will be responsible for providing humanitarian assistance during crises. The current CIDA President will take the role of Deputy Minister.

“We can be successful in reducing poverty and human suffering by making sure the needs of the poor come first,” says Robert Granke, executive director of CLWR. “We are pleased that those who are most vulnerable will be central to the mandate and activities of the Minister for International Development.”

The legislation also says that Canada’s development and aid efforts should reflect the values of Canadians.

“Canadian Lutherans have shown time and again their compassion and generosity in serving the needs of those who are suffering,” says Granke.

Contact: Jennifer Clark, Program Assistant – Community Relations
1.800.661.2597 (locally at 204.694.5602) or jennifer@clwr.mb.ca

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Canadian Lutheran World Relief carries out international relief, development, and refugee resettlement on behalf of Lutherans in Canada. Our vision is a world where people live in justice, peace and dignity, united in diversity, and empowered to achieve their universal rights to basic needs and quality of life. www.clwr.org

This Global Encounter will provide an opportunity for participants to meet with CLWR project partners in Palestine and experience some of the religious heritage sights and rich culture of the region. We will see the quality care provided by the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, as well as the training offered to students at the Lutheran World Federation’s Vocational Training program in Beit Hanina and Ramallah. We will also engage with the Dar al-Kalima high school and college in Bethlehem and see the results of CLWR support.

There will be opportunities to spend time in the old city of Jerusalem and participate in a religious pilgrimage to other parts of the West Bank.

The cost is estimated to be no more than $6000, which covers meals, transportation and accommodation. The final budget and itinerary is pending.

Please contact me at 1.800.661.2597 or tbrook@clwr.mb.ca for more details or to register. The registration deadline is June 30, 2013. A deposit of $1000 is required upon registration.

Come and join us for a rich experience that will make a permanent impression on all who participate!

Tom Brook, CLWR Community Relations Director

She was referring to the special relationship the group has built with a local fabric wholesaler. Whenever he has surplus fabric he gives it to the quilters for their use. They even have enough left over that they would be delighted to provide some to other groups in the region.

There are fourteen regular members in the group and they meet every Monday morning. What a blessing they have been! They produce more than 200 quilts of every size each year. Some are used for local charities of the BC Synod and new-borns in the congregation also receive a quilt, but most are destined for CLWR We Care shipments around the world.

And the effort is not limited to quilts. Sewing kits are produced as well as comfort or prayer quilts.

Some of the quilts will be sold to members of the congregation to pay for ocean freight and everything will be blessed on the Sunday before BC Baling Days.

The compassionate hands and generous hearts of the Quilters of Shepherd of the Valley will make a huge difference in many lives this year.

The blessing of the quilts service they will use has this final petition:

“Bless these quilts as signs of your loving creation which cover your people with steadfast love.”

And concludes with the response:

“Use them we pray, to bless our sisters and brothers in need. Wrap them in the warmth of your grace and give them your joy and your peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

Amen, indeed!

Tom Brook – Community Relations Director, Canadian Lutheran World Relief

Quilt Storage – Just a few of the many waiting to be blessed and then shipped overseas. T. Brook/CLWR

Some of the 14 members of the Quilters from Shepherd of the Valley. T. Brook/CLWR

A few days ago, I was fortunate to be able to visit the Vocational Training Centres in Beit Hanina (East Jerusalem) and Ramallah (in the West Bank) which are operated by the Lutheran World Federation and supported by Canadian Lutheran World Relief.  The schools’ hallways and classrooms were conspicuously empty due to the weeks long Easter Holiday of the Orthodox Church.  Yousef Shalian, Program Director for The Vocational Training Program of the Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem gave myself and the group a very informative tour of the schools.

The East Jerusalem campus has been operating since 1949, originally on the grounds of the August Victoria Hospital.  The campus was moved to Beit Hanina in 1964 in order to expand its programming for the increasing number of students.  Yousef informed us that he had himself been a graduate of the Beit Hanina campus, which also explains why he is so passionate about helping other Palestinians in acquiring vocational training for success in the job market.

The Beit Hanina campus offers programs in wood-working, metal-work, auto-mechanics, plumbing and central heating repair, catering, mobile/electronic maintenance, pottery-making, and office administration.  They have 2 or 1 year programs as well as courses for continuing education; in this ways they try to serve the whole community.    The graduates finish as skilled workers and often find work in companies or they start their own businesses.  Because part of the programming involves employment support and apprenticeship training, 90% of graduates are employed at least 6 months after graduation.

CLWR staff Jenn Ardon and Yousef Shalian from Lutheran World Federation at the Vocational Training Center in Ramallah, members of the study tour in the background. Photo: Jenn Ardon/CLWR.

Metal-work student about to do some welding at the Vocational Training Center in Beit Hanina. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR.

In 2004, due to the construction of the separation wall, the Ramallah campus was built for students in the West Bank.  This campus served students who could not attend the Beit Hanina VTC due to restrictions in crossing the Israeli checkpoints.  The Ramallah campus has 2 locations, one in the industrial zone where it is easy to get apprenticeship opportunities with nearby service providers, and the other in a downtown mall that opened in September 2012.

The Ramallah campus also offers diverse programs in carpentry, drafting, aluminum-work, auto-mechanics, office administration, telecommunications, mobile maintenance, and air-conditioning and refrigerator repair.

A busy carpentry workshop at the Vocational Training Center in the Ramallah industrial zone. The stools are the work of the students, as are most of the wood furniture and finishes at the schools. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR.

Examples of the tools and phones used for the mobile maintenance courses at the Vocational Training Center in downtown Ramallah. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR

The Vocational Training Centers also maintain a relationship with their graduates, and give them start-up support for their businesses if they need it.  Oftentimes, the graduates who start their own businesses will give back to the VTCs by allowing students to apprentice for them.

Seeing the schools and understanding about the difference they are making in the lives of Palestinian youth and the Palestinian community in general, was certainly awe-inspiring.  Knowing the difficult circumstances in which Palestinians lived and the obstacles they needed to overcome to acquire quality education and training, I couldn’t help but admire their resilience and determination.

That same day, I visited the Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope, which is run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land and also supported by CLWR.  It’s currently located at the Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah.  There, we met with Rev. Imad Haddad who gave us a tour of the classrooms and playing yard.  The school was certainly in need of renovation.  And it was being renovated; not for a school but for space for youth and community programming.  The Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope will actually be moving to a newer building that is currently in construction!

Construction site of the new Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR

Let’s pray for God’s blessing on these programs, for their impacts and sustainability, and for peace in the Israel and Palestine.

Jenn Ardon

CLWR Church Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator

See more photos here:

Vocational Training Centre – Ramallah and Vocational Training Centre – Beit Hanina

On April 27^th, I headed to Bethlehem in the West Bank to visit The Evangelical Lutheran Church School in Beit Sahour.  There I was fortunate to meet some of the staff and students, including Rev. Ashraf Tousin who, as a Palestinian Christian, spoke about his hope for peace in Israel and Palestine.  The school receives support from CLWR and other faith groups.  The children and their parents often make crafts which are sold to provide the school with extra support for its programming.  The highlight of the visit was talking to some of the students.  They were curious to know who I was and practice their English with me.

Rev. Ashraf Tanous (holding a jar of maple syrup) and CLWR staff Jennifer Ardon at the ELCJHL school in Beit Sahour. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR

Kindergarten children from the ELCJHL school in Beit Sahour on their playground. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR

On April 28^th, I attended a Sunday service at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Old Jerusalem.  This was a momentous event:  Bishop Michael Pryse of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land and President of Lutheran World Federation, signed an official agreement of partnership.  This agreement recognizes the synods as companion churches.  At the end of the service, the tour group and I were invited to go to the altar to sing “Salam Aleikum” for the congregation members and a visiting group from Germany.  It was truly a moment of solidarity.

Service at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jeruslem. Left to right: Bishop Munib Younan, Rev. Andre Lavergne, Bishop Bill Huras, Rev. Wolfgang Schmidt, and Bishop Michael Pryse. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR

On April 29, I headed to East Jerusalem to meet with Mark Brown, Regional Representative of Lutheran World Federation Department of World Service in Jerusalem, at the August Victoria Hospital.  He took the group and I on a tour of the grounds and described the various services provided, especially those with the support of CLWR and other international bodies, such as skilled nursing for geriatric patients.  He also explained the difficult obstacles and complex context in which they worked to provide Palestinians with access to quality health care.  Mark and the staff of the AVH are truly inspiring and CLWR is very proud to support the life-saving work they are doing.

At the August Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem. Some of the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary Study Tour members look on as CLWR staff Jennifer Ardon gives Mark Brown of LWF a token of their gratitude. Photo: J. Ardon/CLWR

Tomorrow’s plans include a visit to the Vocational Training Centers in Ramallah and Beit Hanina, as well as the Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah.  CLWR supports these program all of which provide Palestinians with quality education and hope for a better future. 

Jennifer Ardon

Church Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator

CLWR Eastern Regional Office

Canadian Lutheran World Relief

600-177 Lombard Avenue

Winnipeg, MB R3B 0W5

Telephone and fax numbers, emails and our website will remain the same.

CLWR’s Winnipeg warehouse (549 King Edward Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3H 0N9) has not moved. We Care kits and quilts should still be shipped to the 549 King Edward location.

Our Western and Eastern offices in New Westminster, BC, and Waterloo, ON, also have not changed.

A proposed rent increase was a main factor in choosing to move. The new office is a smaller space and better configured to current staffing. The cost of renovations at the new office are being covered by the tenant’s improvement allowance provided in the new lease agreement.

The move will take place on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26, and there may be some disruption to phone and email services on those days. Thank you in advance for your patience as we make the move and settle into our new location.