June 6, 2012

CHICAGO – The Rev. Tessa Moon Leiseth, her husband, Jon, and their two children will soon call Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, home for the next four years. Tessa is among 15 new missionaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) beginning service in July.

The ELCA is one of the few mainline denominations that fully support its long-term mission personnel. Every year 225 ELCA mission personnel serve in more than 40 countries, working hand-in-hand with global neighbors teaching, preaching, healing, peacemaking, building and growing communities. Of the 225, some are self-funded volunteers and others are serving a two-year commitment.

As the Leiseth family eagerly await their new journey, they acknowledge that it will be hard to leave family and friends, particularly their home in Moorhead, Minn.

"There is a mixture of grief, fear and anxiety," said Tessa Leiseth. "We are leaving our safety net: what we know, things to which we are accustomed, and things that make us feel comfortable."

Even so, a clear and compelling call drives them forward, she said. "That is the rock and anchor we hold onto as we navigate this. We don't know what it means, we don't know what it will be like, and we cannot even imagine the ways in which this experience will transform who we are. Yet we know this is what we are being called into."

Financial support for ELCA missionaries is made possible through the generosity of congregations, individual members and others across this church.

"The ELCA Missionary Sponsorship program is an excellent way to make a direct connection between the hearts of our people and the ministry of ELCA missionaries around the globe. Together, God's work is truly happening through our hands," said the Rev. Lanny Westphal, who directs missionary sponsorship at ELCA churchwide ministries.

"Support for missionaries is more urgent now than ever before," said the Rev. Twila Schock, a former missionary and former director for missionary sponsorship. Schock is senior pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Belvidere, Ill.

"Our church has not waivered in its commitment to supporting our missionaries," despite some economic setbacks, said Schock, adding that the ELCA is experiencing resurgence in the number of fundable long- term missionaries.

And for 2012, there are also a number of ELCA pastors and lay members returning as missionaries.

A former missionary couple who served in Thailand and Seoul are now being called to work with the Nairobi International Lutheran Congregation, and another couple who worked with the International Church of Copenhagen is now being called to a ministry of leadership development in the Lutheran Church of Senegal, according to the Rev. Stephen Nelson, who serves as director for global community at ELCA churchwide ministries.

Included among this year's mission personnel is a librarian from Wisconsin, earning a Master of Divinity degree, who will teach theology and English in Papua New Guinea, and a lecturer at an ELCA seminary, who will teach pastoral care and counseling in Ethiopia.

Long-term service positions are carefully developed with the priorities of ELCA global companion churches, according to Nelson. "Our global companions request ELCA personnel to fill positions identified as critical needs," he said, adding that these are positions that work to build the capacity of our companion churches in their theological education institutions, congregations, leadership development and in other ways.

The mission personnel will begin their service with orientation in Toronto, before moving to their respective areas of service.

Information about ELCA Missionary Sponsorship is available at http://www.ELCA.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Global-Mission/Engage-in-Global-Mission/Support/Global-Mission-Support.aspx.

ELCA News Service