Bread for the World
Care International
The Water Project
Whenever you have helped the least of these my brothers, you have helped me."
-- Matthew 25:40
Click on the links below to see news stories on JELA’s most recent project developments and activities.
India - Designated Christmas Donations
This Christmas season the JELA Foundation is designating year-end offerings to support the purchase of artificial limbs for living in Jamkhed, India. The limbs are made by hand at the facilities of a local NGO, the Comprehensive Rural Health Project, at a minimal cost of $30 dollars each. Please join giving , handicapped individuals a of hope.
India - Global Partners Awarded Grants to Help Children in Need
The JELA Foundation recently awarded grants to four global partners to help implement child education and healthcare initiatives in the countries of India, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Recipients of the 2009 child care grants include the following organizations: The Comprehensive Rural Healthcare Program - CRHP (Jamkhed, India); Lutheran World Service – India (Calcutta, India); Lutheran World Service – Cambodia (Phnom Penh, Cambodia); Lutheran Healthcare Bangladesh (Dhaka, Bangladesh). Recipients were selected quality their education and health care programs, which benefit children living in poverty.
Japan - JELA Celebrate 100 Year of Mission Outreach
On September 21st2009, the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association (JELA) celebrated 100 ears of mission history Japan. The Rev. Andrew Ellis, a retired ELCA missionary and former chairman of the JELA board of directors, led commemoratory morning worship service which was attended by retired ELCA missionaries, JELC pastors, and supporters of JELA. estivities also include a luncheon at Excel Shibuya Hotel, and an evening fellowship for current and retired missionaries. Approximately 50 retired missionaries returned to Japan to participate in the event.
Founded in 1909, JELA played a fundamental role in the establishment of the Japan Evangelical Church, as well as the founding of Lutheran schools and social welfare institutions throughout Japan. Now entering its second century of mission, JELA looks forward to continued opportunities to serve others in Japan, throughout Asia and around the globe.
Japan - Five Japanese Complete Harp Ministry Study Program
The JELA Foundation is pleased to announce that five individuals have recently completed the Lyra Precaria Program, an 18-month course in Pastoral Harp Ministry. The graduates are now prepared to minister through voice and harp in hospice and hospital settings. A course completion ceremony was held at the JELA Mission Center on November 16th 2009.
A delegation representing the JELA Foundation attended the April 5th Dedication Ceremony of the newly constructed Julia Hospital in Jamkhed, India. JELA Chairperson, Mr. Hiroyuki Nakagawa, was one of the featured speakers at the event. In prepared remarks, he congratulated Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) on the construction of the new hospital, which will provide basic medical care to the poor living in the Jamkhed area. In response, Dr. Raj Arole, founder of CRHP, thanked JELA for its strong support of CRHP over the past eight years. In addition to supporting the construction of the hospital, JELA has given funds to purchase medical equipment and provide essential medical training.
The JELA Foundation was recently awarded a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of purchasing essential medical equipment for the newly constructed 80-bed hospital in Jamkhed, India. The grant is a good example of how the Japanese government is working in partnership with the Japan NGO sector to improve the livelihood of underprivileged people. Under the funding scheme, MOFA will purchase medical equipment, while the JELA Foundation will provide training in the equipment’s use.
The JELA Foundation is currently planning its 100 year anniversary celebration, to be held in Tokyo in September 2009. A special worship service has been scheduled on September 22nd in commemoration of JELA`s long history of meeting the educational and social welfare needs of individuals both within Japan and beyond.
The JELA Foundation is pleased to announce that six individuals will soon complete its 18-month course in Pastoral Harp Ministry, known as the Lyra Precaria Program. In this program, participants study voice and harp in preparation to minister in hospice and hospital settings. A course completion ceremony has been scheduled for October, 2009.
In cooperation with the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC), the JELA Foundation held a series of eight charity concerts throughout Japan during the months of May and June, 2009. Ms. Rebecca Flannery, a renowned harpist and graduate of the Hartt School of Music, performed at each of the venues. 100 % of the donations received will be used to help provide essential food, medicine and basic school supplies to needy children.
The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association is pleased to announce the completion of a Youth Education Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Located in the slum area of Diadema, the new center will be used as a place of worship, community gatherings, bible studies, as well as for basic education, including reading, writing and mathematics for children and youth. The land for the project was donated by a member of Nambei Lutheran Church, while funding for the construction of the building was provided by both the congregation and JELA. A delegation from JELA attended a joyous opening ceremony celebration held in early November. A further phase of the project to be completed in the future will include the addition of classrooms and a chapel adjacent to the center.
A delegation from the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association participated in the Nov. 7th opening ceremony of a Youth Education Center in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The new center will provide basic education to poor children living in Porto Alegre. The $150,000 project was undertaken by a Lutheran-affiliated NGO, Centro Diaconal Evangelico Luterano (CEDEL), with 70% of the funding provided by the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the remaining portion supported by JELA, local organizations and individual donors. During the opening ceremony address, Mr. Haruyoshi Miura, the Japanese Consul in Porto Alegre, expressed his hope that the building would be used to provide quality education to hundreds of needy children. “The new building belongs to the children,” commented the Japanese government official.
On March 31st 2007, Dr. Lowell Gretebeck stepped down as Director of JELA after more than seven years of service. “We have accomplished so much in these seven years,” says Dr. Gretebeck. “JELA has become a model of success in both outreach to society and the involvement of people. Japan – No, our world! – needs more organizations, like JELA, that encourage compassion towards the disadvantaged.”