Nelson to head relief organization

The Rev. Rick Nelson, senior pastor of Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis, has been elected chairman of Lutheran World Relief, an international organization with missions in 35 countries, not the least of which, right now, is Haiti.

He was elected by the board of directors at its quarterly meeting on Wednesday, giving yet another boost to Minnesota's profile on the national religious scene. In this regard, he joins the Rev. Peg Chemberlin (president of the National Council of Churches), the Rev. Leith Anderson (president of the National Association of Evangelicals), the Rev. Mark Hanson (presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and Rabbi Stacy Offner (vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism).

Nelson will serve for one year but has the option of seeking re-election as often as he wants until he reaches the board's 12-year term limit. He credited his association with his church as a primary reason he was elected.

"I don't think it would have happened if I weren't from Central," he said. "It's not the size of the church; there are bigger churches. It's because at Central, being involved civically and globally is part of our ministry, it's part of our legacy."

Although he's taking over at a time when the focus is on Haiti, he'll concentrate on getting ready for the next crisis.

"Our goal is to have a three- to five-year strategy so that when something happens, the vaults are already full and all we have to do is start sending help," he said. "That's what has happened in Haiti, and now we need to start replenishing the vaults."

Lutheran World Relief is jointly sponsored by the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. While some ELCA churches are withholding contributions as part of the political fallout following the August vote that approved gay preachers, Nelson said those reductions are a small part of the total budget.

Most of the work is conducted via teleconferences, although he does plan to visit some of the organization's outposts to familiarize himself with their operations.

"Our priority is to work with the poorest of the poor," he said. "I'm sure that I'm going to see some things that I'll never forget, and I'm sure that I'm going to see some things that I'll wish I could forget."

Ladies first Darchia Noam Congregation in St. Louis Park is offering an innovative mother-daughter bat mitzvah educational program that challenges centuries-old gender roles.

Created by the Jerusalem-based Women's Institute for Torah Studies, MaTan is considered a supplement to -- not a replacement of -- traditional training in which a girl preparing for a bat mitzvah (like a boy preparing for a bar mitzvah) works with an instructor to learn to read from the Torah.

"Typically, the role of the mother of the bat mitzvah is getting the invitations out and organizing the celebratory parties," explained spokeswoman Wendy Khabie. "With MaTan, she actively participates in the learning with her daughter."

Still singing Using music written in Nazi concentration camps, the One Voice Mixed Chorus is joining forces with the choirs from the Shir Tikvah and Bet Shalom synagogues this weekend for "Unsilenced: GLBT and Jewish Voices of the Holocaust."

"Although originating from a place of deep tragedy, the music leaves the listener with a profound sense of hope, strength and resilience," said Jane Ramseyer Miller, artistic director of One Voice, which is made up of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and straight singers.

The concert will feature soloist Janet Horvath, the associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra. The performance will be followed by a discussion about the importance of remembering the Holocaust. (International Holocaust Remembrance Day was Wednesday.)

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium of Hopkins High School, 2400 Lindbergh Dr., Minnetonka. Tickets are $10 to $25 and are available at www.ovmc.org or 651-298-1954.