On Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 the fourth annual Lutheran ethnic folk fair, highlighting ethnic ministries in the South Wisconsin District, was held at Pilgrim Lutheran School and WOW, what a great Mission Fair it was! First we heard a speaker from POBLO who talked to us about “Women of Islam.” She gave us some startling figures about the Muslim population in the world. In 1917 there were 100,000 Muslims in the United States, and by 2008 the number had grown to 9 million. Belgium is 25% Muslim, Russia – 23% and in Europe there are 52 million Muslim people. About 80% of Muslims are committed to their faith. Our speaker answered some very interesting questions for us and spoke about everything we asked her from “Why do the Muslim women need to be covered from head to toe,” to “How are people converted, and where does terrorism fit in?”
Another speaker, Rev. Joel Elowsky from CUW, spoke about Early African Christianity. He told us that there are ½ billion Christians in Africa and the number is growing daily at a very fast rate. Even in the early days of the church, Africa had a large population of Christians. Jesus traveled to Africa as a baby (Egypt) as did many other Biblical characters. The early church had a vibrant presence and population in the area. Biblical Interpretation, Doctrinal Development, University/Education System and a pattern for Church Councils were some of the important contributions that this continent brought to the church as it began to grow. Some of the greatest teachers in the field came from Africa and taught the rest of the world.
The mission fair began at noon and was a mixture of different peoples. Each of the cultures presented music or other information about the things that they enjoy. The music was very uplifting and had a marvelous beat. After checking out the many displays, we had a chance to sample some of the various dishes prepared for us by the groups. African Puff Puffs, Jollof and Meat Pies, Nachos and Tacos, as well as Hmong Egg Rolls , Fried Plantain, Mikato, Galeane and Indian Lamb Curry with Zeera Rice.
Thre was also plenty of time to talk and get to know each other better. I hope that many more will be able to come to the event next year.
Submitted by
Jan Dankwardt, President
SWD LWML