Faith Luthern Church

TO RESPOND WITH DONATIONS TO HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF:
Members of the Florida-Bahamas synod, including Faith Lutheran Church, have been working for ten years to build the Lutheran Church in Haiti, offering a high level of financial and personnel support to buy property and erect churches which could also act as hurricane shelters and community gathering places for schools and clinics. Nurses, doctors, educators and ministers from the ELCA have taken multiple trips to Haiti to train church leaders, school teachers, and support the emerging Lutheran Church in Haiti. These small church buildings suffered damage in the earthquake, and parishioners suffered multiple losses of family members, homes, possessions, and livestock. Our pastors are safe but living in the streets of Port-au-Prince under sheeting held up with sticks.
Relief for Haiti will be necessary for many years, but the Haitians are determined to rebuild. On the web site below you will find up-to-date information about earthquake relief undertaken by the ELCA. Please give generously to support Lutheran relief efforts at http://www.elca.org/disaster Let us walk hand-in-hand with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION ON ALL THINGS LUTHERAN:
http://www.elca.org

WEB SITES FOR KIDS:

Kids Do Ecology: learn all about ecology, sponsored by the University of California, Santa Barbara. For pre-K and elementary school age children.
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids

Roots and Shoots: founded by Dr. Jane Goodall, this site engages and inspires youth through community service and service learning.
http://www.rootsandshoots.org

National Park Service Junior Ranger program: Do you like visiting America's national parks? Want to earn points when you visit them and become a National Park Junior Ranger?
http://www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger/htm

National Resource Defense Council: join the Green Squad! Kids taking action for greener, healthier schools.
http://www.nrdc.org

Planet Esme: Find hundreds of great books for kids at this fun site developed by children's book author and librarian Esme Raji Codell. Esme tells a bit about the story in each book, shows the cover, and tells why it is, or is not, a good book to read. Kids, share this site with your folks and then head to the library.
http://www.planetesme.com

WEB SITES FOR TEENS:

Amnesty International: for teens and adults: learn about and work for human rights. Find a local chapter, or found one in your community or school.
http://www.ai.org

Collegiate Choice Walking Tours: need to decide whether to visit a college or not? These videos of college tours by a team of HS guidance counselors can help you determine whether distant colleges are worth a visit. A very helpful site, and the tapes are wonderful! The counselors ask very insightful questions.
http://www.collegiatechoice.com

Personal Essay: how to write your best college application essay, tells what topics and style mistakes to avoid to maximize your chances of college acceptance.
http://www.personalessay.com

Common College Application: fill out your master copy by hand or online to send to all colleges to which you apply. Most colleges now accept the common app in lieu of their own separate one on a totally equal basis.
http://www.commonapp.org

WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ABOUT PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH FOR MYSELF AND MY LOVED ONES?

American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org

American Academy of Pediatrics: dedicated to the health of all children.
http://www.aap.org

Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: does your child really have ADD/ADHD or not? Find out here.
http://www .chadd.org

Autism Speaks! and it's time to listen. Learn the signs and the causes of autism. Get informed and get involved. The sooner autism is diagnosed the sooner treatment can begin. Early treatment is essential to lessen its severity.
http://www.autismspeaks.org

Focus Adolescent Services: a clearinghouse of information and resources on teen and family issues to help and support families with troubled or at-risk teens.
http://www.focusas.com

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy: having marital problems? Find help here:
http://www.aamft.org

American Cancer Society: learn about cancer, join the fight for a cure; find a local chapter.
http://www.cancer.org

National Alzheimer's Association: learn the warning signs and latest treatments.
http://www.alz.org

WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ABOUT CHILDREN'S LITERACY AND EDUCATION ISSUES?

Planet Esme: a web site about reading advocacy for children, designed by children's book author and librarian Esme Raji Codell. Hundreds and hundreds of story book reviews with the book covers pictured in color, and many more resources. A wonderful site for parents, kids, and teachers. Gotta love it!
http://www.planetesme.com

American School Counselor Association: back-to-school tips and articles for parents.
http://www.schoolcounselor.org

PTA Parent-Teacher Association: find information about student achievement, safety, media and technology, and health and wellness.
http://www.pta.org/parent_resources.html

WHERE CAN I FIND PROGRESSIVE COMMENTARY ON FAITH, BOTH CHRISTIANITY AND OTHER FAITHS?

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance: non-profit organization promoting religious tolerance, freedom and understanding. An EXCELLENT information site.
http://www.religioustolerance.org

Sojourners: progressive Christian commentary on faith, politics and culture. Articulates the biblical call to social justice.
http://www.sojo.net

WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATON ABOUT ISSUES OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN RELATION TO MY FAITH?

Lutherans Concerned North America: a Christian ministry affirming God's love for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities since 1974.
http://www/lcna.org

Soulforce: a web site that supports freedom for GLBT people from religious and political oppression through the practice of nonviolent resistance. An excellent, grassroots site.
http://www.soulforce.org

WHERE CAN I FIND UNBIASED, UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION?

American Psychological Association: here's the real deal: just the facts.
http://www.apa.org

PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays): find a local chapter, connect with other parents and friends, learn how to meet this challenge in your own family in a supportive, loving way.
http://www.pflag.org

Outproud: National Coalition for GLBT Youth. Offers a wide variety of resources for youth, parents, and educators.
http://www.outproud.org

Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network: organization for students and teachers that tries to affect positive change in schools and colleges. Get "safe space" kits, find or create a local chapter, find gay-friendly college campuses.
http://www.glsen.org

JUST FOR FUN!

Lutherans love two things: good strong coffee and Garrison Keillor! Visit the website of the Prairie Home Companion for news of Lake Woebegon, "where all the men are strong, all the women are good-looking, and all the children are above average." Listen to PHC every Saturday night at 6 PM on NPR.
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org

Oriental Trading Company: this is where we find many of our novelty toys and freebies for Sunday School kids. It's the place to find party, birthday and seasonal items for any occasion. All sorts of great "loot" for all ages!
www.orientaltrading.com

Northern Sun Catalog: progressive, hilarious tee shirts, way-out badges, stickers, posters and bumper stickers. Express your opinions with a wink and a grin.
http://www.northernsun.com

Internet Movie Data Base: check out the latest films and settle those family arguments about TV and movie trivia! Exhaustive site.
http://www.imdb.com

Silver Crow Creations: an eclectic sampling of items for your purchase: rubber stamps, vintage church pews, baby shower doodads, Mexican milagros, retro and vintage scrapbooking and paper products -- anything and everything to help you express your inner artist. Who manufactures this stuff? I don't know, but I want one of each. A very curious, unusual collection!
http://www.silvercrowcreations.com

Netflix Tired of poor-quality TV shows and idiotic commercials? Do you crave watching your favorite movies again, catching up on the films you missed in the theaters, or exploring classics you have not yet seen? Join netflix and watch all your favorites by ordering DVDs by mail and watching many netflix choices instantly on your computer monitor. It's awesome.
http://netflix.com

Book Swap: swap books you no longer want and get books you DO want. You pay book rate postage to mail paperbacks, hardcover, and audio books to other members of this site, and you receive books you want from them for free. For books you send you get one point. For books you receive, you surrender a point. You can print out mailing labels on this site, buy postage and point money, so you can mail books from home without even going to the post office. They even show you how to wrap a book for mailing. It's fun, easy, a great way to get the books you want, get rid of those you don't want to keep, and keep books out of land fills. Go green! There are companion sites for CDs and DVDs too!
http://paperbackswap.com