Contact: Melissa Ramirez Cooper of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 773-380-2956; Gloria Owens, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 480-837-8508

MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- A "Global Mission Fiesta" hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to celebrate global ministries will be held Feb. 2-3 at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Phoenix. The Fiesta will focus on leadership development for congregations engaged in or considering global ministry through the ELCA or other Lutheran-related organizations. The Rev. Pierre Sena, president, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Senegal, will serve as a keynote speaker.

The Global Mission Fiesta is a multigenerational event for people interested in global mission, short-term mission trips, and developing "companion" relationships with Lutheran congregations overseas or other global ministries. It will include worship and music from around the world. The Fiesta is new, according to Sunitha Mortha, associate director for Global Mission Events and mission interpretation, ELCA Global Mission. It is designed to be smaller and shorter than the annual ELCA Global Mission Event (GME), she said. The 2007 GME will be held July 19-22 at The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Registration deadline for the Fiesta is Jan. 28. Information about the 2007 global mission programs, including registration information, is at http://www.elca.org/gme/gme07.html on the ELCA Web site.