Observe Rachel's Day with other women throughout the ELCA, on the first Sunday in May.   This day is set aside for us to  focus on justice for children, mourning the loss of children and praying for their protection.  Find out how to get your congregation involved.  More >
 

In 1994, one woman in Chicago spoke up against the violence children in her congregation and community were facing. Two years later, the Metropolitan Chicago Synodical Women's Organization brought a memorial to the 1996 Women of the ELCA Triennial Convention asking the organization to broaden awareness of the violence children face. Rachel's Day was born. Rachel's Day is observed on the first Sunday in May each year. It takes its name from Jeremiah 31:15–17, wherein Rachel grieved for her children.

Rachel's Day: Women Boldly Speaking Up for Children is an eight-page resource that:

• Gives the history of Rachel's Day,
• Offers help in planning a Rachel's Day observance,
• Includes worship suggestions, and
• Suggests ideas for actions beyond the observance.

Download a copy of Rachel's Day: Women Boldly Speaking Up for Children in PDF format.

Our children are our future.  Find out how you can keep our kids safe from drugs, gangs, and pornography.  

• Visit Adults Saving Kids - a non-profit organization offering Christian resources for preventing sexual exploitation of children
• Read Cafe issue #5 
• Read the ELCA's position on Commercial Sexual Exploitation
• Use WELCA's Day Full of Light program materials

Every 15 seconds a woman is battered. Two to four million women are abused each year and 4,000 of them die. Every 45 seconds someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Nearly 1/3 of American Women will suffer from physical or sexual abuse during their lifetime.

In 2002:  

• 216,090 women were the victims of rape/sexual assault

• 67% of the perpetrators were non-strangers

• ~46% of rapes/sexual assaults go unreported

What can you do?  

1. Get educated on the facts - visit Faith Trust Institute

2. Educate your children - read "Better Homes & Garden's" June 2004 issue

3. Report it ... you don't deserve it.  No one deserves that.  God loves you and so do I!  Together, and with God's help and mercy, your wounds will be healed!
   

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