Selma I. Mayer, Women in
Action for Mission
 Selma I. Mayer, better know as Sammy,
epitomizes the efforts of women in the Association of Evangelical
Lutheran Churches (AELC).
Women in Action for Mission (WAM) had its
beginnings in 1977, not as a typical women’s society, but rather as a
forum in which women could discover their role in the mission of the
church. It was formally organized in 1979.
Although not involved from the very
beginning, Sammy was asked in 1979 to become coordinator for WAM, a
position she held until December 1987, when the AELC merged to form the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Throughout its existence, WAM
had a strong connection with the mission arm of the AELC, Partners in
Mission (PIM), a group whose innovative “partnering” concept of local
congregational and individual involvement with mission projects was
originated by Sammy ’s husband, the late Rev. James Mayer, of the PIM
staff. Together with her husband Jim, she served as missionary in India
for 17 years.
Sammy was involved with the consultations
which resulted in the formation of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America. After 1987, she served as board chair for Christians
Linked in Mission, St. Louis, now International Partners in Mission, an
independent ecumenical ministry that continues the PIM work of awareness
and action based on a “personalized reciprocal style of interaction in
mission." |
