ST. LOUIS (AP) - One of the nation's largest Lutheran bodies is launching a campaign to rid Africa of malaria.
The Lutheran Malaria Initiative is a partnership of Lutheran World Relief and St. Louis-based Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which has 2.3 million members in 6,200 congregations.
The initiative is officially beginning with events Sunday through Tuesday.
The effort seeks to raise $45 million toward eliminating malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. The Missouri Synod says congregations, schools and individuals have already contributed nearly $2 million to the project.