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Disaster Relief Team Travels to New Jersey, Marks 50th Trip

Megan Brandsrud

​This week, 33 volunteers from St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry of St. Philip’s Lutheran Church in Fridley, Minn., traveled to New Jersey to assist in Hurricane Sandy recovery projects.

This trip marked St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry’s 50th trip since the ministry formed in 2006.

St. Philip's 50th trip certificate

St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry has traveled around the country meeting people who have been impacted by disasters and helping them rebuild their homes.

“St. Philip’s Disaster Ministry has been a great leader in volunteering to help those impacted by disasters,” Lutheran Disaster Response Program Director Mike Stadie said. “I don’t know of any other ELCA congregation that has helped as many people all over the country. Their commitment to helping those in need is inspirational.”

St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Ministry’s current trip to New Jersey was coordinated by Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey (LSMNJ) and A Future with Hope. Please visit LSMNJ’s website for more details about this story and Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

Pictured: Members of St. Philip’s Disaster Ministry receive certificate from Lutheran Disaster Response Program Director Michael Stadie and Amy Pennenga, disaster response coordinator for LSMNJ.

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Central African Republic: Distributing Seed for the Rainy Season

Megan Brandsrud

​Security in the Central African Republic (CAR) still remains a major issue, as armed fighting and looting continues. According to a May 1, 2014, report from the United Nations, there are approximately 584,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in CAR and more than 2.5 million people who are in great need of assistance.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says the number of children being treated for severe acute malnutrition in CAR has tripled. This is in large part a result of families missing last year’s planting season because of the violence in the country and thus having a minimal harvest this year. The fighting in CAR has also disrupted many families’ livelihoods, meaning there isn’t money to buy food.

Knowing that food security is a major concern in CAR, Lutheran Disaster Response collaborated with our global companion church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA), to provide assistance. From April 17 – April 29, Lutheran Disaster Response, with the EELRCA, distributed seeds and farming tools to people in the Bohong region of CAR who have been impacted by the ongoing armed violence in the country.      Distributing peanut seed

Since the rainy season is approaching in CAR, the seeds are arriving just in time for planting. This will allow farmers to restore their livelihoods and have food for next year.

The supplies included:

  • 12.2 tons of seed for corn
  • 2.7 tons of seed for beans
  • 5.2 tons of seed  for peanuts
  • 2,000 hoes (hand plows)
  • 600 files for sharpening the hoes and other farm tools

More than 2,000 households received seed and farming supplies from the distribution.

The EELRCA is committed to serving as the church even though they are living in the midst of this crisis, and with them, Lutheran Disaster Response is providing assistance to those who need it most.

“We thought that we were abandoned to ourselves, but the church is always thinking about us,” said one beneficiary at the seed distribution.

A woman who received seed expressed how this will help her restore her livelihood. “I am filled with joy,” she said. “I will plant the seed and after harvest, I will eat and sell the surplus. Thanks to all the people [in the USA] who are thinking about us.”

Committed to an inter-faith reconciliation, the EELRCA welcomed anyone who could benefit from the seed distribution. One Muslim man who received seed was happy to be able to plant and harvest food for himself and his neighbors.

Happy beneficiary from Muslim community share a laugh with the women

The need in CAR is still very great, and we will continue to work with our companion, the EELRCA, as we provide assistance to people in CAR who are still being impacted by the violence in their country.

President Golike of the EELRCA will be visiting the ELCA Churchwide Office during the week of May 12. Stay tuned for a new post with an interview with President Golike.

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Food for Families at Spanaway Lutheran Church

Henry Martinez

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Food pantries get started in a variety of ways. For Spanaway Lutheran Church, it was when Lawanna Lee, founder and co-pastor of El Shaddai Christian Ministries in nearby Tacoma, Washington called to ask about the possibility of developing a partnership. Shortly after a visit to Tacoma, and approval from Spanaway’s congregational council, they were on their way to starting the Food for Families program. The congregation is one of 384 organizations addressing hunger and poverty to receive an ELCA World Hunger funded domestic hunger grant in 2014. Of those 384 organizations, 45 are receiving funds for food pantries.

One thing that makes Food for Families unique is that it is open on Sundays following the worship service. The congregation saw that opening the pantry on Sunday would serve a couple important needs. The first being the acknowledgment that hunger doesn’t rest. Spanaway Lutheran serves an area with a 16.3% poverty rate (numbers from 2012 census data). Other food pantries nearby are open Monday through Friday, but oftentimes during hours that are not the most convenient for families who have to work during the week.

According to congregation member and Food for Families director Edna Coonc, the congregation has served 250 families (about 1,200 people) in almost two years since the program started. Approximately 80% of the clients are families with children. The congregation purchases enough food for ten families each week (about 700 pounds of food) from El Shaddai Ministries, while also receiving donated food from the congregation. This allows them to serve fifteen families each week. The families can choose what they need for the week from a selection that includes meat, produce, pastries, and other staple items. Food for Families also benefits the before and after school education (BASE) ministry of the congregation, a program serving Kindergarten to 5th grade students.

The second reason for opening the pantry on Sunday is for community and the opportunity for fellowship that wouldn’t be available during the week. Coonc says, “We invite the people who come into the food shelf to stay for a cup of coffee. I’ve heard people say, ‘you guys aren’t judging us’ and ‘we don’t feel like you guys are pointing us out.'” This has provided the opportunity for relationships to develop where patrons of the food pantry have joined the congregation and become volunteers of the ministry. It requires a communal effort with congregation members giving financial and material donations as well as their time. Coonc reports that approximately 20 volunteers help keep the ministry going.

But the community aspect runs deeper than just getting bodies for a particular ministry. Pastor John Schier-Hanson feels that having the Food for Families pantry open on Sunday allows for something else to happen. He says, “Charity has become institutionalized in this country. The giver and receiver have become disconnected. But I think there is a redemptive quality for both giver and receiver to experience here— for the receiver it’s knowing that someone cares for them, for the giver it functions to feel they are not just giving to a cause, but to a person and family. It helps us realize that we are part of the same body. We’re all in this life together.”

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State Advocacy Spotlight: California

Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California

May 2, 2014

Water issues

California’s unprecedented drought – continue to receive attention from the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California (LOPP-CA), as legislators and stakeholders contentiously negotiate a multi-billion dollar general obligation bond proposals for the November election ballot, which would invest in water efficiency, supply, reliability, and watershed and ecosystem health.   As compromise remains elusive and a late June deadline looms, one legislative author has a daily countdown posted on his Capitol door, stating the remaining number of days to “‘AQUAPOCOLYPSE”.

CA_Oil and Water

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water from far Northern California rivers is pumped out of the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta and transported via aqueducts to Southern California.  Massive pumps in Kern County, near Interstate 5, push water over the Tehachapi Mountains in Los Angeles.  Debates over the amount and timing of water transfers, and end uses of water, are part of the perpetual “water wars” in California. 

LOPP-CA director Mark Carlson was one of four presenters for an Earth Week webinar on The Sacredness of Water, produced by DC-based Creation Justice Ministries, offering a perspective on the drought.   One subtext of the water debates and choices underway involves low-income, disadvantaged rural and urban communities in California that lack safe drinking water (other than expensive bottled water), because of groundwater contamination by agricultural or industrial chemicals. LOPP-CA is a co-host, with other partners, in the gala premier of the documentary film Thirsty for Justice – The Struggle for the Human Right to Water, at the California Museum Theater on May 14. http://ejcw.org/thirsty/

The Spanish translation and dvd reproduction for this film, making it accessible to many of those who are affected by the lack of clean water, are partially funded by ELCA World Hunger.  One segment of the film addresses the lack of clean water for drinking and hygiene for people who are homeless.

 

Immigration Day at the Capitol – May 19

Immigrant Day at the Capitol is when LOPP-CA seeks to engage Lutherans in standing with California’s diverse immigrant communities in celebrating their gifts and advancing their policy concerns, which this year will include access to health care for all.

 

Hunger Action Day – May 21

The Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California is working with the Lutheran Episcopal Volunteer Network, LEVN, to participate in this annual Capitol advocacy day focused on poverty and hunger.  LEVN is a program of The Belfry, the Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of California at Davis.  LEVN participants, similar to the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, are placed for a year with various Sacramento-Davis area social service agencies and non-profits, including Lutheran Social Services of Northern California (focus on youth and young adults aging out of foster care), the Alchemist Community Development Corporation (farmers’ markets and SNAP nutrition outreach), and People Reaching Out (SNAP outreach).   Last year, LOPP-CA organized an initial “Day at the Capitol” for LEVN participants and staff that included meeting with legislators.

Visit the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California at http://www.loppca.org or follow them on facebook.

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State Advocacy Spotlight: New Jersey

Sara Lilja, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry (LOGM)

May 2, 2014

 

Following the Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh this past summer Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry (LOGM) in New Jersey is witnessing the Spirit move in our midst.  Our state legislature and governor are ready to act on criminal justice reform, as so are we.  After the wider church agreed to its newest Social Statement, “The Church and Criminal Justice:  Hearing the Cries” we set out visiting congregations and communities hearing about the need for reform in the criminal justice system in NJ specifically in the areas of Bail and Sentencing reform, and Parole/ Re-entry issues among others.  At the same time our elected officials were doing similar listening.  Now legislation is moving! LOGM is supporting several bills and engaging congregations to assist these “grass roots ideas” to more through both houses, and onto the governor’s desk to be made into law.

Through this Social Statement we are reminded that, “Individuals must be held accountable, but every person in the criminal justice system deserves to be seen and treated as a member of human communities, created in the image of God and worthy of appropriate and compassionate response. “

To this end, we are advocating for passage of the Presumptive Parole Act, which would allow for the release of certain nonviolent offenders upon their first parole eligibility Senate (Bill 677), We are also advocating for Senate Bill 947/Assembly Bill 1910 which would restructure our bail system so that people are not held behind bars while awaiting trail simply because they cannot afford to pay for their release.  We are also working on a bill known as “The Opportunity to Compete Act” which would end the practice of asking on the front page of a job application if the applicant had ever been convicted of a crime, even before they had an interview for the job.

These are not bills that are soft of crime, they are rather more just administration of the law so that we can reduce the number of persons held prison in our state.  Once released exoffenders must be able to get a job and rebuild their lives with hope for a brighter future for themselves and for our communities.

“For what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

Want to learn more about the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey? Check them out on facebook (www.facebook.com/logmnj).​

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State Advocacy Spotlight: Illinois

Jennifer De Leon, Lutheran Advocacy – Illinois

May 1, 2014

 

The days are getting longer, so spring must be here. That means that the Illinois Spring legislative session is in full swing and so is Lutheran Advocacy-Illinois. Below are three ways you can get involved!

We are happy to announce that we have made major improvements to our website. On our website you will find a complete list of issues we are working on this session as well as a get involved section where we will highlight specific issues that require immediate attention. Visit us at www.Lutheranadvocacy.org

Our new Facebook page is also up and running. On our page we will post information about specific campaigns and issues as they are happening in Springfield  www.facebook.com/LutheranAdvocacyIllinois

10th Anniversary of Lutheran Day

Lutheran Day Illinois.png

This year is the 10th Anniversary of Lutheran Day in Springfield. Please join us on May 13, 2014  in Springfield as we build relationships with public officials, showcase the active engagement of Lutherans in pursuing the common good, and build camaraderie among Lutheran advocates in Illinois. To register and for more information, please go tohttp://www.lutheranday.org/. ​

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Standing at the foot of the cross together

“We are not served by getting away from the grubbiness of suffering.” This sentence comes from a new book by Anne Lamott titled “Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair.” It jumped off the page when I read it because it describes the vision for the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit.

By choosing to hold the ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit, we are choosing to stand with Detroiters in the truth of our own grubbiness (read that as a fancy new word for sinfulness/brokenness), and the grubbiness of their daily realities, made grubbier by decades of racial tensions and the more recent collapse of the auto industry. According to Anne, “stand[ing] in the middle of the horror, at the foot of the cross, [waiting] out another’s suffering where that person can see us” is what it takes to bring healing.

Standing with our neighbors is what we do as the ELCA. We accompany people in service to God’s mission. But what about needing to be seen?

Where we are seen Anne suggests that we need to stand with people in their grubby stuff — and we all have grubby stuff — until they see us. That is what ELCA youth did in 2009 and 2012 in New Orleans. New Orleanians saw us, they noticed the young people wearing orange t-shirts working in their neighborhoods, or the ones who took the time to listen to a Katrina story, or those who bought gumbo and a soft drink in their restaurant.

ELCA youth understand the need to stand together with others in the grubby stuff of life. I would like to suggest that ELCA youth are teaching our historically self-effacing church about why it is important to be seen, especially through proclamation and humble service. I pray that ELCA youth and adults show up and stand with Detroiters just like they stood with New Orleanians until they can see us, and trust that the God we serve strengthens us to Rise Up Together to build bridges, bear burdens,

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State Advocacy Spotlight: Pennsylvania

Tracey DePasquale and The Rev. Amy Reumann, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa)

Creating A New Conversation about Poverty

May 1, 2014

 

LAMPa is helping Pennsylvania lawmakers get beyond rhetoric so 1.6 million Pennsylvanians can get beyond poverty. Last summer, House Majority Policy Committee Chairman David Reed, a Republican serving rural Indiana County, approached LAMPa, along with other faith advocates, and asked us to help create a new kind of discussion around poverty in order to move past entrenched partisan views and divisions.

Over the past several months Rep. Reed and his committee traveled the state to visit anti-poverty programs and hear from advocates. LAMPa connected the committee to Lutherans in ministry with and on behalf of the poor in Pennsylvania who shared their stories.  On Monday, Reed unveiled “Beyond Poverty,” the first report stemming from visits and interviews around the commonwealth.  In it, he outlines a five-prong strategy for helping to move some 1.6 million Pennsylvanians from poverty to lives of self-sustainability.  As the process moves forward, LAMPa continues to engage Lutherans with lawmakers on this subject.

On May 6, Reed will address more than 100 people at Lutheran Day in the Capitol.  Attendees are then invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with committee members and staff. That discussion will be followed by a workshop on communal discernment around poverty led by the Rev. William Snyder, LAMPa policy council member and Vice President Marketing and Philanthropy at Luthercare.  We will be using the report of the ELCA’s Communal Discernment Task Force as a tool. The goal of the workshop is to equip Lutherans to move beyond partisan rhetoric and engage in authentic dialogue about the roots and tolls of poverty as well as our call to seek sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all.

Want to learn more? Check out LAMPa’s website and follow them on facebook (LAMPaAdvocacy) and twitter(@LAMPaADVOCACY)!​

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State Advocacy Spotlight: Wisconsin

Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin

May 1, 2014

WI_LOPPW

 

 

 

 

Human trafficking has been on Wisconsin’s legislative radar over the past year.  Recently Governor Scott Walker signed a bill that includes redefining the meaning of consent for victims of human trafficking.  More legislative efforts on trafficking will continue in the next session.

Currently I am working with Amy Hartman, an ELCA diaconal minister and the national executive director of Cherish All Children, to create a plan for working together to develop a team of ELCA members in the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin.  These team members would be the go-to people for sharing information about human trafficking with the synod and for responding to legislative concerns.  The two LOPPW Advisory Council members from that synod will be involved.  This work is part of an effort to create advocacy teams around the state that may vary according to local interests and needs, but will have statewide legislative ties.

Another advisory council member, from the northern part of Wisconsin in an area that is part of the Northern Great Lakes Synod, and I are discussing leading two half-day workshops on LOPPW’s work and hunger issues in two different cities in northern Wisconsin in the fall.

I also look forward to leading workshops on LOPPW at two synod assemblies and representing ELCA World Hunger at another synod assembly soon.

To learn more about the work of the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin, visit their website or check them out onfacebook!​

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