ELCA Blogs

Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

Warm-up Question

What is the last fruit or vegetable you ate, and when did you eat it?

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America is the breadbasket of the world. Walk into any grocery store, and you will find thousands of items to choose from. The average American spends thousands of dollars each year on all kinds of food, from groceries to fast food to sit down restaurant meals served by waitstaff.

Despite the abundance and variety of food available in this country, it seems that many Americans are failing to get enough of certain foods considered to be important to good health. The government recommends that kids and adults get at least 2 ½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day.

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Most say that they are trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, but the average person eats only about a cup of vegetables and half a cup of fruit each day. Teens and the elderly are the groups eating the least of these healthy foods.

Fruits and vegetables are important for a healthy diet because they contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Many of these healthy nutrients are not found in other types of foods such as breads, meats, or fats. A balanced diet can prevent disease and prolong life.

According to Elizabeth Pivonka of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, even adding small amounts of fruits and vegetables to normal meals can help your overall health. Putting raisins in cereal, veggies on sandwiches, and drinking 100% fruit juices can help people get to the recommended number of servings per day.

Another way to make sure there are enough fruits and vegetables in someone’s diet is to aim to fill half the plate with those foods. More frequent grocery shopping may be needed to make sure the house stays stocked with fresh produce. Instead of shopping every two weeks, people may need to shop once or twice a week.

Discussion Questions

Why do you think many people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables? Consider the following: people relying on food stamps, the menus of the fast food restaurants you frequent, and the fact that many low-income neighborhoods don’t have grocery stores in them.
How does government policy affect what foods are affordable and available?
What steps could restaurants and grocery stores take to improve this situation? Do you believe they should be forced to do so?
Do you think food advertising generally helps or hinders people from eating more fruits and vegetables?
What positive forces exist to help people eat the right amount of fruits and vegetables?

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:26-40

1 John 4:7-21

John 15:1-8

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

We’re going to move on from talking about eating fruit to considering what it means to “bear fruit.” Bearing fruit is more than simply doing good things or being good. Bearing fruit can only happen if we are connected to Jesus—if our actions grow out of that connection.

Good things can be done by anyone. Apart from God, our good works are more like candy than fruit. They seem good—but they are artificially made, and they are not connected to anything. Furthermore, they aren’t really healthy for anyone. They may give a good result initially, but they don’t ultimately lead to anything good.

What a beautiful analogy Jesus gives here about how living as his follower works. Knowing Jesus makes us want to do good things, but only being connected to him and his power can allow us to do the right kinds of good things in the right ways and for the right reasons—bearing fruit that lives on and produces more fruit through its seeds. Fruit that doesn’t come from a branch connected to the true vine (Jesus) will eventually wither or rot or become unhealthy.

In order to bear fruit, the branch has to be healthy. God’s influence over our lives can allow us to become healthy enough to bear fruit. As we live in relationship to God through Christ, bearing fruit has a lot to do with the ways God changes us to become more like him.

Discussion Questions

What are some things we can do to nurture the connection to Jesus so that we are indeed fruitful?
Many people do good things–including persons of other faith traditions or no religious tradition at all. What is gained by being connected to Jesus? Why does it matter?

Activity Suggestions

Start a community garden on your church property or other land, and donate the produce to a local food bank. Fresh produce is rare at food banks, making it difficult for those in need to eat a healthy diet. This is a big undertaking, but it can make a big difference in the community—a way to bear fruit literally and figuratively.
Organize a collection of fruits and vegetables to benefit a food bank or otherwise give away to those in need. Because fresh fruits and vegetables don’t last long, it’s best to have a defined collection day and then deliver to the food bank right away.

Closing Prayer

Dear God, we thank you for the blessings of food to eat. Help us remember to stay connected to Jesus the true vine, so that we can bear good fruit to benefit the world around us as we become more like him. We pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:4-11)

What is resilience? The dictionary defines it as the ability to recover quickly from illness, disaster or adversity. In ecology, the term is used to describe the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state after a disturbance. For Christ, resilience came from a life lived in service, love and obedience – examples that still resonate with us thousands of years later.

Climate disruptions, such as extreme storms and multi-year droughts, are testing the resilience of the earth community. Long-term drought in California, for example, has put at risk not only the state’s fruit and vegetable farms, a source of food for millions of people, but also the state’s drinking-water supplies, which face the very real possibility of running dry in some parts of the state. In another extreme example, multiple typhoons have devastated the Philippine islands in recent years, triggering massive and costly humanitarian efforts to rebuild lives and communities in ways that can withstand future storms.

In the face of long-term drought or extreme weather, some families and communities will be able to find the resources to rebuild, but over the long term, will the larger human community have the resilience to withstand the rising sea levels and extreme weather brought by climate change? If more extreme weather is becoming the norm, what does the future hold for communities of modest or few means?

These questions take on even more urgency in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. How will a small, low-lying island in Micronesia find the means to cope with rising sea levels? How do farmers in coastal Bangladesh manage salt water intrusion into freshwater supplies needed to grow staple crops to feed their communities?

And how are we, in one of the wealthiest nations on earth, called to help our neighbors cope with this emerging reality? Do we put up sea walls on our own coastlines and retreat behind them, ignoring the fact that many of the communities already heavily impacted by rising sea levels and weather extremes lack the means to prepare for climate change disasters? Or do we look to the interests of others, whether they are in native villages in coastal Alaska, farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa or the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu?

The Green Climate Fund is a new international funding mechanism that represents a major commitment by the global community to help vulnerable nations build resilience to climate impacts. The fund was established to build the capability of vulnerable and low-income nations to embrace clean and low-carbon energy development and to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. By building more resilient communities, countries will also increase food security and political stability, both of which will have positive impacts on issues such as migration and national security.

Last November, President Obama announced that the United States will contribute $3 billion over the next five years to the Green Climate Fund. Countries ranging from Germany, Japan and France to Korea, Mexico and Peru have also announced initial pledges to the fund that total more than $10 billion. If this new institution is to succeed in its task of helping the most vulnerable build resilience to climate disruption, honoring these pledges will be critical.

The president’s budget request for 2016 includes an initial payment of $500 million to the fund, which we will be urging Congress to approve. Please join us next month as we take part in interfaith effort to ensure that the United States honors its pledge to the Green Climate Fund.

Resilience is being prepared for disaster, but it is also building what can be sustained and taking steps to help our neighbors as well as ourselves. Christ lived a resilient life, living humbly while building community and serving others. Leading a Christian life in our complex modern world poses challenges that Christ never faced, but his lasting example of love and service to others is still a good pathway to a resilient life and strong and enduring communities.

Learn more about the Green Climate Fund here.

Servicio de Noticias de ELCA

Delegación de ELCA escucha historias ‘desgarradoras’ de migrantes menores de edad; solicita mayor respuesta de la iglesia
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CHICAGO (ELCA) – Con la oleada reciente de decenas de miles de niños de Centroamérica que han estado llegando a los Estados Unidos sin acompañante, líderes y miembros de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América (ELCA, por sus siglas en inglés) se están enterando mejor de las verdaderas causas de este fenómeno de migración.

Desde 2014, la ELCA ha estado luchando por dar respuesta a las necesidades de niños y familias, con esfuerzos como asegurar representación legal, conseguir cuidado temporal para los niños, proporcionarles servicios “wrap around” durante el tiempo que pasan en los Estados Unidos, y conectar a los niños y a las familias con congregaciones de ELCA. Algunos miembros de ELCA también instan actualmente al Congreso a que reforme completamente las leyes de inmigración, brinde ayuda humanitaria, y trate humanamente a los migrantes en tránsito.

En febrero de 2015, una delegación de ELCA viajó a Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala. La delegación, dirigida por el Rvdo. Stephen Bouman, director ejecutivo de la Misión Sinodal y Congregacional de ELCA, y el Rvdo. Rafael Malpica Padilla, director ejecutivo de la Misión Global de ELCA, se reunió con líderes y pastores luteranos de estos países, quienes les explicaron que el desplazamiento de la gente se debe a la violencia de las pandillas, la pobreza, los gobiernos ineptos y la repatriación.

“La violencia de las pandillas (en estos países) está muy generalizada. A todo aquel que no se somete le espera una muerte segura y rápida”, indicó Bouman. “Durante nuestro viaje escuchamos testimonios de madres e hijos que intentaron escapar de la violencia de las pandillas y sobrevivir la terrible jornada” desde Centroamérica hasta Estados Unidos a través de México, expresó Bouman.

En una conversación el día 7 de marzo con los obispos de ELCA, cuyos sínodos mantienen una “relación de compañeros” con iglesias luteranas en Centroamérica, y en una presentación dada el 11 de marzo al personal de la organización nacional de ELCA, Malpica Padilla y Bouman contaron la historia de “Jessica”, una mujer de 45 años y madre de tres hijos que huyó de su hogar. Jessica, que había sido directora de circulación de un periódico importante, perdió su empleo hace cuatro años y aún no había podido conseguir otro, huyó por la falta de seguridad que amenazaba a sus hijos – su hijo pequeño fue testigo de la muerte a tiros de uno de sus amiguitos a manos de pandilleros. Mientras intentaba su jornada hacia los Estados Unidos, Jessica fue objeto de abuso y también detenida por oficiales de inmigración cuando ella y sus hijos procuraban refugiarse en una cueva. Jessica y sus hijos ya fueron deportados. “La pobreza, empeorada por la violencia, es el factor clave en la migración”, señaló Bouman. “Jessica nos habló de su profunda fe mientras nos compartió su historia. Nos habló del Buen Pastor”, dijo Bouman. “Multiplique la historia de ella por 30, y eso fue todo lo que escuchamos durante nuestro viaje”.

“Si usted cruza el Río Grande, ¡lo logró! El recorrido a través del desierto de Texas o de Arizona es difícil, pero en ocasiones es más fácil que los demás peligros que le esperan a uno a lo largo de la jornada, particularmente una vez que el migrante entra en territorio Mexicano”, explicó Malpica Padilla. “Los carteles secuestran a cientos de viajeros para luego extorsionar a sus familiares demandándoles dinero. Las personas que viajan en el tren conocido como ‘La Bestia,’ se encuentran con los temidos carteles de la droga, que les roban, los asaltan, y hasta los matan para sacarles los órganos, los cuales venden en el tráfico ilegal aunque rentable de órganos humanos”, indicó él.

“Mientras escuchábamos estos testimonios, la delegación se sintió apremiada a comprometerse a trabajar y a invitar a toda la ELCA a responder”, dijo Bouman. Los participantes en la delegación fueron la Rvda. Raquel Rodriguez, directora de la oficina de Latinoamérica y el Caribe de la Misión Global de ELCA; el Rvdo. Michael Stadie, director, Respuesta Luterana ante Desastres –EE.UU.; Stephen Deal, representante regional de ELCA por Centroamérica; la Rvda. Stacy L. Martin, directora de defensa de ELCA, oficina de Washington; Alaide Vilchis Ibarra, directora asistente de política y defensa de migración; Bouman; y Malpica Padilla.

A nombre de la delegación, Malpica Padilla y Bouman están animando a los miembros de esta iglesia a seguir el llamado a una completa reforma a la ley de inmigración que se derive de las acciones de las asambleas nacionales de ELCA; continuar apoyando la obra de las organizaciones luteranas de ministerio social, sínodos y congregaciones de ELCA que trabajan para satisfacer las necesidades de los migrantes, y que sirven como lugares para brindarles acogida y mostrarles hospitalidad; y apoyando los esfuerzos de defensa de ELCA, los cuales han sido diseñados para motivar a los funcionarios gubernamentales elegidos a favorecer políticas justas, efectivas y transparentes que aborden la ayuda humanitaria en Centroamérica y aboguen por el trato humano de los migrantes en tránsito, particularmente en México.

“Debemos seguir realizando actividades constantes de apoyo a los migrantes, e incluso extender nuestros servicios a ambos lados de la frontera”, dijo Malpica Padilla. “Sin embargo, debemos tener presente que estas son medidas transitorias. Debemos aprobar un proyecto de ley de reforma completa”.

Socios compañeros
“Cuando los padres determinan que la migración a otro país, no sólo es la mejor opción, sino la única opción que existe para preservar la vida de sus hijos, algo anda muy mal”, señaló Martin. “Esta es la desdichada situación del Triángulo Norte de Centroamérica. Y aunque si bien es cierto que las causas de la crisis de refugiados son muchas y muy complejas, no menos cierto es que la política exterior de los EE.UU. y su intervención en la región tienen que ver con el contexto actual que ha generado violencia y pobreza”, expresó ella.

“Es terrible y doloroso escuchar las historias de estas personas que viven en constante temor y que no albergan ninguna esperanza en el futuro de su comunidad o de su país”, comentó Martin. “No podemos permitir que la complejidad y la magnitud del problema sean excusas para no hacer el intento de ser mejores compañeros de nuestros socios en Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala para hacer frente a los problemas que los aquejan. Si no nos ubicamos en todos los frentes posibles, la crisis de refugiados no menguará. Por eso es tan importante que sepamos cuál es la raíz de esta crisis y que actuemos conjuntamente en muchos niveles, especialmente urgiendo al gobierno de Estados Unidos a que invierta generosa y sabiamente en el área, y se asegure de que la ayuda y las políticas sean implementadas sin una indebida dependencia en la militarización”.

Antes de su viaje a Centroamérica, la delegación visitó un centro de detención en Artesia, Nuevo México. “Vimos mujeres y niños literalmente tras las rejas”, dijo Bouman.

Esta primavera, el Rvdo. H. Julian Gordy – Obispo del Sínodo Suroeste de ELCA, Atlanta, y presidente de la Mesa Permanente para Asuntos de Inmigración de la Conferencia de Obispos de la ELCA – y el Rvdo. Michael W. Rinehart – obispo del Sínodo de la Costa del Golfo de Texas-Luisiana de la ELCA, Houston, y miembro de la junta directiva del Servicio Luterano para Inmigrantes y Refugiados, Baltimore – estarán visitando un centro de detención en Dilly, Texas.

“La Mesa Permanente para Asuntos de Inmigración de la Conferencia de Obispos existe para influir en la política pública con respecto a las cuestiones de inmigración”, dijo Gordy. “Trabajando de cerca con el Servicio Luterano para Inmigrantes y Refugiados, los miembros de la Mesa Permanente hacen visitas anuales a los miembros del Congreso y a la administración en Washington para instarlos a aprobar una reforma completa a la legislación sobre la inmigración”, indicó él.

“Además, los miembros de la Mesa Permanente han escrito piezas editoriales para periódicos, y en algunas ocasiones han atestiguado ante el Congreso a nombre de los inmigrantes y refugiados. Actualmente, la Mesa Permanente espera llamar atención sobre la desafortunada encarcelación de mujeres y niños migrantes en instalaciones de detención a lo largo del país”, añadió Gordy.

Ángeles de la Guarda
En el Sínodo del Suroeste de California de la ELCA, los pastores y miembros han comenzado el programa de Ángeles de la Guarda en un esfuerzo por acompañar a los niños y adolescentes de Centroamérica detenidos en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. Muchos de los niños y adolescentes comparecen solos a su audiencia de deportación.

“Queremos que los jueces y otras personas sepan que estamos allí para ayudar a los niños y a las familias a navegar el proceso judicial, especialmente a los que no tienen representación legal. Estamos procurando enviar el mensaje de que existen personas que se preocupan por estos niños”, dijo Maria Paiva, directora de la misión evangélica, Sínodo del Suroeste de California de la ELCA, y coordinadora del programa Ángeles de la Guarda. El programa fue iniciado por la Rvda. Alexia Salvatierra, una pastora de ELCA. Hay cerca de 40 voluntarios adiestrados por el Comité Nacional de Abogados. Los voluntarios toman notas durante los procedimientos, y monitorean para ver si se cometen violaciones a los derechos legales de los niños.

Cuando los voluntarios acompañan a los niños durante los procedimientos legales, ellos usan una camiseta que tiene la figura de un ángel protegiendo a los niños. Paiva señaló que las camisetas ayudan a que los jueces noten la presencia de ellos.

“He visto milagros en cuanto a cómo cambian las actitudes de los jueces y los abogados cuando nos ven acompañando a los niños”, expresó Paiva, quien ha acudido a más de 30 audiencias.

“Todos nosotros hemos sido bendecidos por Dios en formas maravillosas”, dijo Paiva. “Podemos mostrarles este amor a otros que necesitan compasión”.

La presentación de la primera campaña exhaustiva de la ELCA Siempre Ser Hechos Nuevos: La Campaña para la ELCA está ahora disponible al público en español. La presentación ofrece una introducción de la campaña, las prioridades de su ministerio y formas de donar. Se puede ordenar aquí y/o descargar aquí.

Lanzada oficialmente el 1 de febrero de 2014, Siempre Ser Hechos Nuevos: La Campaña para la ELCA procura recaudar $198 millones para ayudar a sostener y extender los ministerios de esta iglesia mediante cuatro elementos prioritarios – las Congregaciones, el Hambre y la Pobreza, el Liderazgo, y la Iglesia Global. Los recursos económicos adicionales ofrecerán a la ELCA oportunidades de solidificar relaciones y expandir los ministerios que sirven a comunidades en los Estados Unidos y alrededor del mundo.

Recientemente la campaña celebró la terminación de su primer año con una recaudación de casi $45 millones, lo que representa el 23 por ciento de la meta de $198 millones en cinco años, los cuales se cumplen el 31 de enero de 2019. Además, la campaña ha recibido otros $3,4 millones en promesas actuales de donativos y $10,8 millones en promesas de donativos planeados a las prioridades de la misma. Lea más acerca del primer año y el progreso de la campaña (ingrese a http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7730).

Descubra más acerca de La Campaña para la ELCA y sus prioridades (ingrese a http://www.elca.org/Campaign-for-the-ELCA).

Megan Brandsrud

Around 11:55 a.m. local time, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Nepal, with its epicenter approximately 70 km from its capital city, Kathmandu. The earthquake was felt around the whole country, but the Kathmandu valley and western region of the country were hit hardest.

As of publication time, approximately 1,500 people are reported dead and thousands are injured. Death toll numbers are expected to rise as searches continue because it is feared that many people are trapped beneath rubble. Buildings are leveled, roads are destroyed and many heritage sites and landmarks are collapsed, including the Dharahara Tower, which was built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal.

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Collapsed building and surrounding damage in Nepal following 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the country early April 25. Photo courtesy of LWF.

The earthquake also triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing 13 people. More than 25 aftershocks have been recorded in the Kathmandu Valley and neighboring countries, causing people to spend the night outside in the open as a precaution.

Lutheran Disaster Response is working with trusted partners – Lutheran World Federation, ACT Alliance and Lutheran World Relief – who are on the ground and already responding. Immediate response includes supplies and services such as water, food, medication, shelter and psychosocial support. We continue to connect with other partners and our companion church, the Nepal Evangelical Lutheran Church, for updates and response plans.

“ELCA partners were in contact as soon as the news flashed,” says Chandran Paul Martin, consulting regional representative for South Asia, ELCA Global Mission. “Dr. Bijaya Bajracharayna, program coordinator for Lutheran World Federation in Nepal, described the situation of people on the street and open ground as after tremors were felt.”

Lutheran Disaster Response is committed to long-term response, and we will accompany our brothers and sisters who were affected by the earthquake as they navigate every process of the disaster relief and recovery process.

If you would like to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work with the Nepal Area Earthquake, please visit the giving page. Your gifts allow us be the church in times of disaster, and we thank you for your generosity. Please continue to remember the people of Nepal and surrounding countries who were affected by the earthquake in your thoughts and prayers.

Merciful God,

Hear our cry for mercy in the wake of the earthquake. Reveal your presence in the midst of our suffering. Help us to trust in your promises of hope and life so that desperation and grief will not overtake us. Come quickly to our aid that we may know peace and joy again. Strengthen us in this time of trial with the assurance of hope we know in the death and resurrection of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Peace Not Walls

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is inviting houses of worship across the United States to display a “We Support Peace with Justice” banner in public. CMEP explains “It is our hope that various religious institutions will choose to publicly reflect their congregants wishes for a peaceful solution to the decades old conflict in the Middle East. In light of the most recent war, violence and devastation, there is an immediate need and urgent opportunity to advance this cause of peace. We hope that a strong public demonstration of support for peace and justice from people all across America will encourage political leaders to make the decisions necessary to end this tragic conflict.”

For a Q&A about the banner campaign and to order a banner click here.

Gina Tonn

April 22, 2015

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How do you honor God’s creation? Part of my spiritual practice is being a morning person, to honor the light by greeting it early, allowing the new dawn to fill me with the spirit. Each new day is an opportunity to continue the work we are called to do, refreshed and renewed through sleep and new light. I sense hopefulness of morning; I am filled with hope for the world, in our ability to create positive change, for there to be more people fed and nourished each day. I have confidence in the abundance of God’s creation; I see the divine in everything the sun touches.

Even as I honor God’s creation in my rising, I often take the earth and God’s gifts for granted in my living. I confess to being a lesser steward of the earth than I am called to be. I confess to my crimes against the environment – both things done and left undone out of laziness, convenience and self-centeredness. I confess to ignorance about where my food comes from and how it’s grown. I confess to ignoring future degradation for the sake of present quality of life.

My actions contribute to climate change. Climate change disproportionately affects people who live in vulnerable conditions, who experience poverty and hunger. As we observe Earth Day this week, let’s not only recommit to changing our attitudes and actions toward the earth and resources, but also to changing our attitudes and actions about food security, production and access around the world.

This year, the Earth Day Sunday Resource [1] produced by Creation Justice Ministries, formerly the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program, asks “How does food production and consumption impact the climate? How does climate change affect growing and accessing food? How are we sharing communion with God, one another, and all creation?”

In the ELCA Social Statement Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice, our church corporately confesses that we arenot in communion with all creation because of our alienation from God and creation, through captivity to sin. We proclaim God as creator of the earth. We live and work within a scientific world. Divinity and science need not be at odds. As Caring for Creation suggests, “In our time, science and technology can help us to discover how to live according to God’s creative wisdom.” In the United States today, use of science and technology to protect and honor creation is often controlled and dictated by our government. One way we can encourage and participate in ways our government takes action on climate change is through ELCA Advocacy. Other ways to get your congregation involved in caring for creation can be found through Lutherans Restoring Creation, an organization supported in part by grants from ELCA World Hunger.

But caring for creation cannot only be scientific and political; care for the earth is a profoundly spiritual matter.[2] So I will continue to honor God’s creation by rising with the sun and by looking for the divine in the beauty of the earth. I will also work to love God’s creation by mitigating my environmental footprint, better stewarding resources, and accompanying my neighbors near and far who are most susceptible to climate change because of food insecurity. Earth Day is not only an opportunity to celebrate and renew our commitment to environmental sustainability, but also to renew our love for neighbor, as we too were made of earth.

Gina Tonn serves as Program Assistant for Education and Constituent Engagement with ELCA World Hunger through a placement in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.

[1] Have you anything here to eat? includes resources and ideas for worship and congregational life such as liturgy, prayers, discussion questions, and action steps.

[2] Paraphrase from Caring for Creation, “Even as we join the political, economic and scientific discussion, we know care for the earth to be a profoundly spiritual matter.”

Stephanie Opsal, Albuquerque, NM

Warm-up Question

Which of your teachers in the past has had the strongest influence on your life?

Love Laid Down

Have you ever seen a teacher in action and thought, “That must be an easy job?” Conveying first-grade level math or language arts skills might not seem difficult from the outside, but it takes a special kind of person to become a thriving teacher. Beyond a thorough knowledge of subject content and developing a teaching style, teachers who truly engage students have an enormous capacity for love, dedication, and patience for their students. Many educators say they love their jobs and do not teach for the money; the strongest ones mean it.

In the worst times, such as the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, stories of hope rise out of the darkness, and many of these involve teachers who cared beyond their expected role. A first grade teacher, Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, jumped into gear at the first sound of a gunshot and locked all fifteen of her students safely in the classroom bathroom. The principal lost her life throwing herself at the gunman, giving every effort to stop him. One teacher responded after the event by teaching her students to pay it forward to others. To honor the twenty-six lost lives and recognize all the gifts received by the surviving children, a young teacher started a nonprofit organization called Classes4Classes to provide smartboards, books, and other school supplies to communities in need. She taught her students to become selfless, others-focused individuals in the same way she courageously stood before her class on the fateful day.

As recently as April 4^th, 2015, a teacher made the news in a much more uplifting scenario. Ms. Sheila Howarth, teacher at Leeds City Academy, won the “Most Inspiring Teacher” award in Yorkshire, England. Ms. Howarth believes in every single student who walks in her door and feels proud of every achievement they make, no matter the size. She teaches and recognizes the progress of her students as individuals, not in comparison to one another. Some children she teaches know very little English, but she helps them achieve good grades and reach the collegiate level. She takes the effort to get to know the young people she interacts with every day, and she has found the hook that can turn “uninterested” kids into engaged learners. She encourages kids to make the most of their lives, starting today, and has “a big heart and all the pupils belong in it.” She never stopped encouraging students to keep trying, reach their potential when they could not see it themselves, and push toward their dream careers, even when the path looked daunting.

Sheila Howarth, along with numerous inspiring teachers throughout the world, whether noticed or not, choose not to leave work at work or do the bare minimum requirements to earn the paycheck. She gives her all for the kids and never gives up on them, which could not help but make a transformative difference in so many lives.

Discussion Questions

Have you had a teacher that truly inspired you? What were the characteristics of that person?
Can you think of a teacher that was not your favorite? What qualities was he or she lacking?
Do you see Jesus as a selfless, loving teacher?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:5-12

1 John 3:16-24

John 10:11-18

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Jesus claims to be “the good shepherd,” the one who lays down his life for the sheep. In the passage, Jesus shows the difference between 1) the true good shepherd who loves the sheep and will do anything to protect them and 2) the hired hand who only takes care of the sheep for the necessity of earning money. The hired hand runs at any sign of danger or interruption to his own life, because he does not truly care about the sheep. The shepherd, however, loves the sheep to the point of sacrificial love. He would rather die and let the sheep live than see them get hurt or scattered. He puts them before himself.

In the second part, Jesus extends the metaphor and asserts that He also has sheep from another sheep pen that He calls His own. Finally, He does all of this by choice, based on His love and His close relationship with both the Father and the sheep, not under obligation.

Jesus uses this example to show that we are the sheep, and Jesus is our good shepherd. Look back through the passage with this mindset, replacing the word “sheep” with “us” or “them.” Hopefully this does not offend, but sheep have little brains. They may not be the most intelligent animals, but they can recognize their leader’s voice and follow. Sheep are great at flocking together. If God is our shepherd leader, we can agree that our intelligence and understanding pales in comparison to His. “For my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts,” God says through the prophet Isaiah (55:8-9), and “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” – Romans 11:34.

Jesus does not save us based on our level of intelligence. He saves and protects us because of His love, because by nature, He IS Love. This example of the sheep and the shepherd illustrates Christ’s selfless love for humankind. He lives out this truth through His death on the cross and resurrection. Instead of watching and letting all His sheep whom he created, leads, and loves die, Jesus stands before us and takes on the death that we deserve. Then He conquers death and rises again to life! What a GOOD shepherd we have!

How can I be sure that Christ died for ME specifically, and not only for all the super holy, religious people? Jesus said, “I know my sheep, and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (v. 14-15).

Jesus does not love you reluctantly, shaking His head but loving you because He has to. Quite the contrary, He is the shepherd that puts little sheep lives before His own perfect life, the teacher that gives everything he can for each individual learner, and the one who does everything from the motivation of love, even letting sinful men nail him to a cross for the sake of us “having life, and having it to the full.” (John 10:10)

Discussion Questions

Do you view Jesus more as a loving, good shepherd or as a hired hand just leading you for His own gain? Think of times when you or other people in your life have acted like Jesus or the hired hand.
What is your favorite line from this passage and why?
What connections can you make between the inspiring teacher from the article and Jesus, our good shepherd? How are they similar?

Activity Suggestions

Read the Sandy Hook poem found at http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2075578/jewish/Heroism-in-Sandy-Hook.htm and discuss the character traits of these heroic teachers. In what way are you a teacher? What little change can you make in your life to become more helpful and loving toward others?
Write a short poem or narrative from the perspective of someone in another profession, possibly your future career choice. Think about how you can show Jesus’ selfless love and service to others in any job or school position you may have. Write down a couple possibilities you will try.
Listen to the song “It Was Love” by Abandon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfyutFUdUEw). What lyrics stood out to you? These are biblical truths.
Read the story of “The Lost Sheep” in Luke 15:1-7. Discuss how this relates to our Gospel reading today.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd and never leaving us or letting us down. Help us to become selfless, loving, Christ-like people, quick to act and take opportunities to serve others in Your name. Hold us in your grace and love. In your holy name, amen.

Gina Tonn

The Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwest Kenya is host to 180,000 individuals,[1] more than 100,000 of whom are children. Since its establishment in 1992, the camp has become home to refugees from South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grants from ELCA World Hunger, in partnership with the Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service (LWF-DWS) Kenya-Djibouti Program, help to support programming for children in the camp.

A March 2015 update from the Kenya-Djibouti Program states that the core of its work in Kakuma for the coming year will focus on education, child protection and community services. ELCA World Hunger is directly supporting the Anti-Child Labor Campaign project for 2015. The Anti-Child Labor Campaign will focus on increasing advocacy capacity through trainings for community-based organizing within the Kenyan host community and working to improve school environments with in the Kakuma Refugee Camp. The campaign seeks to offer children protection and support by increasing access to education for children who have been subject to child-labor violations throughout Turkana West District and within Kakuma Refugee Camp. According to the LWF DWS Kenya-Djibouti Program website, the organization is committed to protecting the rights to life, survival and development of children who call the Kakuma Refugee camp home.

Mahdi Riek Khor is a South Sudanese refugee, Kakuma resident, elected community leader, Child Protection Community Development Worker, aspiring politician, and only 23 years old. Thanks to the LWF Kenya-Djibouti Program, we are able to share his story with you:

Mahdi says, “Me, one day, if God is willing, I want to be a politician. As a politician I will maintain peace. I will be transparent, I will consider different cultures and I will accept being corrected. As a politician, I will consider any human being as a somebody.”

In December 2013, Mahdi became the first secondary school graduate in his family and was returning home to Bentiu to see his mother after 13 years apart, when violent hostilities disrupted his journey. ‘Fighting reached Unity State on the 19^th of December. I remember it. There was a lot of destruction – guns, killings, arbitrary arrests, rape of women and girls. I had to come to Kakuma for safety.’

Mahdi is one of more than 45,000 people to reach Kakuma Refugee Camp, in north western Kenya, since December 2013 – among almost 2 million South Sudanese people to have become displaced inside or outside the country in the same period: ‘Life is a struggle in Kakuma. I can’t meet my basic needs. I am providing for 9 nieces and nephews. I don’t have good shelter, I’m not comfortable in the environment, there are no televisions to watch the news and learn about the world. Now the only world I know is inside Kakuma.’

Despite this, Mahdi is among 90 refugees who work with LWF as Child Protection Community Development Workers, working to prevent and respond to child protection issues across the camp’s population of 101,000 children. In Kakuma IV, the camp’s newest area, the team is supporting children with various protection concerns: children separated from their parents and family, children who have experienced or witnessed notable violence, children vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse – most of whom have lost everything and need much more than agencies can provide. ‘Child Protection work is very, very hard,’ Mahdi says. ‘It’s the working environment, going door to door, walking very far when the condition is too hot. We have a problem with promises. We want to help but we can’t always fulfil [needs], so some people see us as an enemy. They think we are lying.’

Refugees working to protect children in their own camp communities show courage and commitment. The work is challenging, resources are limited and cultural practices often conflict with the rights that workers are trying to promote. Mahdi considered the question of why he continues with the work. ‘I want to encourage children… Life has many challenges… it is my responsibility to help protect people. These cases, when you can resolve a situation, reunite a child with their family. I reunited two children with their parents and the children were most happy. They were so, so happy. That’s why we do the work.’

It is easy to imagine Mahdi as a very successful leader in the future. ‘Here in Kakuma, we hope that opportunity will come. Kakuma teaches us to live in a hard situation but I see now that I have met people here I would not have met outside. You can learn from different nationalities – their culture, their attitudes, we can learn from them.’ And in the meantime, Mahdi is working hard to support children in Kakuma – considering every child as a somebody.

ELCA World Hunger is proud to be a part of LWF Department of World Service’s ongoing commitment to education and development for children, and protection of rights and wellbeing for all children at Kakuma and around the world.

Madhi’s profile written and provided courtesy of the LWF Kenya-Djibouti Program.

Gina Tonn is a Program Assistant for Education and Constituent Engagement with ELCA World Hunger through a placement in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.

[1] UNHCR, February 2015

Elyssa Salinas

Please welcome our newest colleague in ELCA World Hunger – Elyssa Salinas!

Hello! I’m Elyssa Salinas and I’m thrilled to join ELCA World Hunger as the program assistant for Hunger Education! Currently I’m finishing my Masters of Divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and I will be graduating in May! I’m originally from the Chicago area, growing up in Oak Park and Des Plaines. I attended Valparaiso University and pursued a degree in theatre, enjoying roles such as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Sir Toby Belch inTwelfth Night. Also in college I began to develop an interest in gender studies and performance poetry.

After graduating in 2012 I decided to take the advice of one of my professors and give the East Coast a try, so I decided to attend the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia as a Fund for Leaders scholar. While there I got a job with a nonprofit organization that worked with families dealing with home instability in connection with a diverse pool of faith groups in the area. This experience provided me with an opportunity of engaging my faith with social issues I felt (and still feel) strongly about.

Throughout my time in college and seminary I spent four summers working near Santa Cruz, California, at Mt. Cross Ministries, a Lutheran camp set in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Mt. Cross gave me a chance to experience the West coast and engage with youth, where every day was about seeing God through their eyes.

Throughout my discernment process in Philadelphia I found that my call was not what I expected, and so after two years I decided to transfer back home to Chicago and pursue a call in teaching. I’m happy to be home and close to my family while I continue to follow my path in education. This Fall I will start my Ph.D at LSTC in systematic theology and sexual ethics, where I plan to focus on body/sex shaming and how to embrace our bodies as God embraces each of us, as children of God’s abundant love. I am an advocate for positive body image, and I challenge myself and others to see each of us as God sees us, beloved and beautiful.

Poetry has been a vehicle to explore my own challenges with body image and my identity as a Latina. I have been performing poetry for the past few years at various open mic performances in Philadelphia and Chicago along with using poetry as part of my academic career. Currently I’m working on a book of poetry from the point of view of biblical women, especially Old Testament women such as Hagar, Dinah and Jael.

Fun Facts about Elyssa!

I was a competitive public speaker for 7 years!
My favorite movie of all time is Beauty and the Beast, and I love Disney! My mother is the only person to beat me at Disney trivia.
I got my first poem published this year in Thinking Theologically!
My CTA commute always entails a book and I’m always looking for more to read!

May 3, 2015 Fruit-Full

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Mahdi’s Story – Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya

Welcome Elyssa Salinas – Program Assistant for Hunger Education!