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Como aprendí a usar mi voz: presento mi posición para tener incidencia en la política migratoria en Washington

Por Alaide Vilchis Ibarra

Mi familia siempre ha bromeado sobre lo mucho que hablo. Hablo tanto que una vez, cuando era pequeña, mi tía me pagó un peso por cada minuto que no hablara. Creo que duré solo 5 minutos.  Ahora que ya no soy una niña tengo que recordarme de vez en cuando que el silencio puede valer más que mil palabras sin olvidarme que me ha costado mucho tener una voz en esta cultura. Por muchos años, después de mudarme a Estados Unidos cuando tenía 14 años, se me olvido que mi voz y mi historia contaban.

En Febrero, acompañé a líderes de la iglesia en un viaje a Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras para entender un poco mejor las causas por las cuales miles de niños, niñas y familias están buscando refugio en Estados Unidos. Escuchamos las historias de gente que huye de diferentes tipos de violencia, afectados por la corrupción, buscando oportunidades que sus países no les otorgan y separándose de sus familias para poder sacarlas adelante. Oramos juntos por las personas de todos los países que emigran y yo oré en silencio por las personas que viven en estos países y se sienten derrotadas ante tantos problemas. En mi trabajo, haciendo incidencia política para que las leyes reconozcan la dignidad en los migrantes y las comunidades afectadas por la emigración, a veces también me siento derrotada.

En Centroamérica, conocimos a gente admirable que trabaja para mejorar su entorno, muchas veces sin el apoyo de su gobierno. Gente que usaba su voz y sus manos para apoyar a otros. Cuando enfrentamos un problema complicado, como las leyes migratorias o el trato a los migrantes, a veces se nos olvida que nuestra voz y nuestra historia cuentan. Empecé a entender el valor de mi voz cuando un grupo de defensores de migrantes me pidió que contara mi historia enfrente del congreso de Kansas, el estado donde vivía, para defender la ley que me había permitido asistir a la universidad.  Esto fue lo me trajo a la ELCA, donde trabajo intentado cambiar leyes que afectan a los países que visitamos, a los migrantes en tránsito y a los migrantes en Estados Unidos. Estoy aquí porque creo firmemente que todas las voces deben contar cuando hacemos leyes.

No quiero que las historias que escuchamos en Centroamérica o en las comunidades migrantes en Estados Unidos se olviden. Usted puede ayudarme a elevar nuestras voces e historias para que lleguen a las personas que crean leyes que afectan a miles de personas. Solo tiene que suscribirse a nuestra red de migración haciendo clic en este link. Siendo parte de nuestra red puede recibir alertas y noticias en español sobre nuestro trabajo. Nunca olvide, como yo lo hice, que su voz y su historia son muy importantes.

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Nepal Earthquake: Elim Kids Academy resumes classes

Megan Brandsrud

​Elim Kids Academy, a small Christian primary and secondary school in Kathmandu, was severely damaged in the April 25 and May 12 earthquakes that hit Nepal. Compound walls around the school collapsed and parts of the school need to be demolished and rebuilt. Despite the damage and the rebuilding necessary, classes have resumed now, a month after the earthquakes hit.

Wall of the senior building collapsed at Elim Kids Academy

Wall of senior building at Elim Kids Academy that collapsed due to the earthquakes. Credit: Elim Kids Academy

Rita Kabo, the principal of Elim Kids Academy, recently shared in a newsletter the experience of resuming classes and the future plans at Elim Kids Academy. Her reflection is below.

“As parents brought in their children to the school, there were fears and uncertainties in their faces and they reluctantly left their children. Teachers have been prepared to receive students, as they were given some post-earthquake trauma counseling and psychosocial counseling last week. Most of the students were happy to be back in school and meet with their friends and see their teachers.

We have an enormous responsibility to take care of these precious lives that the parents and guardians have entrusted to us. We need to rebuild the broken walls…and we have to purchase some indoor games and crafts for the students as we need to work to release them of their fears and use creative ways to bring them back to their normal self and routine. There is so much to be done and we cannot do it alone. Your prayers and contributions in all these will help us to cope with the challenges we have in hand and slowly and steadily work toward rebuilding the confidence of the children.”

Earthquake evacuation drill at Elim Kids Academy

As part of the school re-opening, an earthquake evacuation drill was held at Elim Kids Academy. Credit: Elim Kids Academy

As Lutheran Disaster Response continues to work with those who were affected by the Nepal earthquakes, please continue to hold these people in your prayers. As we move from the relief stage to the recovery stage, emotional and physical rebuilding is taking place. Your prayers make a difference. Your gifts make a difference. Please continue to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work in Nepal by visiting the Nepal Area Earthquake giving page.

Elim Kids Academy is in part supported by an ELCA World Hunger grant that provides for teacher training opportunities and scholarships for students, many of whom come from Dalit backgrounds.

Follow Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook and Twitter.

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Nepal Earthquake: Distributions continue as monsoon season begins

Megan Brandsrud

​Six weeks after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that affected more than 8 million people hit Nepal, relief efforts are moving forward as fast as possible. The beginning of June marked the beginning of the monsoon season in Nepal, and the people affected by the earthquake who are short on food or without shelter are now more vulnerable to the potential landslides and torrential rains. Immediate needs are shelter, food, blankets, hygiene kits and psychosocial support. We are working with our partners to make sure these most pressing needs are being met.

Locals in Byasi Tole, come togehter to build a temporary shed for the people in Byasi Tole, who have lost their homes following the earthquake.

Locals in Byasi Tole, come togehter to build a temporary shed for the people in Byasi Tole, who have lost their homes following the earthquake.

Temporary shelters are being constructed before the rains begin. Credit: ACT Alliance

Response to Date:

Lutheran World Federation (LWF):

In coordination with The Lutheran World Federation and ACT Alliance, we have distributed ready-to-eat food, hygiene kits, blankets and tarps to 13,718 households in 27 towns and villages.

Lutheran World Relief (LWR):

Working with Lutheran World Relief and ACT Alliance, we have assisted more than 20,000 people affected by the earthquake by distributing food and shelter materials to 4,850 households. Food supplies consist of rice, sugar, lentils, oil and salt, and the packets provide enough food to feed a family of five for 15 days.

Psychosocial support has also been provided to 1,173 people across four districts.

United Mission to Nepal (UMN):

United Mission to Nepal has nearly achieved 100 percent of its targeted distributions in 7 Village Development Committees in Dhading district. Distributions have consisted of emergency food, kitchen utensils, tarps and blankets.

United Mission to Nepal’s Health Team has also completed community-based health trainings on acute malnutrition with health workers in three Village Development Committees in Dhading.

In response to the monsoon season, UMN is exploring possibilities to help plant seeds for rice and vegetables before the rains start.

Nepal’s mountainous terrain remains an obstacle that is slowing down distribution efforts. Helicopters are being used to transport supplies to villages that have been cut-off from road access due to damage or landslides, and even elite climbers are going out to deliver supplies to areas that are only accessible by foot.

Currently, Lutheran Disaster Response is working with our three trusted partners in the area to assist with immediate needs. We know that this response will last much longer than this initial relief process, and we will continue to stay in Nepal to assist with the long-term rebuilding and rehabilitation needs.

Please continue to hold the people who were affected by the earthquake in your prayers, and continue to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work in Nepal by visiting the Nepal Area Earthquake giving page.

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ELCA Advocacy Update – June 2015

Lutherans are taking action across the country! Below you will find our monthy State Advocacy Newsletter. Share with your friends!

 

​​​Washington, D.C.
Advocacy Director, Stacy Martin
www.elca.org/advocacy

LOGUMReport on Central America: This month, ELCA Advocacy completed a report on the findings from a recent trip taken by ELCA leaders to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to better understand what drives so many children and families to flee their homes. This report, titled “Our Communities in Crisis,” takes a faithful look at the root cause of Central American forced displacement and the repatriation of children and families after the summer of 2012. The ELCA continues to be committed to lifting up the voices of our communities in Central America. Take action today by urging President Obama to speak out for the protection of those fleeing violence and persecution in Central America – visit our Action Center now to send a message to the president.

Global Food Security Act: Recently, members of the House and Senate reintroduced the Global Food Security Act – an act that will enhance international development programs and investments, such as Feed the Future. The Global Food Security Act will help institute a comprehensive strategy to promote global food security, strengthen existing monitoring and evaluation practices to ensure efficiency and accountability, and support initiatives, such as improving maternal and child nutrition. ELCA Advocacy is taking action to help promote food security by urging members of Congress to pass this legislation. Learn more about Feed the Future and our efforts to support responsible international development in our Global Food Security Act fact sheet.

Green Climate Fund: ELCA Advocacy announced its support of the Green Climate Fund last month. This international initiative mobilizes support for developing nations struggling to combat the growing effects of climate change. The consequences of climate change fall hardest on our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are least able to adapt because they live in communities already struggling with poverty and hunger. The fund will help pay for developmental initiatives for marginalized countries, increasing their ability to adapt to new environments and expanding their capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You can learn more about the fund at our ELCA Green Climate Fund Fact Sheet.

Financial debt in Nepal: Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of organizations and faith communities of which the ELCA is a member, is spearheading an international effort to support Nepal’s recovery efforts by cancelling the country’s overwhelming debt. ELCA Advocacy joined Jubilee USA in urging the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to provide immediate debt relief to Nepal so that the government can redirect these funds toward recovery and rebuilding efforts. Take action on this issue by visiting our Action Center.

New York, NY
Dennis Frado​
Lutheran Office for World Community

Peace Not Walls conference call with Presiding Bishop Eaton: LOWC joined other staff in planning for a conference call held on May 19 by ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Global Mission Area Program Director Cindy Halmarson with ELCA members with a keen interest in the Peace Not Walls campaign. It was an opportunity for those listening to hear about the Presiding Bishop’s recent January visit to the region and her perspectives on the current situation there.

U.N. Post-2015 Development Agenda: The fifth session of intergovernmental negotiations for the Post-2015 Development Agenda took place between May 18 and 25 in New York. Just three more sessions are planned before the conclusion of negotiations in late July. Disagreements remain as to whether implementation of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals will involve “follow-up and review” (which most developing countries support) or “monitoring, accountability and review” (which many developed countries support). There appears to be emerging consensus that the High-Level Political Forum, created at the Rio+20 conference in 2012, will be the venue for follow-up activities once the agenda is adopted. Consensus has not yet been reached on the means of implementation for the goals or on the relationship of the findings of the August Financing for Development conference to the Post-2015 Agenda.  A “zero-draft” of the outcome document, which would be considered at the late September U.N. Summit to the Adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda, is to be released on June 1.

Visitors: LOWC has hosted a variety of visitors in recent weeks. These included Caroline Tveoy, Lutheran World Federation World Service Program officer for the Middle East and North Africa, based in Geneva, who stopped in New York to discuss the ELCA’s Peace Not Walls campaign, while in transit to Haiti. The Manhattan Ministerium of the Metro New York Synod visited to learn about LOWC’s work. The Rev.  Joachim Tröstler of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church is on sabbatical and was interested in comparing the linkages between ministry with migrants and congregational-based community organizing in Germany and in the United States and how the issues are handled at the United Nations. Lastly, a group of Upstate New York Synod participants in a Peace Not Walls-related visit to the Holy Land stopped by on their way to the region.

California
Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy
www.loppca.org​

Synod Assemblies: LOPP-CA Director Mark Carlson participated in one day of the Pacifica Synod Assembly in Riverside, affording a chance for renewal and reconnection after missing last year’s in Hawaii. Mark left early to return to the Sierra Pacific Assembly in Sacramento, where LOPP-CA and Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy in Nevada hosted a breakfast for about 55 people with California Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross on the topic of food, farming, drought and climate change. As Texas was devastated by floods, the Central Valley Flood Control Agency heard a report that the Sierra snowpack, which provides about one-third of California’s water supply, is at 2 percent of normal.

1aLobby days: Mark teamed with Mark Lowry, a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Orange and executive director of the Orange County Food Bank, for legislative visits on Hunger Action Day, supporting repeal of the Maximum Family Grant aid limit for TANF/CalWORKS families, an increase in the minimum wage, “breakfast after the bell,” and simplification and expansion of tax credits for California farm product donations. Mark gave a prayer of thanksgiving at the interfaith service to open Immigrant Day at the Capitol, followed by lobby visits. He and a “dreamer” from Ventura County broke away to attend an event with state and local elected officials where solar panels were placed on the roof of a low-income homeowner in a “disadvantaged neighborhood,” using carbon cap-and-trade funds.

UPCOMING – California Interfaith Power & Light Lobby Day, June 17. LOPP-CA is the site host.

Colorado
Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Colorado
www.lam-co.org

The first legislative session of the 70th Colorado General Assembly is officially in the books. With control of the two chambers split between parties, it was a tough year for many groups to get their priorities passed, but LAM-CO had several important bipartisan victories.

Child Support Pass-through: Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado and several of its partners in poverty-related legislation were thrilled that Senate Bill 12 made it through both the Senate and House and is currently awaiting a signature from Gov. John Hickenlooper. The bill, which allows families receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefits to also receive child-support payments that were previously withheld by county governments, is one of the measures that will directly benefit families living in poverty that survived this year’s Legislature.

Affordable housing: Several late-breaking bills on affordable housing were quickly advanced through the House before being killed in the Senate. These bills would have used surplus funds from a state trust fund to invest in affordable housing construction and rent subsidy for low-income workers, as well as extending the life of the low-income housing tax credit.

Other priorities: A measure to provide an affirmative defense for the crime of prostitution to minor victims of human trafficking was passed and signed by the governor. The House narrowly killed legislation that would have created paid family and medical leave insurance. A Senate committee defeated a bill to create a rural economic initiative grant program.

Illinois
Jennifer DeLeon, Lutheran Advocacy Illinois
www.lutheranadvocacy.org

Legislative session: We are at the end of the legislative session, and it seems like the Legislature will not pass a balanced budget by their May 31 deadline and that they will be called back for a special summer session. There is still time to act:

Budgets are choices. It’s time for politicians to choose Illinois children, families and communities. Illinois doesn’t have to make the deep cuts proposed in the governor’s budget; we have a choice. Instead of painful cuts to vital programs for our children, families and communities, lawmakers and the governor must choose revenue.

Act NOW! Tell lawmakers to choose to stand up for Illinois families and communities and prevent cuts by choosing revenue to close the budget hole. Do two things today:

  • Call your lawmaker tool free at 844-311-CUTS (844-311-2887) and tell them to choose revenue to prevent cuts to children, families,and communities.
  • Click here to send an email and for more information.

We continue to work with Judith Roberts, director of Racial Justice, and we have submitted a criminal justice resolution at both the Metro Chicago Synod and Northern Illinois Synod assemblies , which calls on congregations to advocate for social justice and to support Lutheran Social Service of Illinois prison and family ministry programs.

 ​Minnesota
Tammy Walhoff, Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota
tammy@lcppm.org  

The legislative session is (sort of) over: Differing visions made “final” legislative negotiations difficult. Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed three budget bills, meaning the Legislature returns for a special session.

Health and human services: Despite a $1.9 billion surplus, hundreds of millions were cut from low-income programs. Nevertheless, intense advocacy efforts achieved moderate increases in some housing-related services. Notably, $2 million was added to base funding for homeless youth over two years.

Affordable housing and clean energy: Affordable housing, jobs, economic growth and energy were all in the same bill. LA-MN and Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light presented their clean energy faith-leader letter with 300+ signers to Gov. Dayton, conference negotiators, leadership and legislators. LA-MN also generated letters, cards, emails and calls from key districts regarding affordable housing.

Conference negotiations on the bill never occurred, but the chairs introduced replacement language in the final moments of session. Watch the House pass it in the last two minutes, with the wrong bill number, amidst chaos! Energetic advocacy efforts prevented renewable energy and energy-efficiency roll-backs and cuts to housing. The bill was vetoed, so LA-MN and its partners hope more gains may be made.

Synod-related activities: Tammy Walhof, LAMN director, was the speaker for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Creation Care Assembly and also led workshops. She had display materials at the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly and stayed briefly before heading to the Northwestern Minnesota Synod Assembly, where she led workshops on affordable housing and advocacy.

Like Lutheran Advocacy-MN on Facebook

Follow Lutheran Advocacy-MN on Twitter: @LuthAdvocacyMN

 New Jersey
Sara Lilja, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey
Visit us on Facebook!​

New Jersey Advocacy is growing! We have launched a new advocacy body, the Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy Ministry of New Jersey (LEAMNJ), headed by the Rev. Sara Lilja.

The goal of LEAMNJ is to be a powerful public witness of faith through advocacy, representing nearly 80,000 people in 450 parishes in New Jersey, backed by the national Lutheran and Episcopal churches, reflecting more than 8.7 million people in the United States. It will shape and influence public policy in New Jersey and in local communities as that policy  affects vulnerable populations, social justice issues and other priorities that reflect the common teachings and values of the partner groups.

There is great excitement by all the partners for the promise of the combined new entity to have an impact on policy affecting the concerns of people in our neighborhoods and state.

“As society has become more bifurcated into seemingly separate worlds of those with means and those without, we come together to forge a strong voice to express the commitments of our faith traditions in advocating for policies leading to a just society,” said Lilja. She added, “I’m proud to lead this charge on behalf of our new partnership and to grow the expression of compassion and social justice by means of education and advocacy through congregations throughout the state.”

 ​New Mexico
Ruth Hoffman, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – New Mexico
www.lutheranadvocacynm.org

2“We are Church: Better Together” That “the church” is much more expansive than each individual congregation was highlighted over and over at the 2015 Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah, May 1-3. “Our form and structures may change, the extent of our actual usefulness to God may wax and wane, but that God can and does work in and through us – this is a promise,” said Bishop Jim Gonia, addressing the assembly.

The state public policy offices in Colorado and New Mexico, which are an integral part of the ministry of the Rocky Mountain Synod, were an active part of the Synod Assembly. Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico and Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado had displays about their work and activities. Directors Ruth Hoffman and Peter Severson presented an advocacy toolkit during an interest dinner. Additionally, they served on the Committee on Reference and Counsel, which reviewed proposed resolutions and memorials for consideration by the assembly.

3Affordable housing: Director Hoffman is a member of the State Housing Trust Fund Advisory Committee. At the committee’s most recent meeting, several low-income housing projects were recommended for funding. The projects included those at Santo Domingo Pueblo, Silver City in southwestern New Mexico and in Albuquerque.

​Ohio
Nick Bates, The Faith Coalition for the Common Good
nick@oneohionow.org

Ohio budget: The Ohio Legislature continues to focus its time on Ohio’s two–year budget (HB 64). This budget accepts a new normal of higher poverty and fewer resources. The biggest component of the budget is another tax shift increasing taxes on many while cutting the income tax to benefit the wealthiest Ohioans.The Faith Coalition for the Common Good is an ecumenical coalition formed to advocate through the budget process for increased state funding for food security and affordable housing (and other services to help low-income Ohioans), and expanded resources for education. All of these things are possible if Ohio foregoes the proposed $5.6 billion in tax cuts.

The coalition organized a panel on March 18 in front of the Finance Health and Human Services Sub-Committee. The Rev. Gregory Kenderick (The United Methodist Church) facilitated the panel of individuals who have experienced poverty. About 60 people from the faith community showed up to support this panel’s testimony. The testimony focused on the importance of public investments that help people transition out of poverty. The Ohio House Finance Committee is currently receiving amendments to the budget. We also submitted testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee opposing the proposed income tax cut.

The budget bill will move to the Senate in late April and to the governor’s desk by June 30.

Pennsylvania
Amy Reumann, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
Tracey DePasquale, Associate Director
www.lutheranadvocacypa.org

May and June are busy months at LAMPa as synods gather and the General Assembly gets down to business around the budget. Director Amy Reumann spoke on hunger at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly and staffed an interactive booth at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly where attendees made video messages for lawmakers on education funding.

LAMPa staff members have also been attending briefings by Gov. Tom Wolf, Budget Secretary Randy Albright and Secretary of Planning and Policy John Hanger and are engaged in planning events around the state to raise support for a fair and adequate education funding formula.

Reumann and Tracey DePasquale, associate LAMPa director, met with Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg representatives to debrief about collaboration on our 2015 Lutheran Day at the Capitol (see highlights) last month and agreed to partner again in 2016, with a common thread of faith and science.

4Reumann and the Rev. Bruce Osterhout, policy council member, attended a protest against family detention at the Berks County immigration detention facility. Osterhout also wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the Reading Eagle.

LAMPa hosted a call on theology and water for our creation care team, featuring Dr. Gil Waldkoenig of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg. Listen to a recording. LAMPa is partnering with the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania and Moms Clean Air Force, with whom we are working on common policy initiatives.

LAMPa continues to promote the Pennsylvania School Breakfast Challenge and has facilitated cooperation between state hunger partners and the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Virginia
Charles Swadley
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy organized and hosted a “Consumer Finance Reform and Regulation” policy discussion call with Sen. Mark Warner on Monday, May 18, attended by more than 40 faith leaders from across Virginia. VICPP also recruited participants to the National Faith-Based Partnerships teleconference held by Director Richard Cordray of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on May 21.VICPP hosted a “Faith-Based Partnerships to End Child Hunger in Virginia” webinar on May 27 with Dorothy McAuliffe, the first lady of Virginia, regarding engagement with the Virginia Kid Hungry program attended by more than 75 faith leaders and supporters from across Virginia. An article was also published in the Fauquier Times on May 1 about the VICPP’s Northern Piedmont Chapter’s very successful community forum, “Fact vs. Fiction: Unmasking the Truth about Immigrants in Virginia’s Workforce.” The forum was attended by more than 100 people on April 28 at Lord Fairfax Community College.

The Northern Virginia Chapter is hosting a “redistricting” event on June 4 at George Mason University-Arlington that the NoVa Chapter is co-organizing with the university, the League of Women Voters and OneVirginia2021. The VICPP Richmond Chapter is hosting a Healthcare Access Forum with political and faith leaders on June 30 at 7 p.m. at the Weinstein Jewish Community Center. The forum will include excerpts from the Remote Area Medical film about providing medical and dental services to those in poverty and without insurance in rural areas, such as Wise County, Virginia. The forum is in partnership with Bon Secours.

VICPP’s Annual Policy Priority Survey is out and all supporters are invited to participate using this link to assist in developing our 2016 Policy Priorities.

Washington
Paul Benz, Faith Action Network
www.fanwa.org

5Legislature: May 28 was the last day of our first special session. Legislators were working that week and budget negotiators are getting closer to resolving differences for all three budgets (operating, transportation and capital). FAN is active with the Washington United for Fair Revenue coalition, which sponsored a “call-in day for revenue” on May 28. Hundreds of advocates called their legislators from around the state saying, “The wealthy and big corporations do not pay their fair share into the state budget to help meet the critical needs of our state.” FAN’s key policy bill remains the state voting-rights act. If the state Senate agrees to this, our state would join three others (California, Florida and Illinois) having a state voting-rights act to better enfranchise the disenfranchised communities of color.

Congressional issues: FAN has four issues in Congress that we are focusing on: Trade/Trans-Pacific Partnership, Child Nutrition Reauthorization, I-VAWA International Violence Against Women Act, and the Green Climate Fund. FAN is working with our allies here in Washington state and with the ELCA Washington, D.C., office to better engage our advocates and their members of Congress on these issues.

Organizing summits: This is the time of year for FAN’s four regional summits. At these we continue to build relationships with our advocates, review our legislative agenda, and build toward creating next year’s agenda through table conversation by legislative district. By the time you read this, two summits will be completed (Spokane and Vancouver), and Seattle and Yakima will occur in June.

ELCA and denominational assemblies: FAN has had a presence (displays, podium time, and networking) at all three ELCA synod assemblies, as well as the annual conference of the regional United Church of Christ. We will also have a presence at The United Methodist Church’s June annual regional conference.

Wisconsin
Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin
www.loppw.org

6aSynod assemblies: LOPPW’s Advisory Council member Eric Larson, from the Northern Great Lakes Synod, manned a display table at his assembly. He provided post cards for the ELCA’s campaign supporting child nutrition and the WIC Reauthorization Act at the LOPPW display table and the synod hunger team’s table. The director led a workshop at the East Central Synod Assembly and will lead workshops at the other four synod assemblies.

Proposed state budget:  LOPPW is working with a coalition of secular and faith-based nonprofits, called Better Choices, to make better state budget choices known.  LOPPW has helped organize two press conferences: On May 4, Bishop Mary Froiland spoke on a panel in Madison. On May 14, Bishop Rick Hoyme and ELCA member and professor James Boulter spoke on a panel in Eau Claire. Bishop Hoyme discussed prioritizing those who are most vulnerable in the budget. Boulter focused on protecting our environment. LOPPW also posted a statement on revenue estimates, which were lower than some lawmakers had hoped for

Human trafficking: The Joint Finance Committee approved $2 million for youth victims of sex trafficking.  Two Democrat legislators are trying to secure co-sponsors for a safe harbor bill. LOPPW has helped to target possible co-sponsors. The director visited with a Republican legislator who has agreed to be one of the co-sponsors.

Living-wage coalition: LOPPW joined a coalition of faith-based and secular organizations to strategize advocating for a higher minimum wage in Wisconsin.

What advocacy efforts are going on in your synod or state? We want to hear about it!

Contact us at washingtonoffice@elca.org ​​

 

 

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Welcome to ELCA World Hunger’s 2015 Summer Interns!

This summer, ELCA World Hunger welcomes three new interns to our team at the churchwide office!

Anna Smith- Hunger Education
annaHello! My name is Anna Smith. I come from the town of Osceola, Wisc. I am will be a senior this fall at Concordia College. I am studying Global Studies-Development and Psychology. This upcoming year will be busy for me as I serve as the Social Justice Coordinator for Campus Ministry Commission and the Co-Service Lead for Better Together Interfaith Alliance. A fun fact about me is that I actually spent my first year of college in San Antonio, Texas, at Trinity University.

I have always been passionate about social justice issues but that really came to the forefront of my life after I spent the fall of my junior year on the Social Justice, Peace, and Development Program in India. We intensively studied class inequality, food insecurity, and the implications of war, among other things. It was during my time in India I saw the world’s great need for justice and I committed my life to working towards that in every way I can. That commitment along with my deep Lutheran faith is what led me here this summer.

I have spent the past three summers of my life working at Luther Point Bible Camp in Grantsburg, Wisc. I am looking forward to this summer and finding new ways to live out my faith in a different environment. I love the big cities and I foresee enjoying living in the Windy City very much so. Although I haven’t been to Chicago since I was in Elementary school –way back when Willis Tower was still the Sears Tower. I can already tell my time here will be one filled with adventure, learning and spiritual growth!

Jennifer (Jenny) Sharrick- Constituent Engagement

jennyHi everyone, I’m Jenny! I am so absolutely thrilled to be the newest constituent engagement intern. In my life outside of Chicago, I am a master’s in public health student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. My concentration is focused generally around Maternal and Child Health, but my specific passion areas are domestic rural food insecurity and hunger, as well as reproductive health and comprehensive sexuality education. My undergraduate education focused on biopsychology and religion. Then I took a quick detour to medical school, before landing in the amazing field of public health.

My call is somewhere in the intersection of medicine, ministry, and justice. And while I am still discerning exactly what that means for the future, continuing my work with ELCA World Hunger seemed an appropriate fit.

My work within the Church has been varied, but bountiful. I have served as an intern in a parish for youth and young adult ministry and Campus Ministry Associate for Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministry at Hastings College. I have also been on my synod’s hunger team for several years now. Additionally, I am a member of the ELCA Young Adult Cohort which went to the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women this past March.

Service learning and volunteering have been integral to my background (my Dad is so proud to say that my very first meeting with a service organization was within a week of my birth). This has taken on various forms over the years. One organization I am especially proud to be associated, offers free chlamydia and gonorrhea testing and treatment as well as reproductive health education to inmates in the county jail (unfortunately the county where I currently reside has an epidemic associated with both of these STIs). While that likely doesn’t sound all that appealing to many of you, the men and women I have met have had a profound impact on my life and have taught me much more about life than what I’ve learned in the classrooms of medical school and public health. Empowering and educating people to make the best health decisions for themselves has truly become a passion of mine because of this.

In my spare time, I love spontaneous dance parties and going on adventures whilst wearing my sequined fanny pack. My seven-year-old goddaughter likes to tell everyone that my favorite color is “glitter” and I have a special affection for beautiful shoes.


Ben Brown- Fundraising

benHi my name is Ben Brown, and I am the ELCA World Hunger Fundraising Intern and I will also be working some with the ELCA Malaria Campaign. I am a rising senior year at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio in the fall studying
Religion and Political Science. I come to Chicago after spending the spring semester studying in Washington, DC with students from other Lutheran colleges where I interned with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) as the Public Policy and Fundraising Intern. When not at Wittenberg, I call Indianapolis home.

I am passionate about issues of social justice, specifically hunger and food justice and the ways in which faith can play a role in that work. At Wittenberg I spend my time in Weaver Chapel with Campus Ministries and in the community through my work in our community service office. Through my experiences in Springfield’s community gardens and Promise Neighborhood and with Wittenberg’s CROP Walk I have come to learn a lot about the realities of hunger and the ways communities come together to end it. In the future I hope to pursue a career in advocacy, but first hopefully a year with one of the many service-year programs, like LVC!

For fun I have recently discovered a love for the Indy 11, Indianapolis’ soccer team. I also really love eating and look forward to exploring Chicago by way of its food.

I am really excited to be with ELCA World Hunger this summer and hope to learn a lot and grow while I’m here!

 

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Build relationships with others this summer

You can track almost anything these days—patterns of food intake, fatigue, mood, number of steps you’ve taken, heart rate, and even how much REM sleep you got last night. This phenomenon is part of a rapidly growing movement of fitness buffs, techno-geeks, and people with chronic conditions who obsessively monitor various personal metrics. It has been called the quantified-self movement. I was surprised to learn that there are quantified-self communities worldwide that produce international meetings, conferences and expositions, community forums, web content and services to help people get meaning out of their personal data.

I wonder what my numbers say about me? What meaning do others/companies ascribe to my numbers? On the one hand, knowing my numbers can help me optimize my physical health, financial health and maybe even my emotional health. On the other hand, the more I document and share about where I go, what I do, whom I spend time with, what I eat, what I buy, how hard I exert myself, and so on, I am creating more data that companies can and will use to create a story about me, often a story that evaluates my worthiness—or lack thereof—for their products, services and opportunities. What happens if I don’t measure up to the rest of the population? Am I just out of luck?

Thanks be to God my worthiness doesn’t reside solely in my numbers. I give thanks every day when I remember my baptism and that my worthiness before God—which is what ultimately counts—resides in Jesus. There isn’t anything I can do to make myself more worthy. Jesus doesn’t care if my numbers measure up. I didn’t have to log a specific score to earn Jesus’ love. All Jesus asks of me is to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength … and your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:30-31).

When we make public profession of our faith, which can’t be quantified, we promise to continue in the covenant God made with us in Holy Baptism, showing our gratitude for God’s grace by following Jesus’ example of serving all people. (“To serve all people, following the example of Jesus.” ELW p. 237) In Detroit this summer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be following the example of Jesus by building relationships with others. Our joy will be in seeing the people we meet through the lens of God’s grace in Jesus, and not through the lens of their numbers.

Being part of God’s story in Jesus leads us into the messiness of life where the numbers don’t always look good. As people of God, we look behind and beyond the numbers. Someone’s bad credit score may be the result of an unanticipated expense, a sudden layoff, or reckless decisions made during adolescence. Getting 10,000 steps a day may not be achievable because it isn’t safe to walk in one’s neighborhood. Addiction may impact a person’s ability to log good food intake points, and a single mom may not be able to achieve REM sleep because of the anxiety she carries for her children’s safety. The people we meet in Detroit—and we ourselves—have stories that are broader, deeper and more dynamic than numbers alone can tell. As ELCA youth co-locate their stories and the stories of Detroiters within God’s love story, lives will be transformed and Jesus will be made known. And that will happen without a GPS, smartphone, Fitbit, Google Glass or a Zeo monitor.

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Let’s put food banks out of business

Imagine your congregation without a food shelf. Imagine it without regular food drives. Imagine it without free community meals.

Sherri Tussler and others testifying before the House Subcommittee on Nutrition.

Sherri Tussler and others testifying before the House Subcommittee on Nutrition.

At first, it might make you nostalgic for the afternoons you’ve spent packing grocery bags for the pantry with your fellow congregants, or maybe sad for the loss of evenings spent chatting with those who show up for a free supper. But looking beyond those memories, you’ll see a community, a state, or maybe – dare we dream it – an entire nation where no one is hungry. While testifying before Congress, Sherri Tussler from the Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee, Wisconsin explained why we should dream of a day when these ministries are gone – “The day we don’t need food banks is the day we end hunger in America.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2013 (most recent data available), 17.5 million households faced food insecurity at some point during the year. Living in those homes are 15.8 million children failing to receive consistent, quality nutrition. You know these children. You see them walking into the school when you drop your own children off. You watch them play football at the high school on Friday nights. You share in communion with them on Sundays.

So how do we put food banks out of business? Churches are often hubs where families can go to receive assistance, whether its bags stocked with groceries, free meals throughout the week, or through some other hunger-based ministry. The ways that congregations reach out in their communities to provide food for those in need are incredible examples of how people of faith live out God’s call to love one another. However, congregations can’t end hunger on their own. Bread for the World reported that one in 20 bags of food assistance comes from a charitable organization – the rest comes from Federal nutrition programs.

These Federal nutrition programs are incredibly important. While we do the best we can as churches and communities to combat hunger and provide food for our neighbors, we still face need beyond our capacities. As we continue to care for our communities, it’s also important for us to ask Congress to support policies that provide ample assistance for our nation’s hungry children. Funding for important child nutrition programs will run out unless Congress reauthorizes them. Visit the ELCA Advocacy Action Center and call on Congress to:

  • increase funding for child nutrition programs like Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, the National School Lunch Program, and the Summer Food Service Program;
  • invest in expanding access to these programs in rural and Native American communities;
  • continue supporting the use of these programs to access nutritious foods as determined by scientific recommendations;
  • and address climate change, as it contributes heavily to the rising cost of nutritious food.

    Imagine your congregation without a food shelf, food drives, or free community meals. Reauthorizing child nutrition programs brings us one step closer.

 

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