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Hunger and Poverty by the Numbers

 

Synod assembly season is in full-swing in the ELCA, and many readers of this blog will be helping raise awareness about hunger and poverty among their fellow Lutherans in the coming weeks.  Outside of assemblies and events, we often are asked for statistics and facts about hunger and poverty for congregations and groups.  So, ELCA World Hunger’s education team has put together a presentation with stats on global and domestic hunger and poverty that you can share.

The stats in the slides are from the most up-to-date sources we have.  This will differ for each of the four areas: US hunger, US poverty, global hunger, and global poverty.  Each of the sources we used are listed in the second slide, so you can read more about the measurements.  Follow the link at the end to download the whole presentation.

Thank you for all you do to help your community learn more about hunger and poverty and how together we can work for a just world in which all are fed!

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How many people in the US were living in poverty in 2014?

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Food insecurity means lacking access to sufficient amounts of affordable, healthy foods to live an active life.  In the US, food insecurity tends to be “episodic,” which means that there may be times when people can’t access the food they need.  This may be because of seasonal work or insufficient benefits that run out before the end of the month.

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What percentage of people in different age groups experience poverty in the United States?

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Global hunger tends to be chronic, rather than episodic, which means that hunger is often a daily reality, leading to problems like malnutrition and stunting. The good news is, the number has fallen in the last 30 years.  The bad news is, it is still too high.

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How prevalent is undernourishment in different regions of the world?

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The World Bank has begun using a new standard for global extreme poverty – $1.90 per day. This line better reflects real costs of food, clothing, and shelter around the world.  Again, the number is falling, with the World Bank projecting that about 700 million people will be living in extreme poverty in 2015.  Hopeful, but there is more work to be done.

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To download the presentation, click here.

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Faith Lens is on Hiatus

shutterstock_124884124editFaith Lens is on hiatus until the fall.  We hope you find this resource helpful.  The next posting is scheduled for August 30.

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Index of the May 2016 Issue

Issue 46 of Administration Matters

Future Directions for the ELCA
Our Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, is inviting us into a conversation about the future identity, direction and priorities of the ELCA. This discernment process, Called Forward Together in Christ, involves listening to God and to one another, and it is spreading across members, congregations, synods, social ministries, educational institutions and the churchwide office. Join the conversation. >More

The new ELCA Federal Credit Union will open soon
The new ELCA Federal Credit Union, with offices in the Lutheran Center Building in Chicago, will soon be open for business. The grand opening celebration will be Monday, June 6. ELCA members, congregations, synods and the churchwide organization—and their employees—are all eligible to join the credit union to take advantage of a portfolio of deposit accounts, loans and other services. This new ELCA-sponsored credit union supports the ELCA’s mission to promote responsible stewardship of members’ and congregations’ financial resources. Because this is a financial cooperative, credit union members will see more competitive rates on deposits and loans, fewer fees and enhanced services. Learn more by visiting the credit union website, elcafcu.org. As a financial institution rooted in your faith community, the ELCA Federal Credit Union looks forward to serving you. >More

Online giving options for congregations and synods
This guide outlines factors to consider when deciding how to offer online giving for your congregation. A companion spreadsheet helps you prioritize which features are important to you and compare pricing for vendors of online giving services. >More

Protecting offerings – who would steal from us?
Your church should be a place of peace and a safe haven for worshiping and experiencing God’s love and grace. But what happens when crime and violence breach the church doors? >More

Questions about buildings and property
Church property is often underutilized and can be a valuable community resource. The ELCA has resources to help answer your questions about opening your space to community groups and organizations, whether on a one-time basis or for regular use. >More

How to take inventory with limited time and resources
Everyone knows that having an inventory of the valuable items in your church is a good idea. Should disaster strike, that video, list, or collection of receipts will speed up the settlement process. >More

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Responding faithfully to the targeting of Central American families for deportation

By Alaide Vilchis Ibarra, Assistant Director for Migration Policy

UPDATE: The Department of Homeland Security has continued to target Central American children and families for deportation since January. On May 12, 2016, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that they plan to strengthen the efforts to detain and deport vulnerable children and families in May and June. Although further information has not been released, as a church, we continue to stand with the churches and organizations we accompany in the protection of children, families and all vulnerable communities in Central America.


Para ver esta respuesta en español, vaya aqui.

This month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations to track and deport Central American families that arrived in the U.S. after January 1, 2014. We know that at least 121 individuals have been taken into custody and reports have surfaced of children being pulled out of homes in the middle of the night.

As a church grounded in Biblical mandate to respect the human dignity of all of God’s creatures, we stand strongly against prioritizing vulnerable children and their mothers for deportation. These tactics neither honor our faithful calling to love one another nor respect the dignity of our neighbors.

Additionally, we join Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) in our concern for ensuring access to justice in the U.S. for these families who must navigate a complex legal system, often without necessary support. This December, our own presiding bishop, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, witnessed first-hand the uncertainty and stress faced by children and families in Chicago’s immigration court.

The ELCA lives out God’s calling to send us into the world by accompanying displaced children and families in the U.S. and in Central America through our companion relationships with churches and faith partners. Through these relationships, we receive critical insight into the realities faced by children and families who are forced to leave their communities due to targeted violence (as outlined in our report, Our Communities in Crisis).

Today, violence in countries where these children and families targeted by DHS will be deported to remains unbearably high. El Salvador is currently facing murder rates not seen since its civil war in the 1980s. The Salvadoran Lutheran Church recently reported seeing up to 30 families displaced in one neighborhood over the course of only a few days. Honduras continues to have some of the highest murder rates in the world, and in Guatemala, the United Nations reports that two women are killed each day.

As a church with faith partners working with deported children and families in El Salvador and Honduras, we know that deportation does not serve to deter children and families from leaving their communities.

In a statement from the Mennonite Social Action Committee (CASM), an ELCA partner working in a repatriation center for children and families in Honduras, they explain that “during this process of receiving deported [children and families], we have witnessed the harsh reality that [deportation] brings for these people and their families. [Families] have to come back to the same realities of extreme poverty, lack of opportunities, violence and lack of citizen security that led them to leave the country in the first place.”

Through our relationships in Central America and because of our church’s history that is deeply rooted in migration, we will continue to support our partners in the region and in the U.S. through witness, accompaniment, prayer and advocacy.

“We must advocate with our governments and authorities for the humane treatment [of migrants], and to launch fair processes for people who should be welcomed as asylum seekers, not for political reasons, but for their safety and security.” said Bishop Medardo Gomez from the Salvadoran Lutheran Church in a call to acknowledge the rights and vulnerabilities of those fleeing Central America today.


Our partner, Church World Service, suggests the following resources to respond to this issue:

Know Your Rights

If you are tied to immigrant led congregations, it is imperative to educate all immigrant communities on know your rights resources. The most important information is DON’T OPEN THE DOOR to Immigration Customs Enforcement or anyone else if they do not have a warrant signed by a judge.

AFSC- Know Your Rights- Conozca Sus Derechos

United We DREAM Know Your Rights

Guide to sharing your story of rights abuses, raids and deportation

Video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2NgdEgD94

Report When A Raid Is Happening:

HOTLINE: 1-844-363-1423

TEXT ALERTS WATCH ICE: 877877

Call the White House

White House Comment Line directly at 1-888-907-2053.

“I’m from City, State, Congregation/Community and as a person of faith, I urge President Obama to immediately STOP plans to deport Central American children and families. These individuals are fleeing violence and should have access to legal counsel so that they can apply for asylum and protection in the United States.”

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May 15, 2016–Of Spirits and the Spirit

Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

 

Warm-up Question

Why do you think people are so interested in the supernatural—including ghosts, demons, zombies, and superheroes?

Of Spirits and the Spirit

Some of today’s most popular television shows and movies are built around belief in the supernatural, which reflects what Americans say they believe about otherworldly occurrences. Shows like Supernatural, The Walking Dead, and The Flash, along with movies like the hugely popular Avengers and Star Wars franchises all feature characters with powers normal humans don’t possess.

shutterstock_49349431A LiveScience infographic states that 56% of Americans surveyed believe that ghosts are spirits of the dead, and 55% believe in psychic or spiritual healing. 42% believe that people on Earth are sometimes possessed by the devil, and a whopping 71% believe that they have had a paranormal experience in their lives.

Richard Wiseman, author of the book Paranormality, has studied people’s beliefs about paranormal activity as well as the science behind some of these occurrences. “These beliefs are very comforting,” Wiseman told LifeScience. “If you’re ill, then the idea of the psychic healer is a nice idea.”

Beliefs in ghosts and hauntings may not be nearly as comforting, but arise from fear and hyper-vigilance that sometimes makes us see things that may not be there. Surprisingly, those who are more educated often have more beliefs in the paranormal than others. And being religious doesn’t always mean you don’t believe in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena. A 2009 Pew Research study showed that half of Catholics and black Protestants believed in or felt they had experienced at least two supernatural phenomena listed.

People want to believe in supernatural phenomena because it shows that there are bigger forces at work than just what the eye can see or science can quantify. Although beliefs in ghosts or zombies may be misplaced according to science, the world is a vast place that contains much more than one person could ever experience in a lifetime.

Discussion Questions

  • How have your beliefs about supernatural occurrences changed over time?
  • Has anything ever happened to you that you can’t quite explain logically? If so, what happened?
  • Do scientific explanations of paranormal happenings satisfy you, or disappoint you? Why?

Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Romans 8:14-17

John 14:8-17 [25-27]

(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

The entire Trinity appears in these verses, as Jesus explains to the disciples that the Father and he are one. Jesus then tells them about the Spirit of truth that will come to them when he has gone to the Father. Just as the Father lived in Jesus and did his work through Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us and does God’s work through us.

Jesus promises in these verses that the Holy Spirit

–advocates for us (helps us),

–teaches us,

–lives in us,

–helps us remember the things Jesus said.

Jesus tells the disciples that they will do even greater things than the things Jesus did, and it is the Holy Spirit that enables them (and us) to do these things. What great things are you doing through the power of the Holy Spirit? I know, me neither. I think we often forget about the Holy Spirit and instead rely on our own strength to try to accomplish the things of God, but God gives us the Holy Spirit because he knows we aren’t strong enough to accomplish these things on our own strength.

God is supernatural, and the Holy Spirit is how that supernatural power is expressed to humanity. So many people are more than ready to believe in ghosts, zombies, vampires, and psychics, but as Jesus says in verse 17, the world cannot accept the Holy Spirit, who has real power and truth because he is from God.

As Christians, we need to think carefully about where we choose to place our faith. Yes, supernatural things are attractive, but let’s not settle for a counterfeit that is devoid of any real power. It is not a coincidence that these verses end with a promise of peace such as the world cannot give.

Discussion Questions

  • Why do ghosts, zombies, etc., often seem more attractive than the true supernatural beings (God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit)?
  • Have you ever felt the power of the Holy Spirit? What was that like?
  • Why does Jesus say that the world can’t accept the Holy Spirit? (hint: it’s in verse 17) What do you think keeps people from accepting him?

Activity Suggestions

The Holy Spirit is commonly depicted as wind, fire, or a dove. Draw a picture or write a description of the Holy Spirit as you have experienced him or heard about him. Ask for permission to display your art somewhere in your church.

Closing Prayer

Father God, we thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us. We ask you to fill us with the Spirit’s power to do your work here on earth. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

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2015 LWF Jerusalem Annual Report Now Available

2015 LWF Jerusalem Annual Report

2015 LWF Jerusalem Annual Report

The 2015 Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Jerusalem Program Annual report is now available. The report includes updates and articles on each of the ministries of the LWF Jerusalem Program, including: Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), the Vocational Training Program, Scholarships, Material Aid, LWF Olive Oil from the Mount of Olives, and more.

The report includes a tribute remembering and celebrating the life and work of Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, who passed on 16 May 2015. Dr. Tawfiq served as Chief Operating Officer and as Chief Executive Officer at AVH for a total of eighteen years.

View the 2015 Annual Report (PDF)

The LWF Jerusalem Program also celebrates new developments in 2016:

April 2016: AVH celebrated the opening of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) $2.9 million contribution provided AVH with the essential equipment needed to operate the unit and intensive advanced training for its staff members to run the newly established Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit.

Read more and find photos here

April 2016: On Thursday, 21 April 2016 the LWF and German Development Cooperation celebrated the opening of a renovated multi-purpose sports field at the LWF Vocational Training Center (VTC) in East Jerusalem.

Read more and find photos here

May 2016: The AVH Infection Control team held a hand hygiene awareness campaign in cooperation with the WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign. This annual event calls for health care workers to improve hand hygiene practices. AVH used this opportunity to reach out to staff, patients, and visitors to raise awareness about good hand hygiene habits.

Read more and find photos here

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May Advocacy Update

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

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Washington, D.C. – Amy Reumann, Director of Advocacy

www.elca.org/advocacy

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CONGRESS TAKES STEPS THAT COULD SET BACK CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS: The ELCA is committed to fighting childhood hunger. That commitment, rooted in the baptismal call to care for our neighbors in need, is why we as a church have advocated for a strong renewal of the child nutrition programs that are critical to the health and well-being of children and families throughout our nation. The House last month introduced a new version of the child nutrition re-authorization bill (Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016). ELCA Advocacy strongly opposes this legislation because it would roll back years of progress made by our nation’s child nutrition programs. The bill is in the House Education and Workforce Committee. Click here to read our action alert urging Congress to improve these programs.

dc2ELCA ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN ECUMENICAL ADVOCACY DAYS: Christian advocates from across the country gathered in Washington D.C. for Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD), April 15-18. For the 14th annual gathering, the EAD theme was “Lift Every Voice – Racism, Class and Power.”  As part of the ELCAvotes initiative, ELCA Advocacy, Racial Justice Ministries, and Young Adult Ministries brought 16 participants from 12 states to EAD to serve as ELCAvotes ambassadors. These leaders are now taking the information they learned from EAD back to their communities. The ELCA also supported the participation of 17 young adults in EAD this year. The weekend concluded with a day of action, where attendees visited the offices of their senators and representatives, advocating on two key issues: “supporting the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 as a substantial legislative step to restoring and strengthening the Voting Rights Act of 1965” and “defeating the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that deepens inequality and prioritize corporate interest over both God’s creation and people, especially vulnerable communities in the U.S. and abroad.” ELCA staff from ELCA Global Mission and Domestic Mission units attended, including staff from Lutheran Office for World.

THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY ACT ADVANCES: Both chambers of Congress passed their versions of the Global Food Security Act, a top priority of ELCA Advocacy. Congress must now reconcile the two bills and send the final legislation to the president to sign. Our advocacy will continue to ensure that a final bill will be sent to the president’s desk by the end of this year. The bill provides congressional authorization to Feed the Future, a U.S. government initiative charged with combating chronic hunger and food insecurity around the world. It ensures that every dollar spent accrues value in global productivity, expands opportunities for education, reduces violence and helps those who suffer from food scarcity. Through Feed the Future, countries are able to increase agricultural and nutritional investments. As a result, farmers are able to feed their families, communities, and can contribute to their countries’ economic growth.

CONGRESS PASSES OLDER AMERICANS ACT: Last month, President Obama signed the Older Americans Act into law. The Older Americans Act is a critical piece of legislation that authorizes supportive services for older adults through Area Agencies on Aging, family caregiver supports, nutrition programs and the Senior Community Service Employment Programs. The re-authorization of the act was a priority for ELCA Advocacy and Lutheran Services in America since it was allowed to expire in 2015. ELCA Advocacy promoted this legislation by collecting nearly 500 postcards written to Congress from Lutherans.

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

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CIVIL SOCIETY HEARING ON HIV AND AIDS: On April 6, the Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC) participated in the Civil Society Hearing on HIV and AIDS. This hearing is the principal platform for civil society to influence the United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, which is being proposed for adoption in June. Throughout the entirety of the hearing, common themes emerged: 1) the AIDS response must be fully funded by governments, particularly those of high-income countries, 2) barriers to the right to health by key populations must be addressed and alleviated, 3) trade rules must continue to  ensure access to affordable, high-quality medicines for people living with HIV and AIDS, and 4) that stigma against people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as stigma against key populations, must be addressed and eliminated.

A number of those present at the hearing stressed that ending gender-based violence and ending the AIDS epidemic should not be in competition with each other but rather be complimentary campaigns. This reinforced the common belief that gender equality is an essential response to the AIDS epidemic. Furthermore, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, now a part of the World Council of Churches, made an intervention during the hearing, calling for further partnerships with faith-based organizations in the AIDS response. They also urged action on five priority areas, which can be found here.

LOWC will continue to follow meetings and events related to HIV and AIDS, including the meeting on HIV and AIDS June 8-10 and the International AIDS Conference in July.

U.S., PALESTINIAN LUTHERAN CHURCH LEADERS JOIN OTHER PALESTINIAN CHURCH LEADERS IN TAKING ATLANTA SUMMIT MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON: On April 21, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton joined Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land;, Fouad Twal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; Suheil Dawani, archbishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem; and several others of the Palestinian delegation who came to Washington after the “Pursuing Peace and Strengthening Presence: The Atlanta Summit of Churches in the USA and the Holy Land” meeting.

The group briefed U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and the staff of other members of the House of Representatives about the summit and discussed the general situation of the churches and Christians in the Holy Land and the Middle East.

The delegation also visited the White House and met with Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to the president and national security adviser to the vice president, and Yael Lempert, special assistant to the president and senior director for the Levant, Israel and Egypt at the National Security Council. The delegation gave them a letter to the president and a copy of the Atlantic Summit Document. The delegation highlighted the importance of education, the need to fight extremism and radicalism, the centrality of Jerusalem to peace. They also gave an update on their educational, health and other diaconal work.

Younan expressed thanks for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s negotiating effort despite the disappointing results. He asked the administration to support the French-organized Middle East peace conference to be held next month and urged the U.S. to refrain from using its veto on Israel-Palestine resolutions in the U.N. Security Council. He asked that the U.S. make reunification of families a priority. He also expressed thanks for U.S. support for the East Jerusalem hospitals, including Augusta Victoria Hospital, operated by The Lutheran World Federation.

On April 22, the delegation met at the State Department with Shaun Casey, special representative for religion and global affairs; Rachel Leslie, an adviser in Casey’s office; Stephen Butler, deputy director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs; and Michael D. Yaffe, senior adviser in the office of the special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Younan expressed appreciation for the interaction with Casey in recent years and said the churches’ relationships with the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, Donald Blome, and U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro in Tel Aviv are good and “very meaningful.” Bishop Younan reiterated his wish that the U.S. give priority to consulting with the Palestinian church leaders, particularly on the peace negotiations. He is frustrated that the Israel-Palestine issue now appears to be “on the back burner,” whereas, if it were solved, it could help solve some of the other more publicized issues, such as the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

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California – Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy

www.loppca.org

FIRST CALL THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION, REGION 2: Although LOPP-CA Director Mark Carlson was in Chicago at the annual staff meeting of the Domestic Mission unit, he helped arrange for a Day at the Capitol for new rostered leaders, part of their focus on public witness. They were welcomed by Assembly member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas of Los Angeles, secretary of the Legislative Black Caucus, chair of the Revenue and Taxation Committee, chair of the California Prayer Breakfast, and the youngest member of the Legislature.  LOPP-CA also arranged for the group of more than 50 to meet with a member of a congregational church council whose “ministry in daily life” is serving as communications director for the Senate chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus. She briefed the group on ca1caucus priorities, such as child care and family leave. Carlson had breakfast with the group upon returning, using his brief time to push Gov. Jerry Brown’s sentencing reform initiative and the initiative to end the death penalty.

DIRECT DEMOCRACY: Signatures have been submitted for the death penalty initiative, which would move more than 700 men and women on death row to the status of life without parole. This initiative has been endorsed by the LOPP-CA Policy Council. LOPP-CA has been active in the final effort for signatures for the sentencing reform measure.

EARTH DAY: LOPP-CA was asked by the state water boards to have a display for faith groups at the CalEPA Festival, when employees of various agencies brought their families to their high-rise workplace. Children wrote notes of encouragement on easel pads to children in Flint, Mich., (c/o Salem Lutheran).

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Colorado – Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado

www.lam-co.org

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: The Colorado General Assembly will meet until May 11, which means that Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado priorities have several more days to move through the legislative process. Our remaining major priorities include SB 190, a bipartisan bill from the Joint Budget Committee that will improve public services, particularly food assistance programs, by incentivizing better administrative practices and hiring additional state-level staff to increase enrollment of eligible families. Colorado currently ranks 45th in the nation for timeliness and accuracy in delivering food assistance, and Colorado merchants lose out on an estimated $686 million annually in grocery sales from unenrolled households. Another priority bill is HB 1227, a bipartisan bill that creates accommodations for low-income parents receiving child care assistance. A final bill is SCR 006, which would strike the exception to slavery and involuntary servitude from the state constitution (Article II, section 26). This resolution passed the Senate on a 35-0 vote, and if it passes the House, will be referred to Colorado voters on the fall ballot.

CHURCHWIDE CONNECTIONS: The directors of all ELCA-connected state advocacy offices gathered in Chicago for the churchwide Domestic Mission unit meeting in April. It was a time of fellowship and networking with churchwide colleagues. It gave our advocacy office directors the chance to share updates and best practices and to celebrate one another’s accomplishments for the sake of our common calling to public policy justice.

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New Mexico – Ruth Hoffman, Lutheran advocacy Ministry New Mexico

www.lutheranadvocacynm.org

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The LAM-NM director traveled to Las Cruces, which is near the Mexican-Texan border, to do a presentation at Peace Lutheran Church about advocacy ministry and the 2016 LAM-NM Advocacy agenda. Advocates from Peace Lutheran have been active in our ministry since 1984. This congregation is engaged in their community, state and the world!

The Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico Policy Committee recently met in Albuquerque at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Four new members were welcomed to the committee from four ELCA congregations. The committee heard reports about the recently completed legislative session, evaluated the 2016 Bishop’s Legislative Luncheon & Issues Briefing, and reviewed financial reports and program activities. Time was spent planning for the fall advocacy conference on Nov. 5 when Rozella White, ELCA director of Young Adult Ministry, will be the keynote speaker.

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Ohio – Nick Bates, The Faith Coalition for the Common Good

nick@oneohionow.org

It’s been a relatively light legislative spring around the Statehouse. Gov. John Kasich delivered his State of the State address in Marietta on April 6, with fewer policy proposals compared to his previous addresses. A new report released addresses some of the realities in Ohio. It highlights outcomes related to the health, economy, education and inequality in Ohio.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES: The Ohio capital budget increases resources for infrastructure. While this is a positive step, many needs remained unmet. For example, the state has not invested adequately to help farmers in northwest Ohio protect the streams, rivers and Lake Erie. The state has invested in lead contamination notification but still has not invested in lead removal.

RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARDS: Ohio’s renewable energy standards previously had overwhelming bi-partisan support. However, in 2014, they were temporarily suspended over the protests of Lutheran leaders. A bill was announced in mid-April to expand the temporary freeze until 2019. Renewable energy is a growing job sector in Ohio that this freeze hurts.

PREGNANCY PROTECTION ACT: Faith leaders have won the support of every female state senator to pass a bill to end discrimination against pregnant women in Ohio. The bill had its first committee hearing the week of April 18.

MEDICAID CHANGES: A new plan, if approved, would undercut the positive steps Ohio has made toward health care access for the most vulnerable. The plan would require the poorest Ohioans to start paying for Medicaid. Experts estimate that 140,000 Ohioans would likely lose coverage under the new rules.

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Pennsylvania – Tracey DePasquale, Interim-Director

www.lutheranadvocacypa.org

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LAMPa partnered with ELCA Global Mission and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg for two days of worship, service, learning and advocacy on April 17 and 18, focused on the theme “Stirring the Waters: Faith, Science and Action!”

Sunday’s events featured outdoor learning, service, an interfaith blessing of the waters and a meal, music and climate-change lecture in the Capitol rotunda. All events were open to the public. More than 150 people participated in the day’s events, which focused on our mutual call to care for the earth that sustains all of us. Highlights included tree-pa1 planting that kicked off a Reformation service-and-advocacy project and a canoe trip led by Cindy Adams Dunn, secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Lutheran Camping Corp. supplied canoes, recruiting and staff for that event.

The second day featured workshops and advocacy training around a variety of topics, with a special focuspa3 on the links between science and the issues on which we advocate. The event was an official part of the seminary’s Spring Academy Week. The day also featured a celebration of advocacy successes and recognition of advocates from each of Pennsylvania’s seven synods. Click here to learn more.

We also unveiled a sample of a video on making advocacy known among our congregations. The video features advocates telling their stories, as well as an introduction by Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia theologian and LAMPa policy council member the Rev. Dr. John Hoffmeyer.

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Southeastern Synod – Hilton Austin Jr., Georgia

haustin337@att.net

As we approach our one-year anniversary with our upcoming Synod Assembly, I can only say it has been an interesting and busy year, never a dull moment. Thanks go out to John Johnson and the folks in the Washington, D.C., office for their help and guidance and especially to all of those folks across our synod who participated in rallies, marches and events, along with those who helped coordinate and publicize those events.

Currently, we are making preparations for the Synod Assembly at the end of May. We will have an exhibit table outside the Plenary Hall to talk to folks about the importance of our work and our need for advocacy coordinators in each congregation. On Saturday, we will present an immigration advocacy workshop and host an advocacy luncheon.

In April, we published the first edition of an e-newsletter; it will be published three times a year, September, January and April. September will be the Discernment Edition to set priorities for the upcoming legislative season. January will be the Action Edition with current pending legislation and Lobby Days dates. April will be the Wrapup Edition.

We are very excited about the current ongoing conversation with Presbyterians for a Better Georgia and the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta concerning working together and also opening an ecumenical advocacy office in Atlanta. We plan to have the office in our synod office, from which we will also be able to help coordinate and support advocacy efforts in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

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Virginia – Kim Bobo, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

Neill Caldwell, Communications Director

http://www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org/ 

In the last few weeks, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy staff members have been listening to fellow citizens and activists talk about health care access in Virginia and some Virginia legislators explain why they oppose expanding coverage in the Commonwealth by taking federal dollars allocated under the Affordable Care Act to pay for expansion. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-VA11, thinks that a concierge-medicine approach is preferable to coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

Virginia Consumer Voices for Healthcare, the health care advocacy arm of VICPP, was invited to participate in an NAACP event in Richmond, #HealthcareMatters. The panel discussion was moderated by Community Outreach Coordinator Cassandra Shaw, with the Rev. Marlon Haskell of Chicago Avenue Baptist Church, NAACP Richmond Health Committee Chair Marilyn Campbell, motivational speaker and clinical social worker Germika Pegram, and community activist Christopher Green joining the panel. The panel, and the attendees, agreed that community action was the only way to shift thinking in the General Assembly on the importance of closing the coverage gap via access to quality, affordable health care for all Virginians.

For National Minority Health Month (April), Virginia Consumer Voices for Healthcare and the Virginia Interfaith Center are partnering with African American faith organizations/judicatories and churches to make a unified, faith-based push to compel their state leaders to close the coverage gap. They’re also working with two nationally known African American faith leaders, the Rev. William Barber and Dr. James Forbes, on the Richmond leg of their 19 city “Repairers of the Breach” revival tour.

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Washington – Paul Benz, Faith Action Network

www.fanwa.org

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ANNUAL VISIT TO NATION’S CAPITOL FOR ECUMENICAL ADVOCACY DAYS: Office visits were made to 11 of our 12 congressional offices (we met three members of congress; the rest were staff). The key issues we discussed included child nutrition, opposing block granting of SNAP, support for voting-rights bills, opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and support of funding for the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem. Faith Action Network also made visits to our friends at the National Council of Churches, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and the Interfaith Criminal Justice Coalition convened by the United Methodist Church. Our state delegation was made up of many young adults, and we participated in the marches and rallies on Capitol Hill that day.

Highlights from Ecumenical Advocacy Days include preaching and leadership from the Rev. William Barber of North Carolina, as well as being with people of faith from around the country advocating on social justice issues with the theme: “Lift Every Voice! Racism, Class and Power.”

Faith Action Network is now working on our four regional summits during May and June in Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver and Yakima. At those events, we will organize by our issue work groups, such as economic justice, environment, criminal justice and health care.

ELCAVOTES: We are also promoting ELCAvotes at our synod assemblies, encouraging congregations and members to get engaged in this year’s elections, as well as introducing resolutions to Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery, which is an act of solidarity with our Native American brothers and sisters, and acknowledges white privilege.

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Wisconsin – Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin

www.loppw.org

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CEREMONIAL SIGNING: A significant anti-sex trafficking bill that LOPPW supported has become law. Bishop Mary Froiland, LOPPW Advisory Council member the Rev. Barb Girod, and the director attended the ceremonial event in Madison. LOPPW volunteer Robbie Joern attended the actual signing in Hudson.

NEW STATE CLIMATE TABLE: LOPPW was part of an all-day organizing meeting for an emerging Wisconsin Climate Table to broaden the efforts of secular and faith-based organizations to support a Clean Power Plan and other healthy environmental efforts in Wisconsin.

TWO NEW 2016 RESOURCES: 

  1. Human Trafficking – What does the church have to say? A new resource for congregations to use with youth and adults.
  2. Money & Politics: The Gradual Distortion of American Politics and its Impact on Poverty – What does the church have to say? We also have a one-page summary of the longer Money & Politics. Go to loppw.org/resources/. Thank you to our former intern, Genevieve Baldwin, for her work on 2016 LOPPW anti-human trafficking resource and to intern Kyle Kretschmann for his work on the money and politics resource.

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 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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ELCA presiding bishop joins faith leaders at peace summit

ELCJHL Bishop Younan and ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton at the Atlanta Summit. Photo by Jessica Pollock-Kim/CMEP.

ELCJHL Bishop Younan and ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton at the Atlanta Summit. Photo by Jessica Pollock-Kim/CMEP.

The text below is directly from this ELCA news story:

CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined leaders of Christian churches and church-related organizations from the United States and the Holy Land in Atlanta April 19-20 for “Pursuing Peace and Strengthening Presence: The Atlanta Summit of American and Palestinian Churches.”

This first-ever gathering of American and Palestinian Christians in the United States focused on exploring the role of Christian churches in peacemaking in Israel-Palestine and helping strengthen the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

“It was significant that a broad spectrum of Christian churches – Evangelicals to Orthodox, historic black denominations as well as mainline denominations – participated,” said Eaton. “This diverse coalition has more credibility than the usual alliances. The freedom of Palestine, the security of the state of Israel and the preservation of Arab Christianity in the Holy Land are not political issues for a few but a faith issue for many.”

Other representatives from the ELCA included the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission; the Rev. Jeffrey Thiemann, CEO, Portico Benefits Services; and the Rev. Cindy Halmarson, area program director for Europe and the Middle East, ELCA Global Mission. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, attended along with patriarchs and other heads of churches in Jerusalem.

The event, held at the Carter Center, brought together about 100 leaders from diverse Christian denominations and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, mainline Protestant and historic African American and Latino churches. Former President Jimmy Carter delivered the keynote speech during the final session.

“Bishop Younan and other leaders are calling for U.S. churches to strengthen the Christian presence in Palestine,” said Halmarson. “I hope this conference is the beginning of a broader and deeper coalition of U.S. church support to accompany Palestinians in pursuit of peace and strengthening Christian presence in the Holy Land.”

The ELCA, through its Peace Not Walls campaign, is working for peace and justice in the region through accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-building. Among other objectives, the effort connects ELCA members with Palestinian Lutheran companion churches in the region to promote healing and reconciliation.

The goals of the Atlanta summit included drafting a summit document that articulates a comprehensive vision for the future of the Holy Land and its Christians, writing a letter to President Barack Obama that communicates this vision, and adopting a strategy for common witness by American and Palestinian churches.

The summit document states: “We have come together for two days of prayer and open dialogue in a spirit of theological and ethical urgency for a just peace, and to express our ecumenical unity in action towards the end of occupation and a lasting political situation in the Holy Land. We honor the land that witnessed to the life and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ affirming his call to justice, peacemaking and to the ministry of justice and reconciliation.”

The document outlines issues that merit special attention in order to effectively promote peace with justice and advance the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. The points include:

  • Develop more effective advocacy in the United States.
  • Educate members of congregations on the merits and necessity of a peace process that fulfills the rights of all people and nations in the region to live in security and peace.
  • Recognize, affirm and support the solidarity that is being demonstrated among some Christians, Jews and Muslims in addressing humanitarian needs, fighting poverty and fostering peace.
  • Designate a common day of prayer and reflections across churches in the U.S. and the Holy Land.

Following the Atlanta summit, Eaton and Younan joined Fouad Twal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; Suheil Dawani, archbishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem; and several other members of the Palestinian delegation in Washington, D.C., April 21-22. At the White House, the group delivered the letter addressed to Obama and a copy of the summit document. Meeting with Dr. Colin Kahl, assistant to the president and national security adviser to the vice president, and Yael Lempert, special assistant to the president and senior director for the Levant, Israel and Egypt at the National Security Council, the delegation highlighted the importance of education in the Holy Land, the need to fight extremism and radicalism, and Jerusalem’s centrality to the peace process.

The group also met with U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, congressional staff members and representatives of the State Department to discuss the outcomes of the summit.

“The Atlanta Summit was very significant in many respects but especially for its reaffirmation of the Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land and its call to revitalize advocacy efforts in the U.S. towards a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” said Dennis Frado, director, Lutheran Office for World Community, ELCA Global Mission. “The delegation’s follow-up visit to Washington was important to convey those messages to U.S. policy makers.”

The Atlanta Summit document is available at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Atlanta_Church_Summit_Document.pdf?_ga=1.122276939.1503715930.1461873236.
More information about Peace Not Walls is available at ELCA.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/Peace-Not-Walls.

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May 8, 2016, “What Unites Us Is Stronger Than What Divides Us”

Scott Mims, Virginia Beach, VA

 

Warm-up Question

Has anyone ever made fun of you for what you believe?  How did you feel about this?

“What Unites Us Is Stronger Than What Divides Us”

shutterstock_379716937On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg.  Next year – 2017 – will mark the 500th anniversary of this event, and of the Reformation movement that Luther’s thought and actions helped to spark.  In anticipation of this important milestone, it was recently announced that the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church will hold a joint ecumenical commemoration later this year.  On October 31, 2016 in Lund, Sweden, our Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches will take another step forward in a long dialogue towards mutual forgiveness and reconciliation.  You can read more about this joint commemoration and what it means here:

https://www.lutheranworld.org/lund2016

https://www.lutheranworld.org/news/what-unites-us-stronger-what-divides-us

Discussion Questions

  • Do you and your friends ever talk about religion or what faith means to you? If so, what have you discovered? If not, why not?
  • What churches/faith communities have you belonged to?
  • Lutherans and Roman Catholics have been in dialogue together for over 50 years now, working hard to achieve greater understanding and reconciliation. Do you think all of the time and effort is worth it? After 500 years of being divided, what, in your opinion, is the significance of this work?  Of holding a joint commemorative worship service?

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 16:16-34

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

John 17:20-26

(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

The Backstory

For the past several weeks, we have been in flashback mode.  Even though we stand on the resurrection side of things in the Easter season, our readings have taken us back before the crucifixion, back to Jesus’ final evening with his disciples.  This week is no exception.  John 17:20-26 captures the last part of Jesus’ final prayer just before he and the disciples leave the place where they are and walk to the garden and his arrest.

Jesus’ prayer itself comprises the whole of chapter 17.  What has come before this moment in chapters 13 – 16 has the form of a farewell discourse – a last will and testament to his friends. Now the time has come.  Jesus’ hour for glory is upon him, and so he prays for himself (verses 1-5), for his disciples (verses 6 – 19), and lastly for the Church (verses 20 – 26).

That They May All Be One

So, who is the Church, and what does Jesus ask on its behalf?  The answer to the first part of this question is that the Church is everyone who will come to believe in Jesus as a result of the disciples’ message.  This means that it is not just the disciples for whom Jesus prays, he is also praying for us.  John 17 is a prayer for you, for me, and for ALL who believe in Jesus the Messiah.  Together, we are the Church, and Jesus’ prayer for us is that we “may all be one.”

Unity is the key theme in this part of Jesus’ prayer.  We can see this because the idea of believers being “one” gets repeated (verses 20, 22, 23).  Yet it is important to notice that the foundation for this unity is first and foremost Jesus’ own relationship with God the Father, and not the result of our efforts.  That is to say, we don’t create this unity by our hard work towards love and cooperation.  Rather, our efforts towards a more complete and true unity with other believers are the necessary byproducts of the relationship we share with God the Father through his Son, Jesus.  Because God the Father loves us, and invites us into the mutual relationship he shares with Jesus, Jesus prays that we will know a similar unity of love with one another.

What’s more, this unity is to be a witness to the world that what we say about Jesus – about his love, about his death and resurrection, about his identity as Lord and Savior – is true (verse 21).  Jesus “new commandment” given in chapter 13 at the beginning of this farewell discourse is that we love one another as he has first loved us.  Love is the mark and sign that we are truly his.  Here, at the conclusion of his prayer, one effect of such love is made clear.  As the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.”  As love breaks down the barriers that divide us, as love heals divisions, overcomes fears, and joins different peoples into communities of faith, joy, and praise, the wider world sees the truth and the power of the God we proclaim.

The Gospel of John in Miniature

The final verses for this week not only complete the prayer, but serve as a summary for the gospel itself. You can hear echoes of John 1 and John 3:16 here.  The world does not know God the Father, but Jesus, God’s Son does. There is a unique and eternal relationship between them (see verse 5). What’s more, Jesus has made the truth of God known to those who have believed in him.  Having communicated the Father’s “name” to them, he promises to continue to make God known to the Church through the Holy Spirit. (Jn. 16:12-15)  The goal of this is so that the love God has for Jesus may also be in all who belong to Jesus.  In this way, they – that is, we – also enjoy a living relationship with God, through Christ.

Though the language that John uses in chapter 17 can seem repetitive and hard to understand, it is important to hear the whole of this passage as a prayer in which we are also included. Perhaps part of the reason that our lectionary (the three-year schedule of readings we follow) draws us back this Easter season to Jesus’ final evening with his disciples is to remind us that, because Jesus is alive, his words remain for us, and for the world, a living and life-giving message.

Discussion Questions

  • How do you define the word love? What do you think it means for Christians to love one another?
  • Can you think of examples of different Christian churches or groups disrespecting or condemning each other? How does such behavior damage our witness to the world?
  • Does unity mean uniformity? What sorts of things should be the same?  What sorts of things could be different?
  • When it comes to Jesus and our faith, what do you think of the following statement: “What unites us is more important that what divides us?”

Activity Suggestions

  • Through our full communion agreements with six other church bodies, along with various other inter-faith conversations, the ELCA is building bridges toward greater unity in the church. Find out more about our church’s ecumenical and inter-religious work at: http://www.elca.org/Faith/Ecumenical-and-Inter-Religious-Relations/Full-Communion. You will also find links to the website of our full communion partners.  Perhaps explore some of these sites together.  What are some of the connections we share?  What part has history played in shaping our current differences?

Option 1: Have participants line up according to their personal beliefs.  For example, “How do you view the Bible – inerrant, inspired word of God, totally the work of human beings, or somewhere in between?”   You might then talk about where the “official” ELCA position is on the questions you choose.  How much agreement is necessary?  Where is there freedom?

Option 2:  Create a summary sheet for each of the denominations that you would like to include – ideally each participant gets one.  Use the categories at the top (View of God, Saved, Sacrament, etc.) to have participants stand on the continuum based on what their assigned denomination believes.  Use this to talk about the great diversity of beliefs.  Again, how much agreement is necessary, and on what things, for the unity of the Church?

Credit:  Special thanks to Pastor Leslie Scanlon for compiling and creating this chart, and for her permission to include it here.

Disclaimer: The information in this activity is a general summary only.  All attempts were made to be as accurate as possible.  However, there is often a diversity of positions within any given faith tradition or denomination.

  • Arrange to worship together at a congregation from a different denomination. You might decide to visit one of our full communion partner churches, especially one from a tradition you know little about.  What was similar?  What was different?  What things are essential?

Closing Prayer

Holy God, gracious and merciful, we thank you for the joy of Easter.  Through the work of your Holy Spirit help us to love one another, and, in that love, to work against the walls and barriers which divide us.  May we be one in you, and may our unity bear witness to the power of your love for all the world.  We pray this through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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