– Rev. Priscilla Paris-Austin

I traveled by train halfway across the country to attend the Youth Gathering in New Orleans with four youth. Months of preparation and anticipation were finally being made manifest as we rose early that first full day for our Justice Day. Our task was to pick up trash in a neighborhood still recovering after Hurricane Katrina, but the dumpsters from the city had not yet arrived. We met with leaders of the partner organization who explained that it was not unusual for folks to say they were coming to help in this area… and then not show up. The city then developed a habit of waiting to provide resources until the evidence proved they could be useful. Our presence, despite the planning, was a surprise!

After surveying the area and spending some time with leaders, our Servant Companion gathered us back on the bus for reflection. When faced with the decision of calling it a day or walking the neighborhood, I completely understood the massive number of hands on the bus that rose to end the day… until I turned to look at my youth. All of them were opting to stay. They wanted to meet the people, or at least try. It was a moment that made this veteran youth leader weep with pride. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

While the majority vote meant that our day was done, my youth were transformed in that moment. They recognized that while they didn’t get their hands dirty, the difference they made was not of their own doing, but it was a gift of God. They were a gift of God just by showing up.  This knowledge, it changes EVERYTHING.  

Rev. Priscilla Paris-Austin serves as the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA.

Sylvia Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

Suppose that you were living in shelter after fleeing from a terrible war. You meet a person your own age from the enemy country. What would you say? How would you act?

Blowing Down Barriers

They come from around the world to share their sorrow and fear from a dreadful experience: a loved one has been killed in a terror attack.  They are the children and siblings of those who died on 9/11, in the Middle East conflict, in the train bombing in Madrid, from attacks in Norway, Indonesia, Northern Ireland. There are 55 of them.

Their destination is a summer camp held at Brynn Mawr College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to foster understanding and, by sharing their common experience, keep fear and hatred from crippling the next generation. Here Jews play basketball with Palestinians; Muslims and Christians hike together; a teen from Northern Ireland learns to make a bracelet, taught by a teen from the South. Though their countries are enemies, they share the same devastating loss, a loss only they truly understand. Here is a place where they can belong.

Groups of campers participate in “Dignity Sessions.” Here individuals may talk respectfully about differences and share their fears. An Arab girl asks an American boy if he thinks all Muslims are terrorists and is surprised when he answers, “No.” Someone shares how disturbed he gets when he sees terror attacks on the news and everyone understands.

The cooperation and sympathy among these young people results in greater empathy for each and other and, most important, a determination to fight the hatred that inspires acts of terrorism.

Counselor Monica Meehan McNamara sums up the encounters this way: “Getting to know one another breaks down the cycle of hatred and violence. [These experiences] are powerful antidotes.”

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think people commit acts of terrorism?
• In what way might campers be changed by the camp experience? How might they behave differently when they get home?
• What can young people do to fight fear and hatred in the world?

Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

John 20:19-23

(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

If you are selected to read the scripture for Pentecost Sunday, you should probably practice beforehand. Verses 9-11 name the countries from which many of the people in Jerusalem had come and they are hard to pronounce. Why are the names of these countries included? What do they have to do with the coming of the Holy Spirit?

The people gathered were Jews who truly loved God. They had been scattered all over the world and had now come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, a harvest celebration, also known as Pentecost. With so many nationalities and languages there were certainly rivalries and distrust among them. But here they were, drawn by the noise of the wind and the sudden burst of speech from Jesus’ followers in the middle of the city.

Each disciple spoke in a different language, even though they were all Galileans. All the people gathered there heard the mighty works of God told in their own tongues. Many call this a reversal of the Tower of Babel. There the languages were confused and the people were driven apart. Here the languages are united, as are the people who speak them. The Holy Spirit, symbolized by wind and fire, had worked a miracle! Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his chosen ones (see John 17:21) was answered. Here is the spiritual place where all those who love God belong.

Like the young people who were united by their suffering, Christians are united by their joy – our salvation through Christ and our unity in the Spirit.

So, the Holy Spirit came and everybody lived happily ever after? Well – no. There are divisions in the church, sometimes sharp ones. Christians are still flawed human beings. Perfect unity will not be ours until Christ returns.

Meanwhile, we can take a lesson from the campers in Philadelphia. We can talk to each other, share our experiences, and correct each other’s misconceptions. And when we do that, we are setting an example to the world: this is the way to fight fear and hatred.

Discussion Questions

• The places named in Acts are chosen to reflect how the Spirit transcends social, ethnic, and political boundaries.  If you were given the the task of updating that list to reflect the same truth, what countries or groups would you put on the list?
• Think about how we usually communicate the gospel message to those outside the church.  What about the message has the potential to break down barriers?  What about the way we speak of our faith has the potential to create barriers between people?

Activity Suggestions

• If students know the song “We Are One in the Spirit,” sing it as a class. If not, read the words aloud: We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity may one day be restored, and they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, and they’ll know we are Christians by our love. How does the song say we express our unity? (by our love)
• What are some examples of loving actions that would set us apart from the world? Use real-life illustrations.
• What does the fire of the Holy Spirit mean for us? Think of the expression “on fire for the Lord.” How can we inspire each other to be “on fire for the Lord”? How can your “fire” help older people, who may have lost their passion for the Lord’s work? Encourage students to carry out what they have talked about.
• Individually, ask students to make a list of ways in which they can better show love for others. Ask them to share one item with the class. Turn the items into a prayer list and lead the students in prayer for these things.

Close by singing “We Are One in the Spirit” or a song of the students’ choice.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of your glorious Holy Spirit. Set our hearts on fire, so that we can do loving deeds and speak inspiring words. Make us one with your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen

Today’s post is by Robyn Sand Anderson, artist.

“Coming to faith is analogous to falling in love. One cannot fall in love in the abstract. Love comes through an encounter with another person. The same is true of faith. If faith is a relationship with the living Christ and the living God who sent him, then faith can only come through an encounter with them. And the Spirit is the one who makes this presence known.”   -Pastor Craig Koester

I often begin a painting with only a vague notion. In this case, all I knew was that I wanted to show a deep contrast between the real, material silk cloth and the beauty of color blending and moving underneath and around it. The first time I thought I was done with this painting it looked very different from what you are seeing right now. Something bothered me, though, which is how I can tell I am not finished. It sometimes takes a while to really “see” what needs to be done. I simplified by covering many colors with a deep brown around the outside of the silk and left brilliant color cradled inside of the silk. But it still needed something. You will often see movement in my abstract paintings. I’ve come to understand that for me, movement gives a sense of God’s Spirit moving in the world. I added movement with white strokes. Now the painting was complete.

Who is this “Advocate” Jesus speaks of, this Spirit most Holy? The word “advocate” in Greek is “paraklétos” meaning helper, or one who walks alongside you and supports you. Jesus was fully human, of this Earth, material, flesh and blood. He knew sorrow, joy, fatigue, exhilaration, laughter and pain. He suffered with those he encountered and suffered his own loneliness, torture and death.

Jesus reached that point in his journey when he knew that those in power were circling and that his ministry on earth was drawing to a close. And so, he gave us this gift, God’s Spirit, an Advocate who will walk with us. The disciples and future generations would know and experience God’s intimate presence.

As disciples of Jesus Christ and citizens, we are immensely concerned about the federal budget. Increases, decreases, and delays in the budget affect all Americans and people around the globe, particularly the most vulnerable members of our society. We commit ourselves as a church to “pursuing policies and practices that will lead to sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all.”[1] This includes educating ourselves and speaking up about the priorities and implications of the appropriations process.

What is the federal budget?

The federal budget is comprised of 12 spending bills for each federal agency. Congress goes through a lengthy process to draft, revise and finally vote on the bills that will then be enacted into law. These bills fund many programs that address the government’s response to the environment, refugees, immigrants, poverty, criminal justice, healthcare, international assistance, housing, and defense. Congress needs to have completed the process of voting on the final bills by October 1, when the new fiscal year begins.

Why should we care?

As Lutherans, we affirm that governmental structures are an important way God is active in the world for justice, peace and stability.  Governing leaders are to be held accountable to God’s purposes: “May [they] judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice…May [they] defend the cause of the poor of the people” (Psalm 72:2) .”[2]  As members of the ELCA, we affirm our responsibility to hold our government and elected officials accountable to a budget that promotes the common good of all.

Where the process stands

On Tuesday, May 23^rd, The White House submitted its budget proposal to Congress. Congressional leaders have largely signaled that they will move ahead with their own budget drafting process. An arduous road lies ahead as Congress tries to work on bipartisan support for the federal budget. The month-long August Recess and the number of legislative work days, are dwindling. This signals that it may be hard for Congress to pass the budget by October 1^st.

What happens if the budget doesn’t pass?

If Congress fails to pass all 12 spending bills they will likely pass a ‘continuing resolution’(CR). While giving Congress extra time to finish the remaining bills, CRs keep spending flat across ALL government programs. The consequences often affect the most vulnerable members of society, but even the more affluent can experience economic stagnation. Failing or stalling to pass the federal budget hurts the wellbeing of our nation and most affects members of our community who live in poverty.

Please join ELCA Advocacy in urging members of Congress to pass a federal budget that works to support the following programs that reflect our values that are grounded in love of God and neighbor. 

How the Budget will Affect our Policy Areas:

Care for Creation: The programs currently in place at federal energy and environmental agencies are vital for protecting those who are most vulnerable.  The proposed drastic budgetary cuts would result in significant reduction to the elimination of these programs. There would be curtailment in needed research to address environmental harm and to increase the use of renewable energy sources. Such reduction would stymie the current economic growth in job creation associated with renewable energy; and negate the progress the U.S. has made in being a global leader in addressing environmental harm and for providing for future generations.

Food Security and Healthcare: The budget proposes $193 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) over the next 10 years. These cuts would slash SNAP by an unprecedented 25 percent, dismantling a proven and effective program that provides working families and children nutritious food in difficult life circumstances. The budget also cuts $800 billion from Medicaid, $21 billion to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program; and a $40 billion reduction to the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. These and other programs form a common contract Americans have with each other to ensure that we protect the most vulnerable among us.

Foreign Assistance: With 30 million people in Africa and the Middle East facing starvation, 50 million in need of immediate food assistance, and more than 65 million displaced, President Trump’s proposal to cut a third of the foreign assistance budget comes at a time when the need for it could not be greater. Foreign assistance funds provide life-saving health, economic, education, and food assistance to the most marginalized people in developing countries, and help prevent conflict and spread of deadly pandemics. If enacted, the proposed cuts will have devastating consequences on the most vulnerable populations around the world.

Housing: Many of the federal investments made in housing help revitalize struggling communities, rebuild after disasters, and give the people in the direst need the chance to seek better opportunities in an affordable home. Harsh cuts in the budget can increase the already staggering levels of housing poverty across the country, and make it a challenge for churches and service groups striving to end homelessness in their communities.

Immigration/Migration: The budget plays an important role in how immigration policy is implemented and how the U.S. addresses the root causes of displacement in Central America. Budget increases for immigrant detention and deportation fail to account for the pressing need for updated immigration policies, separates families, and create a climate of fear among our communities. These budget increases coupled with cuts in U.S. aid that address the root causes of displacement leave more children and families more vulnerable to human rights violations.

[1] Social Statement, ”Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All” (1999) p. 17

[2] Social Statement, “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All” (1990) p. 11

Raise your hand if you saw a black person on campus today.

My peers and I exchanged apprehensive looks with each other as our professor opened his first lecture, on the first day of the semester, with this command. The course, “Anthropology of Race and Science,” filled a seminar room, twenty-five of us sitting around a large table, eyes focused on the faux wood table in front of us as we avoided eye contact with each other and with him. He asked again and hands were tentatively raised, faces lined with discomfort and apprehension.

Alright, now let’s talk about why that was so difficult.

From here, the tone of our semester was set and I spent fifteen weeks facing uncomfortable truths and challenges to my conceptions about the world around me.

In the anthropological world, race is no longer talked about as a biological difference among people as it once was in previous days of academia. Rather, it is discussed as what it is: a socially constructed category that holds value not because of some innate difference between peoples, but rather because we, as a society, have given value to it. Labeling something as a social construct does not mean that it lacks value or should flippantly be dismissed. I’ve seen this happen all too often on Facebook within the comments that people write on posts (I strongly recommend everyone stay away from reading these—it never ends well).

People often comment how “Well that (whether its race, gender, sexuality, etc.) is just a social construct” as if in some way, this dismisses the legitimacy of what social constructions do within society.

Yes, race is a social construct. And yes, race is very uncomfortable to talk about.

And yes, this is exactly why it is something we must talk about and why we must do something about it. Race is a social construct and it has been socially constructed in ways that create inequalities in our society. These inequalities are maintained through unequal access to healthcare or affordable housing. They are created by wage gaps and the criminal justice system. And they are enforced through the advantages that one group has over another.

I think most of us have no problem seeing the racism of the past century. But I also think most of us have a really hard time seeing the racism of today—the racism that allows these inequalities to persist.

When I was in Anthropology of Race and Science, I found myself confronted with these issues. And to be honest, I didn’t really want to talk about it. It was uncomfortable and difficult and I often left class feeling angry or hopeless. But it also helped me to see how racism effects people of color today. Our classroom was split about evenly: fifty percent were people of color and fifty percent were white. Our understanding of race in America today came from the first-hand experiences of our peers.

Racism isn’t over. It didn’t stop with the end of slavery or with the civil rights act or when we elected Barack Obama. Racism in America is still a very present thing. My place is not to speak for people of color as to how racism affects them. My role is to lift up and affirm their voices.

However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t, or that I don’t have to, say something. Whatever my place in society, I am a part of it. And therefore, I participate in the systems that create it. So, what I can say is this:

I am privileged. I am privileged because of my socio-economic class. I am privileged because of my gender. And I am privileged because I am white.

It’s a challenging thing to be confronted with such a proposition.

I am white and therefore, because of my whiteness, I have had opportunities and experiences that others do not. White privilege doesn’t claim that white people don’t work hard or that we are simply handed things left and right. It doesn’t claim that generations before us didn’t work hard, sacrifice, and skimp and save to allow us to be at the position that some of us are in.

What it does claim is that these barriers to success—the ones that our parents and their parents and so on had to work through to get to where they are—these barriers are not as high as they are for those that aren’t white.

Acknowledging my white privilege, took work. It didn’t happen overnight or with a sudden epiphany. It was a slow and continual process. Personally, I think one of the most important things we, as white people, must do is listen to the voices of people of color. We must seek out ways to affirm those that are often spoken over and find ways to use our privilege to do so. My white privilege gives me a unique opportunity because it means that once I’ve done the hard work that life requires, I’m not confronted with yet another barrier that I must overcome simply because of the color of my skin. As much as I’d like to say that I have completely confronted everything that comes with privilege, I haven’t. It’s a process I’m still working through and it’s one I think we all must work actively through.

My white privilege isn’t something I asked for or something bad that I’ve done. And it isn’t something that I can be judged for having. I know that as Christians, our hearts bleed for the inequalities of this world. We ache to heal and to reconcile; to give and to love. Our faith calls us to love like Jesus. To live our lives in a way that makes sure that people know we are Christian because the way that we love our neighbors is so radically offensive people don’t know what to do with us. And I think a good place to start is with my privilege. I believe that my privilege means that I must use it to do what I can to live in a way that affirms the love that Jesus showed. It means that I must use my voice to create room for people that aren’t often given a voice. And it means that I must continue to work through these issues.

I’m privileged because I’m white and I want to do something with that.

Kevin Tracey recently started the ELCA candidacy process. In the fall, he will begin working towards his Master of Divinity at United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia. In April, Kevin graduated with honors from the University of Pittsburgh with a dual degree in Anthropology and Philosophy. He spends most of his time at the bookstore, hiking and kayaking with his family.

– Tom Hoegel

My name is Tom Hoegel and I have the privilege and honor of serving youth and families at Bethel Lutheran Church in Cupertino, CA.  Over 30 years ago, I took my Bethel youth to the Denver National Youth Gathering and began my journey serving on the Mass Gathering Team. In St. Louis in 2000, I formed the Tech & Talent Team to coordinate talent for the event, as well as to act as the connector between volunteers and hired techs.  It has been a delight serving God through this work at the Gatherings

One of my greatest passions has always been to lift up youth musicians.  In 2009, we saw that seed begin to germinate with two talented college age bands that help launch our Immersion Day events.  In 2012 and 2015, that desire blossomed into over 60 youth bands leading Synod Day events throughout the Gathering.

Houston promises to build on this great momentum as youth really are the church of today!

When I’m not serving the Gathering, I enjoy spending time with my grown daughters, attending concerts, working out, playing bass, tearing down and building stuff, and motorcycle and convertible rides in the California hills.  I look forward to seeing you in Houston. 🙂

Dave Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Warm-up Question

Have you ever found out something that you felt morally obligated to share with someone else, even though sharing would be awkward or perhaps a breach of trust and confidentiality.  How did you decide what was right in that circumstance?

Don’t WannaCry

I hope that the name “WannaCry” is unfamiliar to you.  That’s the name of a wicked computer virus currently ransacking computers across the globe.  WannaCry is ransomware.  That means that when it infects your computer, it locks up files that you’ve saved.  In order to get those files back, you’re forced to pay hundreds of dollars to the authors of the virus.  This money has to be paid in an untraceable digital currency called BitCoin, so catching the criminal coders of the virus is very hard.

Don’t worry too much.  If your computer is running an up to date version of Windows, then you’re safe from WannaCry.  However, it almost wasn’t that way.  The National Security Agency (NSA) discovered the flaw that made WannaCry possible earlier this year.  In April the data about that flaw was stolen from the NSA.  The hackers who created WannaCry got their hands on this data and were able to craft a virus that manipulated a problem with Windows.

There’s a discussion  about whether or not the NSA had a responsibility to tell Microsoft about the vulnerability it discovered.  It appears that when the NSA found out about the flaw, it didn’t say anything to Microsoft.  Instead, it chose to hold onto that data, hoping it could use it to write programs that would break into computers used by terrorist organizations and the like.  It’s possible that the NSA could have told Microsoft earlier about the problem, allowing it to fix the vulnerability earlier.  But did it have a moral obligation to do so? Or is the NSA’s mission to fight terrorism and American enemies more important?

Discussion Questions

• Do you believe that as a government agency, the NSA had a responsibility to share what it had learned with Microsoft?
• If the NSA’s goal is to protect people, how should it handle difficult decisions like this?

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1:6-14

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

(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 Gospel of John is different from the other three Gospels, so much so that we call the other three by a unique name.  Together, Matthew, Mark, and Luke make up the Synoptic (from a Greek word meaning “see together”) Gospels.  The synoptics see Jesus in a similar way in the sense that they share many narrative elements and essentially the same chronology.  John, though, is different.  It just doesn’t fit the same mold as the other three.  There is no narrative of Jesus’ birth, for instance, and narrative parables are nowhere to be found.  The Jesus in John’s gospel  just doesn’t seem interested in telling stories.  Instead, there are extended narratives of Jesus’ encounters with others which point to who he is.  Jesus engages in deep conversations and speaks long soliloquies about divine knowledge and revelation.

To John, one of the most amazing things about Jesus’ story is that Jesus, though fully  man, possesses God’s nature and shares deep knowledge out of that divine identity.  As you probably noticed, this week’s passage is all about that sharing of knowledge.  Jesus specifically says about his disciples that “the words that you [the Father] gave to me I have given to them”.  Jesus is the divine revealer of truth and wisdom, and he has done more than teach the disciples.  He has opened their eyes to a truth they could never have reached on their own.

But this knowledge does not come alone.  It comes with a responsibility.  Jesus is explicitly clear about this in the passage following our reading this week.  By being the recipients of the same divine understanding that Jesus received from the Father, the disciples are inheriting Jesus’ mission and ministry.  They are not passive recipients of knowledge – they are recruits!

There is a price to the knowledge we gain about God, but it’s a wonderful price.  When we learn about God, we become a working part of God’s Kingdom, called to take an active role in crafting the Kingdom.  Our hands are called to do the work of God’s hands.  To John, this was obvious.  How could we know about God and not immediately feel the call to action?

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever felt the challenge of a verse or story in the Gospel? Have the words of your pastor or youth leader ever made you feel like you should act in a different or new way?
• What Gospel messages, if any, are hard for you to understand? For example, many people find some of the parables tough to work through.
• If you were confused about a Biblical text, how would you go about finding an answer to your questions?

Activity Suggestions

It’s graduation season!  Design a diploma for those who have “graduated” and gained wisdom through God’s word and teachings.  What degree would they hold? What would that diploma say?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, you are the source of all true wisdom.  You guide us, console us, and teach us, and for this we are always thankful.  We praise you for the protection and peace that comes through our understanding of your Word.  Bless us to continually seek to grow and study your Word and your teachings.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Today’s post is from Jennifer Crist, Pastor Mission Developer of Communities of Hope in Harrisburg, PA.

Communities of Hope, a synodically authorized worshipping community, began as an experiment to gather those unfamiliar with church and those who haven’t been to church in a long time. From the beginning, we made an intentional decision to include advocacy in our liturgy. In exploring how to do this, we realized advocacy could be expressed in our liturgy in many ways.  I want to emphasize three of these examples.

First, we practice Advocacy as offering.  We often take a minute during our offering time to speak about the latest updates and action alerts from ELCA Advocacy.  We have letters and computers available on site for those who want to write or take 20-30 seconds to fill out the action alerts online and send them at any point throughout our gathering.

Second, we practice Advocacy as prayer.  During our prayer time, we provide paper and coloring supplies for both adults and children to creatively offer their prayers.  Prompts are written on paper that relating advocacy efforts to current events.  Later, we collect and share these in a variety of formats.

Third, we practice Advocacy as service.   We often end our worship time with service that can include advocacy as well.  During this time, we have put together refugee kits for LIRS; gathered for events in our community that promote advocacy; and organized fundraisers.

You might have noticed that I intentionally referenced that we PRACTICE Advocacy.  One of my daughters studied the violin using the Suzuki method.  And one of the phrases we repeated over and over throughout her years of study was, “PRACTICE MAKES EASY.”  This is very different from Practice Makes Perfect. So we practice advocacy frequently to make it EASIER to live and do advocacy.  Advocacy is a skill that needs to be practiced in order to make it part of our being.

Today, our first gathered missional community has now multiplied into three missional communities that all gather in public places outside of church buildings.  Though these communities appear very different from one another, the expressions of these Communities of Hope are similar focusing on advocacy as a means of loving our neighbors.

Advocacy is not a topic for certain occasions or special events. We consider advocacy essential to our liturgy; part of who we are as God’s children gathered to do God’s work through us for the sake of the world.

By: Rev. Rebecca Seely

This past March, a group of college and graduate students from the Lutheran and ecumenical campus ministry, which I serve in New York City, travelled to Washington, D.C. on a spring break “faith in action” pilgrimage. While most of our students were familiar with putting their faith into action through direct service to neighbors, our purpose on this trip was to affect change in a different way – through advocacy to elected officials. We are grateful to ELCA Advocacy Washington, D.C. office, who hosted us, taught us about their work, trained us as advocates and set up meetings for us with the offices of our senators from New York. While in Washington, we were able to learn about and advocate for legislation on immigration and food insecurity that would affect millions of people across our country.

Advocacy is not a new concept for our campus ministry. We have regular teach-ins around justice issues, have hosted phone banks to call our elected officials, written letters and signed petitions. Meeting face to face with policy makers on this trip was a first, however, and our students went into this pilgrimage both nervous and excited to make their voices heard for the sake of their neighbors.

Our time in D.C. began with an orientation meeting with Nathan Detweiler at the ELCA Advocacy office. In retrospect, I think the group’s general expectation was that it would be a “training” – that Nathan would equip us with statistics and facts and a script that we would take into our meetings with policy makers, not unlike the form letters that one signs on the internet. We were a little surprised, therefore, when he encouraged us to look inward instead and figure out how these issues impacted our lives and our communities. He told us that our own stories were our most powerful gifts for advocacy and set us to work figuring out what stories God was calling us to share.

As a result, some of the most meaningful work of our trip was the work of reflecting on the human stories – our own, those of our neighbors and those of Scripture – those incarnate “issues” for us. One student shared that a good friend may have to leave her college education behind to take care of her siblings if her mother is deported. Another student talked about his peers routinely going hungry during exam times when they can’t work as many shifts at their jobs. Students reread familiar biblical narratives as “immigration stories” and discovered the humanity of the biblical characters anew.  Most affecting of all, at least for me, was that each student in our group discovered that he or she had a unique story or experience to offer that was vital to shaping our collective witness when we spoke to Senate staffers. Everyone’s voice made a difference.

Reflecting on their advocacy work after the fact, students said that this sharing of stories gave them hope for healing and change in the midst of bitterly divided political landscape. Sitting down and having a real conversation with someone of different political convictions is something that almost never happens among college students today. With the heated rhetoric that flies around social media, students, like many of us, are often afraid to engage with those they assume will disagree. During this trip, however, students had the chance to do just that and it was powerful for them.

Michelle, a sophomore at Columbia University, met with her home state senator’s office to talk about immigration and marveled that, “With empowerment from a great group, I was able to work up the courage to have a meaningful and potentially impactful discussion with someone who probably didn’t agree with me.” In our divided nation, that’s a big deal. Moreover, the students reflected that hearing each other’s stories, building connections across difference and rediscovering each other’s shared humanity and belovedness in the eyes of God is a simple, profound way to begin healing our brokenness and building a better world.

One of the most surprising things that students discovered on our advocacy pilgrimage is that faith can be the means of positive connection with strangers. Christian, a sophomore at NYU, reflected that before this trip, he would intentionally avoid mentioning his faith when he talked about social issues because not everyone believes in God.  Bringing faith into the conversation in Washington, D.C. helped him and other students to realize that talking about faith is not something to be afraid of. In fact, speaking up for justice explicitly as people of faith can be a powerful way to build bridges with others and find points of connection with others, whatever their faith convictions.

Thank you to the ELCA Advocacy for making this empowering, transformational experience possible. In the months and years to come, we look forward to continuing to find ways to serve our neighbors, seek justice and bear witness to God’s love for the whole world through the holy work of advocacy.