Ferdinand Pauwels, 1872

Nearly 500 years ago, the young monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and kicked off the movement that would become the Protestant Reformation. The theological disputes that followed have been well-documented over the centuries, but what the Reformation meant for the church’s witness in the midst of hunger and poverty is often forgotten. In this series leading up to October 31, 2017, we will take a deeper look at the Reformation’s importance for the church’s social ministry – and the important work to which people of faith are called by the gospel.

Each day, we’ll look at a different quote, counting down to the 500^th Anniversary. This week, we start with a familiar but pithy gem from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.

#10 – “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.”

This affirmation comes to us from Luther’s explanation of the First Article of the Apostle’s Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” The aptly named Small and Large Catechisms were written by Luther as guides for teaching Christians about certain aspects of their faith. Luther saw a great deal of confusion about the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Commandments, especially as more folks moved away from Roman Catholicism. He published the catechisms to help them understand some of the basic contours of this emerging Protestant faith. The writings in them were so popular and well-accepted that they eventually became part of the Book of Concord, the traditional authoritative text for Lutherans.

The catechisms are meant to be informative for preachers, pastors, and laypeople, and were used both in formal education and in homes. Each commandment and article of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed are explained by Luther with allusions to scripture and to real-life situations.

In this explanation of the First Article of the creed, Luther lays out a basic tenet of faith: all good things come from God. Unlike some earlier forms of Christianity that believed the material world was evil, or that being holy meant separating oneself from daily life, Luther believed that all creation testified to God’s grace and God’s intention for our well-being. The life of faith is not a life lived separate from the world but rather was lived immersed in the world, enjoying the fruits of God’s creation and working to ensure that others can enjoy them, as well.

What Does This Mean?

For Luther, food, clothing, shelter, family, and all that we have are gifts of God. Thus, the first lesson to be drawn from this is our dependence on God for our well-being. This factors into Luther’s teachings in other places, particularly when it comes to our behavior in an economic community. Rather than treat our possessions as solely our own or principally as the fruit of our own labors, Christians are called to see all that we have as gifts from a loving God—and to use them as such.

This places some radical limits on how we use our possessions. The sort of greedy acquisitiveness that can cause us to act selfishly or to “boast” in our own wealth, for Luther, is a denial of our dependence on God. Drawing on Christian thought that stretches back at least to Clement of Alexandria in the 2^nd Century (and probably much further!), Luther believed that we hold our possessions as stewards and not as full owners. This lays the groundwork for his later claims that Christians are duty-bound to share their goods with others in need.

This also points to a key nuance in Lutheran theology. Just because these things are gifts from God does not mean that those who lack food, clothing, shelter, or family are not blessed by God’s grace. Unlike the popular prosperity gospel preachers today, who teach that God rewards good people with wealth, Luther believed that these gifts are given indiscriminately. Inequity, if it exists, is not part of God’s “plan,” but rather evidence of failed stewardship by humans. Poverty, then, may be a sign of the sin of poor stewardship, rather than a punishment of God.

The other lesson this portion of the Catechism teaches is the expansive role of grace in our world. For Luther, the world is not formed in scarcity. People of faith don’t start from the premise of what the world lacks—though faith also means being honest about the deep need around us. Instead, faith begins from the notion that God has gifted the world abundantly, that grace is in evidence all around us as the foundational principle of existence. It’s grace, all the way down.

So what?

When it comes to the church’s ministries among people in poverty and hunger, there is much to lean on here. First, part of what it means to be human is to recognize our dependence. This balances claims to self-sufficiency. None of us is fully independent or self-sufficient. At the root, we are all dependent on God.

Second, people of faith are called to be good stewards and to remember from whom their possessions came. Ultimately, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the comforts we enjoy are not products of our own doing, but rather gifts from God. This helps us put our stewardship of our material resources and of our personal relationships in a different light. How do I use my possessions differently, if I recognize them as God’s? How do I tend my personal relationships differently, if I see each of them as a gift from God?

Lastly, Luther reminds us that the basic fact of all existence is grace. We live by grace, are sustained by grace, and are saved by grace. This means that beginning with abundance – looking for those places where grace may reveal itself – is an important way to witness to our faith. It’s easy in the midst of hunger to focus on need or lack. The harder and more important step, though, is to recall continually the great gifts with which God has endowed every community. This includes the gifts of “reason and the senses,” those mental and emotional faculties that help us discern solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Faith in “God the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth” is a faith that calls us to look for the assets our community can bring to the table, even as we are honest about our needs.

Sylvia Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Questions

• The recent series of seemingly endless disasters has made many people feel that there is no hope for the world. Do you agree?  Why or why not?
• Are there any stories you have heard about people helping each other through these tragedies? What did they do?
• As a Christian, what would you say to people who think the world is hopeless?

Recipe of Love

Hurricanes. Fires. Shootings. One calamity after another seems to be threatening the stability of ordinary people’s lives. We look on, helpless and ask, “What can we do?” Social media posts advise stricter gun laws, more precise weather science, or changing your personal philosophy to agree with the person posting. Still the question remains –What can WE do to make the world better?

It’s true that there is little we can do prevent disasters or personally help the victims. But we can find ways to bring hope to the world. Take, for example, The Café Momentum. What does a popular Dallas restaurant have to do with bringing hope to the world? Almost all the cooks, servers, and clean-up crew are juvenile offenders who have spent time in the county lock-up.

The force behind this unusual rehabilitation program is Chad Houser, a successful chef who was part owner of a popular high-end restaurant in Dallas until he sold his share to help young detainees find a way out of the repeating cycle of crime and jail time. As he says, “I teach them to play with knives and fire.”

Backed by a crew of chefs, social workers and other professionals Houser oversees the young people’s food service education, but also provides classes in life skills such as parenting, driving, and managing a bank account. And he pays them more than the current minimum wage. The average rate of recidivism (returning to jail) for youthful offenders in general is 48%. For the graduates of Café Momentum it is 15%.

All right, very inspirational, but how does that answer the question? What can we do to make the world better?  What we can.

Discussion Questions

• Why do human beings need hope, especially in difficult times? What happens to people who give up hope?
• Why do you think so few young people who have worked at Café Momentum end up back in jail?
• Where do you find hope when adversity comes into your personal life?
• What special talent or ability do you have that you can use to bring people hope?

Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

(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

There was nothing the religious leaders of Jesus’ day liked better than a good game of “Stump the Upstart.” They had standard questions to ask that no one had been able to answer. The question about taxes, the question about the seven brothers and one bride – they were posed to trap dissenters into making fools of themselves and by contrast make the Pharisees and Sadducees appear wise.

But this dissenter was different. He had silenced the Sadducees’ standard argument against the resurrection. He had overruled the Pharisees’ encyclopedic knowledge of the commandments by reducing them to two: Love God. Love neighbor. Find if you can, Pharisees, a commandment that is not contained in these two.

Taking advantage of the leaders’ stunned silence, Jesus asked them a question: Whose son is the Messiah? David’s, of course. Then why does David call him “Lord”? An ancestor calling a descendant “Lord”? Unheard of. The Pharisees have no answer.

The contrast here is between the Pharisees earthly thinking and Jesus’ heavenly thinking. The Pharisees thought people needed more laws to keep them in line, and the leaders had obliged by adding over 600 laws of their own to God’s. The Hebrew word for “love” literally means “give, sustain, or protect.” This means action. It seems the Pharisees had diminished this vital word in their thinking. To prepare them for heaven, people don’t need more rules. They need to learn to give.

The Pharisees pictured the Savior, the Son of David, to be like the earthly David – a warrior, a conqueror who would restore Israel to its former glory. They did not understand that the Christ was to be a heavenly Messiah, the Son of David and the Son of God. God’s love was not at the root of their laws. God’s Messiah was not the one they expected.

But let’s be honest.  We can be just as blind as the Pharisees. Surely loving God and neighbor doesn’t mean actually coming into contact with real people. Can’t I just send money? And full obedience to Christ as God sounds – inconvenient. Can’t I downgrade him from Messiah to a “good teacher” among others?

No. Love God. Love neighbor. Live for Christ, David’s Lord and ours. This is the way we bring hope to the world.

Discussion Questions

• What are some excuses we make for not living by God’s law of love? How can we overcome these excuses?
• Tell a real or hypothetical story about a situation in which it was/would be especially difficult to show God’s love to someone. What might a person do in this situation?
• Brainstorm practical ways in which the class, individually and as a group, can use their specific abilities to reach out to despairing people and help them find hope.

Activity Suggestions

Take two or three situations the class suggested in question 3 and help students improvise dialogues and actions that might take place in those instances. Students who don’t want to join an improvisation may suggest words and actions to the people performing.

Closing Prayer

All-Loving God, your psalms tell us that you are an “ever-present help in trouble.” Wake us up to your loving presence. Lord,  keep us thankful and hopeful.  May we serve you by giving of ourselves in word and deed, cheerfully sharing hope with a weary, needy world. Amen.

The title of the 1939 film classic, “Gone with the Winds,” is a very good descriptor for what I witnessed in Puerto Rico. Maria, a category 5 hurricane, wreaked havoc in Puerto Rico. The destruction caused by powerful winds and ravaging floods was catastrophic. It will take years to recover from this disaster.

 Maria took away many things from us: the comfort of daily life most people took for granted, such as electricity, running water, communication; having access to food or a cold drink to refresh after a hot day; access to health care facilities, schools, entertainment. Many things were gone with the winds of Maria. But Maria also gave us something as well: busy lives came to a halt giving people time to engage in conversation with family members and neighbors; people began to help one another and to share the little resources available to them. In short, Maria gave us the other, our neighbor.

 In Christ, God restored community with humankind. In this gracious act God freed us from sin. It was an act of liberation from our estrangement from God and from one another. God frees us from our self-centeredness so that we could focus our attention on our neighbor in need. This is what I saw in Puerto Rico, the neighbor turning to the neighbor; the neighbor finding God’s presence in the helping neighbor. All,  together, finding God in the face of the other, the suffering other, the helping other, the other newly discovered in the midst of this tragedy. Neighbor-love, a central feature in Luther’s theology and of our confessional identity has been the basic framework used in the relief efforts in many of our communities and neighborhoods. Whether people call it by that name or something else, this is what Maria gave to us.

 As we look forward we should not attempt to replace what was gone with the wind. We must apply the lesson learnt from this experience to rebuild our electrical grind, our communication systems, our homes and businesses. But there is one old thing that we must use in our rebuilding efforts; we should claim neighbor-love as the catalyst for our reconstruction. This year that we observe the 500 Anniversary of the Reformation, let us not just remember the historical event. Let’s reclaim the socio-economic impact of this movement for the rebuilding of lives and communities in the Europe of the Reformers, and in the Puerto Rico after Maria.

 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed… struck down, but not destroyed…” 2Cor 4:8

 Pax et bonum.

Dr. Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla. serves as Executive Director for Global Mission for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

– Evelyn Soto

Why should the youth of your congregation attend the 2018 Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) in Houston?  Why come to this pre-Gathering event?

Here are some wonderful reasons why your youth of color should register.

• Growing in leadership. MYLE is an amazing opportunity for youth of color (Latino, African, African-American, Asian, American Indian and Native American, multi or bi-racial youth) to gain confidence and grow as leaders.  They will have an opportunity to see others who resemble and sound like them in key leadership roles—leading music, worship, preaching, teaching, mentoring, and so much more. MYLE exposes and encourages youth to enhance their leadership potential at the event, at the Gathering, and most especially when they return home.
  
• Building relationships, community, and networking. This event focuses on youth getting to know others at the event through many experiences, including worship, workshops, sharing meals, and fellowship events.  At every MYLE, youth are invited to come and share their culture with others through song, dance, dress, and conversation.  All cultures are shared, respected and appreciated.
  
• Growing in faith and being a witness to Jesus’ love in a just world. All MYLE participants are involved in worship and learning experiences that impact their faith, broaden their understanding of what it means to be a youth of color in our world/context, and grow in their capacity, understand and fluency for the gift of diversity in the Lutheran church and in the world.

My daughter, Amanda, attended two MYLEs and Gatherings (2011 and 2013). In 2015, she volunteered as part of the Stage Crew for the Gathering. Earlier this year, she graduated with a degree in English and minor in Theater. I know that she has been impacted by these events and experiences, and they helped shape who she has become—a powerful young woman who is vocally passionate about justice and equity in the world.  I am grateful for having the opportunity to witness this.

Come to MYLE and see God at work, now and beyond.

International migration reached a total of 244,000,000 people in 2015, while the number of migrants as a percentage of global population remains stable at about 3%. As part of World Food Day 2017 observances, a meeting was held at the United Nations (UN) on 16 October titled “Change the Future of Migration: Invest in Food Security and Rural Development,” focusing on links between migration, food security, and rural development. Speakers included H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72d Session of the General Assembly, and ambassadors from Mexico, Philippines, and Italy, as well as business and UN representatives.

There exists a strong nexus between food security, migration, and global development. Many people move by choice, but a growing number are migrating for myriad reasons. Driving causes of migration include conflict, food instability, climate change, political instability, and poverty. Ms. Coco Ushimaya, World Food Program Director of the UN System (African Union & Multilateral Engagement Division), called for a cross-disciplinary approach to food security that includes local, national, and regional collaboration working toward the possibility of economic growth that will sustain peace.

As God has created us as whole persons, we too must focus on building earthly peace that encompasses all the dimensions of society. We pray for all migrants who have been forced to leave their homes, and for all the leaders locally and internationally working towards strengthening food security and global development.

John Wertz, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Questions

The sign in the window says the drink costs 99 cents? What will the final price of the drink be when the cashier rings it up? Why will it be more than 99 cents?

Paying Taxes

In 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to one of his friends that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” As Christians, we might argue that the only thing more certain than death and taxes is the generous love of God, but Franklin is correct that in life each of us will have to deal with both death and taxes.

In late September, President Donald Trump announced a new tax proposal that will attempt to completely overhaul the American tax code. (1) While the details and implementation of the new proposal still need to be worked out in Congress, any change to our complicated tax code will likely impact nearly resident of the United States. For some people, changes in the tax code could bring reduced tax bills. For others, changes in the tax code come mean increased tax bills. While the changes being discussed by the President and Congress are focused on income taxes and business taxes, even if you are currently not working at a job, you still pay taxes. Each time you go out to eat, put gas in your car or buy a new shirt, you pay sales tax.

Who pays taxes and how much each person or company is required to pay will continue to be in the news until the President and Congress agree upon a plan. Regardless of what they decide, however, taxes will continue to be a required, if unpopular, part of our life together because taxes provide the money necessary to public services like roads, first responders, health care for senior adults and public schools.

Discussion Questions

• What services or activities in your community are supported by taxes?
• When people start talking about taxes or politics, how do you respond? How do you see the people in your life respond?
• What are your main sources of information for understanding issues like politics or taxes? How do those sources of information shape what you believe about those issue

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

(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

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s” Jesus said, “and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mt 22:21) The Pharisees had hoped to trick Jesus into upsetting the crowds by getting him to endorse the unfair tax policies of the empire or, more likely, they hoped he would speak against paying taxes and then the empire would arrest Jesus. As is often the case, Jesus does not respond as others expect. By responding in the manner he does, however, Jesus teaches us two valuable lessons for our lives of faith in the world.

The first lesson has to do with living in the world. As people of God, we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. Our decisions and ideals need to be guided and shaped by God, not by the pressures and priorities of the world around us. At the same time, we are also called to live in the world, to share what we know of God with others and to live out or faith in our daily lives.

As God’s people in the world, we live under a set of rules established by the government. We pay taxes on the money we make in the public market place. We give to the emperor, what is the emperor’s.

At the same time, we give to God what is God’s which means that we are constantly trying to determine how we can live and act faithfully in the world. We give back to God as God has given to us by supporting ministries we believe in with financial resources and through our gifts of time and expertise. It isn’t always easy, but as followers of Jesus we try to live faithfully in the world giving to the world what is the world’s while at the same time giving to God our love and obedience.

In addition to this fairly direct lesson on life in the world, there is a second lesson that Jesus teaches which we can see, when we examine the way in which Jesus responds to the Pharisee’s question. In his response, Jesus models an approach to dealing with a problem that invites us not simply to react to a problem we might face, but rather to respond from our strength, to act out of our convictions and beliefs, not simply react to what is happening around us.

Many people when faced with the type of question posed to Jesus would have felt trapped by the question. They would have felt the need to answer either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Many people would have allowed the question to define the conversation, but Jesus shows us that we don’t simply have to react to the world around us. We don’t have to take option ‘a’ or ‘b’ simply because those are the options presented to us, but instead we are called to take or to create the option that is faithful to God.

When you are faced with a choice in life where none of the options presented to you seems faithful to what you believe. Don’t feel trapped. Follow the example of Jesus we see today and look for a different way forward that allows you to act on your beliefs and to act out of God’s love for you, not simply react to the world around you.

Discussion Questions

• What does it look like to you to live in the world, but not to be of the world?
• How to you give to God what is God’s in your daily life?
• Share a time when you acted out of God’s love for you instead of simply responding to what was happening in the world around you.

Activity Suggestions

Drawn Together – Tell the group that the whole group is going to draw a picture together. You can draw an animal, a building, a superhero or some other picture that works with your context. Give everyone in the group a portion of a shape that they are allowed to draw. One person might have half a circle. Another person might have a straight line. Once everyone is assigned a portion of a shape, announce the image you will draw. Each person in the group takes turns using their portion of the shape to complete the drawing. Each person must contribute their shape to the drawing before a shape can be repeated. Discuss the idea that when all of us contribute our gifts and talents, we are able to accomplish far more than one of us could accomplish alone.

Closing Prayer

O God, you give us a variety of gifts and call us to share those gifts in your service in the world. Help us to be faithful to you in our daily lives and give us the confidence to know that you are with us even if it feels like the world is against us. Amen.

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order directing several federal agencies to develop new regulations impacting the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Those regulations are expected to cause the proliferation of health care plans that, while potentially less expensive for some consumers, come at the cost of mandated coverage and protections that currently exist under the ACA.

The administration also decided to cut off subsidies—made possible under the Affordable Care Act—which helped lower income individuals access insurance. Consumers most affected don’t have health insurance through an employer, their parent’s health insurance, or Medicaid or Medicare. For many, these government subsidies were key to ensuring access to any health insurance at all.

Policy analysts and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office warn that the Executive order will affect the U.S marketplace by eliminating nearly $7 billion from the individual market causing steep premium increases for many working low-income households across the country.  Congressional leaders on both sides of the isle are expressing concern, but what we need most is bi-partisan cooperation and urgent action.

The ELCA has for many years maintained a clearly defined value around health care:

“We of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have an enduring commitment to work for and support health care for all people as a shared endeavor. Our commitment comes in grateful response to God’s saving love in Jesus Christ that frees us to love and seek the well-being of our neighbor.” (ELCA social statement “Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor,” 2003)

Over the past nine months, Lutherans—laypersons, pastors and Bishops—have engaged their Senators and Representatives with a simple message: Improve access to health care; don’t tear it apart. During congressional debate this summer, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton issued a statement that resonates today as much as it did then:

“I ask all Lutherans to pray for our leaders and to be advocates with me. Our collective voices make a difference, and we should raise them to call on our [leaders] to stand with the most vulnerable members of our communities. It is time for Congress to work together to find solutions that ensure health care for all in our nation of God’s great abundance.”

As Lutherans we believe that health is central to our well-being, vital to relationships, and helps us live out our vocations in family, work, and community. Caring for one’s own health is a matter of human necessity and good stewardship. Caring for the health of others expresses both love for our neighbor and responsibility for a just society.

We pray for those in our community who will be most affected by these recent actions, as well as for our leaders to work together to protect the most vulnerable in our country.

Today’s post is from Krehl Stringer, pastor at New Salem Lutheran in Turtle River, MN. This is the second in a series on why and how to initiate celebrating a Season of Creation in worship.

A good place to begin planning a Season of Creation is with a 4-, 5-, or 6-week series of lectionary readings—there are a variety of 3-year lectionaries to choose from.  The period from September 1 (the beginning of “Creation Time” in the Eastern Orthodox tradition) to October 4 (the Feast of St. Francis in the Roman Catholic (western) tradition) has become the ecumenical standard for introducing a Season of Creation into the church year. Local conditions, however, may indicate a better timeframe, or a congregation might select individual Sundays throughout the year. Themes on Sundays during creation time draw worshipers’ attention to various domains or aspects of creation (e.g., planet earth, wilderness, humanity, river, and world communion). At New Salem we have also added in an “Advocacy Sunday” each year to amplify particular callings for eco-justice (e.g., Fire/Energy Stewardship, Food/Water Security, and Sustainability).

There are many places online to access free worship resources for planning a Season of Creation.  To start, check out Lutherans Restoring Creation, Let All Creation Praise , and Season of Creation. Calls to worship, hymns, blessings, lectionaries, preaching commentaries, prayers, artwork, videos, and much more will ignite that spark of creativity in pastors and other worship planners to invite all of creation into worship and praise of God the Creator, Healer, and Sustainer of life.

Interspersed throughout this blogpost are several pictures from churches where we have celebrated a Season of Creation.  The idea is that a congregation would get to know the environment in which they have been planted, then develop a multi-faceted Season of Creation that reflects the local character of that context.  For example, in northern Minnesota in the fall, the tamarack trees burst into a bright golden yellow. So our church adopted tamarack yellow as the color for our Season of Creation; paraments, stoles, and banners were beautifully crafted. The night sky of rural northern Minnesota is spectacular, so during the week of Cosmos Sunday, we hosted a couple star parties open to the public.  The Saturday before Fauna Sunday, we held an annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony. One year, we invited parishioners to contribute to a progressive Season of Creation Art Gallery that by the end of the season had photos, paintings, sculpture, fiber arts, and mixed-media on display.  Special guests were often invited to preach or give a presentation after worship on various themes; opportunities were promoted for learning more about community supported agriculture, local recycling programs, political lobbying efforts, bird watching, prayer hikes, and so much more.

For any congregation, engaging a Season of Creation can be a profoundly revitalizing (and exciting!) experience for all generations in discovering how, “in Christ, there is a new creation [to explore and celebrate]: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2Cor. 5:17)

It would be a great joy for me to hear from you your stories of celebrating a Season of Creation in your place of worship.  You can reach me by email at lightstringer2@gmail.com.

In its most recent report on food insecurity and nutrition around the world, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) highlighted a troubling fact: after a decade of decline, the rate of hunger in the world increased in 2016. Today, the FAO estimates that there are 815 million people in the world who do not have access to the nutrition they need for healthy lives. That amounts to about 11 percent of the world’s population. It is still lower than it was in 2000, when 900 million people faced hunger, but some experts worry that we may be seeing a trend toward increased hunger after a prolonged decline.

There are many factors driving this increase in hunger, but a few stand out. First, more countries are experiencing violent conflict and fragility, which increases their vulnerability to hunger. Conflicts in South Sudan and Syria, for instance, have driven many people from their homes in search of safety elsewhere. In fact, the FAO estimates that 489 million of the 815 million undernourished people in the world live in countries facing conflict, violence and fragility.

This is related to the second driver of increased hunger—climate change. As droughts worsen and access to food and water gets harder, the risk of conflict increases. This, in turn, leaves communities vulnerable to food crises. Even without conflict, though, the effects of climate change can be dire for communities dependent on agriculture for their lives and livelihoods. As the FAO points out,

Three-quarters of the extreme poor base their livelihoods on agriculture or other rural activities. Creating conditions that allow rural people, especially youth, to stay at home when they feel it is safe to do so, and to have more resilient livelihoods, is a crucial component of any plan to tackle the migration challenge.

Working with rural communities to build resilience through sufficient, sustainable agricultural practices is key in reducing hunger around the world. To bring attention to this, the theme for World Food Day 2017 is:

Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development

You can join people around the world in marking this special occasion. Below are some ideas to get you started.

Accompanying rural communities is a key part of the ministry of ELCA World Hunger. From helping farmers use drought-resistant crops or improved irrigation, to providing access to seeds, tools, and livestock to increase the profitability of farms, our companions and partners are making strides toward ending hunger for good.

ELCA World Hunger’s Lifelines magazine and reproducible stories are great ways to learn about and share the projects supported by your gifts. Reproducible stories provide full-color and B&W bulletin inserts you can use to share stories with your congregation or group. In the latest edition, learn how Zulema Lopez and her neighbors in San Luis, Nicaragua, are leading the way in increasing access to safe water and teaching others sustainable farming practices. Download the stories here: goo.gl/Hgzdsv

To dive deeper into the problem of world hunger, you can read the FAO’s The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 here: http://www.fao.org/3/a-I7695e.pdf.

The FAO also has lots of resources on its World Food Day page, including videos, stories from rural communities around the world and an activity book for teachers or parents to use with children. Access all of this at the FAO site: goo.gl/u7F3Mv.

You can also check out these resources from the ELCA:

• Hunger and Climate Change Connections Toolkit

ELCA World Hunger’s toolkits are easy-to-use, adaptable for a variety of settings and suitable for intergenerational audiences.  The activities can take as little as 15 minutes, or as much as one hour, depending on your needs.  Learn about climate-related disasters, the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations and actions your congregation can take.  Download this toolkit at goo.gl/x2JEBK.

• Hunger and Climate Change: Agriculture and Food Security in a Changing Climate

From biofuels to gender justice, from political stability to farming in the United States, this fact sheet from the ELCA highlights the wide-ranging effects of climate change.  With ideas for what your congregation can do to support farmers and others impacted by climate change, this fact sheet is perfect for Lutherans concerned about agriculture and hunger.  Download it at goo.gl/aqnuLg.

• Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice

The ELCA’s social statement on care for creation, adopted in 1993, remains an important reflection on our role as stewards in God’s world.  Read it here: goo.gl/0rFHQM.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the largest protestant denominations in the United States with more than 3.7 million members and 9,300 congregations nationwide, has a long history of standing alongside migrants and refugees. Every day we see the gifts that young Americans without legal status, also known as Dreamers, and their families bring to our congregations and communities.

Following the Administration’s announcement that it will rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gave Dreamers relief from deportation and the ability to work, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, called on Congress to pass legislation to protect these young people:

“As we lament this change in policy, we call on members of Congress to pass long-overdue legislation to protect young people brought to the U.S. as children… Our churches, our schools, our communities and the country are enhanced by their presence and contributions. It is time that our immigration policy reflects their gifts to all of us.”

Recently released White House  Immigration Principles and Policies  outline changes in immigration policy to be considered alongside legislation to protect Dreamers. These principles take away trafficking protections for children, make it harder for people seeking protection to find refuge in our country, and reduce the ability of families to be unified. We urge Congress to reject these principles and instead pass legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers without creating policies that lead to family separation or crippling the ability for people to seek safety in our country.

Dismantling key pieces of our immigration system is not the way forward. No young person should have to choose between their own future and the safety of their family, friends or community.

As Christians, our call to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, and care for the sick comes from our desire to carry on Jesus’ faith and practice. With fewer than 6 months until thousands more lose protection, we renew our call to Members of Congress to pass legislation that protects Dreamers without harming other immigrants.

Learn more about the ELCA’s commitment to work toward just and humane policies affecting migrants in and outside the U.S. by visiting ELCA.org/AMMPARO

To learn more about Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service’s work with refugees and other vulnerable migrants visit LIRS.org.