We continue the Washington state leg of the “Advocating on the Road” series…

Tammy Nguyen is a second generation Vietnamese American and a single mother, whose life’s work grew out of what she experienced while receiving WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutrition benefits. When Tammy learned she could redeem WIC benefits at farmers markets (through the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program) in her state, she started exploring farmers markets in Seattle with her children. “I knew it would be so hard to feed my child nutritiously because I didn’t make enough money on my own. Through the WIC program, I was able to feed my children the healthy food from the farmers markets. So often, this type of eating is a luxury — low income people can’t usually buy fresh produce grown locally.”

After she and her children transitioned off the WIC program, Tammy began to focus her energies on ensuring that other low income children had access to nutritious food. She began working with a local nonprofit, Got Green, a grassroots group in the Seattle area led by young adults and people of color that promotes an equitable, green economy.

Got Green recently surveyed low income women and women of color in Seattle on a variety of issues, and learned that 40 percent of them put access to healthy food as their first priority. Tammy came away from this process thinking, “How can we put more food dollars into low-income families’ pockets?” and, reflecting on her own experiences, advised that Got Green make the preservation of Washington’s WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program an advocacy priority. 

The Farmers Market Nutrition Program is a state and federally funded nutrition program that helps provide low-income WIC households and senior citizens access to locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables. Lutheran advocates in Washington are longtime supporters of the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs because of the critical role they play in alleviating hunger in the state, in supporting local farmers and growers, and in stimulating the local economy.

In the 2012 session of the Washington state legislature, the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs were on the block to be eliminated due to the harsh budget climate in the state. “We worked to organize throughout the community and we wrote to our legislators to tell them how important the program was to Washington families,” Tammy describes. “And we brought women who had been served by the program to Olympia to speak to elected officials and their staff. They needed to hear directly from families how devastating the cuts would be.”

Assisted by Lutheran advocates within the Faith Action Network in Washington, the Got Green group met with various officials and left informational material behind in the offices of staff with whom they were unable to meet. “The meetings went very well and, ultimately, the program was saved and it still exists today. At the time we didn’t know what would happen and we were so relieved when the program made it out of both the State House and Senate budgets, then into the final budget the governor signed,” she said.

These victories cause Tammy to reflect on why she became involved in advocacy in her home state. “I was so tired of seeing lawmakers bypass us — low-income, immigrant families. In order to reform this pattern, I had to be at the front. I had to get my community to move with me and I had to make sure my voice is heard by our lawmakers.”

In Washington state and in Washington, D.C., the decisions by lawmakers affect the vibrancy of our farms and communities, as well as the ability for everyone to obtain healthy food.  Click here to learn more about how to urge our federal lawmakers for strong food and farm policy now.

Lutherans and other Christians in Washington understand that strong public policy can help ensure that all people in our state have access to fresh food. Many of us are longtime advocates of the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, important government-funded initiatives that provide low-income WIC households and seniors access to locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables.

Funded by federal and state dollars, the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs allow WIC and senior nutrition program participants to redeem their benefits at farmers markets throughout the state of Washington. In doing so, the use of farmers markets, farm stores, and community supported agriculture programs is expanded and the sale of Washington-grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs increases. This comprehensive model is a “win-win” for our state because it helps alleviate hunger and improves health for participating low-income Washingtonians, it supports Washington growers, and it helps boost our local economy and create jobs. In fact, nine out of every ten dollars invested in this program by the government or spent by a participating consumer stays in the local Washington economy.

Here in Washington, members of the Faith Action Network (a faith-inspired statewide partnership, which grew out of the former Lutheran Public Policy Office) have been leaders in the state capital advocating for expanding the program, securing the electronic benefits transfer card system in our farmers markets, and — in the past few years — working to preserve a budget line for it in the state budget. Lutherans and other people of faith throughout the state are educating their congregations on these programs, encouraging growers and WIC and senior beneficiaries to testify at committee hearings and meeting with legislators. Advocates for the programs also urge their legislators to visit one of the 180 local farmers markets in approximately 80 communities and see the program’s direct benefits (there are 180 such markets in Washington in about 80 cities/towns/neighborhoods).

Washington has a $32 billion two-year budget, which includes $100,000 for the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs. This relatively small sum in turn leverages $900,000 of federal funding for the programs. Like many states, Washington faces severe budgetary problems and important programs — like the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs — risk being cut. Lutheran advocates and other people of faith throughout Washington work to defend this hugely important and effective program from elimination. In essence, the grassroots voices — including those from our ELCA congregations — will be crucial in ensuring the continuity of this “win-win” program. Lutherans and other people of faith need to continue to speak out in protection of this program that helps struggling households with young children and seniors to purchase locally grown fruit and vegetables that, in turn, supports local growers and the local economy. 

I give thanks to God for our church’s commitment to alleviating hunger through advocacy supported by ELCA World Hunger. In Washington state and in Washington, D.C., the decisions by lawmakers affect the vibrancy of our farms and communities, as well as the ability for everyone to obtain healthy food.  Click here to learn more about how to urge our federal lawmakers for strong food and farm policy now. 

By Chloe Strasser

As a young daughter of an ELCA missionary and a global health professional in Zambia, I grew up in a community that was forced to confront the crushing realities of HIV and AIDS every day.  Zambia is one of the poorest nations in the world and has one of the highest HIV and AIDS infection rates in southern Africa. Poverty, gender-based violence, lack of education and stigma precipitate high infection rates, AIDS-related deaths and AIDS orphans. 

I have seen members of my own church severely and visibly ill, villagers struggling to get antiretroviral medication they need to survive, and people denying themselves life-saving treatment to avoid the stigma too often attached to people living with HIV or AIDS.  Even traffic in my neighborhood was a reminder of the pandemic; my family’s weekend commutes in Lusaka, Zambia, were regularly disrupted by the floods of funeral cars en route to the cemetery where mourners grieved the loss of friends and family members to the virus.  I have volunteered with and served young generations affected and infected with HIV and AIDS for years.  I volunteered with children orphaned by HIV and AIDS, many of whom had themselves been infected with the virus at birth. 

Now a student at the University of California, Irvine, and an advocacy summer intern in the ELCA Washington Office in Washington, D.C., I experienced traffic of a different sort: our nation’s capital bustling with the 20,000 visitors from around the world attending the International AIDS Conference and coalescing under a much more hopeful banner – to work toward an AIDS-Free Generation. Thanks to technological and political advances, this hope is more promising than I ever imagined as I was caring for this young, affected generation in southern Africa. Of course, this goal of an AID-Free generation will only be met if countries, donors and civil society around the world join together to garner political will and increase financial investment in treatment, prevention, care and stigma reduction.

I saw this political will being cultivated this summer in the crowded auditoriums at the International AIDS Conference and in the halls of Congress, where I met with Senate and House of Representatives staff who are global health experts and are working to reallocate U.S. budget commitments so more money is dedicated to global health. I was encouraged to learn that many senators and representatives do care about those affected by HIV and AIDS around the world.

Yet I still feel as though the faces of the HIV and AIDS virus – those orphaned children, abused women and infected families – those faces that are a part of my daily life in Zambia – are being forgotten. The International AIDS Conference’s  optimism to “turn the tide” on AIDS was countered by a troubling decrease in funding from countries all over the world, including the United States, to the Global Fund and other programs that fight HIV and AIDS. And I’ve already seen the ramifications of these funding reductions in Zambia, where AIDS-related programs are being cut, staff experts laid off, and essential heath supplies diminishing. 

As a Lutheran, I will not be complacent in this fight against HIV and AIDS. I will continue to urge the U.S. government to sustain and strengthen funding for strong, comprehensive HIV and AIDS programs. I will continue to heed Jesus’ call to serve, to heal and to care for those in need without judgment. I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to join with people from all over the world at the International AIDS Conference to fight the pandemic. And I am thankful for this global opportunity to turn the tide on HIV and AIDS. I pray that the young AIDS-affected generation for whom I have cared may be Zambia’s last.

We close this chapter of the “Advocating on the Road” series (where we explored Lutheran responses to HIV and AIDS in Washington, D.C.) with this blog piece.

Like ELCA members we’ve heard from in Washington, D.C., ELCA members across the United States — and Lutherans around the world — are working for an HIV and AIDS-free society. Lutherans everywhere share a hope that this virus, which has now claimed over 25 million lives worldwide can and will be defeated.

Lutherans are actively working to halt the spread of HIV (through effective prevention, treatment and care), eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by those who are HIV-positive, and reduce the conditions of poverty that contribute to the spread of the virus. Many ELCA congregations hold an annual Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. Bishops of various ELCA synods organize educational programs for members in their area. Lutherans have discussed the pandemic and response at multiple ELCA Global Mission Gatherings and HIV and AIDS-specific regional events. Many congregations use ELCA World Hunger resources — like this one — to educate themselves on the connections among poverty, hunger and diseases, like HIV and AIDS. Church partnerships and support from ELCA World Hunger assist many HIV and AIDS-related ministries in African and Latin American countries, and the ELCA also funds significant work through The Lutheran World Federation (a global communion of 140 churches — including the ELCA — and 68 million people that are grounded in a common Lutheran faith). And this month alone, hundreds of ELCA members have written their member of Congress, asking them to prioritize investment in maximizing HIV infection prevention as well as the impact of HIV and AIDS treatment, at home and abroad.

As advocates, we cannot tire of this important work. While it’s understandable to feel discouraged by the severity, we must remember that advocacy efforts have spurred victories in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. U.S. travel restrictions on persons living with HIV and AIDS have been lifted; substantial progress has been made in prevention education; drugs can now prolong contraction of AIDS, giving millions of parents, children, partners and spouses, siblings and friends more precious time with their loved ones. Yet we know there is significant work left to be done.

On numerous occasions, Scripture lifts up Jesus as a healer. Even today, Jesus’ healing includes curing, but also saving, forgiving, reconciling and triumphing over the grave itself. As Christians, we need to continually proclaim this healing presence of Christ, while working — with our hands and our voices — to alleviate suffering and restore peace and dignity. Lutherans must be fervent advocates for policy that funds both research and relief, and addresses the underlying poverty that contributes to the perpetuation of HIV and AIDS in many parts of the world. Lutherans must be outspoken voices of welcome and inclusion in our congregations and our larger society. As Lutherans, we must tackle the virus — and its stigma — wherever it exists, looking past the disease and seeing a valued, important, beloved neighbor and child of God.

Below are links to blogs written by young Lutheran (ELCA and Lutheran World Federation) delegates at the International AIDS Conference.  Click to read their thoughts on HIV and AIDS and their reflections of the Conference.

We’re grateful for each of their unique voices.

 

– Ryan Thoreson, Trinity Church in Boston.

Dignity, Health, and Justice at the Interfaith Preconference: http://elcaworldhunger.ning.com/forum/topics/dignity-health-and-justice-at-the-interfaith-preconference
 

– Jessi Erickson, Faith Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia

The Untold Story: Part One- Youth Reflection from the IAC: http://elcaworldhunger.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-untold-story-part-one-youth-reflection-from-the-iac?xg_source=activity

Part Two: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/31/the-untold-story-part-two/

 

– Victora Mumbula, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia

Let Us Put an End to HIV Stigma!- Victoria’s Story: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/26/let-us-put-an-end-to-hiv-stigma-victorias-story/

 

– Aina Sheethini, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nambia

People of faith, take action!  Twitter for Access to ARV: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/26/people-of-faith-take-action-twitter-for-access-to-arv/

 

– Hannah Ball-Brau, Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C.

HIV status just one part of someone’s identity: http://lwfyouth.org/2012/07/29/hiv-status-just-one-part-of-someones-identity/

This piece is part of the Washington, D.C. installment of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series. 

By the time the Centers for Disease Control first used the acronym AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) in the fall of 1982, the disease was already heavily stigmatized in the United States. Reports of the disease were mounting weekly, and the public was becoming increasingly aware of the linkage to gay men and intravenous drug users — groups that were already stigmatized. While the medical community searched for definitive evidence on what caused the disease and how it was transmitted (and elected officials, including President Reagan, remained silent in the face of a growing epidemic), many Americans responded to the disease with fear and judgment.

It was during this uncertainty that Karin Klingman — a member of Christ Lutheran, an ELCA congregation in Washington, D.C.—was beginning her medical career as a resident physician. Now an infectious disease doctor and involved in clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, Karin felt compelled to work with HIV and AIDS patients in the early 1980s when “nobody wanted to touch them and yet somebody needed to be caring for them.” She says, “I’ve always had a great deal of compassion for these patients — they were always a marginalized group: the gay men whose families didn’t come to visit them; the IV drug users whose lives were a mess; and other people who were shocked to be dealing with the life-threatening disease they didn’t expect to get.” Since then, Karin has devoted her career to working with HIV and AIDS patients and, since coming to the National Institutes of Health, being involved in research that focuses on treatments for HIV-infected people.

Outside of work, Karin engages members of her congregation and other Lutherans and Christians in D.C. to tackle stigmatization and serve those living with the disease. “The D.C. area has a special need to focus on HIV and AIDS and try to get the prevalence rate down,” she says. “We can do a lot as a church to welcome marginalized people, make them feel whole.”

Most recently Karin has been a leader within Lutheran Grace, a group of Lutherans in the D.C. region who are committed to reducing the stigma of HIV and AIDS, as they participate in the 2012 International AIDS Conference currently taking place in Washington, D.C. They are a strong Lutheran presence at the Global Village, and the only church denomination with a booth in this diverse space where people from all over the world meet, share and learn from one another. Through the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod, Lutheran Grace has recruited volunteers and church members from all over the synod and other regions to create prayer cards for their booth in the Global Village. “It’s been phenomenal the way people have embraced this. We never expected this response, and I couldn’t have expected more than what they’ve done,” Karin says.

When asked what she has learned about working with HIV and AIDS professionally and within her congregation, Karin responds, “I’ve seen that people don’t realize they should worry about HIV unless they’ve been personally affected. Once you start talking about it, they start to understand stigma and how that makes living with the disease so much worse. I think the church should commit itself to being inclusive and welcoming to people with HIV and AIDS and not judge what they’ve done or why they’ve gotten the disease.

“Unless we’re compassionate about the disease, it’s never going to go away — people won’t be tested and people won’t take drugs because they’re scared of being identified. We won’t be able to combat the disease. We have to keep talking about it; people in the church are receptive to learning. I think the church is a good place to talk about it — we are supposed to welcome all people.”

Keep checking back for more updates on the “Advocating on the Road” series.  Look for more blogs on HIV and AIDS in Washington, D.C. and beyond in the coming days.

We close the Colorado leg of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series with this prayer by two local ELCA pastors, the Rev. Susan Candea and the Rev. Matt Converse

God of creation,
the mountains declare your majesty,
the trees reach up to give you praise,
the rivers and lakes proclaim your glory as they flow through the land,
the incredible diversity of creation sings your sovereignty and splendor,
And over all this beloved creation, you have called us to be faithful  stewards. Yet we have not been faithful to you, to your creation, to our own identities  and roles in creation. And so we pray:

Give us the gift of discontentment; discontentment with the way things are.
Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear the injustice and brokenness in our world.
Make us discontent with the disproportionate harm environmental racism does to    countless communities;
Make us discontent with the unsustainable way we continue to use the world’s     resources,
Make us discontent with the inequitable way those resources are distributed,
Make us discontent with all the ways we fall short in stewarding your precious creation.
Let our discontentment turn to longing; longing for a better world.
Longing for a world where diversity is celebrated and burdens are shared equally,
Longing for a world that wisely uses renewable resources like solar and wind,
Longing for a world where none shall have need in the midst of abundance,
Longing for a sustainable world.
Turn our longing into hope; a hope of transformation for us and the world.
A hope we find in the story of liberation from slavery in Egypt;
A hope found in the imagination of the prophets;
A hope found in the new community created in the life, death and resurrection of    Jesus;
A hope found in the re-imaging of the world and community of Paul’s letters;
A hope found everywhere the church accompanies the oppressed and marginalized.
May this hope bring real and sustainable change so creation may once again sing out with your glory. Amen

 

This piece is part of the Minnesota installment of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series.

By Inyene Ekah,
Senior director for employment services,  Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota

I love helping people and was drawn to employment services, because in addition to helping, employment services also empower people to provide for themselves.  At Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, our goal is to move people from public assistance to self-sufficiency.   I have spent the last five years working with this population and have seen the impact of various public policies both at the state and federal level on these individuals and their families.  Through advocacy, we can help shape these policies that meet immediate needs, help people reach self-sufficiency, and shatter cycles of poverty.  

When provisions of the Minnesota Family Investment Program and related programs were recently highlighted for changes at the state legislature, our office saw first-hand how women, men, and children would suffer if assistance were restricted or impeded. 

Some lawmakers called for routine drug screenings for participants to be eligible for Minnesota Family Investment Program assistance.  While many of the people who come to Lutheran Social Services do not have a drug history, there are those who do have this  history some more recent than others and with varying severity. 

One woman comes to mind — she was a middle-class individual living the American Dream, until her personal issues interfered with her professional life.  This woman was working in a hospital as a registered nurse and had some problems with prescription drugs.  This resulted in losing her job and her house, and soon she was applying for Minnesota Family Investment Program assistance.  She was a single mother of three children. Because of the assistance through the Minnesota Family Investment Program, she was able to move to an apartment with her family and use the cash benefit to pay for rent and the food portion to feed her family.

If this mother had been denied this assistance, as a result of a positive drug test, the impact on her family would have been even more devastating. She was able to keep a roof over her head and feed her family in spite of the personal challenges she was experiencing because the program works.  Her life will be restored because of the temporary assistance given to her and she is on her way to working again and leaving assistance. 

Public programs, like the Minnesota Family Investment Program, should serve as a safety net for people in need, no matter how the need came about.  The need exists, therefore assistance must exist.  My experiences have led me to believe that these types of programs should be available for all who need it.

This piece is part of the Minnesota installment of the “Advocating on the Road” blog series.

Minnesotan Julia Dinsmore has known poverty all of her life and is no stranger to homelessness. Her childhood was marked by frequent moves, chaos and episodes of violence — her mother struggled with mental illness, her father with alcoholism. As an adult, she has struggled to support herself and her three sons through insurmountable medical needs and expenses. “My dream is to earn enough money so I can get myself situated and help my kids and grandkids,” she says.

Julia uses her gifts in creative storytelling, music and poetry to educate others on the effects of poverty. Below is a link to a video presentation of her poem, “My Name is Not ‘Those People’”, which speaks to the importance of remembering the human stories and realities behind issues that are often looked at solely through a policy lens. 

As Christians, we must continually ask ourselves what was asked of Christ: “Who is my neighbor?” We must also ask ourselves, do I think of my neighbor as “the other”? Does my voice, and my vote, build a wall between myself and “those people”?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQWbkVqZKeo&feature=youtu.be

We close the Pennsylvania installment of the “Advocating on the Road” series with this reflection.

A reflection by The Rev. Paul L. Lubold,

Western PA Advocacy Developer, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa)

 

We hope you enjoyed your “visit” to Pennsylvania, and the discussion offracking.  Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) thanks you for visiting us in the “Keystone State,” although Pennsylvania is technically not a “state,” but a “commonwealth.” We are, as William Penn described us, a “grand experiment.”  While the Rev. Amy Reumann was the ‘tour guide’ that got us going, this leg of the ELCA “Advocating on the Road” blog series  was greatly enriched by the interaction of grassroots leaders along the way and we’re grateful for their voices.

I invite you to share in this closing prayer as we leave Pennsylvania, and move on to our next destination.

Creator God, we are among your creatures, recognizing the responsibility you have entrusted to us – as ‘stewards’ and ‘caretakers’ of this planet we call home.  Our current conversation about frackingis both complex and divisive.  It is also of great importance. 

Bless us as we continue to discuss and learn.  Grant us courage to listen to opinions that are different from ours, and openness to see things from another’s point of view.

Allow your faithful people to remember our central identity– our salvation through Jesus Christ – and to gather around his cross, recognizing that our different convictions ought not divide us.

May we more closely resemble the biblical image of “lions and lambs resting together,” rather than opposing forces waging battle.

Hear our prayers.– .for those trying to earn a “sustainable wage” in the petroleum industry, 

for those who live in close proximity, or ‘downstream’ from drilling, 

and for our elected officials as they seek the good of the “Commonwealth” of Pennsylvania and our larger nation.

And for leaders of the faith communities, as the ELCA joins with other church bodies, seeking to discern your holy will. 

AMEN