(A version of this post previously appeared on the Huffington Post Impact blog – http://goo.gl/L3MtiH.)

New reports suggest climate change could push more than 100 million people into poverty in just the next 15 years.  “Climate change hits the poorest the hardest,” says World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, “and our challenge now is to protect tens of millions of people from falling into extreme poverty because of a changing climate.”

The impact is a “two-way street.” Climate change makes it harder for farmers to grow crops, on the one hand, and some farming practices, on the other hand, damage soil, pollute water supplies, and create harmful emissions. But change is happening in small farming communities around the world, especially in communities of faith.  Here are three ways poor communities around the globe are adapting to climate change with the support of ELCA World Hunger.

Cleaner Cooking

Ramoni Rani and her husband, Nor Uttam Hawlader, live in the village of Rajakhali in Bangladesh with their two sons. Like many Bangladeshi farmers, Ramoni and Nor use wood-burning stoves to cook food in their homes. The cost for fuel is steep, and the continued need for it threatens the country’s already-depleted forests. Ramoni, Nor and their children suffered from respiratory illnesses and eye problems because of the carbon emissions and smoke in their homes. In fact, a 2009 profile of Bangladesh from the World Health Organization found that indoor air pollution contributes to nearly 50,000 deaths every year.

“Bondhu chula,” a more efficient cookstove, was developed to combat some of these problems.  But many Bangladeshis have been reluctant to use them, mostly because they don’t know how.  Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh has stepped in by working with over 250 women to help them get familiar with the cookstoves and the positive impact they can have.  For Bangladeshis like Ramoni and Nor, efficient cooking in the home means better health and more money for themselves and a path away from deforestation for their rural community.

In this picture, a man holds biomass pellets similar to those that will be used in the project in Padhar.

Cleaner cooking also makes good economic sense for families in Padhar, India.  To address some of the problems older cookstoves create, Padhar Hospital is helping households get access to smokeless stoves that use biomass pellets. The program will not only train the people to use the stoves but will also help them turn their biomass into profit by providing it to a processing plant.  Since no such plant currently exists in Padhar, one will be built.  Thus the program will provide cleaner stoves, help residents earn income, and create jobs for people in Padhar, all while protecting the environment.

“Green-er” Coffee

Farmers in the Rachuonyo District of Homa Bay County in western Kenya know the daily realities of climate change.  They see it in the shortened periods of rainfall, prolonged dry seasons, and increased flooding that washes away valuable crops and seeds.

Most of the farmers in this region focus their attention and limited investment on subsistence farming, trying to grow enough food to feed their families but often not producing crops that they can use for income.  This leaves them with little savings to weather the kind of volatility that comes with climate change.  One bad season can mean a year of hunger for a smallholder farmer.

One group is working to change that.  Members of the smallholder famers’ collective group, APOKO, partnered with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) in 2014 to launch the Kinda Coffee project.  Farmers in the project learn how to maintain the nutrient levels in soil, prevent erosion and increase water retention at model demonstration plots.  This will not only help them increase their resilience to the droughts and flooding but will also help them protect the environment while earning a sustainable income.  Support for this project from ELCA World Hunger will continue into 2016 and will improve the quality of life for hundreds of households.

Smarter Farming

Thanks to the collective efforts of the last decade, over 90 percent of the world now has access to clean water.  Unfortunately, climate change threatens to undermine much of that progress. Longer, more intense droughts for farmers affect everything from what kinds of crops or animals they can raise to the yield they get from their fields.  When families are already teetering on the edge of poverty, these are serious risks.

But communities in Nicaragua and Bangladesh aren’t just waiting around for something to change.  They are adapting to the changes already sweeping their regions and doing what they can to steward their resources sustainably.

In Bangladesh, air pollution and deforestation aren’t the only problems.  The country faces huge disparities in access to safe water, and more work is needed to provide irrigation to the agriculture industry that employs nearly half of the labor force.  RDRS, a locally-run associate program of the Lutheran World Federation, is helping train farmers in Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), a technique that can reduce by up to 30% the amount of water needed to grow rice.  As a result, they are able to preserve groundwater and reduce risk of contaminating their crops with unsafe water.  And some studies indicate that AWD can actually increase the yields from rice fields, so the process is a win-win.

With an abundance of water on the ground and under the ground, Nicaragua seems like a place where there is enough to go around.  But a 2014 drought – the worst in the country in 40 years – reduced crop yields by more than 70%.  In the area of Somotillo, most of the wells ran dry, and the people worry about another drought down the road.  “In this place,” Pastor Gerzan Alvarez of the Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope (ILFE) in Nicaragua says, “we’re only able to survive.”

With support from LWF and ELCA World Hunger, ILFE is taking steps to manage the crisis.  Since the drought, the community has improved wells in the area, led trainings in proper water usage and management, set up irrigation systems, and planted yard gardens.  Pastor Emperatriz Velasques of ILFE says now, “Each day we’re learning about nature’s behavior, and we need to keep on working and teaching so we can grow our crops with the little water we have and keep home gardens with water from our wells.  This way, we can provide food for the households.”

Policy changes that reduce emissions and change the way we relate to the environment are necessary, long-range solutions to a changing climate, and the recent agreements about climate change and hunger give some hope.  But there is also a lot we can learn from those on the margins, in local communities throughout the world.  In Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Nicaragua, families are doing what they can to protect their environment and make themselves less vulnerable to the changes that are still to come.

Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is program director of Hunger Education with ELCA World Hunger.  He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ELCAworldhunger

John Hougen, Elkins Park, PA

Warm-up Question

In one minute, how many examples can you list of underdogs beating the odds in sports or politics or entertainment? In the next minute, list unlikely heroes and contributors to the common good: people you know or have heard about who were thought to be ordinary, but then did something extraordinary, showing great generosity, talent, compassion, or courage. End by naming people you know who have “hidden talents,” people who have the ability to do something extraordinary, but are not yet recognized.

God’s Odd Choices

Today, the forces of evil (e.g. illness and death, cruelty, war, violence, hatred, and fear) seem to have the upper hand in our world, in our country, and in too many neighborhoods and homes. Those who contribute to the common good and give us hope that good will prevail, often emerge from obscurity, beat the odds with courage and tenacity, and surprise the world with their success. They are God’s odd choices.

Personally, I waver between pessimism and optimism that good will ever overcome evil. Keeping up with current events pushes me toward pessimism. The media is saturated with news of epidemics, poverty, hatred, and violence. Plus, everyone I know knows several others who are hurting emotionally or physically or are afflicted with life-shattering mental illness or addiction: problems that afflict the wealthy and the poor, strong families and broken families, children, youth, and adults.

My work pushes me in the other direction: toward optimism. I am blessed to be in contact with people and organizations that I firmly believe are God’s allies, inspired by the Holy Spirit (who, in my world-view, inspires Christians and non-Christians alike) to address the root causes of violence, overcome hatred with respect, and relieve suffering with acts of compassion. Knowing them makes me optimistic that the world will not spiral down into irretrievable chaos.

If pessimism is on one end of the spectrum and optimism is on the other, I am near the middle. I’m not wildly optimistic because the power of evil seems so great; but I locate myself slightly off center, toward the optimistic side, because I see so many people of good will helping others, doing their best to make flawed institutions better, and creating a better life for themselves.

Discussion Questions

• Do you agree that God’s spirit “inspires Christians and non-Christians alike”?
• Do you believe people from diverse races, cultures, religions, and socio-economic circumstances share the values necessary to work together for a common good?
• What are the chances good will win out over evil? What personal experiences have contributed to your optimism or pessimism?

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Micah 5:2-5a

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45 [46-55]

(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

Today we are considering God’s choice of Mary to be the mother of Jesus, and whether you and I might also be chosen to be God’s allies, to partner with God in saving the world. Mary was “perplexed” when the angel announced to her she was God’s choice to bear his child. She couldn’t understand how this could happen or how someone as young and insignificant as she was could do anything really important.

Luke reports that a few days after Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18), she went with haste to visit her relative, Elizabeth. The Lutheran Study Bible suggests that she went “with haste” because she was (probably) thirteen years old and (certainly) afraid she would be severely punished, even stoned to death, for becoming pregnant before she was married. She had to get out of town, and fast!

After Elizabeth greets her, Mary responds with the “Magnificat” (Latin for “magnifies”): “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

This is an extraordinary song because it was sung

• 2,000+ years ago;
• in the boonies (a “town in the hill country”)
• “of Judea” (a tiny territory at the far eastern edge of the Roman Empire)
• by one of the oppressed citizens in that occupied territory;
• who was a pregnant thirteen year old,
• running away from home.
  

In her song, Mary proclaims that, though she has no worldly status, (see bullet points above), God has “looked with favor” on her and “done great things” for her. She feels privileged and sings these words in spite of the fact that God’s odd choice of her to be the mother of the Messiah has brought shame to her family, alienated her fiancé (Matthew 1:18-19), and put her life in danger. We also know the rest of the story: God’s “favor” will cause Mary tremendous sorrow and suffering some thirty years later. Her beloved child will become a wanted man, a tortured man, a man dying a cruel death in front of her eyes. Life would have been easier for Mary and for many others called by God, if God had just left them alone. We learn from Mary’s experience that God’s favor does not shield us from suffering and pain.

Mary ends her song in Luke 1 verse 55 by stating her conviction that all God’s saving actions, including asking her to be the mother of the Messiah, are meant to fulfill “the promise God made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (God’s promises to Abraham are found in Genesis 12:1-2, and 28:13-15).

Mary thinks she will be remembered in the company of Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Miriam, David, Bathsheba, and Jeremiah. She believes that, just as God enabled each of them to rise above their situations in life to do something extraordinary, so she will be enabled to take on the challenges God sets before her.

Mary understood that if she did her part, did what God called her to do, God would find a way to make her contribution fit with the contributions of others, all working together to bring God’s mercy and justice to the world. Somehow, God would enable her to have a part in bringing down the haughty and the proud: those who have riches and power but lack humility and compassion. God would enable her to have a part in lifting up the suffering and oppressed. Somehow she would be involved in blessing the lowly both spiritually and materially, bringing them hope, freedom, healing, prosperity, and peace.

Discussion Questions

• Are you one of God’s odd choices? If not, what makes you less qualified than Mary was? If so, do you believe, as Mary did, that if you do your part, God will enable you to make an important contribution to God’s work in the world?
• What opportunities is God giving you (right now) to participate in bringing down the haughty and / or lifting up the suffering and oppressed?
• More than 40 years ago, Frederick Buechner wrote about “vocation”: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” (Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, p. 95) Ten years from now, what can you imagine you could be doing that would place you where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet?

Activity Suggestions

• Read the other texts assigned for this day (Micah 5:2–5a; Psalm 80:1–7; and Hebrews 10:5–10). Working in pairs, note which verses in these three texts make a point similar to a teaching in today’s Gospel reading (Luke 1: 39-55). Then, pair the pairs so you are now in a group of four, and compare your notes. Explain why you think these texts teach similar lessons (or why not).
• Write your own “magnificat,” (individually or as a group). Compose a song, poem, or prayer of praise and thanksgiving for God’s role in your own life. Include examples of how you have experienced “God’s favor” in spite of your “lowliness.” Include examples of the “great things God has done for you” or that you know God has done for others, recently and in the past.

Closing Prayer

A prayer attributed to Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Looking for Lenten activities for the home and the church? This is just one sample from 40 Days of Giving, a devotional flip calendar that features leaders in the ELCA reflecting on what it means to be Church in a hungry world. Accompanying this devotional is a six-week study guide that your congregation can use to dig deeper during this season of reflection, repentance and hope. Sign up at www.ELCA.org/40days. You can download the weekly sessions and other resources at http://www.ELCA.org/Resources/Campaign-for-the-ELCA.

Bryan Jaster, Winchester, VA

Warm-up Question

What’s the largest fire you’ve ever seen?  Did anything bad or good result?

Fire the Seeds to Bear Fruit

By now most of us get it, or have at least heard it: fires are good for the forest. But what does that mean? University of Minnesota forest ecologist Lee Frelich can help. He explains what the Boundary Waters Canoe Area would look like if fire were somehow completely controlled for the last century. The short answer: a sea of half-dead Christmas trees.

“You would get essentially a sea of Balsam Fir, then the budworm would come, and it goes out and kind of kills half the trees,” Frelich explains. “So you’d have this kind of crappy, half-dead forest which is full of brush and branches and which is not very attractive for people or wildlife.”

But that is really just explaining why an absence of fire can be bad. One fascinating and little known piece of the fire ecology puzzle are the species of trees that actually fire dependent. The Jack Pine has closed cones that only open to release their seeds when waxes on the cone melt in the heat of a fire.

“Camping in the Boundary Waters,” Frelich says, “I’ve taken twigs with cones on them from the forest floor and put them next to the campfire. They are exposed to the heat and they wait 10 or 20 minutes, then they pop open. The next morning you can shake that twig and the seeds will fall out. They are kind of programmed to wait a little bit, you know, because if the seeds fall directly into the fire, they’ll be consumed.

“The seeds fall over the next few days, so they’re likely to land on a forest floor that is no longer on fire. In the case of the jack pine, the seeds germinate much better if the leaf litter has been burned away. Jack Pine, in fact, has drier foliage than other species of trees which makes it easier for a fire to run through Jack Pine. It is almost as if they purposely promote fire.”

There is a whole system in the BWCA, Frelich says, that is adapted to fire. Another wonder of fire ecology: Bicknell’s Geranium. Its seeds will only germinate in sunlight. Buried under leaf litter, the seeds just wait for it to be burned away. After the 2006 Cavity Lake Fire in the BWCA, which burned 32,000 acres, the wild geraniums were everywhere. “That site had last burned in 1801,” Frelich says. “Those were 200-year-old seeds germinating.”

For full article:  https://www.minnpost.com/intelligencer/2011/09/why-forest-fires-are-good-and-amazing 

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever thought of a forest fire as being a force for good?  Why?  Have you seen a forest fire?  If so, where?
• What would happen if all forest fires were extinguished as quickly as possible?
• Should we intentionally start fires in forests or allow forest fires to come naturally?  Why?

Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

(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

Ok John the Baptist – is this really good news?

People come to John to be baptized, which sounds like a pretty normal thing to do, and John calls them a “brood of vipers (snakes)”.  Imagine if you or someone else asked to be baptized and your pastor said “You are a bunch of snakes!”   Crazy talk.

In this story the crowds – aka the outsiders – are attracted to something John is saying. Rather than bolt when John describes the need to bear fruit worthy of repentance and warns that trees not bearing good fruit will be thrown into the fire, they stay and ask an important question: “What should we do?”

When forests get overgrown and stagnant they need fire for seeds to sprout and new trees to grow   People need God’s judgement to burn and turn us away from self-centered lives into lives that bear fruit and love like Jesus in the world.

So, John’s response after pronouncing Fire is to call the crowds to go and bear Fruit.

To the crowds – Share a coat and food.
To the tax collectors – Collect no more than you need.
To the soldiers – Don’t extort, be fair.

Do these things because Jesus is coming and he is even more powerful than I am, John says.  He is able after the fire has done its work to remove the chaff – the leftover yuck – and gather the wheat, the new fruit.  This is good news.

Discussion Questions

• Would you have stayed to continue to listen to John if you were part of the crowd he called “brood of vipers?”  Is there someone in your life you would rather not listen to?
• Is it difficult to think of God’s judgment as something “good”?  Doesn’t Jesus say “don’t judge”? When have you or someone you know had something bad or a bit of judgment come that ultimately was good?
• What is something in your life that needs to be removed or “burned” away?    What is something in our world that needs to be judged by God?

Activity Suggestions

Grab markers, paint, crayons and big poster sheets.

Make a big poster Advent wish list.  Draw or make lists of as many items you could give away or share like food, clothes, time with someone, possessions and anything you can think of.

Each person pick one item they will do this week. Next week come back and tell the story of what you did to respond.

Closing Prayer

God Fire and Fruit, Help us to listen to you when you have words that seem harsh to us.  Give us the gift of judgment and the call to respond as we prepare for Jesus to come.  Thank you for people like John who tell and show good news in the world.  Give us courage to do the things we have promised this week and to bear fruit today.  Amen!