Jason Fisher, Champaign, IL

Warm-up Question

Share a story of someone who pointed out the potential they saw in you. Who is someone you could help to see their own giftedness?

Seeing Possibility

Yvonne Shortt is an artist who uses grasses, clay, moss, and other natural materials to create beautiful sculptures of people’s heads.  Slowly over time Yvonne began losing her eyesight because of a rare genetic disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. Her story is part of a documentary called Adapt-Ability by filmmaker James Robinson which highlights how her limitations are really a gift to her art. Not being able to see well heightens her other senses and gives her greater compassion for the people she meets. When working on a project with clay Yvonne says, “I make a face of a little girl, and I make that face for hours until I feel her breathing.”

Discussion Questions

• When have you experienced loss and how did affect the way you lived?
• How can our pain or limitations foster greater compassion for others?
• How can creating art through our struggle breathe life into other people?

Fourth Sunday in Lent

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

The disciples ask Jesus, “Who sinned?” Their focus is on the sin or what appears to be broken, instead of on the potential hope of healing that God offers. Jesus is quick to point that out: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”  He was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. When meeting those who are struggling, Jesus challenges the disciples away from fault finding and towards a hope that says, “God is still at work and will be revealed through this person.”

The Pharisees and teachers of the law seem to see only broken rules instead of broken people. When the man born blind speaks the truth about what Jesus did, it doesn’t fit with the Pharisees worldview.  So they lash out at him instead of giving praise and glory of God for his healing. They were quick to point out the problem with healing on the sabbath instead of being excited this man could now see. In frustration they respond, “We know this man is a sinner.” 

This becomes a way for them to give up on the man born blind and quickly dismiss  his experience.  Jesus reminds them that God isn’t done with anyone yet and if they are so certain they know this man, then their own sin remains. Jesus teaches the disciples that presuming certainty about a person and their experience isn’t his followers’ mission. Today Jesus still calls his disciples to embrace healing that opens up endless possibilities for God’s work to be revealed in the world.

Discussion Questions

• When have you been certain of something, only to find out later you were wrong?
• How would it change your perception of the people you meet if you saw them as being born so that God’s work might be revealed through them?
• Who needs you to see past their brokenness to the hopeful possibilities God has in store for them?

Activity Suggestions

• Think of a time of loss or pain in your own life.  Create some artwork based on that experience. Create a poem, a painting, a song, or a dance related to what you felt. Then share that work with others who have had similar struggles.
• It is easy to assume that someone born blind wants to see, or that someone born unable to walk wants to walk.  That is not always the case. Get to know someone with a disability and ask them what their hopes and dreams are for the future. Then ask them what kinds of justice projects would help them feel more included in their neighborhood and in society in general.

Closing Prayer

God of all healing and wholeness, keep our eyes open to the work you are doing in each person. Keep us blind to what others can’t do and instead allow us to see like Jesus the holy potential in each person we meet. Amen.

 

Session 3 — Psalm 95

“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” —Psalm 95:3

Let’s get this out of the way: Psalm 95 is a weird psalm. It’s so odd, in fact, that choosing a single verse to use as an epigram for this session was difficult. Yet even from its most perplexing language we might still be able to glean insights that help us better understand the work of God in the world.

In The Social Visions of the Hebrew Bible: A Theological Introduction (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000), J. David Pleins describes how many of the psalms, including Psalm 95, appear to have been used as parts of liturgy during worship and festivals. This psalm, in particular, appears to be the first in a series (95-99) grouped together as “psalms of God as king.” Each offers lofty praise of God, often in language that would have been used to praise a human king.

Psalm 95 opens with praise of God as the creator of the “depths of the earth . . . the mountains . . . the sea . . . and the dry land” (verses 4-5). The psalmist calls the people to “worship and bow down” before the Lord (verse 6). We might imagine the first half of the psalm being used to call the people to a worship ceremony celebrating the work of God the Creator and the majesty of God the King.

What’s perplexing about the psalm is that, right after these verses, the tone of the psalm changes abruptly. After this exuberant call to worship the Creator-King, the voice and theme shift. After verse 8, the speaker is no longer the psalmist but God, the tone not one of celebration and praise but of chastisement and threat. “Do not harden your hearts,” God says, or like your ancestors before you, you “shall not enter my rest” (verses 8, 11). The change is so abrupt that many scholars believe the psalm is two different pieces (verses 1-7 and 8-11) that got mashed together. The difference is so stark that one can hardly discern a single theme for the whole psalm.

Regardless of why these two pieces might have been joined, some of the psalm’s references tie it both to earlier Hebrew Scriptures and to later Christian Scriptures, such as Hebrews 3:1-4:11. One of the closest ties is its mention of the incident at Meribah or Massah, where, the psalm relates, “the people hardened their hearts against God, rupturing the relationship for forty years” (verse 10).

So, what happened there?

The story of Meribah/Massah is recounted in two places in the Bible: Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. Moses has led the people out of slavery in Egypt. In the first months, they reach the wilderness of Sin (Exodus 17:1) or Zin (Numbers 20:1), which was between Elim and Mount Sinai. From there, they journey and camp in stages. Upon arriving at one site (the Exodus and Numbers accounts differ), the people confront Moses and Aaron. They have been walking in the wilderness for weeks. They’re tired and hungry, and now there is no water. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” they complain to Moses (Exodus 17:3). Moses pleads with God, who instructs him to go ahead of the people with some of the elders of the community and, with his staff, to strike a rock, out of which water will flow.

The Hebrews in the wilderness knew then what we know today: without water, there is no life, whether they were enslaved or free. We can imagine their desperation and frustration, perhaps even their anger. What is this new “life” that they are led to, without food or water?

Scarcity of water affects nearly every aspect of a community’s life. Without water, adequate food cannot be grown. Without water, food cannot be washed or handled safely, so there is an increased risk of disease. Without adequate water nearby, people — typically women and girls — must travel miles to get what they need each day. Without water, the threat of violent conflict increases as people fight over this scarce resource. The risks of hunger, poverty, disease, conflict and death all increase when people lack access to the water they need to live. That’s one reason helping neighbors access clean, safe water is a core part of the work supported by ELCA World Hunger. We cannot end hunger without it. The complaint of the Hebrews is not unfounded.

Yet, from the book of Exodus to Psalm 95 to the book of Hebrews, the incident is used as one more example of disobedience and faithlessness. Even the two names given to the place, Meribah and Massah, reflect this. “Meribah” means “test”; “Massah” means “quarrel.” The names mark the place where the people tested and quarreled with God.

Often this type of Bible story is used to argue that we should “have more faith,” trust more fully in God or pray harder. Faith and prayer are important, but neither is going to draw water from a rock. Would that it were otherwise, but prayer didn’t even draw water from the rock for Moses.

That’s the crucial aspect of the story. It would be nonsensical to believe that none of the Hebrews prayed for water before complaining to Moses and Aaron. Anyone who has known the pangs of thirst or watched a loved one suffer the same knows that prayers for water would not have been far from the hearts and tongues of the people. The story reveals not that God will provide a miracle of water if we pray hard enough but that God will equip leaders to help the people access the resources they need to live. In response to the people’s need, God instructed Moses to gather a team of elders and lead them to a place where water would flow. God even equipped Moses with the right instrument (a staff) and directions (“strike the rock”) to make it happen. The lesson is not merely to trust that water will flow from a stone but to know that God has, first, provided enough resources through creation to meet our needs and, second, works miracles through the equipping of leaders to access those resources.

We don’t need to go back to the ancient Hebrews to see this dynamic at work when it comes to water. In Ghana, water scarcity threatens the lives and livelihoods of nearly 90% of the population. Even in urban areas, more than half the people lack access to clean, safe water. In developing countries such as Ghana, almost 80% of illnesses and deaths are caused by water-borne diseases, which in turn are driven by people needing to rely on unsafe water sources. Torgbui Agbeve, a community chief and a participant in a project of the Good News Theological Seminary in Ghana, reports, “I used to go to the River Todzie with some of my people to beg them to grant us access to their river, but they would refuse.”

With support from ELCA World Hunger, the seminary is working with community leaders such as Torgbui to increase access to safe water. The work is part of a larger project that also creates jobs through a local cottage industry producing plant-based detergent and other products. Since the project began, more than 1,000 people from more than 80 communities have participated, and the seminary plans to expand the work to even more communities.

The project is effective in large part because it focuses on equipping local leaders to work together to make change happen. It may not be as dramatic as Moses striking a rock, but the community’s work is no less a sign of God working through individuals and communities to help them live and thrive. Torgbui Agbeve’s story of begging at the river also reflects what we know about God’s provision of water. Often there is enough to go around but access is denied or restricted to a few.

That may be what connects the two parts of Psalm 95. Trusting in God’s promise doesn’t mean praying harder or being more obedient; it means knowing that God, who created the sea, the land and the mountains, creates abundantly, blessing the world with the resources we need to live. It means knowing that the same God will equip the leaders that communities need to thrive.

Working toward the promised future of a time when we “will hunger no more and thirst no more” (Revelation 7:16) does not necessarily mean praying for a miracle to come but rather bearing witness to — and investing in — the miraculous ways God is already working through leaders and communities to bring that promise to life.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What does it mean to trust in God? When does that seem easy? When does it seem difficult?

How can faith in God the Creator shape responses to hunger, poverty or water scarcity today?

In what ways does your congregation equip new leaders to meet emerging needs?

What is the difference between abundance and scarcity? How might focusing on abundance change how we view ourselves, our world and God?

Sesión 3 — Salmo 95

“Porque el Señor es el gran Dios, el gran Rey sobre todos los dioses”. —Salmo 95:3

Quitémonos esto de en medio: el Salmo 95 es un salmo extraño. De hecho, es tan extraño, que fue difícil elegir un solo versículo para usarlo como epigrama en esta sesión. Sin embargo, incluso de sus palabras más desconcertantes podríamos obtener ideas que nos ayuden a entender mejor la obra de Dios en el mundo.

En The Social Visions of the Hebrew Bible: A Theological Introduction [Las visiones sociales de la biblia hebrea: Una introducción teológica] (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000), J. David Pleins dice cuántos de los salmos, incluido el Salmo 95, parecen haber sido utilizados como partes de la liturgia durante la adoración y las fiestas. Este salmo, en particular, parece ser el primero de una serie (95-99), agrupados como “salmos de Dios como rey”. Cada uno ofrece una sublime alabanza a Dios, a menudo en un lenguaje que se habría utilizado para alabar a un rey humano.

El Salmo 95 comienza con alabanza a Dios como el creador de los “abismos de la tierra… los montes… el mar… y la tierra firme” (versículos 4-5). El salmista llama al pueblo diciendo “postrémonos reverentes, doblemos la rodilla” ante el Señor (versículo 6). Podríamos imaginar que la primera mitad del salmo se usa para llamar al pueblo a una ceremonia de adoración que celebra la obra de Dios el Creador y la majestad de Dios el Rey.

Lo desconcertante del salmo es que, justo después de estos versículos, su tono cambia abruptamente. Después de este llamado jubiloso a adorar al Rey Creador, la voz y el tema cambian. Después del versículo 8, el orador ya no es el salmista sino Dios, el tono no es de celebración y alabanza, sino de castigo y amenaza. Dios dice, “no endurezcan el corazón”, o, como les sucedió a sus antepasados que estuvieron antes que ustedes, “jamás entrarán en mi reposo” (versículos 8, 11). El cambio es tan abrupto, que muchos eruditos creen que el salmo consiste en dos trozos diferentes (versículos 1-7 y 8-11) que fueron combinados. La diferencia es tan marcada, que casi no se puede discernir un solo tema en todo el salmo.

Independientemente de la razón por la que pudieron haberse juntado estos dos trozos, algunas de las referencias del salmo lo vinculan tanto a Escrituras Hebreas anteriores como a Escrituras cristianas posteriores, como Hebreos 3:1-4:11. Uno de los vínculos más estrechos es su mención del incidente en Meribá o Masá, donde, según relata el salmo, “cuarenta años [Dios] estuv[o] enojado con aquella generación, y dij[o]: ‘Son un pueblo mal encaminado que no reconoce mis senderos’ (versículo 10).

Entonces, ¿qué pasó allí?

La historia de Meribá o Masá se narra en dos lugares en la Biblia: Éxodo 17 y Números 20. Moisés había sacado al pueblo de la esclavitud en Egipto. En los primeros meses llegaron al desierto de Sin (Éxodo 17:1) o Zin (Números 20:1), que estaba entre Elim y el Monte Sinaí. De ahí, viajan y acampan por etapas. Al llegar a cierto sitio (los relatos de Éxodo y Números difieren), el pueblo confronta a Moisés y Aarón. Han estado caminando en el desierto durante semanas. Están cansados y hambrientos, y ahora no hay agua. “—¿Para qué nos sacaste de Egipto? —reclamaban—. ¿Sólo para matarnos de sed a nosotros, a nuestros hijos y a nuestro ganado?”, se quejan ante Moisés (Éxodo 17:3). Moisés le suplica a Dios, quien le instruye que vaya por delante del pueblo con algunos de los ancianos de la comunidad, y que con su vara golpee una roca, de la cual fluirá agua.

Los hebreos en el desierto sabían entonces lo que sabemos hoy: sin agua, no hay vida, ya sea que fuesen esclavos o libres. Podemos imaginar la desesperación y frustración de ellos, tal vez incluso su ira. ¿A qué nueva “vida” los llevan, sin comida ni agua?

La escasez de agua afecta casi todo aspecto de la vida de una comunidad. Sin agua no se pueden cultivar alimentos adecuados. Sin agua los alimentos no se pueden lavar ni manipular de manera segura, por lo que existe un mayor riesgo de enfermedades. Sin agua potable cercana, las personas —generalmente las mujeres y niñas— deben viajar kilómetros para obtener el agua que necesitan cada día. Sin agua aumenta el peligro de conflictos violentos en lo que las personas pelean por este recurso escaso. Los riesgos de hambre, pobreza, enfermedades, conflicto y muerte aumentan cuando las personas no tienen acceso al agua que necesitan para vivir. Esa es una de las razones por las que una parte fundamental del trabajo que apoya ELCA World Hunger es ayudar a los vecinos a tener acceso a agua limpia y potable. No podemos acabar con el hambre sin ella. La queja de los hebreos no es infundada.

Sin embargo, desde el libro de Éxodo, al Salmo 95, al libro de Hebreos, el incidente se usa como un ejemplo más de desobediencia y falta de fe. Incluso los dos nombres que se le dan al lugar, Meribá y Masá, reflejan esto. “Meribá” significa “prueba”; “Masá” significa “pelea”. Los nombres marcan el lugar donde el pueblo probó a Dios y peleó con Dios.

Con frecuencia este tipo de historia bíblica se usa para alegar que debemos “tener más fe”, confiar más plenamente en Dios u orar más fervientemente. La fe y la oración son importantes, pero ninguna de las dos va a hacer salir agua de una roca. Ojalá fuera de otra manera, pero la oración ni siquiera hizo salir agua de la roca para Moisés.

Ese es el aspecto crucial de la historia. Sería absurdo creer que ninguno de los hebreos oró por agua antes de quejarse ante Moisés y Aarón. Cualquiera que haya sido devorado por la sed o haya visto a un ser querido sufrir lo mismo sabe que las oraciones por agua no habrían estado lejos de los corazones y las lenguas del pueblo. Lo que la historia revela no es que Dios proveerá un milagro de agua si oramos lo suficientemente fuerte, sino que Dios equipará a los líderes para ayudar a las personas a acceder los recursos que necesitan para vivir. En respuesta a la necesidad del pueblo, Dios ordenó a Moisés que reuniera un grupo de ancianos y los guiara a un lugar donde fluiría el agua. Dios incluso equipó a Moisés con el instrumento correcto (una vara) y las instrucciones (“golpear la roca”) para que esto sucediera. La lección no es simplemente confiar en que el agua fluirá de una piedra, sino saber que, primero, Dios ha provisto suficientes recursos a través de la creación para satisfacer nuestras necesidades y, segundo, Dios hace milagros a través del equipamiento de líderes para acceder a esos recursos.

En lo que al agua se refiere, no tenemos que volver a los antiguos hebreos para ver esta dinámica en funcionamiento. En Ghana, la escasez de agua amenaza la vida y los medios de subsistencia de casi el 90% de la población. Incluso en las zonas urbanas, más de la mitad de la población carece de acceso a agua limpia y potable. En países en desarrollo como Ghana, casi el 80% de las enfermedades y muertes son causadas por enfermedades transmitidas por el agua, que a su vez son impulsadas por personas que necesitan depender de fuentes de agua insalubres. Torgbui Agbeve, un cacique de la comunidad que participa en un proyecto de Good News Theological Seminary [Seminario Teológico Buenas Nuevas] en Ghana, relata: “Yo iba al río Todzie con algunas personas de mi pueblo para rogarles que nos permitieran el acceso a su río, pero se negaban”.

Con el apoyo de ELCA World Hunger, el seminario está trabajando con líderes comunitarios como Torgbui para facilitar el acceso a agua potable. El trabajo es parte de un proyecto más amplio que también crea empleos mediante una industria artesanal local que produce detergente a base de plantas y otros productos. Desde que comenzó el proyecto, más de 1,000 personas de más de 80 comunidades han participado, y el seminario planea expandir la obra aun a más comunidades.

El proyecto es efectivo en gran parte porque se concentra en equipar a los líderes locales a trabajar juntos para que ocurra el cambio. Puede que no sea tan dramático como cuando Moisés golpeó la roca, pero el trabajo de la comunidad no es menos signo de que Dios trabaja a través de individuos y comunidades con el fin de ayudarlos a vivir y prosperar. La historia que relata Torgbui Agbeve de rogar en el río también refleja lo que sabemos de la provisión de agua por parte de Dios. A menudo hay suficiente para todos, pero se les niega o restringe a algunos el acceso a ella.

Eso puede ser lo que conecta las dos partes del Salmo 95. Confiar en la promesa de Dios no significa que hay que orar más fuerte o ser más obediente; significa saber que Dios, quien creó el mar, la tierra y los montes, crea en abundancia, bendiciendo al mundo con los recursos que necesitamos para vivir. Significa saber que el mismo Dios equipará a los líderes con lo que las comunidades necesitan para prosperar.

Trabajamos por un tiempo en el que “ya no sufrirán hambre ni sed”. Trabajar por el futuro prometido de un tiempo en el que “ya no sufrir[emos] hambre ni sed” (Apocalipsis 7:16) no significa necesariamente orar para que venga un milagro, sino más bien dar testimonio de las formas milagrosas en que Dios ya está trabajando a través de líderes y comunidades para hacer realidad esa promesa, e invertir en ellas.

PREGUNTAS DE REFLEXIÓN

¿Qué significa confiar en Dios? ¿Cuándo parece fácil? ¿Cuándo parece difícil?

¿Cómo puede la fe en Dios el Creador dar forma a las respuestas al hambre, la pobreza o la escasez de agua hoy?

¿De qué manera su congregación equipa a los nuevos líderes para satisfacer las necesidades que surgen?

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre abundancia y escasez? ¿Cómo podría el concentrarse en la abundancia cambiar la forma en que nos vemos a nosotros mismos, y en que vemos a nuestro mundo y a Dios?

Mariia Simian, from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, is living through war for a second time. Just three years old when World War II tore across Europe in the 1940s, she says the memories haunt her.

“I remember everything,” she says. “I often remember. My mother hid our whole family from this horror wherever she could – in the basement, in fields behind the house – because the Nazis were looking for Roma.”

Simean, who is Roma, spoke at a recent remembrance ceremony for Roma victims of the Holocaust, hosted by ELCA partner organization Phiren Amenca in Budapest. As many as 500,000 Roma people were among those murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

Speaking in Ukrainian, with her granddaughter Anzhelika Bielova translating into English, Simeak continued, “I really want everyone to remember these horrors of war, the crimes against humanity, against Roma people…Evacuation, frightened people fleeing from death, mass graves of civilians, destroyed houses, all this is now in Ukraine after 80 years.…I want peace, only peace, and a better future for all of us and for new generations.”

Europe’s largest ethnic minority, the Roma people – descendants of tribes from northern India who migrated to Europe in the Middle Ages – experience a great deal of discrimination and racism. In one recent survey 95 percent of Roma youth said they have observed discriminatory words, behaviors, or gestures, and more than two-thirds reported having personally been the target of such discrimination, according to Marietta Herefort, managing director of Phiren Amenca, a Roma advocacy organization with offices in Budapest and Brussels.

Roma people often face discrimination accessing housing, employment, education and other services, Herefort added, and Roma refugees from Ukraine have been treated differently than their white counterparts across Europe.

 

“It’s a justice issue”

Thousands of Roma people are among the roughly 7 million who have fled Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, but many report that the reception in neighboring countries has been far from warm. In Hungary, ELCA works with Phiren Amenca and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH) to ensure that Roma refugees are treated with the same dignity as others arriving from Ukraine.

It’s a justice issue,” says the Rev. Rachel Eskesen, ELCA area desk director for Europe. “Anti-gypsyism, discrimination against Roma communities and individuals, remains a prevalent form of racism across Europe.”

Attila Meszaros, coordinator of the ELCH refugee response, says before the war, the church might help about 300 refugees per year. That number has more than tripled as refugees poured across the border from Ukraine, he says, and about 90 percent of those served by the church are Roma people who have had difficulty accessing services elsewhere. With support from the ELCA, they have hired additional staff to manage the increased caseload, including a social worker who is herself Ukrainian and can assist when there is a language barrier. The church helps families with rent, groceries and assistance in finding employment, and each social worker is usually in touch with about 50 families per day.

One mother of three burst into tears when she received a grocery voucher, Meszaros said. The family had lived underground for a month in Ukraine subsisting on packaged food. She rushed out to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for her children.

 

Serving Roma People

Ministry to Roma people is not new for the ELCH. Mandak House, a Lutheran congregation and social ministry in Budapest led by Pastor Márta Bolba, has a longstanding program donating food, clothing and other necessities to the most vulnerable as well as a long history of advocating for equal treatment of Roma people. In fact, Bolba said, they recently relocated the donation center to another site as the ministry had outgrown the space at the church.

While Phiren Amenca did not have previous experience in refugee assistance, Herefort said they quickly found a way to respond to the growing need as neighbors from Ukraine began arriving in Hungary last spring. Working in partnership with other organizations serving the Roma population, they delivered food, toiletries, cleaning supplies and clothing to refugee centers and transit shelters along the border, organized donation drives in 30 municipalities, and assisted families with navigating the process to register for asylum in Hungary. They even housed a family for a time in their Budapest office, until the family could find a more permanent situation.

“Anti-gypsyism is very high,” she said, referring to the slur often used against the Roma people. “They are rejected because they are Roma, and for Ukrainian Roma it’s even worse because they often have big families with lots of kids,” so it’s even more difficult to find suitable accommodations.  “Even if they are earning money they often are not able to set up a normal life because they are rejected in many ways.”

“Racism—a mix of power, privilege, and prejudice—is sin, violation of God’s intention for humanity,” wrote the authors of the ELCA’s social statement on race, ethnicity and culture. “The resulting racial, ethnic, or cultural barriers deny the truth that all people are God’s creatures and, therefore, persons of dignity.”

In simpler words, the American civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer famously stated, “no one is truly free until everyone is free.” As we continue the work of dismantling embedded racism in our own culture, facing and confessing our own sins, so too we walk alongside our European colleagues and our Roma brothers and sisters who struggle for equal treatment and equal rights.

 

 

Emily Sollie is a freelance writer, editor and communications consultant. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and 4-year old son, and is a member of Lutheran Church of the Reformation. 

Samantha Johnson, Jacksonville, NC

Warm-up Question

Have you ever made a surprising connection with a stranger? 

Unlikely Friendship

When Detroit Police Officer Marcus Harris II got a call to check in on an individual sleeping at an abandoned gas station, he found far more than he ever expected. 

At first, Corporal Harris went through the motions, offering the man, Adrian Hugh, a bus ticket back to California. Offering one-way bus tickets is a common strategy that cities use to cut down on the number of homeless people living on the streets. 

But after taking time to talk and get to know one another, Corporal Harris and Hugh realized that there was more they could do together than apart. Hugh explained that before Corporal Harris came into his life, he was at his lowest point, ready to give up. But Corporal Harris went above and beyond, helping Hugh get the services he needed right there in Detroit, including replacing his stolen ID cards, finding emergency shelter, applying for housing, writing a resume, and even finding a job.

They found an unlikely friendship in one another, restoring hope for both men. 

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever learned something new from a police officer or a person experiencing homelessness? 
• It is easy to list the ways that Hugh benefited from his friendship with Corporal Harris. What do you think Corporal Harris might have gained from his friendship with Hugh?

Third Sunday in Lent

Exodus 17:1-7

Romans 5:1-11

John 4:5-42

(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

I think it’s safe to assume that both Jesus and the Samaritan felt unsure about how their interaction would go when they first encountered one another. 

Many of us who have heard this story before, come to it with some assumptions about the Samaritan woman. John Piper, a popular preacher and prolific author, describes her as “a worldly, sensually-minded, unspiritual harlot from Samaria.” However, a careful look at the text in its cultural context reveals that these are not among the assumptions Jesus makes. 

It is more likely, therefore, that her five husbands came and went due to factors outside of her control. Perhaps she was a widow, or maybe her husbands divorced her for being infertile. It is even possible that her husbands divorced her to marry someone else. Maybe her many marriages were the result of a combination of these possibilities. The truth is that we aren’t given an explanation for why she was married so many times, but it’s more likely that she was a victim than a harlot. 

With this fresh perspective on the woman, we can see that what Jesus recognizes in her is not a sinful past in need of redeeming. Instead, Jesus recognizes in her is a kindred openness to God’s word, determination to discover the truth, and boldness to proclaim the gospel to all who will listen.

The woman never would have found the freedom of the gospel if Jesus had maintained the status quo. But the gospel never would have reached so many Samaritan saints if the woman had not been open to Jesus’ invitation. Their unlikely friendship changed the lives of all those involved and continues to inspire us even today. 

Discussion Questions

• How do you think Jesus expected the conversation to go? Do you think it went as he expected or do you think he was surprised by the unlikely friendships he found among the woman and the people of the city?
• The woman learned about the freedom and everlasting life that Jesus promises his followers. What do you think Jesus gained from his friendship with the woman? 
• Assumptions keep us apart but conversations driven by curiosity draw us together. Whether it is a specific person or a type of person, who are you feeling called to engage in curious conversation? 

Activity Suggestions

Homelessness carries a great deal of stigma. Many people, even Christians, assume people who are experiencing homelessness are lazy or deserve to be on the streets. Challenge yourself to play this game to learn more about the difficult and risky choices people in poverty are facing every day.  

Closing Prayer

Jesus our friend, you came among us out of love in order to know us more, show us your way, and bless us with your love and grace. Empowered by your spirit, send us out with open minds and softened hearts so that we may bless others with that same love and grace you have shown us. Amen.

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

On behalf of myself and the Disability Ministries advisory team, I wanted to say “thank you!” to everyone who applied for one of our grants of up to $10,000. We were blown away by the response and interest of so many congregations, camps, and other ministries. If you remember, we said we would take the first thirty applications that came to us into consideration before ultimately choosing five to receive the funding. Well, you all got to work! We received almost double the amount we will be able to consider this time around.

While we are saddened to not be able to consider them all right now, we do encourage those whose applications came in after the cut off to apply again the next time we are receiving applications. I will be in touch soon with those applicants on what your next steps could be for the time being.

To those we will be reviewing: Please be on the lookout for an email to come from me soon indicating that you are moving along in the process. Over the next eight weeks the advisory team will be reading through your applications and making the hard decision to narrow things down to the five who will be the recipients of the funding. That means that shortly after May 1^st we will be making and announcing those decisions. For now, please keep a watch on your email and communications for any questions or needs for clarifications that the review/advisory team may need. I will follow up with the other twenty-five and look at possible next steps as well.

Again, thank you so much for your support of what we do at ELCA Disability Ministries. Especially, we thank God for you and the way the Spirit is moving you to make accessibility and equity for people with disabilities a priority in the lives of your ministries.

 

Peace,

Rev. Lisa E. Heffernan

A book review by Rev. Peter Heide on “The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me” by Keah Brown

At first, the title of this book seems presumptive, but I have come to realize that this is the courtship of one person learning to love herself amid a world that does not want to love her.

Keah Brown, a journalist, has filled this book with her essays. In each standalone essay, Ms. Brown addresses a particular issue of life as a black woman living with Cerebral Palsy in a mostly able-bodied white America. She discusses the depression that comes from internalizing the “idealized body” of the able-bodied world we live in. She explores the self-loathing that can kill when one allows the able-bodied world to dictate one’s image upon oneself when our bodies can never “measure up”. She considers the challenges of dating, of feeling loved and accepted.

In “You Can’t cure me. I Promise it’s Fine.”, the reader is challenged by how prayer can be an abusive tool that makes claims on the faithfulness of the disabled and that person’s willingness to trust in the power of God to heal. As Ms. Brown illustrates the difference between the able-bodied and the dis-abled, she also spotlights how this kind of faith/prayer isolates, demeans, and dehumanizes the person living with a disability.

Some issues are addressed multiple times which was a little exasperating until I was reminded of the similarity to reading Biblical stories: the more space given to any story raises the importance of the subject. Consider the amount of space that Nebuchadnezzar receives in an encyclopedia and then look at the space he gets in Scripture. Or maybe the story of Peter and Cornelius might be helpful. Outside the Bible no space is given it, but Scripture reports the story of the vision of the sheet coming down from heaven with unclean foods upon it three times. Such is the importance of these repeated themes.

The essay format of this book lends itself to congregation discussion.

A reflection on John 9 through the lens of disability, by Rev. Brian Krause

 The healing of the blind man in John chapter 9 is one of my favorite healing stories in the whole Bible.  I love this story because in this story Jesus confronts and rejects the common belief that disabilities are somehow caused by sin.  Jesus and his disciples are going along when they find a man who has been blind from birth.  The disciples ask Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.”  Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”  (John 9:1-3)   

I myself have encountered the idea that my Cerebral Palsy is punishment from God for some sin in my life.  I have had some people pray for my healing.  Most of the time it was forced upon me.  I was told that first I needed to confess the sin(s) for which I was being punished.  People have prayed for me to be healed and nothing has changed in me physically.  I was once told that God wouldn’t heal me because I had a selfish need to be pitied.  Unfortunately, some in the church today continue to teach the idea that disabilities are punishment for sin through the way they talk about healing passages. 

When we preach, lead worship, and sing hymns we need to be careful how we speak about healing and disabilities.  We especially should be aware of the pervasive narrative of the church regarding blindness.  Too often blindness has been associated with a lack of faith.  We see this in the infamous hymn, Amazing Grace; “I once was blind, but now I see.”  Equating blindness to a lack of faith is harmful to people who are blind or have low vision. 

This year during Lent we will be reading the story of the blind man in John chapter 9.  As we think about this text and craft our sermons, we need to be careful how we speak about blindness to not cause greater harm to persons who are blind.  We need to rethink the common ways that this text has been interpreted and find new ways to speak about this passage that are uplifting to all. 

I commend to you the book A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability by Kathy Black.  Kathy Black is an ordained Methodist minister who has served as the chaplain at Gallaudet University and pastored two churches for deaf persons.  Black has also taught classes in deaf ministry and ministry with persons with disabilities as Wesley Theological Seminary, Pacific School of Religion, and the School of Theology Claremont.  

In chapter one of the book Black gives a broad overview of how disabilities are often interpreted.  Chapter two addresses hermeneutical hazards of preaching on healing narratives.  In the subsequent chapters Black dives into the healing passages that appear in the Revised Common Lectionary where she offers common interpretations and then a new “healing homiletic” that looks at each story in a different way that is inclusive.  Black looks at the various stories of Jesus healing people who are blind in chapter three.   

Black raises some important issues in her reading of John chapter 9.  Black speaks about the fact that people who are blind are often not believed and are not seen as credible witnesses.  This appears multiple places in the narrative, first when the neighbors of the blind man refuse to believe in his healing.  It appears again when the religious leaders don’t believe and call on the man’s parents.  Black speaks about how the blind are often ignored and the tendency of people to speak only with a blind person’s companion instead of directly to the person themselves.  Black says that when this happens, “the person with the disability becomes invisible-nonexistent.”1   Speaking only to the companion instead of the person with the disability is a common problem for people with various disabilities and may not be picked up by people who do not have experience with disabilities. 

Black also speaks about what sometimes happens when people with disabilities speak up for themselves as the man who had been blind does in the text.  Black says, “And like the man in this text, when they are bold and speak up for themselves they are seen as being too pushy or aggressive rather than as the passive receivers they are expected to be.  They too experience rejection by faith communities.”2   Once again Black picks up on an issue that may not be recognized by those without experience with a disability.   

How does Black suggest that we proceed in preaching about this passage?  Black gives several options in her section on a “healing homiletic”.  Black suggests we could look more at Jesus seeking out the man who had been born blind at the end of the narrative.  Black says, “Certainly Jesus seeking us in our times of loneliness and rejection could be explored further.”3   Black also rightly notes the major change that happens in the former blind man’s life.  Black suggests that a preacher could explore how major life events lead to changes like loss of community and identity and the long road to developing a new community and identity.  Finally Black notes that this man did not have faith when he was healed and suggests that a preacher could challenge the idea that confession is needed before healing can occur. 

There is so much good material in the third chapter, and I do not have enough space to relay it all here.  I highly recommend that every pastor pick up a copy of this book and read it before preaching on healing passages.  The way we talk about healing is important and getting it wrong can cause a lot of grief as I have experienced in my own life.  We as a church need to do better when preaching on healing.  With Kathy Black’s book I believe we can. 

 1 Black, Kathy. A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability. 71.   

 2 ibid. 73 

3 Ibid, 77. 

Light of Grace Lutheran Church’s story

If you visit the Saturday-morning farmers market in Federal Way, Wash., you might see Kay (Kyong Yon) Mattingly smiling and dancing with her friends from Dasom Bi-Cultural Cooperation, a ministry of Light of Grace Lutheran Church. The ministry hosts a booth with a variety of Korean goods for sale, but the members also seek to bring joy to those around them – and create it for themselves.

About midway between Seattle and Tacoma, Federal Way has a large population of Korean immigrants, and services to
this community are limited. Given the aging population, demand for housing and rising cost of living, Light of Grace members recognized that members of their fellow immigrant population were struggling with hunger, needed help covering basic expenses and lacked opportunities for being in community.

With a grant from ELCA World Hunger, Light of Grace started a new program through Dasom Bi-Cultural Cooperation to provide space and support for fellow Korean-American immigrants three days a week. Tuesday through Thursday, program participants have an opportunity to cook Korean food, eat a healthy meal, create goods to sell or keep, and take advantage of interpretation services, social engagement and emotional support.

In every corner of the church building, you’ll find people with various skills – altering clothing, drying herbs for tea, harvesting veggies, making Korean chili paste – executing and sharing their skills with others. They are chatting, laughing and buzzing with joy – building a community of care by generating a livelihood for the whole community.

At the end of the month, they distribute additional earnings from Dasom goods to their neighbors, who use them to help with grocery bills, basic expenses and health care. “This is God’s work,” explains the Rev. Jenny Kim, co-pastor of Light of Grace with her husband, the Rev. Sang Soo Kim.

“I always had heard that the Lutherans excel at helping churches in need, but after having experienced it firsthand, I’m just really so happy and proud to be a member of this church.”

– Kay (Kyong Yon) Mattingly

ELCA World Hunger supports programs for people to get the food they need to eat, and trainings and resources to
build their livelihoods. This is one pillar of our shared work as church to end hunger and poverty around the world, including the United States. Gifts to ELCA World Hunger fund programs focusing on education; health; water and sanitation; agriculture and nutrition; income and savings; peace, justice and human rights; and advocacy and community organizing.

Kay is grateful for the support she receives from ELCA World Hunger. She appreciates not only our financial commitment but how we accompany their community, “turning an attentive ear when the small churches report hardship, and inquiring what we need, whether financially or in terms of people; having meetings with us; not ever discriminating against us because we’re Asians; and just being so attentive to our needs. … I’m so thankful for that.”

While the solutions vary – from training about village savings and loan groups, to supporting mobile health clinics, to providing backpacks of food for children who don’t have enough at home – the goal remains the same: provide for people’s immediate needs while working together for more just systems. Bread for today and hope for tomorrow. This vision – both short- and long-term – is especially important this year, as the effects of the war in Ukraine, food shortages and climate crises continue to ripple around the world, preventing so many of our neighbors from making ends meet.

Session 2 — Psalm 121

“My help comes from the Lord.” —Psalm 121:2

Just over two years ago, after decades of working, Susan became disabled. “I was newly poor and relatively terrified,” she wrote. “With literally everything stripped from the budget except a roof over our heads and very modest transportation, the monthly budget showed a balance of negative $5. The meaning of food insecurity became abundantly clear.”

Late in life, Susan had adopted three boys. Her circumstances made her worry nonstop about their futures and how she would keep the promises she had made to them.

The psalm for this week in Lent opens with a similar worry and prayer. “I lift up my eyes to the hills,” writes the psalmist. “From where will my help come?” (verse 1).

One of the more frustrating responses people offer to stories of food insecurity in the United States is that one can easily figure out where to go during hard times. No matter how often the stories are shared, no matter how persistent rates of food insecurity are, one still hears:

“Can’t you just get welfare?” (No — it doesn’t exist in the ways you think it does and hasn’t since the mid-1990s.)

“You can get food stamps, can’t you?” (Sure, but these average only $175 a month and for certain age groups are available for only three months.)

Unfortunately, the reality for many food-insecure families and individuals in the U.S. is that public programs are often difficult to access, and many people lack social support systems that can help them when something goes wrong. Even if programs and support systems are available and accessible, being food insecure or living in poverty carry stigmas, much like the ones we discussed in the last session of this study. This can make it hard to know where to turn and to find the confidence necessary to make that turn once we arrive at it.

For Susan, coming from a middle-class background meant having to face the stigma of food insecurity head-on. She remembers watching a food distribution at the West View Hub (“the Hub”), a community center serving neighbors in Pittsburgh. “I still had the haughty air of someone who recently belonged to the middle class, so rather than inquire, I watched.” After some time, a person from the Hub started to talk with her. The Hub was distributing milk and eggs, and there was a long line of clients. Susan had planned to observe only, but a volunteer invited her to find a place in the line, and she went home with food and money to spare for the week. For her, the change was immediate. “All of a sudden I went from negative $5 to plus $45 for the month,” she wrote. “I could breathe.”

The food pantry is just one part of the Hub, which is supported by an ELCA World Hunger grant through Berkeley Hills Lutheran Church, an early partner in the work. In addition to food, the Hub provides a local library, internet access and other support the community needs. More importantly, the Hub fosters new relationships among neighbors. “The food pantry [was] just the beginning,” explained Susan. “We found a home there. We found family there.”

Through ELCA World Hunger, our church is committed to supporting transformative, integrated and holistic ministries that address 10 the root causes of hunger. To put it more simply, these ministries break down barriers within communities and work with other partners to address the multiple needs people face. If we are serious about our church ending hunger, each of these steps will be important, yet we also need to remember that the most important ministry is being present.

God’s invitation for us to build a just world where all are fed comes out of our own experience as people saved by grace. As told in Holy Scripture, the entire history of the people of God is the story of God being present with the people, especially when they felt alone. Look at Psalm 121:1-4:

I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?
My help comes from [you,] Lord, who made heaven and earth.
[You] will not let your foot be moved; [those] who keep you will not slumber.
[They] who keep Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (vs. 1-4).

Reading this psalm, indeed reading all the Bible, we might sum up the character of God in a single phrase: relentless presence. God is relentlessly present with the people. From the Garden of Eden to Egypt to the wilderness, God is present.

From Israel to Judah to exile to return, God is present. The spirituality of the Lenten season — indeed, a key purpose of Lenten fasting — is to remind us of our dependence on God. We remember in these 40 days our need for God’s grace, God’s provision and God’s help in the moments when we can’t help ourselves. Yet we also remember that the good news of grace is the good news that God will be relentlessly present with us “always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

That is part of what makes the work of the West View Hub so important and so transformative for neighbors such as Susan. Being present, listening to our neighbors’ needs and offering words of welcome and hope are what it means to be saved by a relentlessly present God.

This season, we are called to remember our times of need when God showed up and to remember our calling to do the same. As church, we respond to hunger for many reasons. Sometimes our compassion pulls us to meet the needs of our neighbors. Other times we may feel a sense of responsibility to care for the people God places in our midst. At all times, though, we do this work because we are set free by grace to be relentlessly present in our own communities, so that every time a neighbor, friend or stranger wonders, “From where will my help come?” the people of God will reply, “Here.”

Here — you are welcome.
Here — you will be fed.
Here — we will meet our needs together.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

How has the church been present for you in times of distress?

How might your personal ministry or the ministry of your congregation change if you focused on being relentlessly present with and among your neighbors?

Where is God calling you to be relentlessly present this season?

Sesión 2 — Salmo 121

“Mi ayuda proviene del Señor”. —Salmo 121:2

Hace poco más de dos años, después de décadas de haber estado trabajando, Susan quedó discapacitada. Ella escribió: “Acababa de convertirme en una persona pobre, y estaba relativamente aterrorizada”. Después de que literalmente todo fue extraído del presupuesto, excepto un techo sobre nuestras cabezas y un transporte muy modesto, el presupuesto mensual mostró un saldo negativo de $ 5. El significado de la inseguridad alimentaria se volvió muy claro”.

Algo tarde en su vida, Susan había adoptado tres niños. Sus circunstancias la hacían preocuparse incesantemente por el futuro de ellos y de cómo iba a cumplir las promesas que les había hecho.

El salmo de esta semana de Cuaresma comienza con una preocupación y una oración similares. “A las montañas levanto mis ojos”; escribe el salmista. “¿De dónde ha de venir mi ayuda?” (versículo 1).

Una de las respuestas más frustrantes que la gente ofrece a las historias de inseguridad alimentaria en los Estados Unidos es que uno puede averiguar fácilmente a dónde ir en tiempos difíciles. No importa cuán a menudo se compartan las historias, no importa cuán persistentes sean los índices de inseguridad alimentaria, uno todavía oye:

“¿No puedes simplemente recibir asistencia social?” (No —no existe en la forma en que crees que existe y no ha existido desde mediados de la década de 1990).

“Puedes obtener cupones de alimentos, ¿no?” (Claro, pero el promedio de estos es solamente $ 175 al mes, y para ciertos grupos de edad solo están disponibles por tres meses).

Desafortunadamente, la realidad para muchas familias e individuos que sufren de inseguridad alimentaria en los Estados Unidos es que a menudo es difícil tener acceso a los programas públicos, y muchas personas carecen de sistemas de apoyo social que puedan ayudarlas cuando algo sale mal. Incluso cuando hay programas y sistemas de apoyo disponibles y accesibles, el tener inseguridad alimentaria o vivir en la pobreza lleva consigo estigmas, muy parecidos a los que discutimos en la sesión anterior de este estudio. Esto crea la posibilidad de que sea difícil saber a dónde acudir y encontrar la confianza necesaria para hacer ese giro una vez que lleguemos a este.

Susan venía de un ambiente de clase media, y esto significaba que tenía que encarar de frente el estigma de la inseguridad alimentaria. Ella recuerda que vio una distribución de alimentos en el West View Hub (“el Hub”), un centro comunitario que sirve a los vecinos en Pittsburgh. “Todavía tenía el aire altivo de alguien que hace poco había pertenecido a la clase media, así que, en lugar de preguntar, observé”. Después de un tiempo, una persona del Hub comenzó a hablar con ella. El Hub estaba distribuyendo leche y huevos, y había una larga fila de clientes. Susan había planeado observar solamente, pero un voluntario la invitó a ponerse en la fila, y se fue a casa con comida y dinero de sobra para la semana. Para ella, el cambio fue inmediato. “De repente pasé de menos $ 5 a más de $ 45 para el mes”, escribió ella. “Podía respirar”.

La despensa de alimentos es solo una parte del Hub, el cual cuenta con el apoyo de una beca de ELCA World Hunger a través de la Iglesia Luterana Berkeley Hills, una de las primeras socias en la obra. Además de alimentos, el Hub ofrece una biblioteca local, acceso a Internet y otro tipo de apoyo que la comunidad necesita. Más importante aún, el Hub fomenta nuevas relaciones entre los vecinos. “La despensa de alimentos [fue] solo el comienzo”, explicó Susan. “Allí encontramos un hogar. Allí encontramos familia”.

A través de ELCA World Hunger, nuestra iglesia se compromete a apoyar ministerios transformadores, integrados y holísticos que abordan 10 causas fundamentales del hambre. Para decirlo de manera más simple, estos ministerios rompen las barreras dentro de las comunidades y trabajan con otros socios para abordar las múltiples necesidades que enfrentan las personas. Si tomamos en serio el que nuestra iglesia acabe con el hambre, cada uno de estos pasos será importante, pero también debemos recordar que el ministerio más importante es estar presente.

La invitación que Dios nos hace a construir un mundo justo en el que todos sean alimentados proviene de nuestra propia experiencia como personas salvadas por gracia. Como se narra en las Sagradas Escrituras, toda la historia del pueblo de Dios es la historia de Dios que estaba presente con el pueblo, especialmente cuando se sentían solos. Mire el Salmo 121:1-4:

A las montañas levanto mis ojos; ¿de dónde ha de venir mi ayuda?
Mi ayuda proviene del Señor, creador del cielo y de la tierra.
No permitirá que tu pie resbale; jamás duerme el que te cuida.
Jamás duerme ni se adormece el que cuida de Israel (versículos 1-4).

Leyendo este salmo —de hecho, leyendo toda la Biblia —podríamos resumir el carácter de Dios en una sola frase: presencia continua. Dios está continuamente presente con la gente. Desde el Jardín del Edén hasta Egipto y el desierto, Dios está presente.

Desde Israel hasta Judá, desde el exilio hasta el retorno, Dios está presente. La espiritualidad de la temporada de Cuaresma —de hecho, un propósito clave del ayuno cuaresmal —es recordarnos nuestra dependencia de Dios. En estos 40 días recordamos nuestra necesidad de la gracia de Dios, la provisión de Dios y la ayuda de Dios en los momentos en que no podemos ayudarnos a nosotros mismos. Sin embargo, también recordamos que las buenas nuevas de la gracia son las buenas nuevas de que Dios estará continuamente presente con nosotros “siempre, hasta el fin del mundo” (Mateo 28:20).

Eso es parte de lo que hace que el trabajo del West View Hub sea tan importante y transformador para vecinos como Susan. Estar presentes, escuchar las necesidades de nuestro prójimo y ofrecer palabras de bienvenida y esperanza es lo que significa ser salvado por un Dios continuamente presente.

Esta temporada somos llamados a recordar nuestros momentos de necesidad en los que Dios apareció y a recordar nuestro llamado a hacer lo mismo. Como iglesia respondemos al hambre por muchas razones. A veces nuestra compasión nos impulsa a satisfacer las necesidades de nuestros vecinos. Otras veces podemos tener un sentido de responsabilidad de cuidar a las personas que Dios pone en medio de nosotros. Sin embargo, en todo momento hacemos este trabajo porque somos liberados por gracia para estar continuamente presentes en nuestras propias comunidades, de modo que cada vez que un vecino, amigo o desconocido se pregunte: “¿de dónde vendrá mi ayuda?”, el pueblo de Dios responderá: “de aquí”.

Aquí — usted es bienvenido.
Aquí — usted será alimentado.
Aquí — satisfaremos nuestras necesidades juntos.

PREGUNTAS DE REFLEXIÓN

¿Cómo ha estado presente la iglesia para usted en tiempos de angustia?

¿Cómo podría cambiar su ministerio personal o el ministerio de su congregación si se concentrara en estar continuamente presente con sus vecinos y entre ellos?

¿Dónde lo(a) está llamando Dios a estar continuamente presente esta temporada?

You can be and are part of the exciting 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) taking place March 6-17, 2023, in New York city. The annual gathering is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have assembled and prepared for a delegation and partners to take part in CSW67 both in-person and virtually, including our ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellows. This role has involved many hours of faith-drive details, from theological grounding to visa assistance. Over 25 people are in the Lutheran delegation, including from Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Poland, Suriname, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States and Zimbabwe.

Key CSW67 activities will bring the Lutheran delegation in contact with partnering governments, ecumenical and civil society colleagues to highlight the vital role that faith actors play in promoting women’s empowerment, and combating violence and discrimination to achieve greater gender equality at local, national and international levels. The priority theme of CSW67 is innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

The Lutheran delegation will start early, gathering for worship on Sunday, March 5 following orientation (you can listen in) the day before. Additional leadership opportunities coordinated with LOWC and LWF include:

• “Inclusive, transformational technologies facilitating gender equality in financial services” (sponsored by World Vision and LWF) on Monday, March 6 at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
  • Want to connect? Link available from NGS CSW Forum
• “A Phone of My Own: Sexual and Economic Empowerment in Times of Crisis” (LWF among cosponsors) on Thursday, March 9 at 8:15 a.m. EDT.
  • Want to connect? Link available from NGO CSW Forum
• “Girls on Fire” (sponsored by Ecumenical Women members) on Thursday, March 9 at 2 p.m. EDT.
  • Want to connect? Register to join from https://UCC.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tSouzAM_RCKQWpW2N3q9tw .

And a key event with perspective on CSW67’s priority theme will be:

• “Harnessing digital technologies to end sexual and gender-based violence” (sponsored by LWF) on Friday, March 10 at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
  • Want to connect? Register to join from https://lutheranworld-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5b6Qfu4MSL-SZgk13DmeIA .

Did you know that the United Nations airs live coverage from UN Web TV online? Access the stream and schedule from https://media.un.org/en/webtv .

Another way to connect is to support this delegation and aims of the CSW67 in prayer. Shared by the Rev. Rivka Schunk, theological research assistant with LWF, for worship with our Lutheran partners:

God of glory, Your word is like a fire that never dies, that warms but does not consume, a flame that sets everything in a new light. Your word in me is a burning fire, burning in my heart, Trapped in my bones, And I cannot and will not hold it back. Let it burst out of me and light up your world. Amen.