Steve Peterson, Moorhead, MN

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been so fired up about something you were doing that you lost all track of time.  You lost any sense of being self-conscious about how you were being seen by others, just getting lost in doing something you believed in, found joy in doing?  Can you describe what you were doing and what that experience was like for you?

Living Your Passion

Who do we think of as influential people, people who make a difference in the world, communities, or among family and friends? What qualities do we think of when we think of influential people?  TIME  magazine in early March of this year published a double issue featuring brief articles about those chosen as the 100 next most influential people.  Many of the articles were written by previous Time 100 alumni. 

For example, Greta Thunberg, TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year, writes about Vanessa Nakate, a 24-year-old climate justice champion from Uganda.  Her African country is one the regions of the world most exposed  to the adverse effects of the climate crisis. Nakate is making a difference through her Rise Up movement.  She started the Green Schools Project to transition schools in Uganda to solar energy and champions education and empowerment for girls and youth women. She is a powerful example of what one young woman with passion for something she believes in can do.

The rest of the TIME’s 100 Next list includes, “doctors and scientists fighting COVID-19, advocates pushing for equality and justice, journalists standing up for truth, and artists sharing their visions of present and future.”   Altogether, TIME describes these Next 100 Influential people as being characterized by, in the words of composer, lyricist and actor Manuel Mirander, “clear-eyed hope.”

Discussion Questions

• What do you think motivates people who have a great positive influence on the world, their communities, and their friends and families?
• What do you think either blocks or encourages people from “reaching for the stars” in terms of following their beliefs and passions and using their gifts in influencing positive change in the world?

Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:34-43

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Mark 16:1-8

John 20:1-18

(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

Of the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) Mark’s resurrection story might seem the least fun and satisfying.   Beyond a few common details, it feels like there is more going on in the other gospel’s.  More conversation, more angel intrigue, more dramatic action.  We get the sense in the other gospels that we can linger a bit in satisfaction and delight.  We feel a little more like celebrating after reading the other gospel accounts of the resurrection.  

In Mark, it’s just the facts:  He’s not dead anymore, he has been raised, tell the disciples, you can see him  back home in Galilee, he’s not here. That seems to be the point in Mark; he is risen, get going and meet him in Galilee!  So, they flee in terror and amazement, afraid to tell anyone.  Full stop.  What is this all going to mean for them?

They knew what he was like before rising from the dead… stirring up all kinds of good trouble, holy trouble.  Healing the sick, feeding the hungry, breaking down barriers between people which some powerful people don’t want broken down.  He brought hope to the broken-hearted and release to all kinds of people, including some people not everyone wanted freed.  He brought the Kingdom of God that he talked about.  If that was what Jesus was like before, they must have wondered, what kind of good trouble will he get into now that he had risen from the dead?  And they are supposed to meet him back in the neighborhood! Maybe that’s part of their terror and amazement, wondering what more might happen!

Maybe this gospel’s resurrection story is pretty exciting after all!  Like the disciples, we are told to meet Jesus in our neighborhoods!  Jesus has risen! He is meeting us in our neighborhoods, calling us to live his resurrection life with him. We are not alone.  He is meeting us there; giving us the passion and gifts to make a difference in the world—feeding the hungry, healing the sick, telling the truth, tearing down walls between people by proclaiming and living Jesus’ love for all people, and giving “clear-eyed hope.” Jesus is risen, and he is calling us to live his resurrection hope and be an influence for his hope in our world today.

Discussion Questions

• How might Jesus be present now in your neighborhood, school, community, and church?
• Where might you meet Jesus in your neighborhood?  What are some examples of what that might look like, how that might happen?  
• How might Jesus use your gifts, talents, and passions  to be his presence in your neighborhood and in the world today?

Activity Suggestions

Ask an adult where they see Jesus in your neighborhood and what they think Jesus is doing or would like to do in the neighborhood.  Take a walk or bike ride around your neighborhood.  Where do you see Jesus?  Where do you imagine Jesus’ resurrected presence might  offer someone “clear-eyed hope” and love?  Imagine other neighborhoods you have seen or heard of, anywhere in the world…imagine Jesus in those places…

Closing Prayer

Risen Jesus, thank you for showing us your power over death and all that brings death, sadness, hurt and suffering in the world.  Make us instruments of your resurrection love and power in the world.  Help us to live your resurrection hope in our neighborhoods. Amen

“Water represents an integral link in a world view where water is sacred and extremely important in preserving precious balance. Water is the origin of and essential for the survival of all life.”

–Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indians

Water is crucial to our survival. But water can also be destructive. During a multi-day warm-up in February 2020, melting snow and heavy rains caused the Umatilla River and its tributaries to overflow their banks. They damaged homes and buildings in the Blue Mountain region of Oregon and Washington, which includes Columbia and Walla Walla counties in Washington and Umatilla County and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon.

On both sides of the Umatilla river – Oregon and Washington – multiagency relief centers (MARCs) assembled in the days after the flood. At these locations, residents received immediate, relief  assistance and registered for long-term recovery support from various relief organizations. The state of Oregon declared an emergency and sent funding to each of the affected communities. FEMA offered both public and individual assistance in the days after the flooding. As the Washington side was less affected, they didn’t qualify for any FEMA assistance. In total, 579 homes were damaged, according to Charlene Larsen, a longtime volunteer and associate of the Lutheran Disaster Response network in Oregon and a leader in the Oregon Synod Disaster Preparedness and Response network.

Community

Damage was great and so was the need for a long-term recovery group (LTRG), a common structure in the disaster response community that allows for a holistic response. Representatives from both sides of the river, as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, came together to form the Blue Mountain LTRG. It’s a coalition of community organizations, with the local Lions Club, United Way of the Blue Mountains, Community Action Program of East Central Oregon, and the Blue Mountain Action Council involved. The LTRG also includes ecumenical partners and has disaster services from Lutherans, Methodists, Mennonites, Presbyterians, and Seventh-day Adventists represented.

One of the members of the Blue Mountain LTRG is Pastor Joel Ley of Christ Lutheran Church in Walla Walla, Washington, representing the Northwest Intermountain Synod of the ELCA. About the assortment of organizations in the group, he says “We’ve got all these people represented at the table and it’s pretty impressive because that doesn’t always happen. People dig in and do the work and that’s really nice to see.”

By joining forces, the group could do things that one organization on its own could not. Larsen told one story about how members of the Blue Mountain LTRG worked together to get a couple a new pair of recliners. A couple living in a mobile home lost their set of matching recliner chairs and didn’t have the funds to replace them, so a disaster case manager brought the situation to the unmet needs committee. An unmet needs committee focuses on helping people address needs not covered by insurance or FEMA money. One of the members of the committee found an identical set of recliners in Washington and another representative from the committee offered to pick them up. At the home of the couple, yet another member was there to help unload them. The community spirit was present, now on an even bigger scale.

Assistance

2020 was also an unprecedented year for wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. While the fires didn’t affect the same area impacted by the February floods, the Blue Mountain LTRG was in a position to assist other groups in the state. They shared “all the documents we put in place for bylaws and recovery efforts, talking about different committees that need to be in place,” said Larsen, speaking about the process for forming a long-term recovery group. Last February, the Blue Mountain LTRG formed with assistance from another disaster recovery group in Oregon and the wildfires gave them the opportunity to pay it forward and share their knowledge with newly formed disaster groups.

As with all disasters this past year, COVID-19 has affected the recovery process. Doing one-on-one in-person case management interviews became impossible. Rebuilding and repairing homes is more challenging than normal because volunteers are discouraged, and contractors are difficult to find. When it is possible to safely bring in volunteers, they will be busy doing small repairs, especially on fences, wells, septic tanks, and irrigation systems on agricultural land.

Support

People in the area are independent – when in trouble, they believe that their family and neighbors will take care of them. Early in the recovery process, there was a lack of trust by residents for organizations that came to support them, said Larsen. But over time, that trust grew. Out of the original 579 cases, over 300 have been closed. However, many remain open, and for that reason, the Oregon Synod recently received a grant from LDR to continue case management for survivors. The grant will help fund an AmeriCorps position. The staff member  will serve as a case manager and assist with the formation of a Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) for the Blue Mountain region. The COAD is an extension of the existing Blue Mountain LTRG. By building upon the relationships formed during the relief and recovery phases of the flooding, the COAD is preparing to respond to the next disaster right away and in so doing, contributing towards the community’s disaster resilience.

Catalyst

Catalyst. That’s the world Larsen used to describe the role of Lutheran Disaster Response in the Umatilla flood response and recovery efforts. An LDR-supported Oregon Synod Disaster Preparedness and Response network has been working to spread awareness about the importance of being ready for a disaster. At the time of its formation, its main concern was the Cascadia earthquake expected to hit the region at some point. But preparedness quickly turned into response, first with the Umatilla floods, then COVID-19 and wildfires. While there was still much to do to respond to the flooding, the Oregon Synod had a slight head start.

“LDR  is the catalyst in getting that going and now others are supporting with their funds. So, it takes one catalyst to get it started and, in this case, it was LDR,” said Larsen.

The importance of disaster preparedness was one of the biggest takeaways by both Larsen and Ley. In the Blue Mountain region, there was no preparation for flooding, or any other disaster, except for the early stages of the Oregon Synod Disaster Preparedness and Response network. The Blue Mountain LTRG had to form in the midst of the disaster. Ley said that it would be easier if relationships between the organizations were built beforehand. They both realize how unprepared the region was for disasters last February. A year later, with organizations coming together to form the Blue Mountain LTRG and COAD, they are confident in their readiness for the next disaster.

Transformation

Water can give life and take away life. But water can also transform life. The waters of the Umatilla River transformed the Blue Mountain region. They brought different communities and organizations together to help everyone. They led to the establishment of an LTRG and COAD, which formed new relationships and strengthened old ones. The waters led to a transformation of how the region thought about disasters, preparedness, and the importance of long-term recovery.

“LDR has always billed itself as being in for the long haul and I had taken that message in, but I didn’t realize how important that was,” said Ley. “You do the initial work, but there’s a lot of stuff that hangs out there for a long time and without long-term commitment from LDR and other partners, there would just be a lot of issues that wouldn’t be addressed.”

In all responses, LDR strives to transform lives. From immediate relief to long-term recovery, LDR is present to support survivors and communities as they rebuild their homes and lives. Around the United States and around the world, communities impacted by disasters are transforming and becoming more resilient, ready for the next disaster.

Leslie Weber, Chesapeake, VA

Warm-up Questions

Have participants talk about what their experience of Holy Week has been in the past.  Possible conversation starter questions include:

• Does the congregation you attend “celebrate” Palm Sunday on its own or combine it with Passion Sunday?
• What ritual actions are meaningful to you on Palm/Passion Sunday? (waving palms, being part of procession, having a real live donkey, hearing the whole passion story, etc.)
• Have you ever attended a Maundy Thursday worship service? What do you remember?
• Have you ever attended a Good Friday worship service? What do you remember?
• Have you ever attended an Easter Vigil worship service? What do you remember?
• If you haven’t ever attended a worship service during Holy Week (Maundy Thursday/Good Friday/Easter Vigil), why not?

Provocative Palms

Recently, the Miami Beach City Commission approved an urban forestry master plan.  The goal of the plan is to reduce the proportion of the city’s canopy made up of palm trees to 25% by 2050.  By increasing the number and percentage of other trees that provide more shade in the city, they hope to extra comfort for residents and visitors, while also helping to “reduce urban warming, improve air quality, and absorb more carbon and rainwater.”

The master plan was passed unanimously, but now one city commissioner is speaking out against how the plan is being implemented.  He and his staff are encouraging residents to oppose removal of palm trees as part of construction projects around the city.  He is worried that as the prominence of palm trees diminishes in the city’s overall canopy, the city’s “historic, cultural, and economic brand” will suffer.  The city commissioner’s aide commented “if this plan goes forward, they might as well remove the palm from our City’s official logo.”

The city’s environmental and sustainability director is speaking out in opposition to the city commissioner’s concerns, saying that the “city is not going around chopping down palm trees” and that at 25% of the total canopy, “palms will continue to be a focal point along the city’s roads, greenspaces, and parks,” even while shade trees are planted as a faster rate in order to “maximize the environmental, social, and economic benefits of trees.”

Full article: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article249432995.html

Discussion Questions

• What are the pros/cons of Miami Beach’s plan to reduce the percentage of palm trees in the city’s canopy over the coming decades?  (This is a great chance to practice considering all sides of an argument.)
• List all the ways that you benefit from trees.
• What are you, your household, your congregation, and your local government doing in response to or in an effort to slow climate change?

Sunday of the Passion/ Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Mark 14:1—15:47

Mark 15:1-39 [40-47] (alternate)

(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

Even if you don’t read any of the optional parts (Mark 14 and 15:40-47),  this Sunday’s gospel reading is long.  You may be familiar with the basic story, but the details vary across the four Gospel accounts.  It is easy to overlook some parts during Holy Week.  This is why it is helpful to hear the story as a whole on Palm/Passion Sunday, and then break it up into shorter texts.  During Holy Week we hear short parts of the story, paired with ritual actions (Palm/Passion Sunday—procession with palms; Maundy Thursday—foot washing, Holy Communion, stripping of the altar; Good Friday—procession and adoration of the cross).

It is undeniable that this story is full of people and groups who have different expectations, hopes, and either a readiness or reluctance to change. Just in Mark 15:1-39, we get a glimpse of various people’s values/priorities:

• The Jewish Leadership (chief priests, scribes, elders, whole council) is in search of a way to get rid of Jesus and keep their position as the religious authority (Mark 14:1).
• Pilate is amazed by Jesus’ answers (and lack thereof) to the charges brought against him (Mark 15:5) but also wants to keep the crowd calm (Mark 5:15).
• Jesus Is committed to in-breaking the kin-dom of God. Although he would prefer an easier way, he is committed to doing what needs to be done (Mark 14:36).
• Barabbas and rebels are willing to kill in order to change the status quo (Mark 15:7).
• The Centurion sees and confesses that Jesus is “God’s Son,” despite his position and background.

Throughout Jesus’ life, we see God working to turn the world upside down, to reorient people’s priorities, to make our world and lives look a bit more like God’s original intention for a creation where no one lacks anything.

God was never confined to the temple in Jerusalem.  We confess that Jesus is God incarnate, in-fleshed, but the tearing of the temple curtain at the moment of Jesus’ death is a sign.  It wasn’t torn from bottom to top (as it would have been if torn by human hands), but “was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38), as if today God has left the building.  Today God  moves among and through each of us to enact all that for which Jesus preached, worked, and ultimately died and was raised.

Discussion Questions

• Read the text. What parts of the story jumped out to you as you listened this time?
• Were there any parts that you did not remember or remembered differently?  (Having a synopsis or parallel edition of the four Gospels would aid in comparing the details between the accounts.)
• With which character in the story do you most identify and why? How do their values/priorities compare to your values/priorities?
• How do you feel about change?  Is there is something in your life, congregation, community that might need to end/die in order for something new/better to be established and flourish?

Activity Suggestions

• Find a creative way to hear and experience the whole Holy Week story.  Examples: there are YouTube videos of the Stations of the Cross, you can a buy or make a set of “resurrection eggs,” or (if it safe to gather and weather permits) walk around the church property or neighborhood, reading a different part of the story in a different location.
• Make space for everyone to reflect on the story of Jesus’ Passion.  Provide art supplies for doodling, offer paper and pencils for journaling, set up a prayer labyrinth, or any other means of personal or group reflection that your group would find helpful.
• Palms
  • If you congregation is supplying palms this year, learn about your congregation’s palms:
    • From what company do you order them?
    • Where are they grown?
    • Are they sustainably raised? (think about the environment and labor practices)
  • If your congregation isn’t supplying palms this year, use construction paper (or other craft supplies) to make your own palms to use during the service.  You can search the internet for ideas about how to do this, but an easy one is to trace your hand on green paper, cuts out 5 or so “copies” and then glue them onto a popsicle stick.

Closing Prayer 

Redeeming God, thank you for all that you have given us, especially the gift of eternal, abundant life.  Help us to know and work for your intentions in our lives and our world.  Amen.

©UNESCO

The UN General Assembly resolution 2142 (XXI)(link is external), adopted on 26 October 1966, proclaimed 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to be commemorated annually.

Statement for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The statement follows:

From Churches Beyond Borders: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

In Advent 2020, Churches Beyond Borders expressed a commitment to dismantling racism, combating white supremacy and actively seeking opportunities to engage more deeply on these important issues. In this season of Lent, we continue our journey as we join together in observing the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This is an annual day of recommitment in remembrance of the day police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960. (www.un.org/en/observances/end-racism-day) Recognizing that the March 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a calling to be lived out every day, we offer this reflection as encouragement to continue the journey with renewed determination.

I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them
(Exodus 3:7-8a, NRSV)

How do we lament the sin of racism?

Racism and xenophobia have a painful, violent, deadly history that traverses all borders. The institutional church shares in the complicity of the legacies of the Doctrine of Discovery colonization, forced removal and genocide of Indigenous people, the enslavement of African and Indigenous Peoples and injustices  perpetrated against all people of color. The sin of racism is structural, institutional, interpersonal and internalized. It lives in communities inside and outside the church; it continues to inflict harm on a daily basis and generate new history. How do we repent of all of this?

At the burning bush, Moses hears God say, “I have heard the cries of my people.” We who follow the God of Freedom must also hear the cries of God’s people, of each other, and especially those among us who live under the constant threat and violence of racism and white supremacy. For those of us who have the privilege of closing ourselves off, we need to open ourselves to feel the painful truths of the sins of racism and white supremacy in our hearts and bodies and minds and souls. We must create spaces and structures that welcome and include the voices of those most directly impacted by the sins of racism. This message is being shared during the season of Lent, a period of self-examination, reflection, and making amends. We need to lament, repent and be transformed.

Moses is told to take off his sandals. We need to lament in worship: to remove our shoes, to stand in humility, to feel the ashes on our foreheads, to be honest in the presence of God about our sins and shortcomings. Holy Ground is a gift that supports lamentation, repentance, transformation and discernment.

Moses is sent to work for the freedom of people. Oppression is not inevitable or insurmountable. Things can change. Challenging racism and white supremacy calls each of us to deep and honest consideration of perceptions, biases, behaviours and systemic patterns. We echo the United Nations call to take the strongest possible stand against racism, discrimination and intolerance of every kind, to spread the word to fight racism and to take stock of the state of human rights and hate speech today and reflect on how each of us can stand up for rights. In lamentation and repentance, we hear God’s call to act for the dismantling of racism.

Moses admits his own fears and reluctance. God directs Moses to connect with his siblings. God provides Miriam and Aaron to make up for Moses’ weaknesses and to enhance his strengths. The journey is long and the work is hard, crossing many difficult borders in our lives, communities, and our churches. We give thanks for the gift of community on this journey and in this work.

We invite you to join us in prayer:
God of Holy Ground, move us to lament and repent. Open our hearts, bodies, minds and souls to the cries of your people. Transform us by your presence. Drive us into action for the dismantling of racism in relationships, communities and societies. Bless us with companions who support us, challenge us and help us keeping going. We pray for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We commend to you these resources for further reflection and discernment:

Suggested action from the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights to #FightRacism
Fight Racism | Stand up for human rights | UN Human Rights (standup4humanrights.org)

Explanation of the Declaration of the ELCA to People of African Descent
https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Slavery_Apology_Explanation.pdf?_ga=2.160292863.337082937.1614267858-176581130.1609883917

“Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen lands, Strong Hearts” is a film about a devastating decision, made over 500 years ago, which continues to profoundly impact Indigenous and Settler people worldwide. https://www.anglican.ca/primate/tfc/drj/doctrineofdiscovery/

Call to Racial Reconciliation: “Litany of Repentance” and “Commissioning for the Ministry of Justice and Reconciliation” from the “10th Anniversary Celebration of Full Communion” between the Episcopal Church and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bTb_fguBnZJO2xLiPjwpLmSLWYeihNnA/view

Sacred Teachings Podcast: Indigenous Elders all across Turtle Island share teachings, languages, traditions and stories of the Ancestors.
https://www.anglican.ca/im/podcasts/

The Ecumenical Conversation on the International Decade for People of African Descent
Recordings of November 26, 2020 online event and companion study guide.  https://www.interculturalleadership.ca/news/study-guide-recognition-justice-and-development-peoples-of-african-descent-and-canadian-churches

“With Love Before Us, We Are Walking” recoding of Gospel Jam 7 (February 13, 2021) with Archbishop Mark MacDonald and special guest Bishop Michael Curry
https://www.anglican.ca/im/gospeljam/

ELCA Anti-Racism Pledge – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Episcopal Church Report for the House of Bishops from its Theology Committee: White Supremacy, the Beloved Community, and Learning to Listen (Fall  2020)
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/bbc_hob_theo_cmte_report_on_white_supremacy.pdf

Anglican Church of Canada House of Bishop’s Statement on Confronting Racism
https://www.anglican.ca/news/our-own-house-is-not-in-order-bishops-issue-statement-on-confronting-racism/30026802/

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Pastoral Letter regarding the ongoing sin of Racism.
https://www.elcic.ca/news.cfm?article=570

In Christ – Shalom,

National Bishop Susan C. Johnson
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Archbishop and Primate Linda Nicholls
Anglican Church of Canada

Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry
The Episcopal Church

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

– – –

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: March 2021

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN  |  GLOBAL COVID-19 VACCINATION  |  PUBLIC CHARGE RULE BLOCKED  |  EVICTION MORATORIUM |  COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN:  Passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed by President Biden on March 12, was shaped by input of many constituents, including Lutheran voices. Thank you for your advocacy!

ELCA federal priorities for advocacy action were emphasized through many individual, leadership and coalition actions. Elements in resulting legislation of critical issues, emphasized in our advocacy for a stronger and more equitable recovery, are expanded in “Provisions in the American Rescue Plan.”

GLOBAL COVID-19 VACCINATION: President Biden recently announced the U.S. will contribute $4 billion to COVAX– a global vaccine initiative which is co-led by the World Health Organization. Two billion of those funds were scheduled for distribution at the end of February, the remaining two billion will be distributed in the coming months and through 2022.

ELCA Witnessing in Society advocacy staff have been advocating for increased funding resources to support global COVID relief efforts, including for expanded vaccines access.

PUBLIC CHARGE RULE BLOCKED:  On March 9, the 2019 Public Charge Rule was blocked permanently nationwide. The rule was found to increase the likelihood of families forgoing applying for benefits like SNAP, Medicaid and public housing out of concern for the consequences on a family member’s immigration status application. Many Lutherans shared public comments opposing the rule when it was introduced.

“The 2019 public charge rule was not in keeping with our nation’s values,” said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary. On social media, @ELCAAMMPARO reflected, “No one should have to agonize over whether to apply for needed support, especially during a time like now when we’re steadily working towards a national recovery. Immigrant families can feel safe applying for benefits for which they are eligible.”

EVICTION MORATORIUM:  A federal judge in Texas last month ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium issued by Congress is unconstitutional. Though no injunction was set in place, the current moratorium is still set to end this month, impacting millions of families and presenting immense challenge to church shelters already stretched thin nationwide.

The interfaith advocacy community has redoubled efforts. Nearly 2,300 organizations, including the ELCA, and elected officials signed onto a letter urging President Biden to extend the federal eviction moratorium beyond its March 31 expiration and to improve and enforce its protections.

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS:  Community Health Centers (CHC’s) across the country are important access points for affordable and quality healthcare. As part of the federal COVID-19 response, the administration has launched a vaccine distribution program through CHCs to better reach identified individuals experiencing homelessness, migrant and seasonal. farm workers, and people with limited English proficiency.

A list of Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program participants near your congregation or ministry is available from hrsa.gov. These health centers provide care to millions of patients annually in medically underserved rural and urban areas in the U.S., including patients who lack health insurance, minorities, and other vulnerable groups of people. The injection of $7.6 billion for CHC in the American Rescue Plan will expand the capacity of these providers to serve in their communities.

Receive monthly Advocacy Connections directly by becoming part of the ELCA Advocacy network – http://elca.org/advocacy/signup , and learn more from elca.org/advocacy .

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices.
As the new year begins, these state public policy offices (SPPO) share their annual policy priorities. Find a map and full list of ELCA affiliated SPPOs using our state office map.
Learn more about Lutheran advocacy using our new resource, Advocacy 101 For Young Adults.

U.N. | Arizona | Colorado | New Mexico | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Texas |Washington | Wisconsin

U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community, United Nations, New York, N.Y. https://www.elca.org/lowc –Dennis Frado, Director

Promoting Gender Justice at UN CSW65: A total of 72 delegates from all the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) regions will participate in the sixty-fifth session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) that will take place from 15 to 26 March 2021. The larger number reflects the fact that the session will be virtual due to COVID-19. The delegates consist of LWF Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment regional coordinators, staff of LWF World Service country programs, and representatives of ELCA companion churches. Approximately two dozen of the attendees are from the ELCA.

Together with ecumenical and interfaith partners, LOWC staff drafted and submitted three joint statements (E/CN.6/2021/NGO/91, E/CN.6/2021/NGO/117 and E/CN.6/2021/NGO/147) based on the theme, as well as considering the gendered impact of COVID-19.

LWF has organized and co-sponsored five CSW related events. To influence the outcome document known as the agreed conclusions, LOWC staff have been engaging actively within the Faith in Beijing coalition convened by Side by Side.

Humanitarian Assistance to Palestinians: In the coming weeks, ELCA staff, including LOWC, will be encouraging synod bishops and other ELCA members to intensify their messaging to Congress in support of U.S. bilateral humanitarian assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza). The assistance, though appropriated by Congress, was not disbursed by the previous Administration for several years. This funding had been an essential part of the annual operating budget of the LWF-owned Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem and its absence has resulted in substantial debt. The Biden Administration told the UN Security Council in late January that it wishes to “restore U.S. assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people” and renew “U.S. relations with the Palestinian leadership and Palestinian people.” Congressional leaders are being asked to contact the Administration to release those funds as soon as possible.

Arizona

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona, https://www.lamaz.org – Solveig Muus, Director

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona is currently tracking 37 bills of interest to people of faith in Arizona. In addition to the bills related to our specified policy priorities – Hunger and associated food security issues, Community-based Senior Support, and Fair and Equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines – we are watching movements on child and youth welfare, voting rights and redistricting, and education. We are encouraged to see that SB1176, a nutrition assistance bill to fund the Double Up Food Bucks Arizona program that essentially doubles the value of SNAP/EBT benefits at farmers markets, has a good chance of passing. This provides excellent support for healthy eating and local farmers!

LAMA also co-sponsored a second Advocacy 101 training workshop alongside Arizona Faith Network and Bread for the World to encourage people of faith to participate in their state government by expressing their views online using Arizona’s Request to Speak (RTS) system about the bills they care about.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona celebrated its first birthday in February. The LAMA Policy Council recently met to review this inaugural year’s successes and gains as well as its opportunities for improvement. The Council is deeply grateful for the support and mentoring of the ELCA’s state public policy offices, for the partnership of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, and for the many ministry partners who do the work of advocacy both nationally and in Arizona. Each partner has generously shared their passion and their experience with LAMA. It has been a very positive and productive first year, thanks be to God.

Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado https://www.rmselca.org/advocacy – Peter Severson, Director

Legislature Resumes: The Colorado General Assembly returned to session on February 16 after an extended recess to allow legislators to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The session is scheduled to proceed for its usual 120 days, ending on June 11.

Housing Bills: Lutheran Advocacy is joining the Renters’ Roundtable to support several housing-related bills in this session. These include:

• House Bill 1117, a measure to permit local governments to adopt inclusionary zoning ordinances to promote the construction of housing developments for low-income earners.
• House Bill 1121, a measure to introduce parity between the eviction and rent-relief timelines for renters facing eviction, and to extend notice periods for tenants regarding rent increases and eviction summonses.

Other Priorities: We have adopted support positions on a number of other bills already this session and are gearing up to send out Action Alerts for timely hearings.

• House Bill 1011, Multilingual Ballot Access to Voters
• House Bill 1119, Suicide Prevention, Treatment, and Postvention
• Senate Bill 087, Agricultural Workers’ Rights

Petitions & Letters: Lutheran Advocacy signed a letter urging Gov. Jared Polis to prioritize providers of homelessness-related services in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. We also are actively encouraging the Joint Budget Committee to prioritize restoring the funding for application assistance for people seeking Social Security Disability Insurance.

New Mexico

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry- New Mexico
https://www.lutheranadvocacynm.org – Kurt Rager, Director

1st Session of the 55th Legislature races towards the finish. The New Mexico Legislature’s current 60-day session will come to an end on March 20. The last half of the session is characterized by days that start early and often don’t end until close to or after midnight, including weekends. Though down significantly from previous 60-day sessions, over 800 bills have been introduced. Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – New Mexico (LAM-NM) has been tracking just under 90 bills, actively speaking in support or opposition to many.

LAM-NM Advocacy Agenda legislation highlights:

• Affordable Housing & Homelessness – Support for legislation that would support and assist landlords, tenants, and mortgage holders impacted by the current pandemic and that help mitigate the looming eviction crisis.
• Family-Sustaining Income – Support for tapping the state’s $22 billion Permanent Fund for increased early childhood education, for capping short-term “store-front” installment loans at 36%, for utility relief and disconnection protection, and the protection of low-income New Mexicans from debt collections due to unpaid healthcare bills.
• Healthcare – Support for emergency healthcare services and other health-related benefits for non-citizens, for the creation of a Healthcare Affordability Fund that would help offset the cost of health insurance for low-income New Mexicans, for the creation of Prescription Drug Affordability Board, and for legislation that would help identify those uninsured and connect them to free or low-cost health insurance plans.
• Hunger – Support for additional emergency funding for New Mexico food banks, for studying college student hunger, and for the Food, Hunger, & Farm Act and the Healthy Food Financing Act, both of which would focus on identifying and addressing root causes of hunger in New Mexico.
• Tax Policy – Support for legislation that would update the Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate program, increases for and expansion of eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit, for changes to tax policy, that would return progressivity to New Mexico’s tax structure.
• Criminal Justice – Support for ending the use and operation of private detention facilities, for repealing the cancelation of voter registration for felons after release, for decreasing the overuse of fines and fees in the criminal justice system, and for ending the revocation of driver’s licenses as a penalty.

Ohio

Hunger Network in Ohio https://www.hungernetohio.com – Nick Bates, Director

HNO was pleased to join over 50 other individuals in offering testimony last month against SB 17. This proposal will hurt those who are in poverty and increase hunger across Ohio. It will add photo ID’s to SNAP cards – causing confusion in the check-out line – add additional bureaucracy for counties and families in processing Medicaid and SNAP, punish workers for earning more money, and it will do nothing to reduce the unemployment identity theft that has hit Ohioans hard! Faith leaders across Ohio continue to push against this bill. Please write your Senator today and say NO to SB 17! 

Bishop Eaton to Preach at Ohio Advocacy Day on March 23: Budgets are Moral Documents. The Hunger Network is collaborating with the Ohio Council of Churches for a virtual advocacy day on March 23rd at 9:00am. We are pleased to welcome Bishop Eaton to our convening at 9am. This advocacy day will focus on our key priorities: Hunger, Housing, and Educational equity. Governor DeWine’s budget is still being reviewed in the Ohio House and will move over the Senate shortly. Sadly, this budget is a very ordinary budget while Ohio faces extraordinary needs. During our advocacy day, we will encourage Ohio’s legislators to have a bold vision for the future and craft a budget that will get us there! REGISTER HERE FOR ADVOCACY DAY!!!

Pennsylvania

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry- Pennsylvania (LAMPa) https://www.lutheranadvocacypa.org/ – Tracey DePasquale, Director

In February, LAMPa advocates celebrated and thanked lawmakers for the unanimous passage of emergency COVID relief as Act 1 of the new legislative session. On Feb.  5, Gov. Tom Wolf signed the law, directing more than $900 million in federal pandemic aid to struggling businesses, private schools, landlords and tenants unable to meet rent or utility bills because of economic downturn related to the failure to stop the spread of the disease.  Advocates had pressed for months to alleviate the suffering and anxiety in their communities. LAMPa urged the Public Utility Commission to extend the moratorium on shutoffs for low-income customers.

Hunger Advocacy Fellow Larry Herrold and Seminarian Margaret Folkemer-Leonard began organizing a statewide Rogation observance, gathering soil, stories, prayers, and pictures from sites across all seven synods and the two campuses of United Lutheran Seminary. Lutherans will be praying and acting for one another and their communities across divides of geography, ethnicity, age, race, ideology, wealth, immigration status and more in conjunction with the ULS convocation around “The Theology of Gathering.” LAMPa will resource disciples for advocacy related to hunger, farming, environmental justice, and other concerns lifted in their prayers.

LAMPa hosted a Worship and Wonder Wednesday as part of a justice-related series in Lower Susquehanna Synod. Airing at the start of Lent and tied to the UN World Day of Social Justice, the panel discussion focused on our baptismal call to labor for justice, reflecting on wilderness and what it means to be a disciple in this democracy.

Texas

Texas Impact https://www.texasimpact.org/ – Scott Atnip, Outreach Director

The Texas Legislature convened their biennial Legislative Session in January, and Texas Impact immediately began resourcing Texans of faith to engage in the process.

Texas Impact staff spent the month of February surviving the winter apocalypse and power grid failure while also preparing for the Texas Interfaith Advocacy Days- the largest interfaith advocacy gathering in the state, March 6-9. This year, the conference moved online and will highlight speakers and advocacy opportunities related to three priority areas: Health Insurance, Climate Resilience, and Elections.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, online engagement will be more important than ever, and we continue to promote online content. This month, we partnered with Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson for a creative ten minute video explaining the importance of Medicaid Expansion in Texas.

Texas Impact continues to recruit Rapid Response Team members to make time-sensitive calls and Legislative Engagement Group members who commit to meeting and partnering with other advocates in their Texas House district to plan and prepare for monthly meetings with their representative and/or staff.

During the Legislative Session, the Weekly Witness podcast features a Texas faith leader to provide a “Weekly Word,” a guest advocate discussing the “issue of the week,” and Texas Impact staff providing a legislative update and action alert. For the second month in a row, February episodes had record numbers of listeners during the live Zoom recording and in downloads for the month.

In addition, our staff have been invited to present to a number of congregational events as they increase capacity for online programming. Texans of faith are mobilizing in exciting ways to participate with their representatives during this important season of democracy.

Washington

Faith Action Network https://www.fanwa.org/ – Paul Benz and Elise DeGooyer, Co-Directors

2021 Advocacy Days: FAN hosted three virtual Advocacy days with two pre-session trainings in January and February in Eastern WA, Olympia, and Central WA. At each event, we gathered inspiration from faith leaders and legislators on the importance of advocacy and putting our words into action, we broke out into groups by issue topic, and in Olympia we scheduled over 110 meetings with legislators by district! Between the three events, we had over 400 advocates attend who were eager to make progressive change in the legislative session and in their local areas. We missed seeing everyone in-person, but we were just as powerful behind our screens!

Legislative Successes: The 2021 WA Legislative session has just passed the cutoff date for bills to be voted out of their house of origin and onto the next chamber. We are excited that so many important bills are moving forward from FAN’s legislative agenda, including:

• Economic Justice and the Biennial Budget: A tax on Capital Gains, lifting restrictions for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), greater equity and access to Community and Technical Colleges, emergency cash and food assistance during COVID, funding the Working Families Tax Credit, free and reduced lunches for all grades.
• Policing and Criminal Justice reforms: de-escalation training and use of deadly force as a last resort, establishing an Office for Independent Investigations of police officers, prohibiting unnecessary police tactics, decertification and Criminal Justice Training Commission reforms, removing Driving While License Suspended (DWLS-3) as a criminal offense.
• Housing and Homelessness: Eviction reform, Just Cause eviction reform.
• Climate Justice: Clean Fuels Standards, the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act
• Immigrant, Civil, and Human Rights: Voting Rights Restoration for those with felony convictions, removing an exemption for undocumented workers in the Office of Civil & Legal Aid, prohibiting private prisons, prohibiting use of Native American mascots, establishing a paid Juneteenth holiday.
• Health Care: Establishing a Universal Health Care Commission, creating public health districts.

Wisconsin

Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW)  https://www.loppw.org/ – Cindy Crane, Director

Wednesday Noon Live: We received updates on lawmakers’ efforts to limit voting rights, discussed national news, and held a special interview with Ruth Ivory-Moore, ELCA Director of Environmental and Corporate Responsibility.

Care for God’s Creation: LOPPW continued planning for Faith Advocacy for Climate Justice event on March 18, at which time video testimonies on climate change were collected from our coalition members. Cindy spoke at two press conferences in Kenosha to support efforts of an ELCA pastor and six others in their fast for climate justice. She also advised the WI 7 on State Budget priorities. Both staff also helped plan a press conference and rally in Madison.

Trainings (Advocacy & Anti-sex trafficking): Kyle led a workshop on talking to youth about advocacy at a synod clergy conference gathering in the NWSW while Cindy led advocacy trainings- one at a Northwest Synod of Wisconsin-wide event, and another on anti-sex trafficking to a class at Edgewood College.

Immigration: Kyle is helping the SCSW organize Standing with our Neighbors on immigration reform.  The virtual event, taking place March 23 at 7:00 PM, is open to all.

Hunger: LOPPW is part of the Better Choices Coalition examining issues related to hunger in the Governor’s Budget and strategizing responses.

Criminal Justice: Kyle was part of the planning group for “Justice for Emerging Adults – Great Lakes Region: How does Wisconsin Compare,” even helping to facilitate the workshop.

Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes speaking after
Bishop Joy Mortensen-Wiebe led us in an
opening prayer in front of the Capitol.

Action

“They are working together, united, to show the country and the world that this is the way to fight for peace.”

Thus far this Lent, we have heard stories of God working through this church, our companions and our neighbors to end hunger. We have heard stories from India, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., and heard of the stories that cannot be shared. We have learned that ending hunger means committing ourselves to a more inclusive vision of community, to honesty, to justice and to one another. Here, in this last week, companions from Colombia will help teach us about the final tool: action.

As much progress as the world has made to end hunger, we still have a long way to go. Nearly 690 million people around the world are undernourished, and more than 35 million people in the United States don’t know where their next meal will come from. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of hunger around the world was on the rise after a decade of decline. With the pandemic, we have seen historic levels of unemployment, and even the most conservative forecasts warn that hunger and poverty could increase with nearly unprecedented rapidity in the coming years as we recover from its effects.

In his response to the plague that reemerged in Wittenberg in 1527, Martin Luther addressed the question of how a Christian is to act in a pandemic. After highlighting the ways God shows concern for good health in Scripture and exhorting his readers to care for their neighbors, Luther writes that prayer, though important, is not enough. Christians, he proclaims, must do more than pray. They must act.

Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others.

Pray. Then act.

These past 40 days of Lent commemorate the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and facing down temptation. In the first temptation, Satan placed the “famished” Jesus before a pile of stones and demanded that Jesus prove his power by turning the stones to bread that would end his hunger (Matthew 4:1-3). How tempting that must have been! How many parents with not enough food for their children would wish for such a miracle so that their family might be fed? How many of the 690 million undernourished people around the world would welcome the power to turn stones into the bread they need?

Yet the choice Jesus faced was not between stones and bread but between truth and lies. No sudden miracle will end the world’s hunger. Ending hunger is not about wishing or praying for the power to alter reality. Hunger does not end because of a miraculous intervention. It ends because of the persistent work of God with, among and through people striving for change. It is sometimes slow work, accomplished one step at a time. But it will not stop until we realize that vision of a time when we will hunger and thirst no more.

Carolina Camargo, a nurse from Villavicencio, Colombia, knows that this is what it will take. Carolina is part of the work God is doing through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia (IELCO) and the church’s Justicia y vida (Justice and Life) initiative, which is supported by ELCA World Hunger. Together with others, Carolina works toward future reconciliation in Justicia y vida’s “From War to Peace” project, which weaves ties of solidarity between the church and communities in Colombia that have been beset by violence for many years.

Carolina and other volunteers are at work in the area of Urabá, which means “promised land” in the Indigenous Embera Katío language. Since the 1990s, Urabá has witnessed a war involving the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), insurgents, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and paramilitary groups. The conflict led to more than 103 massacres in the region and 32,000 people displaced between 1998 and 2002. Today, social leaders remain at risk from paramilitary units over disputes involving land.

The peace process has been a long road for Colombia, and IELCO has been traveling it for many years. In San José, former combatants and their families are given a chance to start again through the work of the church. In San José de Léon, they are able to build and maintain homes and resume their former lives raising fish, pigs and chickens. It’s a chance to rebuild some of what was lost in the years of conflict.

Addressing conflict and working for peace are central to ending hunger. Conflict is one of the most significant reasons for hunger increasing around the world. When people’s lives are threatened, they do not feel safe going to work or staying home. Many are forced to migrate to protect their families. Land may be stolen or destroyed, and markets are closed or empty. Parents and workers may be injured or killed in the violence. The United Nations estimates that up to 80% of humanitarian needs around the world are caused by conflict.

Building peace is a critical step in ending hunger. But it is a difficult step to take.

Carolina has learned this through her work with IELCO. “There are people who believe that you can close your eyes and yearn for peace without making an effort towards it,” she says. “What God allowed me to know is very different from that idealism, the reality I could observe and live, expressing hope in all the people who are part of this change.” The idealistic belief that peace means simply transforming swords into plowshares ignores “the struggle against negative feelings associated with the traumatic experiences” of the people with whom Carolina works. Yet together they “walk towards the goal of peace and reconciliation.

“They are working together, united, to show the country and the world that this is the way to fight for peace.”

We know that we cannot merely declare or call for “‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). Building peace and ending hunger take action within community and are fostered by the hope and trust that, with each step, God is moving our world closer to that goal.

In this study, we have read stories of people at work around the world. Their situations may differ, their needs may differ, but what unites them is the commitment to an active hope that refuses to stagnate or stay silent. It is the hope of the vulnerable guests seeking care at clinics and shelters, of women and girls in India, of advocates in Milwaukee and of peacemakers in Colombia.

It is the hope of Lent, which propels us on this arduous journey to — and beyond — the cross. This hope empowers us see a number such as 690 million hungry but to refuse to despair. It can be sustained only by our trust that God is with us in each small step, guiding us toward a promised future. In hope, we expand our vision of what it means to be “we.” In hope, we are honest about the challenges we face. In hope, we invest in our shared future. In hope, we speak up for justice.

And in hope, we act, knowing that a just world where all are fed is not just possible but promised — and knowing, too, that we are called to be part of building that future. This is not the idealistic prayer spoken but a realistic prayer lived in solidarity with one another in cities, towns, shelters, clinics, classrooms, gardens, statehouses — all the places where God is at work.

This is the prayer of an Easter people, and this is our prayer — that God will not merely turn stones into bread but build a new world on that rocky soil, a just world where all are fed.

Discussion Questions

1. Think, share or journal about a time when you acted and it created a positive change. What did you do? What happened? What did it feel like?
2. Where have you seen God turning prayers into action?
3. Think about the prayers you share during worship. Bring one prayer to mind. How might your community turn this prayer into action? What small or large steps could you take?
4. Where is there a need for action to end hunger in your community? What will it take to move this action forward?

Prayer

God of promise, God of hope, God of fullness, God of peace, guide us, your people, to be your hands and feet, to work together as you build on our rocky soil a new, just world where all are fed.

Learn more and follow ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of giving throughout Lent by visiting ELCA.org/40days.

Passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed by President Biden on March 12, was shaped by input of many constituents, including Lutheran voices. Thank you for your advocacy! There is reason to celebrate the recent, significant supports funded for millions of Americans still struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal response to the crisis of the pandemic is not only colossal, it is personal: a family has rent for another month, food on the table, required medicine, and in many cases even tools to no longer live in poverty and hunger.

ELCA federal priorities for advocacy action were emphasized through many individual, leadership and coalition actions. Elements in resulting legislation of critical issues emphasized in our advocacy for a stronger and more equitable recovery are briefly shared in this post, recognizing that a piece of legislation this substantial cannot be easily summarized. The ELCA Program Director for Domestic Policy points to an article by Houston Public Media for a more expanded look at “Here’s What’s In The American Rescue Plan.”

DOMESTIC

Provisions through the American Rescue Plan respond to the national and international health and humanitarian crisis as well as devastating economic realities in every community and family—urban, rural, and tribal—across the country.

One of the most direct supports are payments of up to $1,400 per person and $2,800 for a married couple if their income is below $75,000 or $150,000 respectively per year. Each child or dependent also qualifies for a $1,400 payment.

Some $55 billion will go to COVID-19 vaccine funding and continued contact tracing to fully arrest the virus.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) received $3 billion to invest in WIC’s quality nutrition services to improve health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children under age five. This is critical during COVID-19 because so many healthcare services have been suspended or interrupted during the pandemic. The law also supports low-income seniors with $1.4 billion in funding for Older Americans Act programs like nutrition programs, community-based support programs and the National Family Caregiver Support Program. Additionally, there is $37 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for low-income seniors.

Of great encouragement for pandemic relief as well as long-term impact on child poverty is utilization of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the Act. “While public safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) often get more attention, refundable tax credits actually have a larger positive impact on poverty,” wrote Ryan Cummings of ELCA World Hunger in a recent post to the ELCA advocacy blog. The CTC, for example, was extended to $3,600 per child age six and under and $3,000 per child age six through 18. Practically, this means for example that a working mother with two children ages eight and five would receive $550 per month through the end of this year while the temporary benefit is active. Those dollars could be used to help pay for childcare, food or clothing for the kids to return to school. Those dollars are often spent in local communities, including grocery stores and main street businesses, and support workers, local and state taxes bases, and much more.

Some $5 billion is dedicated to USDA technical assistance, education, and outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, defined as those who have experienced barriers to service due to racial or ethnic prejudice.

Native American and Alaska Native tribal governments will see about $31 billion in support for their communities which have had historically poor health outcomes and have been particularly hit hard by the spread of the virus.

School systems throughout the nation are now eligible for $128 billion in grants to respond to new protocols in classrooms and making education settings safe.

Small businesses now have newly targeted access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that helps small businesses keep their doors open and their employees paid while many jurisdictions are shuttered. Those who are unemployed can now receive extended Unemployment Insurance payments of $300 per month.

ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

The American Rescue Plan addresses home energy by providing $4.5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LiHEAP) and another $500 million for drinking water and wastewater assistance. It also provides $650 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The CISA is heading the investigation into the fourth quarter 2020 cyberattack against the company (SolarWind Corp) that hosts servers for the U.S. government and many large companies.

HOUSING

The final version of the American Rescue Plan contained roughly $50 billion in total in response to comprehensive housing needs stemming from the impact of the pandemic. The infusion includes $10 billion for homeowners facing foreclosure and $27 billion for renters facing eviction – very close to the $30 billion figure we advocated for based upon analysis advanced by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Interreligious Working Groupon Domestic Human Needs. Additional funding for homeless grants, tribal housing and fair housing counseling were included for comprehensive needs.

This federal investment will proactively prevent the looming mass-eviction crisis and potential second housing crisis that were seething since the start of the pandemic. It is a significant win for congregations and shelters already exceeding capacity – working around the clock to help those of us struggling with homelessness and housing insecurity. The final plan also prioritizes families with the lowest incomes and our siblings who have been impacted by this pandemic the most – marking a step forward in our efforts to address the increasing economic disparities in our communities this past year.

INTERNATIONAL

Congress included nearly $11 billion for international COVID-19 relief. In this amount are funds to help low- and middle-income countries mitigate further spread of the coronavirus in their communities, as well as support them in addressing health, humanitarian and economic needs. While the final bill did not include the $20 billion for which we and coalition partners advocated, this is a step in the right direction. Effective global response to the COVID-19 pandemic requires an enormous amount of resources to which the U.S. and other countries must contribute, and we are grateful to Congress and the president for heeding calls from advocates like yourself to ensure we do not forget our global neighbors.

MIGRATION

Millions of families turned to emergency assistance to put food on the tables and pay for essentials to weather this pandemic, but many mixed-status families received insufficient or no help at all. (A “mixed-status family” is a family whose members include people with different citizenship or immigration statuses, for example in which the parents are undocumented and the children are U.S.-born citizens.) The COVID relief package includes $1,400 in economic impact payments for any qualified adult with a work-valid social security number. Child and adult dependents with a social security number will also be eligible even if their parents are not—meaning that more mixed-status families will receive help where they did not before. The American Rescue Plan’s $7.6 billion in funding for community health centers will go far in promoting equity in access to vaccines and associated services for historically underserved groups, among these farmworkers, and complement the federal government’s vaccine distribution programs to reach these disparately impacted communities. The package also includes $500 million for migration and refugee assistance, along with $110 million in additional Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to help respond to families and individuals encountered by the Department of Homeland Security.

Dennis Sepper, Rosemount, MN

Warm-up Question

Have you ever had anything go really wrong but it ended up being just what you needed?  What was that like?

Of Fruit and Seeds

At the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the world was introduced to a 22-year-old poet, Amanda Gorman.  Her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” delivered with such poise and passion, launched her into the spotlight of fame.  Sitting just feet away from her that day was former First Lady Michelle Obama.  In the February 18/February 23, 2021 issue of Time magazine, Ms. Obama interviewed Amanda Gorman about that day and about her work.  At one point Ms. Obama asked Amanda about the influence art can have on social change.  Ms. Gorman answered “Absolutely.  Poetry and language are often at the heartbeat of movements of change.”  She noted how words and images can convey meaning.  She then recalled how at a Black Lives Matter rally she saw a banner that read, “They buried us but they didn’t know we were seeds.”  The image that those words conveyed touched Ms. Gorman very deeply.

From small beginnings, when things look at their worst, great things can arise and grow and bear much fruit.  In many ways Ms. Gorman was correct.  Women won the right to vote after many thought the movement was dead and buried.  Same with the abolitionist movement, the civil rights movement, the LGBTQ movement, and many others.  Many of those who worked for the above rights never saw the fruits of their labors, but, unknown to them, they were the seeds that bore fruit many years later.  

Discussion Questions

Listen to or read Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb”

• What seeds do you think Amanda Gorman is planting in her poem?
•  What fruit do you think Amanda Gorman is hoping her seeds will bring forth?

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-33

(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

This week’s gospel begins in a curious way.  Jesus and the disciples are in Jerusalem anticipating the Passover feast.  Some Greeks are also in the city and finding Philip, a follower of Jesus, they ask to see Jesus.  However, notice that Jesus never goes to see the Greeks nor does Jesus invite them to come to him.  Instead Jesus sees this request from the Greeks as a sign that his hour has come to be crucified and to die (The gospel writer John always sees Jesus’ death as an act of glory.  That is why Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”)

Then Jesus creates a very interesting image:  “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  This image only makes sense when we know that Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last time.  Within days he will be arrested, tried, crucified, and will die.  Jesus is the grain and the cross is the instrument that places Jesus in the earth.

But we also know what happens three days after that. Jesus rises from the dead and you and I become the fruit of that grain dying and rising.  The fruit we bear is the proclamation of the gospel, the announcement of God’s grace and salvation and service to others that Jesus has shown in his service to us.  Indeed, Jesus is telling the truth; as we lose our lives in service to others we find it.  We see that real power lies in giving it to others, that we are leaders when we become servants to others.  This is the fruit we bear because Jesus became that grain of wheat  laid in the earth.  He rose to become the mighty branch from which we live, and move and have our being. 

But there is more.  In our baptism we proclaim that we also die with Jesus and rise to newness of life (see the beginning declaration of the Holy Baptism service, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 227, and St. Paul’s words in Romans 6:4).  In that way, we are also seeds…seeds which bring forth peace, justice, love.  Every act of love, mercy and forgiveness, however small, can be a seed of change in the world. We might never see the fruit of the seed we plant, but we trust that God will cause it to grow and bear fruit.

We are both fruits of Jesus’ grain of wheat and seeds in our own right.  Good news indeed!

Discussion Questions

• What things do you have a passion for?  Sports?  Music?  Climate change?  Rescue animals?
• Where and how were the seeds for that passion planted in you?  Was it something you saw on social media?  Was it something someone said to you or told you about?
• Seeds and fruit are not just a part of an individual’s life; they are also a part of a community’s life.  What kind of fruit does your church community bear?  What seeds are your church planting in the neighborhood where it is located?  How can you be a part of that fruit bearing and seed planting?

Activity Suggestions

Ask an adult family member how they came to pursue their calling (occupation or hobbies or social concerns).  Where were the seeds planted for them in their past to be interested in their calling?  What fruit do they hope to bear in the future?

Closing Prayer

Loving Jesus, throughout your life you sought to plant seeds of love and justice in people and in communities. In this Lenten season, send your Holy Spirit upon us that we might bear the fruit of your death and resurrection wherever we are planted, and by your grace, may we plant the seeds of your love in all those we meet today and every day.  Amen

The Word

Genesis 1:29-30

²⁹ God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Being with the Flock

It was a sunny, unusually warm, winter afternoon in pre-pandemic 2020 when I had what I can now see as an “a-ha” moment. I had been having an inner struggle of sorts; I couldn’t see where God was calling me. That afternoon I had done what I usually did when the weather broke, go for a short stroll to clear my mind through the Kentish pastures of southern England that I love. A stone’s throw away from my university was a small farm where sheep graze. A baby had just been born, and as the sun warmed me, that precious lamb, and everything else in that slice of creation, I had the strongest desire to leap over the fence and lay down with the flock. I didn’t (that would be trespassing), but I really wanted to.

The sheep in the pasture that I would often walk by in Canterbury, England

My Lenten Fast

Something clicked for me that day. People close to me pushed me to think about that impulse, and to appreciate the Biblical imagery that it harkened to, shepherding to be specific. I always loved animals. My junior year of undergrad I went vegetarian for Lent after taking a course called “Environmental Ethics.” I learned how our choices as consumers, including the foods we choose to eat, contribute to environmental degradation or wellbeing. The diets we follow have an impact. A report by the Yale School of Forestry shows animal agriculture takes up about 80% of farmland but provides only 18% of the calories we consume. Now three years later, my Lenten practice is to go vegan. For me and many other Christians around the world and throughout history, Lent is a time to enter into a fast in an effort to bring oneself closer to God and become immersed in creation.

Living for Creation

Prior to my graduate studies in England, I thought I was meant to be an academic. Being abroad, however, gave me time and opportunities to distance myself from what I had been accustomed to. My eyes and ears opened to the “labor pains” of creation, as St. Paul calls it, and I felt the pull to live my life for God and God’s creation. I hope that through my fasting, study, and work that I might bring about a shred of Isaiah’s vision of the kingdom of God into existence in this time and place.

Isaiah 11:6-9

⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

Looking Beyond Lent

Now as a soon-to-be seminarian and aspiring ordained minister in the ELCA, I look beyond Lent, to how I can bring others into the radical vision of this future world; a kingdom we can only glimpse but know that it is there. Diet and fasting are not always options; economic insecurity, food deserts, and certain disabilities limit options, but there’s still much to be done. For me, a diet based in nonviolence and answering a vocational call in pastoral care and advocacy are how I can contribute to creation care. I pray that this season of Lent may be a time for us all to consider how we might, in our own ways, take a step toward a world in which all God’s creatures may “lie down together.”

A calf I’ve befriended near my home in central Pennsylvania

Discussion Questions:

1. How do the choices you make as a consumer impact your local environment? How do they impact environments around the world?
2. What sacred texts or Biblical passages inspire you to work to be a good steward of creation?
3. What could fasting for creation look like to you, your congregation, and your community? Is fasting something that everyone can participate in equally? Why or why not?

Larry Herrold is the ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow with the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) office in Harrisburg, Pa. A native of Sunbury, Pa., where the east and west branches of the Susquehanna River meet, he graduated from Susquehanna University in 2019 with a BA in History and Religious Studies. He received a MA in Modern History from the University of Kent in England, where he completed a Fulbright Scholarship. Herrold is deeply committed to the intersection between ecclesiastical service, social justice, and tradition. He will be attending Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary beginning Fall 2021 to earn his MDiv, pursue rostered leadership, and learn more about incorporating eco-justice into ecclesial ministry.