“And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did I it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’  Matthew 25:39-40 NRSV

I am a pastor serving St. Dysmas Of South Dakota, an ELCA congregation inside the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, SD. The men in my congregation come from a wide variety of racial, social and economic backgrounds and are in prison for a wide range of reasons.  South Dakota is approximately 87% white and 9% native but the statistics in prison do not even come close to reflecting that ratio.  As of March 31, 2020, there were 1,732 white males in the South Dakota prison system and 1,032 Native Americans. The prison system population is disproportionately represented by Native American!  I will not go into reasons for this disparity in depth, but it certainly reflects a severe problem in our society and justice system.

One interesting thing about serving a congregation inside the walls of prison–is that the men that worship at St Dysmas come from many different religious backgrounds. I am committed to serve all men regardless of their background. In a typical worship service there will be men who were raised Lutheran of all kinds, Baptist, Reformed, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Messianic Jews, and Orthodox Jews. There are those with no prior religious affiliation, and Native Americans who participate in traditional sweat lodges.  I find a beauty in this diversity as we acknowledge one God expressed and heard in many traditions.

As I listen to the men who come to visit with me, I hear common themes that contributed to their imprisonment.  Many of them were raised in homes that were abusive, had addicted parents, absent parents, and many were raised in low income homes. This is especially true for the Native American men who grew up in extreme poverty on the reservations.  The other thing I hear often is the fact that they feel they had inadequate legal representation at trial.  In the current justice system if you have enough money to hire an attorney who will focus their attention on your case, you have a much better chance of either being acquitted or receiving lighter sentences.  If you must rely on a public defender who is overwhelmed with heavy caseloads you are likely to receive a harsher sentence for the same offense others have committed but had better representation.  It is hard to hear these stories but as a pastor, my place is to make sure they know, in the midst of this injustice, that they are loved by God no matter what.

I love serving the men in prison.  The men know who they are. There are no pretenses and they know what they need.  They have had their head hanging over the abyss. They have come to a point in their life where they know something has to change and there must be something more to life than what they had previously experienced.  They are eager to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and that good news changes them.  When they come forward to receive Holy Communion there is an eagerness in their eyes.  They know they need Christ and his unconditional love.  For many of these men it is the first time they have felt a real sense of peace in their lives.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic the South Dakota Department of Corrections is not allowing any visitors or volunteers inside of the prison. I am unable to go inside for pastoral care visits or to lead worship.  However, I record a worship service on DVD and send it in each week. The service is played on the prison’s internal TV system.  The men watch the service in their cells rather than assemble as a congregation.

At St Dysmas Lutheran Church all are truly welcome to worship with us.  The good news of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to all people. It is a joy to be called to bring that message to this community worshiping behind the bars of a prison.

 

Rev. Wayne Gallipo is a graduate of Luther Seminary and served in three parishes prior to taking the call to serve as Lead Pastor for St. Dysmas of South Dakota.  He serves as a board member and treasurer of Prison Congregations of America (PCA). The mission of PCA is to build communities of faith inside and outside of prisons in the United States. Rev. Gallipo and his wife Rev. Joy Gonnerman live in Sioux City, IA.

 

 

Reprint* of post by Peter Severson, Director, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado

It seems almost trite to point out the deep and intense division in our modern political landscape in the United States. The contrast between worldviews among the different factions in our public life is so obvious, massive, and apparently unbridgeable that it seems like an immovable obstacle to which we just have to resign ourselves. It feels easier to just take it as a given, rather than to ask how it might be reconciled. It is a very tough environment in which to be a church premised on God’s reconciliation and love.

This, nonetheless, is the context in which the ELCA finds itself, called presently to speak into a riven reality, one where the only authentic public struggle seems to be the contest for power. We are called to be a church with faith active in love for God and for our neighbor. Love, in turn, “calls for justice in the relationships and structures of society.”¹ But what are we to make of this call to be justice-seekers in a deeply divided world?

 

The Promise of Civility

For many, there is great appeal to placing our hope in the promise of a “return to civility.” Faced with the partisanship of a frequently-gridlocked Congress and White House, one might naturally see civility as a rescuer of public dialogue based on respect, integrity, and thoughtful consideration of opinions different from our own. Few observers would describe the overall tenor of our present discourse as ‘civil,’ much less respectful or dignified.

Perhaps for this reason, the ELCA was one of many religious denominations to draft and endorse a campaign called Golden Rule 2020: A Call for Dignity and Respect in Politics. The goals of the campaign, launched in November 2019, are twofold: one, to ask Christians to “pray for the healing of the divisions in our country” (meaning the United States), and two, to reflect on the Golden Rule in one’s ministry setting for the purpose of applying Christian principles to our political discourse.²

The call for civility in politics – which the campaign defines as showing dignity and respect for those who disagree with us – appeals across a broad swath of Christian traditions. The Golden Rule, to which the campaign’s name refers, can be found in many forms in many faiths: treat others as you would have them treat you. For Christians, this could be readily distilled from our Gospel call to love our neighbors as ourselves. As an ecumenical pursuit and as an implicit critique of the present incarnation of U.S. politics, the campaign is both timely and straightforward.

 

Holy Restlessness

The longer history of our country would suggest, however, that calls for civility do not always manifest as calls for dignity and respect, a posture for how to engage in dialogue. Such calls can be, and have been, deployed as cudgels against the holy and restless impatience of God’s justice-seeking people. When civility is taken to mean a critique of not just form but function and process, it can easily mutate into an obstacle to our critical participation in the social, economic, and political structures of our nation. It tells those who would publicly confront figures with calls for accountability that the act of confrontation itself is the real obstacle to reconciliation and progress, not the policies which those public figures enact or the norms they embody in their public conduct.

In this way, civility can morph into “an attempt to extend complicity” to those who would protest the brokenness evident in our public life – the move to deny health insurance to vulnerable populations, the separation of asylum-seeking families, the use of tax cuts for hyper-wealthy individuals as a justification for cutting social services to the poor – and to make it seem like those people who are speaking out are solely responsible for our loss of public comity.³ But it is precisely such policies that are the source of the rift itself. They stir the outrage of those who want our economic and social systems to care for the poor.

When used as a model for dialogue, civility can be a posture of conciliation and respectful engagement. This seems to be the intent behind the Golden Rule 2020 campaign. Unfortunately, civility has often been deployed in other contexts of our public life as a pretext for silencing the urgency of demands for justice. Politicians are increasingly wont to praise civility and disparage public confrontation (especially when they are the ones being confronted). Such calls for civility are often “little more than a plea on the part of those who benefit from the status quo to be spared the discomfort of acknowledging or addressing the pain of others.”⁴ But these are the wages of being a public servant in a democracy: that one must, occasionally, confront the actual public who is ostensibly being served. For the sake of the urgent needs of our neighbors, people of faith cannot obsequiously continue to prioritize the comfort of those in power. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Other critiques might suggest that a call for civility is naïve, or that the ship has sailed on any attempt to revive civil discourse into our political process – that 2016 was, in effect, a Rubicon of cheapened discourse beyond which we cannot return. And one could argue that the dichotomous framing of the campaign itself (with an emphasized letter “D” and letter “R” in its logo, along with binary red and blue color motifs) also buys into the Manichaean two-party gridlock that deeply infects U.S. politics, foreclosing our imagination from other ways of being that are not solely Democratic or Republican partisanship.

 

A Refuge from Exhaustion

It would be a mistake, though, to presume that civility’s distortion as a rhetorical weapon means that there is no place for civil discourse in our politics. Put simply, it is not bad to wish for a more elevated and dignified form of politics. Public opinion polls suggest that many Americans are exhausted by the addiction to rage, tabloid sensationalism, and zero-sum approaches to politics coverage in our media and public life. For the church to function as a place of refuge from this exhaustion is entirely appropriate. Jesus extends this invitation to all of us: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”⁵ In that context, the church can be a place which calls for a politics that upholds dignity, respect, and love.

It is also true that Christian people are at different stages of their journey toward imagining and pursuing a politics not addicted to rage, fear, and demonization of others. Some people of faith may be ready to forcefully critique the structures and institutions of our broken and sinful world, while others are simply desiring to imagine ways to talk to their divided families, neighbors and friends. All people need to continue to wrestle deeply with the meaning of the Gospel’s call to love our neighbors. As much as we may wish for urgency in the task of pursuing a reconciled civic discourse, not everyone walks from the same place or at the same pace. Endorsing a resource that supports those for whom beginning with civility is productive is a good thing. At the same time, it must neither be our only resource nor our only framing of what God requires from us in the present moment.

 

To What Are We Called?

The emergent question is this: to what are we called? How can we be a church for the sake of the world, a light to show God’s love? For one, we can proclaim the gift of the Gospel, which “does not allow the Church to accommodate to the ways of the world.” We can remember that “the presence and promise of God’s reign makes the Church restless and discontented with the world’s brokenness and violence. Acting for the sake of God’s world requires resisting and struggling against the evils of the world.”⁶

In doing so, we can affirm that calling the powerful to account for how they propose to treat the poor, the orphan, and the stranger is a holy task. Sometimes that struggle may mean publicly addressing the powerful. Sometimes it may mean meeting privately with a decision-maker to exchange views. Sometimes it may mean testifying at a rally, or testifying on legislation. It may mean living out a counterexample in our own lives, caring for the needs of others in an immediate, tangible way. And it may mean learning how to converse civilly with our neighbors in our own congregation or ministry setting.

These ways of struggling to address the suffering and brokenness of the world can all be faithful. Jesus met with religious authorities and cared for the bodily needs of the common people. Jesus subjected himself to the power of the empire – a power which would eventually kill him – but not before charging into the Temple to flip over the tables of usurious money-lenders. Loving but persistent confrontation with prevailing authorities marked Jesus’ ministry on Earth, as did speaking to, teaching, and healing individual people.⁷

The Gospel proclaims God’s love for all people, including those who are powerful decision-makers and those on the margins. Through our Lutheran understanding of vocation, we know that some people are called into public service to make policy on behalf of the body politic, while others are called to agitate for change. All of us broken, imperfect sinners have various vocational callings in the world. Regardless of what the call is, God does not leave us alone in it: “In witnessing to Jesus Christ, the Church announces that the God who justifies expects all people to do justice.”⁸ How do we treat our poorest neighbors? How do we show love, compassion, and respect for all people, regardless of how the world might try to inflate or diminish their inherent value? As people of faith, we believe that God calls us to hold the powerful accountable for how they answer these questions. As a church, we respect “the God-given integrity and tasks of governing authorities and other worldly structures, while holding them accountable to God.”⁹

It is a gift from God that our ultimate hope is not in perfectly accomplishing this work. Politics can be a “prudential way to secure justice, beat back evil, and mitigate the effects of the Fall.”¹⁰ But it is also not the appropriate forum in which to place our hope of salvation. We should have no illusions about our political ingenuity – civility, activism, and otherwise – fully escaping the brokenness and sinfulness of the world; in short, we cannot expect to “legislate our way to the kingdom” by deifying the potential of human activity.¹¹ Our call in this arena is not to ultimacy, but to pursue justice in a world where we will nonetheless have to keep praying for God’s coming reign.

 

Conclusion

At this critical juncture, during this electoral cycle but equally for those that will come after it, we must claim the mantle of public church. Amid the struggle to “discern when to support and when to confront society’s cultural patterns, values, and powers,” we ought to remember that civility has value, but so too does a restless and sometimes messy or unruly passion for God’s justice for all people.¹² We are called, as the hymn says, to act with justice, and to love tenderly, and to serve one another: to walk humbly with God.¹³ The Gospel does not promise that this walk will necessarily be easy or comfortable. But it is in the liberation of a life lived in faithfulness to Christ that we draw on the strength of our community in the church, as well as those justice-seekers outside the church, to keep going.

“You must feel with sorrow…all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with which the world is everywhere filled to overflowing. You must fight, work, pray, and – if you cannot do more – have heartfelt sympathy.”¹⁴

 

ORIGINAL ENDNOTES
1 ELCA Social Statement, “The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective” (1991)
2 https://goldenrule2020.org/
3 Jonathan Sturgeon, “American Jekyll, American Hyde,” The Baffler (July 20, 2018)
4 Maximilian Alvarez, “Don’t Let Them Win,” The Baffler (June 29, 2018)
5 Matthew 11:28, NRSV
6 ELCA Social Statement, The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective
7 Cf. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Public Church: For the Life of the World (2004)
8 ELCA Social Statement, The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective
9 Ibid.
10 James K.A. Smith, On the Road with Saint Augustine (2019), 190-191
11 Ibid.
12 ELCA Social Statement, The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective
13 Evangelical Lutheran Worship #720
14 Martin Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods”

 

---

* “The Paradox of Civility Reflection and Discussion Guide” accompanies the original post reprinted here by permission to the blog of Bishop Jim Gonia, ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod (2/11/20).

Dennis Sepper, Rosemount, MN

Warm-up Question

What gifts and/or talents do you have?  What gifts and/or talents have others seen in you?

Piper and Shepherd

Roseville, Minnesota – 12-year-old Abenet Coltvet is a bagpiper.  When the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in St. Paul, Minnesota was cancelled, Abenet was disappointed.  As the “Social Distancing” order went into effect due to the Covid – 19 pandemic, Abenet had an idea.  Donning his kilt and other bagpiper apparel, Abenet made his way to the senior residence complex where his grandparents live and put on a concert.  He’s done that twice now and also has marched through a neighborhood park staying the appropriate 6 feet distance from all others.  The Middle School 7^th grader felt he had to bring cheer to others by sharing his passion and his talent.  Read the local news story.

Discussion Questions

• What have you been disappointed about since the pandemic caused us to change our daily habits?
• How might you use your talents and gifts to bring cheer and hope to those in your family or, where possible, to your neighborhood for large community
• What are some other signs of hope that you see in your community that help us get through this time of change?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:42-47

1 Peter 2:19-25

John 10:1-10

(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

It is a rather strange image Jesus provides us in this week’s reading.  He describes what would have been a familiar sight to the people of his day.  Shepherds would keep the sheep safe overnight by putting them all in a pen and then standing watch so that the sheep wouldn’t be attacked by wolves, coyotes, or by thieves and bandits.  In verses 1-6 Jesus seems to say that he is the shepherd who calls the sheep out of the pen into the pasture (in fact in verse 11, just after our reading ends, Jesus even says directly “I am the good shepherd”).  However, in verse 9 Jesus says “I am the gate for the sheep.”   

So which is it?  Gate or Good Shepherd?  Maybe it doesn’t have to be an “either/or” but a “both/and” kind of image.  Let’s try this, let’s picture the church as the sheepfold or pen.  Inside we sheep are safe and cared for.  We hear God’s word, we join with our fellow sheep in singing hymns and saying prayers and the Good Shepherd provides a meal of bread and wine to strengthen our spirits with his Spirit.  But there comes a time when the Good Shepherd calls us to leave that space and venture out into the world.  Jesus as the door, opens the door and then leads and guides us to our work in the world.

Right now most of us are behind other doors, the doors of our homes where we are safe from the Coronavirus.  However that doesn’t mean that the Good Shepherd isn’t with us.  The resurrected Jesus is with us always, everywhere, every day.  There will come a time when the Shepherd will call us out of our homes and back into the world.  Even under the best conditions that could be a very scary thing but notice how in the 23^rd psalm we are promised that even if we walk in the valley of shadows, the Good Shepherd will be there leading us and guiding us in all we do and ultimately leading us through adversity to green pastures and still waters.  That’s the promise made and the promise we hold on to.

Abenet heard the Good Shepherd call him by name to use his talent and his passion to bring some peace to the people living in that senior community.  The Good Shepherd also calls us to serve God and neighbor in the world.  As we answer that call, we discover the abundant life Jesus promises.

Discussion Questions

• How do you feel about the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd?  Does the image speak to you in ways that help you feel safe and hopeful?
• Can you think of other ways to see Jesus as the door to the sheepfold?
• In the gospel of John there are some seven times that Jesus says “I am”.  Can you think of any of them?  (One is found in John 11:25 where Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life”.)

Activity Suggestions

Remember the gift or talent you identified in the warm-up question.  You can use this time to share that gift or talent.  If your gift is music you can practice your instrument or voice.  If it is art you can continue to draw, paint, and create.  If it’s writing you can journal with the goal of creating a narrative of what it was like to live through a pandemic.

Then think of ways that you can share your gift or talent to bring hope to those around you.  You may need to get creative here and use social media or some other way to get your message of hope out.  Trust me, it will be appreciated by those you share it with.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, our Good Shepherd, in times of uncertainty, be our guard and keep us safe.  When the time is right, call us out of our homes and churches to boldly proclaim the gospel by word and deed and serve you by serving our neighbor.  Thank you for your guiding presence and be with us in all that we do.  In your name we pray, amen.

 

Shari Seifert is a Realtor and is committed to working on racial justice in the ELCA.  Jessica is passionate about all forms of injustice, especially in the church.  Shari and Jessica are members of the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice, (EDLARJ) which is one of six ethnic associations in the ELCA.  EDLARJ works in solidarity with ELCA communities through witness, partnership and by confronting racism through trainings. Our tagline is “Awaken Hearts, Inspire Transformation and Confront Injustice”.  

We are writing this blog because we see how the effects of this pandemic are compounded by the effects of systemic and everyday racism.  The disparities seem even more stark and clear now. Since much of our nation is highly segregated, it can be hard to see beyond what one is personally experiencing.  We both have work and personal relationships with people of other races so we are acutely aware of the disparity between groups that have been systemically resourced by our societal structure, and those that have been under-resourced by those in power for generations.  We hope that this blog post will help to awaken hearts, lead to transformation and more folks confronting the injustices this pandemic makes clear.  

Tale of Two Pandemics by Shari Seifert and Jess Harren 

We have white privilege.  During this pandemic, we are living very different lives than People of Color (POC)- – it is like a tale of two pandemics.   If we are outside, we are unlikely to be stopped by police. If we go to the store in a mask, we are assumed to be caring for our neighbors, not criminals.  When we go grocery shopping, no one spits on us because we appear Asian. Although there are also class disparities in this pandemic, is it notable that statistically, many middle class white folks are homeowners and  even if white folks and POC are in the same class, they will experience this pandemic differently. 

For the first time, some of us are feeling restrictions in our movement and access to medical care.  Many POC have known these restrictions for their entire lives.  Many white folks are not used to having restricted movement and are now protesting en mass in public.   Many POC live in food deserts.  We are used to constant access to anything we want.  

This doesn’t mean our lives are not extra complicated right now.  Jess is having to do online school with a child who got a lot of accommodations for various medical and neurological conditions.  Jess lives with disabilities and is more likely to get very sick if she gets COVID-19.  Jess and her family are grieving the loss of vacations and school.  And yet, for a family of color, even with similar resources, life is harder.  For example, the illustration in Jess’s child’s books for online learning are mostly of white kids.  The assignments are culturally relevant.  When Jess goes to the store to pick up medicine, no one assumes she’s a criminal or spits on her.  The police don’t stop her for being out because her neighborhood isn’t policed.  

Shari is working from home, sharing workspace with her oldest son who is in college and has Autism and anxiety. This son has access to a therapist through telemedicine where he is taken seriously. Her younger son is doing high school from home. Both boys have their own computers and can easily get help with schoolwork.  Days when grocery orders are finally ready are celebrated!  When Shari gets tired of being inside, she can play fetch in the backyard with the family dog.  Running Shari’s small business of  selling real estate comes with no guarantees,  except that bills and Shari’s assistant still need to be paid. Sometimes it is hard not to worry and fall into scarcity mode.  The reality is that many of Shari’s clients are less affected by the pandemic and business is continuing and if her business falls on hard times, there are family members that can help.   For many POC, staying home from work is not an option, there is not good access to health care, access to healthy food is harder, not every child has their own device for doing school work, there may not be family members that can help financially, housing is more dense and there is not a private back yard to play with the dog in.  

We are all struggling now.  People are dying alone, many funerals can’t be held, grandparents can’t hug their grandchildren, many people have lost jobs, businesses are shuttered and we all face uncertainty.   These things are all true and entrenched systemic racism still gives white people of all classes advantages in this pandemic.  This crisis lands on people in very different and important ways. Not all white people are rich and not all people of color are poor, but the majority of White Americans are middle class homeowners that live in stable communities.  The disproportionate number of POC dying is heartbreaking.   We don’t have to do anything to keep this unjust system in place.  Change is stubborn and requires faithful and persistent effort like speaking up at racist jokes or memes, listening to and following people of color (we recommend reading this piece by Jeremiah Bey Ellison),  shifting money to POC led organizations for racial justice and praying for the whole Body of Christ including our POC friends.  If you still have an income or access to money, consider sending your stimulus check to a POC led organization in your community. 

We pray the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and moves us to action.  

 

Blogger Bios:

  Shari Seifert  lives in Minneapolis with her wife, two sons and the cutest Golden Doodle you have ever seen.  She works as a Realtor and  is committed to working for racial justice in the ELCA.  Shari is currently vice-president of the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice (EDLARJ),  a member of the Minneapolis Synod racial justice table, her congregation’s Race Equity Committee and Multi-faith Anti-Racism and Healing (MARCH)     She is also on the core planning  team for the Multicultural Youth Leadership Experience (MYLE).

 

Rev. Jessica A. Harren Pastors two congregations (Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary and Open Heart faith gathering). She provides resources, trainings, workshops, and consulting on Family Systems, Emergent Worship, Consent Culture, ableism and racism in church, as well as other topics. Pastor Jess teaches discipleship culture and coaches other church leaders through Spark Faith.  She is a member of Proclaim (the professional organization for LGBTQIA+ rostered ministers and seminarians in the ELCA) and is a member of EDLARJ and Another Pebble, the Metro Chicago Synod’s Anti-Racism Team.  She lives in a suburb of Chicago with her spouse, child, and two cats.  

 

 

In the heated battle of humanity versus covid-19, the Zoom meeting app is booming. People want to see and be seen. Big learning curve for many. But free and open to everyone!

Indeed, being seen, and even loved, is one of life’s deepest joys. Conversely, not being seen, yet being hated, is a heavy stressor.

The surge of hate crimes against Asians in the US shows that Asian Americans are not seen by many as good neighbors, friends, Americans. No matter who we are, if we have a “Chinese” face, our personal safety and well-being are at risk. Not only coronavirus, but from coronavirus rage.

National reporting site A3PCON says that 2/3 of those attacked are not even Chinese, but of other Asian ethnicities.

Spitting, verbal abuse, harassment, bullying, beatings. A six year old boy was stabbed on his head, requiring stitches. And women are three times more likely to be harassed than men. One woman suffered severe chemical burns when a man deliberately threw acid at her.

I’ve been confronted and assaulted before. US history and my own history tell me that living in my own city, my own country is seriously dangerous. Now it is even worse. My heart sank when elected leaders used racist terms like “kung flu” and “Chinese virus.” Their ill-chosen words set up Asian Americans to be mocked and blamed. Angry people may choose at any time to lash out at us. Anyone targeted for violence knows what I mean. It feels like just being out in public will mean having to run a gauntlet.

Meanwhile, the Asian American community is very diverse: culturally, geographically, socio-economically. Many will say they are fine, and have never experienced racism. But many will also confirm the pain it causes when it does strike. Please help to spread the word that people who “look Chinese” are not the virus. We are not covid-19 carriers just because we are Asian. We are not the enemy! We are Asian Americans, trying to “flatten the curve” like mostly everybody else.

It’s ghastly how many people have died so suddenly in Queens, New York. A dozen tractor trailer sized trucks — mobile morgues — were parked outside Elmhurst Hospital to store the bodies of the dead. I used to live in this immigrant enclave area of Queens, one of the most diverse counties in the US. I loved the vibrant Chinese and Latino life there. Now it’s shut down, and the people are reeling.

My church is there. Eight blocks from the hospital, St. Jacobus Lutheran offers one of only two food pantries still open in Elmhurst, serving 100-300 families a week. More young families now, and Latino. Two or three generations living in an apartment, with no work to be had. And available resources do not match the needs. “The virus has exposed what’s been there all along,” says my pastor, Joe Mantovani. “How high the rents are. How hard it is to find enough work to feed their families.”

Many Asian American families citywide are also at risk for starvation and homelessness, reports the Coalition for Asian Children and Families (CACF). They are like US Americans of all backgrounds who had worked for low wages and tips, with no safety net. The struggle is fierce for too many, including African Americans dying in high numbers.

We are trying, as our beloved New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urges, to be “tough, smart, disciplined, united and loving.” I know my resilience can only happen in a collective. Every day I give God thanks for my husband, family, friends, pastor, and caring people I don’t know who work for peace and justice.

All of us in US America have a long way to go, and some much farther. If we look to see the good in others, honor each other’s humanity, work against poverty, despair, racism, we will make great strides for a better future for all.

I wish every Zoom user everywhere would realize that a Chinese American, Andrew Yuan, created the app. It’s just one example of what Asian Americans can contribute to the US and the world. I pray that more of us will “zoom together for racial justice,” whether literally or not. “Join the zoom meeting,” I’d invite. “I’ll bring Chinese food, you bring whatever you like, and we’ll share.” It could be a big learning curve at first. But with God as our host, we cannot fail. Free and open to everyone!

Lily R. Wu, is a Chinese American Lutheran who has worked as a church communicator for more than 40 years. She also served as a vice-president of the Association of Asians and Pacific Islanders-ELCA.

The “And It Is Good” photo exhibition is an invitation to contemplate the diversity of creatures that give glory to God in their being and who tend to our well-being. Que seamos inspiradas e inspirados a dar gracias por cada criatura de Dios y toda la creación divina. Each photo is paired with verses from the Bible. Cada foto se entrelaza con versículos de la Biblia.

May we be inspired to give thanks for each of God’s creatures and all of God’s creation. May we be moved to safeguard the conditions that make for justice, protect the integrity of creation, and promote peace and wellness in the web of life.

Launched in New York and Geneva in September 2019 during the United Nations Climate Action Summit, the exhibit draws attention to the importance of biodiversity and affirms that the creation is good. It is jointly presented by ACT Alliance, The Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the World Council of Churches.

Select an image for an expanded view.

 

 

Michael Fromm, Jewish Council for Public Affairs Chair
David Bernstein, Jewish Council for Public Affairs President and CEO

Dear President Bernstein and Chairman Fromm:

The Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joins you in your concern for Chinese Americans and Chinese communities, as expressed in your letter to those communities on 21 February 2020.

At our recent meeting, we took note of your expression of compassion and solidarity with great appreciation and respect. We affirm and admire your pledge to take positive steps to support and protect a community that has been singled out for discrimination and attack. Whether born of fear, ignorance, or bigotry, the calumny and actual harm that the Chinese American community has suffered is morally reprehensible. The same is true for those of other communities who are assumed to be Chinese. Any sense of isolation that might be compounded by our silence only adds to the pain and offense.

In our 1994 Declaration to the Jewish Community, we said that “we recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel” and we pledged “this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us.” In that spirit we join you in embracing this moment as one that calls for our vigorous public response on behalf of our neighbors. Leaders across the ELCA are seeking concrete and authentic ways to join your courageous voices and undertake similar acts of solidarity, as part of our church’s commitment to condemn white supremacy and racist rhetoric and actions.

The pandemic has precluded our gathering together in our overlapping seasons of Passover and Easter and for shared observances of Yom haShoa. We are all the more eager, therefore, to join you in expressing our encouragement for all Asian Americans, including those who are members of our own religious communities. Thank you for your leadership and partnership in this witness.

In partnership,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Members of the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations
The Rev. Dr. Darrell Jodock, chair
The Rev. Ward Cornett III
Dr. Esther Menn
The Rev. Dr. Peter A Pettit
The Rev. Peg Schultz-Akerson

Ms. Kathryn May Lohre
Assistant to the Presiding Bishop and Executive, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos
Director, Theological Diversity & Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Engagement
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Ms. Kristen Opalinski
Manager, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Brian Hiortdahl, West Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

When was the last time you cried?  What moved you to tears?Open Eyes

Open Eyes, Open Hearts

Emergency room doctor Halleh Akbarnia shares a poignant op-ed about her first COVID-19 patient, Mr. C.  They learn from one another as they share a long and frightening road toward his recovery, which is also healing for her.  For twelve days she waited to see if her efforts would be successful.  At the end of her wait, she went in to visit her patient.  Mr. C looked up at her and said, “I remember your eyes.”  Sometimes it is a small thing which establishes a deep connection.

Discussion Questions

• What did Dr. A. and Mr. C. learn from one another?  How did each help the other?
• In this time of social isolation, where do you see human connections growing stronger?
• Who “fuels” you?  Who inspires you to keep going?

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

1 Peter 1:17-23

Luke 24:13-35

(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

Like the physician who wrote the op-ed above, Doctor Luke condenses a long journey into a short story.  Two grieving disciples wander away from Jerusalem toward Emmaus, thought by some scholars to be the site of a Roman military garrison, an outpost of the worldly power that crucified their Lord.  Their sad stroll is joined by a stranger whose words slowly kindle new fire in their ashen hearts.  He opened the scriptures to them; maybe he also opened them to the scriptures.  Finally, after many miles, they break bread together.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.  

The moment of recognition leads to a breakthrough.  After a long stretch of uncertain days, Mr. C. remembered his doctor’s eyes.  In that tearful moment, Dr. Akbarnia rediscovered powerful meaning and professional purpose in the familiar face of the trusting, gentle teacher she thought she might lose to death.  The two disciples, upon recognizing their lost and resurrected teacher, return immediately  to Jerusalem, despite the disappearance of daylight, and find the faith community from which they had been walking away.  They share a special conversation they doubted would ever happen.  And those stories their teacher had told them—about a lost sheep and coin and son—now ring true in their own life.  He will forever have a place in their rekindled hearts.  He is the unforgettable companion who will fuel them until the day they hang up their sandals.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had an “aha moment”—a sudden moment of recognition?  How did it change your life?
• What light do these stories shine on Jesus’ words at Holy Communion:  “Do this in remembrance of me?”
• Where have you come to see Jesus without initially recognizing him?

Activity Suggestions

1. Take a long walk.  Think about what has happened in your life.  What surprising sights or thoughts or strangers open your eyes to something new?
2. Write an op-ed about a person who has taught or inspired you.  Send it to them with a note of appreciation and thanks.
3. Reach out and reconnect with someone important from whom you have gradually drifted away

Closing Prayer

Open our eyes, Lord.  We want to see Jesus.  Amen

 

 

“I arise early in the morning and I  cry out to you, I hope for your word.
My eyes are open in the night watches, that I may meditate upon your promise.” (Psalm 119:147-148)

During this time of pandemic many are seeking resources to support daily prayer in the home. As we are physically separated from supportive Christian communities, it becomes increasingly important to mark our days and hours with prayer. As noted in Keeping Time, “Prayer is a gift of access for all the baptized and those seeking to live in a relationship with the God who has spoken, is speaking, and has promised to speak through Jesus, the living Word, and the Spirit, who helps us pray with sighs too deep for words as we ponder the scriptures, which still speak to us” (Using Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Keeping Time, p. 148).

These daily prayers may be prayed together as a family or as individuals. Prayer at morning and evening are the primary times for common prayer in various faith traditions. You may want to create a space in your home for such prayer, being aided by lighting a candle or having a vessel of water nearby to remember your baptism. Several short collects for various situations could be used throughout your day, keeping with St. Paul’s guidance to “pray without ceasing… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:17-18).

To support prayer practices in the home, we have provided these simplified forms of  Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer. In addition to these three times of day we have provided Responsive Prayer, a simple order that may be adapted to a variety of times and contexts. Each of these services are adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. In addition, a resource of other Prayers and Blessings for Daily Use including a collection of table prayers and prayers for various situations is also available.

Daily prayer can be supported by including scripture passages from the daily lectionary. These readings that include an Old Testament text, a New Testament text, and a Psalm, provide a helpful pattern that bridges the previous Sunday to the next Sunday. Readings on Monday through Wednesday build upon what was heard the previous Sunday while Thursday through Saturday look forward to the upcoming Sunday. The list of readings can also be found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 1121­–1153.

Other published devotional materials such as Christ in Our Home and The Word in Season are available from Augsburg Fortress. Daily devotionals from Christ in Our Home can be received to your email through June 30. Bread for the Day, an annual publication that supports daily prayer, can currently be purchased as an eBook. More Days for Praise, a resource for the church’s festivals and commemorations is designed for home devotions. Remembering those saints who have lived through a host of challenging times and situations reminds us of our connection to a great cloud of witnesses.

You may also wish to sing hymns during this time. To purchase copies of Evangelical Lutheran Worship and All Creation Sings for the home, visit the Augsburg Fortress website or call 1-800-328-4648. These and other hymnals have a topical index where you may search for hymns for time of day or season of the church year.

More on hymnody resources in this time can be found through The Hymn Society.  For your devotional time, you might be interested in knowing about the Community Video Hymn Sing Facebook page led by Paul and Elizabeth Damico-Carper.

It is our prayer that these resources can be an aid to your daily prayer time. May the Spirit fill you with the peace of the Risen Christ in these days and always.

 

 

Since 2015, undernourishment around the world has been on the rise, after years of decline. In the latest estimates from the United Nations, more than 820 million people are undernourished. Even as we face the clear and present threat of coronavirus, we need to remain aware of the ongoing, persistent threat of hunger around the world. The current pandemic is revealing and exacerbating long-standing disparities – in income, access to health care, and social mobility. As the disease continues to spread, and as governments take steps to avert it, what might be the consequences for hunger?

Here are some of the things to keep an eye on when it comes to hunger in a pandemic.

Food Prices

What do we know?

One of the reasons we have seen rises in hunger in the last 10-15 years is volatility in food prices. In 2007-2008, for example, prices for wheat, corn and rice reached new highs. Milk and meat also spiked. This increased vulnerability to hunger in many countries. Some countries were harder hit than others. India, for example, saw an increase in wasting (low weight for height) among children. Fourteen African countries also experienced civil unrest over high prices, as did Bangladesh and Haiti. The research suggests that the biggest impacts of the price crisis were felt particularly among low-income groups. Some analysts also argue that the food price crisis may have contributed to the Arab Spring protests that erupted in the early 2010s.

What should we be watching?

One of the main concerns about COVID-19 early on was that both the disease and the government responses to it may cause a spike in food prices. This could be the result of infections preventing people from working in agriculture or in processing, restrictions on trade, and stockpiling[1] of food, all of which can reduce supply. As supply decreases and demand increases, of course, prices rise. If this were to happen in the midst of a pandemic, when many folks are also vulnerable to infections that can keep them from working, we might see a spike in global hunger, especially for those whose income leaves them vulnerable already. At particular risk are farmworkers, particularly field workers, many of whom are at increased risk of infection because of a lack of sufficient protocols for safety. As the agricultural industry is impacted, many of these workers may face reduced pay or reduced opportunities for work, both of which can leave them vulnerable to poverty, hunger and increased infection, especially as they pursue work in unsafe settings or under-regulated industries.

What are we seeing so far?

There’s good news and bad news. We aren’t yet seeing spikes in food prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) tracks food prices by month, and the latest data for March 2020 didn’t show significant increases. That’s good news. Also, this year is looking to be strong for harvests of wheat and some other cereals. That’s also good news. The price spikes earlier this century were often accompanied by droughts that caused down years for crops. So far, that isn’t the case in 2020. The biggest concern for now is that restrictions on trade and mobility might create a situation friendly to higher prices.

The bad news is actually in the other direction, with prices falling. In the US, many farmers rely on restaurants and stores to purchase their produce. With the closures of these businesses and direct-to-consumer markets, farmers face a challenging environment for selling their crops. The CARES Act included an allocation of $9.5 billion to help support them through the USDA.

Farmers in other countries face similar challenges. With markets closed or closing and developed economies slowed or retreating, prices for exports and commodities are moving down. This could create long-term problems for people in agriculture. In developing countries, where the share of the labor force dependent on agriculture can reach well above 50%, this is a significant problem. See below for more on exports this year.

Health Care Costs

What do we know?

Medical out-of-pocket costs are a significant driver of poverty in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, medical out-of-pocket costs were responsible for adding about 8 million people to the number of people living in poverty in 2018. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank estimated that in 2010, 800 million people spent 10% of their household budget on health care, and about 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty because of health care costs. For many, the choice to seek medical treatment is a choice between paying for care and paying for other needs, such as food.

The relationship between health and hunger is kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, malnutrition can lead to significant health problems, such as hypertension, anemia, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. Based on what we know so far about COVID-19, this leaves people who are hungry at greater risk of severe symptoms from infection. As people get sick, they are more likely to miss out on income and thus less able to afford food and other necessities. When they aren’t getting enough food, they are more likely to get sick. It’s a vicious cycle.

What should we be watching?

Without access to a sufficient, stable healthy diet, people who are already vulnerable to poor health will be at heightened risk from COVID-19. Moreover, in many areas, communities with high rates of poverty and hunger also have limited access to health services, particularly the kinds of specialized services that are needed to treat severe symptoms of COVID-19.

One of the ways to measure access to health care services – and along with that, the ability of a country to mitigate a pandemic – is the number of health care professionals within an area. In developed countries, the number of medical doctors per 10,000 people can be as high as 20-40. The number of medical doctors in developing countries can be lower than one per 10,000 people. Disparities exist within other needed professions, as well, such as pharmaceutical personnel and nursing and midwifery personnel. The combination of undernourishment, low numbers of medical workers and a severe pandemic is a serious problem.

The other concern is that even if they have access, people living on the edge of extreme poverty may not be able to afford health services. It’s difficult to measure the number of people who have health coverage for essential services, but based on their research, WHO and the World Bank estimate that more than half of the world’s 7.3 billion people lack this coverage. That’s a lot of out-of-pocket expenses for many of the people who can least afford it.

For these and other reasons, ELCA Advocacy is working to ensure that the next COVID-19 funding bill in the United States includes additional funding resources in international assistance to ensure effective global responses that will protect all of us here in the United States and around the world.

What are we seeing so far?

Treatment for the kind of severe symptoms COVID-19 causes doesn’t come cheap. A 2005 study of 253 US hospitals (a bit dated, certainly) found that the average cost of mechanical ventilation for patients in intensive care was as high as $1500 per day. Without insurance, affording treatment will be out of reach for many people. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2018, more than 28 million people in the US lacked health insurance. This coverage is not evenly distributed, either. Of the wealthiest households (with incomes above $100,000 per year), less than 5% are uninsured. Of households with the lowest income (less than $25,000), more than 13% are uninsured.

Moreover, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 33 million people in the US do not have paid sick leave from work. As the Pew Research Center notes, while this has improved overall, with many workers gaining this benefit in recent years, lower-income workers are still less likely to have it. These workers are also less likely to have the financial resources to weather a major health crisis.

The long and short of it is, at this point, we don’t have a ton of verifiable data to draw conclusions about the health care impact of COVID-19 on hunger. But we do have enough information to reiterate the importance of the health projects supported by ELCA World Hunger. These projects, including hospitals and clinics, maternal and child health care, psychosocial support for mental health, vaccinations, and more, are effective ways of accompanying communities toward well-being – and building resilience to health crises. As “unprecedented” as the COVID-19 pandemic is, it is worth remembering that safety from contagious, deadly infectious diseases is not evenly shared by all. Outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, and MERS, and the ongoing pandemic of HIV/AIDS have impacted many of us and our neighbors just in the last ten years. Typically, it is the poorest households that are disproportionately impacted.

Loss of Livelihoods

What do we know?

Poverty is responsible, according to the FAO, for about half of the undernourishment around the world. Reducing poverty and achieving sufficient, sustainable livelihoods for people is critical for ending hunger. Tremendous progress has been made on this front in recent years, with poverty declining in much of the world over the last 30 years. In East Asia and the Pacific, for example, poverty has declined from about 60% in 1990 to less than 3% in 2015. Much of this decline is because of economic growth. Sadly, of course, this doesn’t mean that inequality has eased. A rising tide doesn’t necessarily lift all boats, so there is still quite a bit of poverty within countries, even as the rates overall have come down. The growth also hasn’t been even between countries. Sub-Saharan Africa has seen an increase in poverty during the overall global decrease.

What should we be watching?

The effect of sickness on income was already mentioned. But as many folks have said, the attempts to slow the virus will have their own consequences. One of the big ones will be loss of livelihoods, at least temporarily. What we are keeping an eye on here in the US is, of course, the jobs reports and the unemployment rate. Globally, we will be looking at similar things, particularly in industries like tourism, agriculture and manufacturing. In agriculture, especially, much of the work is timebound. It’s difficult to catch up on a season once it passes.

What are we seeing so far?

The numbers in the US aren’t good. The federal government has expanded unemployment coverage, and the number of applicants so far is astounding. According to the most recent (April 9) release of weekly unemployment claims by the US Department of Labor, more than 6.6 million people filed claims in the first week of April continuing the trend from the previous week and bringing the total number of people filing claims to more than 16 million. On a graph, the increase of late looks like a sharp right turn:

In the US, the March 2020 jobs report showed a loss of over 700,000 jobs. The biggest losses were in leisure and hospitality.

Internationally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has reported some significant price decreases for commodities so far this year. As developed countries emerge from closures related to COVID-19, it will take some time for their economies to come back. At the same time, some developing countries are only at the beginning of the process of managing the pandemic. This could mean a long road back for exports and commodities. To put it simply, with weakened prices for exports and commodities, it may be a while before industries such as agriculture, processing and mining recover.

Social Safety Nets

What do we know?

Social safety net programs are government-funded programs that provide assistance to people during times of need. These can include benefits that allow people to buy food, cash assistance, subsidized medical care, and more. In the US, major safety net programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and others. These programs are critical supports in times of crisis.

SNAP is one of the more commonly used social safety nets. It provides people in need with money to purchase food during the month. The average benefit nationwide is about $130 per person per month. SNAP is one of the most effective social safety nets. The US Census Bureau estimates that, in 2018, SNAP helped keep about 3.2 million people out of poverty. During the Great Recession, increases to the program helped stabilize the Supplemental Poverty Measure calculated by the US Census Bureau. This helped keep people out of poverty.

What should we be watching?

Federal legislation in response to the pandemic has authorized increases in funding for some of the social safety net programs, like LIHEAP and WIC. For others, some of the requirements have been waived. For example, the CARES Act has waived the requirement for a woman to by physically present to apply for WIC. This will allow more people to apply while keeping themselves and their families healthy. The expansion of LIHEAP will help families maintain their utilities and use needed money for other necessities.

The big question right now is, will the social safety net do what it is intended do, namely prevent a short-term crisis from becoming a long-term situation of need for individuals and families?

The ELCA is working through ELCA Advocacy to encourage the US Congress to increase the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent during the duration of this emergency to ensure households have enough resources to avoid the hard choice of choosing between paying for their bills or for food.

What are we seeing so far?

SNAP was a big piece missing from the legislation. The Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, received a boost in funding, but this was not for an increase in benefits. Rather, it was to help cover the costs of what is expected to be a rise in eligible participants. So, the allocation will allow more people to participate, but it won’t necessarily provide the increased funding per person that we saw during the Great Recession. Advocating for this in future legislation is important. Again, it was SNAP increases, more than other government transfer programs, that contributed to increased jobs and reduced poverty during the recession, according to the Economic Research Service of the USDA.

Globally, the World Bank found in a 2018 study that less than 20% of people in low-income countries have access to social safety nets of any kind. Without access to public programs during crises, it is likely that COVID-19 will take a significant toll on many communities’ resilience to poverty and hunger. This will likely deepen the divide between higher-income and lower-income people within countries, as some will have the means to weather the pandemic while others may not.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic points to the importance of addressing hunger at the root causes. It also highlights the many ways that the burdens of crises are often not evenly shared, globally or within an individual country. The pandemic also brings into sharp relief the need for cooperation and coordination between business, nonprofits and government. Food banks and pantries have stepped up to meet immediate needs. Farmers have supported this by donating produce – at a cost to themselves. And the federal government’s legislation related to the pandemic will provide critical support.

This will be a long road, and it will require a lot of effort, particularly in advocacy with the communities most affected. To stay up-to-date on legislation and ways you can help, sign up for ELCA Advocacy action alerts at ELCA.org/advocacy/signup. In worship and in your devotions at home, remember those who are affected now and those who may be affected in the future. And stay healthy. There are many lessons for us in this situation, but one of them is clearly just how much we need one another.

 

 

 

 

[1] Stockpiling is different from “hoarding.” Stockpiling here means countries or other large entities purchasing large amounts of commodities as a security against scarcity. This isn’t the same as a shopper buying a lot of toilet paper or canned soup.