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Living Earth Reflection: Building more resilient communities in a climate-challenged world

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:4-11)

What is resilience? The dictionary defines it as the ability to recover quickly from illness, disaster or adversity. In ecology, the term is used to describe the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state after a disturbance. For Christ, resilience came from a life lived in service, love and obedience – examples that still resonate with us thousands of years later.

Climate disruptions, such as extreme storms and multi-year droughts, are testing the resilience of the earth community. Long-term drought in California, for example, has put at risk not only the state’s fruit and vegetable farms, a source of food for millions of people, but also the state’s drinking-water supplies, which face the very real possibility of running dry in some parts of the state. In another extreme example, multiple typhoons have devastated the Philippine islands in recent years, triggering massive and costly humanitarian efforts to rebuild lives and communities in ways that can withstand future storms.

In the face of long-term drought or extreme weather, some families and communities will be able to find the resources to rebuild, but over the long term, will the larger human community have the resilience to withstand the rising sea levels and extreme weather brought by climate change? If more extreme weather is becoming the norm, what does the future hold for communities of modest or few means?

These questions take on even more urgency in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. How will a small, low-lying island in Micronesia find the means to cope with rising sea levels? How do farmers in coastal Bangladesh manage salt water intrusion into freshwater supplies needed to grow staple crops to feed their communities?

And how are we, in one of the wealthiest nations on earth, called to help our neighbors cope with this emerging reality? Do we put up sea walls on our own coastlines and retreat behind them, ignoring the fact that many of the communities already heavily impacted by rising sea levels and weather extremes lack the means to prepare for climate change disasters? Or do we look to the interests of others, whether they are in native villages in coastal Alaska, farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa or the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu?

The Green Climate Fund is a new international funding mechanism that represents a major commitment by the global community to help vulnerable nations build resilience to climate impacts. The fund was established to build the capability of vulnerable and low-income nations to embrace clean and low-carbon energy development and to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. By building more resilient communities, countries will also increase food security and political stability, both of which will have positive impacts on issues such as migration and national security.

Last November, President Obama announced that the United States will contribute $3 billion over the next five years to the Green Climate Fund. Countries ranging from Germany, Japan and France to Korea, Mexico and Peru have also announced initial pledges to the fund that total more than $10 billion. If this new institution is to succeed in its task of helping the most vulnerable build resilience to climate disruption, honoring these pledges will be critical.

The president’s budget request for 2016 includes an initial payment of $500 million to the fund, which we will be urging Congress to approve. Please join us next month as we take part in interfaith effort to ensure that the United States honors its pledge to the Green Climate Fund.

Resilience is being prepared for disaster, but it is also building what can be sustained and taking steps to help our neighbors as well as ourselves. Christ lived a resilient life, living humbly while building community and serving others. Leading a Christian life in our complex modern world poses challenges that Christ never faced, but his lasting example of love and service to others is still a good pathway to a resilient life and strong and enduring communities.

Learn more about the Green Climate Fund here.

 

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Delegación de ELCA escucha historias ‘desgarradoras’ de migrantes menores de edad; solicita mayor respuesta de la iglesia

​Servicio de Noticias de ELCA​

Delegación de ELCA escucha historias ‘desgarradoras’ de migrantes menores de edad; solicita mayor respuesta de la iglesia
15-13-MRC

CHICAGO (ELCA) – ​Con la oleada reciente de decenas de miles de niños de Centroamérica que han estado llegando a los Estados Unidos sin acompañante, líderes y miembros de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América (ELCA, por sus siglas en inglés) se están enterando mejor de las verdaderas causas de este fenómeno de migración.

Desde 2014, la ELCA ha estado luchando por dar respuesta a las necesidades de niños y familias, con esfuerzos como asegurar representación legal, conseguir cuidado temporal para los niños, proporcionarles servicios “wrap around” durante el tiempo que pasan en los Estados Unidos, y conectar a los niños y a las familias con congregaciones de ELCA. Algunos miembros de ELCA también instan actualmente al Congreso a que reforme completamente las leyes de inmigración, brinde ayuda humanitaria, y trate humanamente a los migrantes en tránsito.

En febrero de 2015, una delegación de ELCA viajó a Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala. La delegación, dirigida por el Rvdo. Stephen Bouman, director ejecutivo de la Misión Sinodal y Congregacional de ELCA, y el Rvdo. Rafael Malpica Padilla, director ejecutivo de la Misión Global de ELCA, se reunió con líderes y pastores luteranos de estos países, quienes les explicaron que el desplazamiento de la gente se debe a la violencia de las pandillas, la pobreza, los gobiernos ineptos y la repatriación.

“La violencia de las pandillas (en estos países) está muy generalizada. A todo aquel que no se somete le espera una muerte segura y rápida”, indicó Bouman. “Durante nuestro viaje escuchamos testimonios de madres e hijos que intentaron escapar de la violencia de las pandillas y sobrevivir la terrible jornada” desde Centroamérica hasta Estados Unidos a través de México, expresó Bouman.

En una conversación el día 7 de marzo con los obispos de ELCA, cuyos sínodos mantienen una “relación  de compañeros” con iglesias luteranas en Centroamérica, y en una presentación dada el 11 de marzo al personal de la organización nacional de ELCA, Malpica Padilla y Bouman contaron la historia de “Jessica”, una mujer de 45 años y madre de tres hijos que huyó de su hogar. Jessica, que había sido directora de circulación de un periódico importante, perdió su empleo hace cuatro años y aún no había podido conseguir otro, huyó por la falta de seguridad que amenazaba a sus hijos – su hijo pequeño fue testigo de la muerte a tiros de uno de sus amiguitos a manos de pandilleros. Mientras intentaba su jornada hacia los Estados Unidos, Jessica fue objeto de abuso y también detenida por oficiales de inmigración cuando ella y sus hijos procuraban refugiarse en una cueva. Jessica y sus hijos ya fueron deportados. “La pobreza, empeorada por la violencia, es el factor clave en la migración”, señaló Bouman. “Jessica nos habló de su profunda fe mientras nos compartió su historia. Nos habló del Buen Pastor”, dijo Bouman. “Multiplique la historia de ella por 30, y eso fue todo lo que escuchamos durante nuestro viaje”.

“Si usted cruza el Río Grande, ¡lo logró! El recorrido a través del desierto de Texas o de Arizona es difícil, pero en ocasiones es más fácil que los demás peligros que le esperan a uno a lo largo de la jornada, particularmente una vez que el migrante entra en territorio Mexicano”, explicó Malpica Padilla. “Los carteles secuestran a cientos de viajeros para luego extorsionar a sus familiares demandándoles dinero. Las personas que viajan en el tren conocido como ‘La Bestia,’ se encuentran con los temidos carteles de la droga, que les roban, los asaltan, y hasta los matan para sacarles los órganos, los cuales venden en el tráfico ilegal aunque rentable de órganos humanos”, indicó él.

“Mientras escuchábamos estos testimonios, la delegación se sintió apremiada a comprometerse a trabajar y a invitar a toda la ELCA a responder”, dijo Bouman. Los participantes en la delegación fueron la Rvda. Raquel Rodriguez, directora de la oficina de Latinoamérica y el Caribe de la Misión Global de ELCA; el Rvdo. Michael Stadie, director, Respuesta Luterana ante Desastres –EE.UU.; Stephen Deal, representante regional de ELCA por Centroamérica; la Rvda. Stacy L. Martin, directora de defensa de ELCA, oficina de Washington; Alaide Vilchis Ibarra, directora asistente de política y defensa de migración; Bouman; y Malpica Padilla.

A nombre de la delegación, Malpica Padilla y Bouman están animando a los miembros de esta iglesia a seguir el llamado a una completa reforma a la ley de inmigración que se derive de las acciones de las asambleas nacionales de ELCA; continuar apoyando la obra de las organizaciones luteranas de ministerio social, sínodos y congregaciones de ELCA que trabajan para satisfacer las necesidades de los migrantes, y que sirven como lugares para brindarles acogida y mostrarles hospitalidad; y apoyando los esfuerzos de defensa de ELCA, los cuales han sido diseñados para motivar a los funcionarios gubernamentales elegidos a favorecer políticas justas, efectivas y transparentes que aborden la ayuda humanitaria en Centroamérica y aboguen por el trato humano de los migrantes en tránsito, particularmente en México.

“Debemos seguir realizando actividades constantes de apoyo a los migrantes, e incluso extender nuestros servicios a ambos lados de la frontera”, dijo Malpica Padilla. “Sin embargo, debemos tener presente que estas son medidas transitorias. Debemos aprobar un proyecto de ley de reforma completa”.

Socios compañeros
“Cuando los padres determinan que la migración a otro país, no sólo es la mejor opción, sino la única opción que existe para preservar la vida de sus hijos, algo anda muy mal”, señaló Martin. “Esta es la desdichada situación del Triángulo Norte de Centroamérica. Y aunque si bien es cierto que las causas de la crisis de refugiados son muchas y muy complejas, no menos cierto es que la política exterior de los EE.UU. y su intervención en la región tienen que ver con el contexto actual que ha generado violencia y pobreza”, expresó ella.

“Es terrible y doloroso escuchar las historias de estas personas que viven en constante temor y que no albergan ninguna esperanza en el futuro de su comunidad o de su país”, comentó Martin. “No podemos permitir que la complejidad y la magnitud del problema sean excusas para no hacer el intento de ser mejores compañeros de nuestros socios en Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala para hacer frente a los problemas que los aquejan. Si no nos ubicamos en todos los frentes posibles, la crisis de refugiados no menguará. Por eso es tan importante que sepamos cuál es la raíz de esta crisis y que actuemos conjuntamente en muchos niveles, especialmente urgiendo al gobierno de Estados Unidos a que invierta generosa y sabiamente en el área, y se asegure de que la ayuda y las políticas sean implementadas sin una indebida dependencia en la militarización”.

Antes de su viaje a Centroamérica, la delegación visitó un centro de detención en Artesia, Nuevo México. “Vimos mujeres y niños literalmente tras las rejas”, dijo Bouman.

Esta primavera, el Rvdo. H. Julian Gordy – Obispo del Sínodo Suroeste de ELCA, Atlanta, y presidente de la Mesa Permanente para Asuntos de Inmigración de la Conferencia de Obispos de la ELCA – y el Rvdo. Michael W. Rinehart – obispo del Sínodo de la Costa del Golfo de Texas-Luisiana de la ELCA, Houston, y miembro de la junta directiva del Servicio Luterano para Inmigrantes y Refugiados, Baltimore – estarán visitando un centro de detención en Dilly, Texas.

“La Mesa Permanente para Asuntos de Inmigración de la Conferencia de Obispos existe para influir en la política pública con respecto a las cuestiones de inmigración”, dijo Gordy. “Trabajando de cerca con el Servicio Luterano para Inmigrantes y Refugiados, los miembros de la Mesa Permanente hacen visitas anuales a los miembros del Congreso y a la administración en Washington para instarlos a aprobar una reforma completa a la legislación sobre la inmigración”, indicó él.

“Además, los miembros de la Mesa Permanente han escrito piezas editoriales para periódicos, y en algunas ocasiones han atestiguado ante el Congreso a nombre de los inmigrantes y refugiados. Actualmente, la Mesa Permanente espera llamar atención sobre la desafortunada encarcelación de mujeres y niños migrantes en instalaciones de detención a lo largo del país”, añadió Gordy.

Ángeles de la Guarda
En el Sínodo del Suroeste de California de la ELCA, los pastores y miembros han comenzado el programa de Ángeles de la Guarda en un esfuerzo por acompañar a los niños y adolescentes de Centroamérica detenidos en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. Muchos de los niños y adolescentes comparecen solos a su audiencia de deportación.

“Queremos que los jueces y otras personas sepan que estamos allí para ayudar a los niños y a las familias a navegar el proceso judicial, especialmente a los que no tienen representación legal.  Estamos procurando enviar el mensaje de que existen personas que se preocupan por estos niños”, dijo Maria Paiva, directora de la misión evangélica, Sínodo del Suroeste de California de la ELCA, y coordinadora del programa Ángeles de la Guarda. El programa fue iniciado por la Rvda. Alexia Salvatierra, una pastora de ELCA. Hay cerca de 40 voluntarios adiestrados por el Comité Nacional de Abogados. Los voluntarios toman notas durante los procedimientos, y monitorean para ver si se cometen violaciones a los derechos legales de los niños.

Cuando los voluntarios acompañan a los niños durante los procedimientos legales, ellos usan una camiseta que tiene la figura de un ángel protegiendo a los niños. Paiva señaló que las camisetas ayudan a que los jueces noten la presencia de ellos.

“He visto milagros en cuanto a cómo cambian las actitudes de los jueces y los abogados cuando  nos ven acompañando a los niños”, expresó Paiva, quien ha acudido a más de 30 audiencias.

“Todos nosotros hemos sido bendecidos por Dios en formas maravillosas”, dijo Paiva. “Podemos mostrarles este amor a otros que necesitan compasión”.

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La presentación de la Campaña para la ELCA está ahora disponible en español

​La presentación de la primera campaña exhaustiva de la ELCA Siempre Ser Hechos Nuevos: La Campaña para la ELCA está ahora disponible al público en español. La presentación ofrece una introducción de la campaña, las prioridades de su ministerio y formas de donar.  Se puede ordenar aquí y/o descargar aquí.

Lanzada oficialmente el 1 de febrero de 2014, Siempre Ser Hechos Nuevos: La Campaña para la ELCA procura recaudar $198 millones para ayudar a sostener y extender los ministerios de esta iglesia mediante cuatro elementos prioritarios – las Congregaciones, el Hambre y la Pobreza, el Liderazgo, y la Iglesia Global. Los recursos económicos adicionales ofrecerán a la ELCA oportunidades de solidificar relaciones y expandir los ministerios que sirven a comunidades en los Estados Unidos y alrededor del mundo.

Recientemente la campaña celebró la terminación de su primer año con una recaudación de casi $45 millones, lo que representa el 23 por ciento de la meta de $198 millones en cinco años, los cuales se cumplen el 31 de enero de 2019. Además, la campaña ha recibido otros $3,4 millones en promesas actuales de donativos y $10,8 millones en promesas de donativos planeados a las prioridades de la misma.  Lea más acerca del primer año y el progreso de la campaña (ingrese a http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7730).

Descubra más acerca de La Campaña para la ELCA y sus prioridades (ingrese a http://www.elca.org/Campaign-for-the-ELCA).

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7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Nepal and surrounding countries

Megan Brandsrud

​Around 11:55 a.m. local time, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Nepal, with its epicenter approximately 70 km from its capital city, Kathmandu. The earthquake was felt around the whole country, but the Kathmandu valley and western region of the country were hit hardest.

As of publication time, approximately 1,500 people are reported dead and thousands are injured. Death toll numbers are expected to rise as searches continue because it is feared that many people are trapped beneath rubble. Buildings are leveled, roads are destroyed and many heritage sites and landmarks are collapsed, including the Dharahara Tower, which was built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal.

nepal earthquake 1

Collapsed building and surrounding damage in Nepal following 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the country early April 25. Photo courtesy of LWF.

The earthquake also triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing 13 people. More than 25 aftershocks have been recorded in the Kathmandu Valley and neighboring countries, causing people to spend the night outside in the open as a precaution.

Lutheran Disaster Response is working with trusted partners – Lutheran World Federation, ACT Alliance and Lutheran World Relief – who are on the ground and already responding. Immediate response includes supplies and services such as water, food, medication, shelter and psychosocial support. We continue to connect with other partners and our companion church, the Nepal Evangelical Lutheran Church, for updates and response plans.

“ELCA partners were in contact as soon as the news flashed,” says Chandran Paul Martin, consulting regional representative for South Asia, ELCA Global Mission. “Dr. Bijaya Bajracharayna, program coordinator for Lutheran World Federation in Nepal, described the situation of people on the street and open ground as after tremors were felt.”

Lutheran Disaster Response is committed to long-term response, and we will accompany our brothers and sisters who were affected by the earthquake as they navigate every process of the disaster relief and recovery process.

If you would like to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work with the Nepal Area Earthquake, please visit the giving page. Your gifts allow us be the church in times of disaster, and we thank you for your generosity. Please continue to remember the people of Nepal and surrounding countries who were affected by the earthquake in your thoughts and prayers.

Merciful God,

Hear our cry for mercy in the wake of the earthquake. Reveal your presence in the midst of our suffering. Help us to trust in your promises of hope and life so that desperation and grief will not overtake us. Come quickly to our aid that we may know peace and joy again. Strengthen us in this time of trial with the assurance of hope we know in the death and resurrection of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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An Earth Day Reflection

Gina Tonn

​April 22, 2015

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How do you honor God’s creation? Part of my spiritual practice is being a morning person, to honor the light by greeting it early, allowing the new dawn to fill me with the spirit. Each new day is an opportunity to continue the work we are called to do, refreshed and renewed through sleep and new light. I sense hopefulness of morning; I am filled with hope for the world, in our ability to create positive change, for there to be more people fed and nourished each day. I have confidence in the abundance of God’s creation; I see the divine in everything the sun touches.

Even as I honor God’s creation in my rising, I often take the earth and God’s gifts for granted in my living. I confess to being a lesser steward of the earth than I am called to be. I confess to my crimes against the environment – both things done and left undone out of laziness, convenience and self-centeredness. I confess to ignorance about where my food comes from and how it’s grown. I confess to ignoring future degradation for the sake of present quality of life.

My actions contribute to climate change. Climate change disproportionately affects people who live in vulnerable conditions, who experience poverty and hunger. As we observe Earth Day this week, let’s not only recommit to changing our attitudes and actions toward the earth and resources, but also to changing our attitudes and actions about food security, production and access around the world.

This year, the Earth Day Sunday Resource[1] produced by Creation Justice Ministries, formerly the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program, asks “How does food production and consumption impact the climate? How does climate change affect growing and accessing food? How are we sharing communion with God, one another, and all creation?”

In the ELCA Social Statement Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice, our church corporately confesses that we arenot in communion with all creation because of our alienation from God and creation, through captivity to sin. We proclaim God as creator of the earth. We live and work within a scientific world. Divinity and science need not be at odds. As Caring for Creation suggests, “In our time, science and technology can help us to discover how to live according to God’s creative wisdom.” In the United States today, use of science and technology to protect and honor creation is often controlled and dictated by our government. One way we can encourage and participate in ways our government takes action on climate change is through ELCA Advocacy. Other ways to get your congregation involved in caring for creation can be found through Lutherans Restoring Creation, an organization supported in part by grants from ELCA World Hunger.

But caring for creation cannot only be scientific and political; care for the earth is a profoundly spiritual matter.[2] So I will continue to honor God’s creation by rising with the sun and by looking for the divine in the beauty of the earth. I will also work to love God’s creation by mitigating my environmental footprint, better stewarding resources, and accompanying my neighbors near and far who are most susceptible to climate change because of food insecurity. Earth Day is not only an opportunity to celebrate and renew our commitment to environmental sustainability, but also to renew our love for neighbor, as we too were made of earth.

 

Gina Tonn serves as Program Assistant for Education and Constituent Engagement with ELCA World Hunger through a placement in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. 

 

[1] Have you anything here to eat? includes resources and ideas for worship and congregational life such as liturgy, prayers, discussion questions, and action steps.

[2] Paraphrase from Caring for Creation, “Even as we join the political, economic and scientific discussion, we know care for the earth to be a profoundly spiritual matter.” ​

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April 26, 2015 Love Laid Down

Stephanie Opsal, Albuquerque, NM

​

Warm-up Question

Which of your teachers in the past has had the strongest influence on your life?

Love Laid Down

Have you ever seen a teacher in action and thought, “That must be an easy job?”  Conveying first-grade level math or language arts skills might not seem difficult from the outside, but it takes a special kind of person to become a thriving teacher.  Beyond a thorough knowledge of  subject content and developing a teaching style, teachers who truly engage students have an enormous capacity for love, dedication, and patience for their students.  Many educators say they love their jobs and do not teach for the money; the strongest ones mean it.

 

In the worst times, such as the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, stories of hope rise out of the darkness, and many of these involve teachers who cared beyond their expected role.  A first grade teacher, Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, jumped into gear at the first sound of a gunshot and locked all fifteen of her students safely in the classroom bathroom.  The principal lost her life throwing herself at the gunman, giving every effort to stop him.  One teacher responded after the event by teaching her students to pay it forward to others.  To honor the twenty-six lost lives and recognize all the gifts received by the surviving children, a young teacher started a nonprofit organization called Classes4Classes to provide smartboards, books, and other school supplies to communities in need. She taught her students to become selfless, others-focused individuals in the same way she courageously stood before her class on the fateful day.

 

As recently as April 4th, 2015, a teacher made the news in a much more uplifting scenario.  Ms. Sheila Howarth, teacher at Leeds City Academy, won the “Most Inspiring Teacher” award in Yorkshire, England.  Ms. Howarth believes in every single student who walks in her door and feels proud of every achievement they make, no matter the size.  She teaches and recognizes the progress of her students as individuals, not in comparison to one another.  Some children she teaches know very little English, but she helps them achieve good grades and reach the collegiate level.  She takes the effort to get to know the young people she interacts with every day, and she has found the hook that can turn “uninterested” kids into engaged learners.  She encourages kids to make the most of their lives, starting today, and has “a big heart and all the pupils belong in it.”  She never stopped encouraging students to keep trying, reach their potential when they could not see it themselves, and push toward their dream careers, even when the path looked daunting.

 

Sheila Howarth, along with numerous inspiring teachers throughout the world, whether noticed or not, choose not to leave work at work or do the bare minimum requirements to earn the paycheck.  She gives her all for the kids and never gives up on them, which could not help but make a transformative difference in so many lives.

 

Discussion Questions

  • Have you had a teacher that truly inspired you?  What were the characteristics of that person?
  • Can you think of a teacher that was not your favorite?  What qualities was he or she lacking?
  • Do you see Jesus as a selfless, loving teacher?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:5-12

1 John 3:16-24

John 10:11-18

(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

 

Jesus claims to be “the good shepherd,” the one who lays down his life for the sheep.  In the passage, Jesus shows the difference between 1) the true good shepherd who loves the sheep and will do anything to protect them and 2) the hired hand who only takes care of the sheep for the necessity of earning money.  The hired hand runs at any sign of danger or interruption to his own life, because he does not truly care about the sheep. The shepherd, however, loves the sheep to the point of sacrificial love.  He would rather die and let the sheep live than see them get hurt or scattered.  He puts them before himself.

 

In the second part, Jesus extends the metaphor and asserts that He also has sheep from another sheep pen that He calls His own.  Finally, He does all of this by choice, based on His love and His close relationship with both the Father and the sheep, not under obligation.

 

Jesus uses this example to show that we are the sheep, and Jesus is our good shepherd.  Look back through the passage with this mindset, replacing the word “sheep” with “us” or “them.”  Hopefully this does not offend, but sheep have little brains.  They may not be the most intelligent animals, but they can recognize their leader’s voice and follow.  Sheep are great at flocking together.  If God is our shepherd leader, we can agree that our intelligence and understanding pales in comparison to His.  “For my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts,” God says through the prophet Isaiah (55:8-9), and “Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been His counselor?” – Romans 11:34.

 

Jesus does not save us based on our level of intelligence.  He saves and protects us because of His love, because by nature, He IS Love.  This example of the sheep and the shepherd illustrates Christ’s selfless love for humankind.  He lives out this truth through His death on the cross and resurrection.  Instead of watching and letting all His sheep whom he created, leads, and loves die, Jesus stands before us and takes on the death that we deserve.  Then He conquers death and rises again to life!  What a GOOD shepherd we have!

How can I be sure that Christ died for ME specifically, and not only for all the super holy, religious people?  Jesus said, “I know my sheep, and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (v. 14-15).

Jesus does not love you reluctantly, shaking His head but loving you because He has to.  Quite the contrary, He is the shepherd that puts little sheep lives before His own perfect life, the teacher that gives everything he can for each individual learner, and the one who does everything from the motivation of love, even letting sinful men nail him to a cross for the sake of us “having life, and having it to the full.” (John 10:10)

Discussion Questions

  • Do you view Jesus more as a loving, good shepherd or as a hired hand just leading you for His own gain?  Think of times when you or other people in your life have acted like Jesus or the hired hand.
  • What is your favorite line from this passage and why?
  • What connections can you make between the inspiring teacher from the article and Jesus, our good shepherd?  How are they similar?

Activity Suggestions

  • Read the Sandy Hook poem found at http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2075578/jewish/Heroism-in-Sandy-Hook.htm and discuss the character traits of these heroic teachers.  In what way are you a teacher?  What little change can you make in your life to become more helpful and loving toward others?
  • Write a short poem or narrative from the perspective of someone in another profession, possibly your future career choice.  Think about how you can show Jesus’ selfless love and service to others in any job or school position you may have.  Write down a couple possibilities you will try.
  • Listen to the song “It Was Love” by Abandon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfyutFUdUEw).  What lyrics stood out to you?  These are biblical truths.
  • Read the story of “The Lost Sheep” in Luke 15:1-7.  Discuss how this relates to our Gospel reading today.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd and never leaving us or letting us down. Help us to become selfless, loving, Christ-like people, quick to act and take opportunities to serve others in Your name.  Hold us in your grace and love.  In your holy name, amen.

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Mahdi’s Story – Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya

Gina Tonn

​The Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwest Kenya is host to 180,000 individuals,[1] more than 100,000 of whom are children. Since its establishment in 1992, the camp has become home to refugees from South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grants from ELCA World Hunger, in partnership with the Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service (LWF-DWS) Kenya-Djibouti Program, help to support programming for children in the camp.

A March 2015 update from the  Kenya-Djibouti Program states that the core of its work in Kakuma for the coming year will focus on education, child protection and community services.  ELCA World Hunger is directly supporting the Anti-Child Labor Campaign project for 2015.  The Anti-Child Labor Campaign will focus on increasing advocacy capacity through trainings for community-based organizing within the Kenyan host community and working to improve school environments with in the Kakuma Refugee Camp. The campaign seeks to offer children protection and support by increasing access to education for children who have been subject to child-labor violations throughout Turkana West District and within Kakuma Refugee Camp. According to the LWF DWS Kenya-Djibouti Program website, the organization is committed to protecting the rights to life, survival and development of children who call the Kakuma Refugee camp home.

Mahdi Riek Khor is a South Sudanese refugee, Kakuma resident, elected community leader, Child Protection Community Development Worker, aspiring politician, and only 23 years old. Thanks to the LWF Kenya-Djibouti Program, we are able to share his story with you:

Mahdi - Kakuma

Mahdi says, “Me, one day, if God is willing, I want to be a politician. As a politician I will maintain peace. I will be transparent, I will consider different cultures and I will accept being corrected. As a politician, I will consider any human being as a somebody.”

In December 2013, Mahdi became the first secondary school graduate in his family and was returning home to Bentiu to see his mother after 13 years apart, when violent hostilities disrupted his journey. ‘Fighting reached Unity State on the 19th of December. I remember it. There was a lot of destruction – guns, killings, arbitrary arrests, rape of women and girls. I had to come to Kakuma for safety.’

Mahdi is one of more than 45,000 people to reach Kakuma Refugee Camp, in north western Kenya, since December 2013 – among almost 2 million South Sudanese people to have become displaced inside or outside the country in the same period: ‘Life is a struggle in Kakuma. I can’t meet my basic needs. I am providing for 9 nieces and nephews. I don’t have good shelter, I’m not comfortable in the environment, there are no televisions to watch the news and learn about the world. Now the only world I know is inside Kakuma.’

Despite this, Mahdi is among 90 refugees who work with LWF as Child Protection Community Development Workers, working to prevent and respond to child protection issues across the camp’s population of 101,000 children. In Kakuma IV, the camp’s newest area, the team is supporting children with various protection concerns: children separated from their parents and family, children who have experienced or witnessed notable violence, children vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse – most of whom have lost everything and need much more than agencies can provide. ‘Child Protection work is very, very hard,’ Mahdi says. ‘It’s the working environment, going door to door, walking very far when the condition is too hot. We have a problem with promises. We want to help but we can’t always fulfil [needs], so some people see us as an enemy. They think we are lying.’

Refugees working to protect children in their own camp communities show courage and commitment. The work is challenging, resources are limited and cultural practices often conflict with the rights that workers are trying to promote. Mahdi considered the question of why he continues with the work. ‘I want to encourage children… Life has many challenges… it is my responsibility to help protect people. These cases, when you can resolve a situation, reunite a child with their family. I reunited two children with their parents and the children were most happy. They were so, so happy. That’s why we do the work.’

It is easy to imagine Mahdi as a very successful leader in the future. ‘Here in Kakuma, we hope that opportunity will come. Kakuma teaches us to live in a hard situation but I see now that I have met people here I would not have met outside. You can learn from different nationalities – their culture, their attitudes, we can learn from them.’ And in the meantime, Mahdi is working hard to support children in Kakuma – considering every child as a somebody.

ELCA World Hunger is proud to be a part of LWF Department of World Service’s ongoing commitment to education and development for children, and protection of rights and wellbeing for all children at Kakuma and around the world.

​Madhi’s profile written and provided courtesy of the LWF Kenya-Djibouti Program. 

Gina Tonn is a Program Assistant for Education and Constituent Engagement with ELCA World Hunger through a placement in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. 

[1] UNHCR, February 2015

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Welcome Elyssa Salinas – Program Assistant for Hunger Education!

Elyssa Salinas

​Please welcome our newest colleague in ELCA World Hunger – Elyssa Salinas!

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Hello! I’m Elyssa Salinas and I’m thrilled to join ELCA World Hunger as the program assistant for Hunger Education! Currently I’m finishing my Masters of Divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and I will be graduating in May! I’m originally from the Chicago area, growing up in Oak Park and Des Plaines. I attended Valparaiso University and pursued a degree in theatre, enjoying roles such as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Sir Toby Belch inTwelfth Night. Also in college I began to develop an interest in gender studies and performance poetry.

After graduating in 2012 I decided to take the advice of one of my professors and give the East Coast a try, so I decided to attend the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia as a Fund for Leaders scholar. While there I got a job with a nonprofit organization that worked with families dealing with home instability in connection with a diverse pool of faith groups in the area. This experience provided me with an opportunity of engaging my faith with social issues I felt (and still feel) strongly about.

Throughout my time in college and seminary I spent four summers working near Santa Cruz, California, at Mt. Cross Ministries, a Lutheran camp set in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Mt. Cross gave me a chance to experience the West coast and engage with youth, where every day was about seeing God through their eyes.

Throughout my discernment process in Philadelphia I found that my call was not what I expected, and so after two years I decided to transfer back home to Chicago and pursue a call in teaching. I’m happy to be home and close to my family while I continue to follow my path in education. This Fall I will start my Ph.D at LSTC in systematic theology and sexual ethics, where I plan to focus on body/sex shaming and how to embrace our bodies as God embraces each of us, as children of God’s abundant love. I am an advocate for positive body image, and I challenge myself and others to see each of us as God sees us, beloved and beautiful.

Poetry has been a vehicle to explore my own challenges with body image and my identity as a Latina. I have been performing poetry for the past few years at various open mic performances in Philadelphia and Chicago along with using poetry as part of my academic career. Currently I’m working on a book of poetry from the point of view of biblical women, especially Old Testament women such as Hagar, Dinah and Jael.

Fun Facts about Elyssa!

  • I was a competitive public speaker for 7 years!
  • My favorite movie of all time is Beauty and the Beast, and I love Disney! My mother is the only person to beat me at Disney trivia.
  • I got my first poem published this year in Thinking Theologically!
  • My CTA commute always entails a book and I’m always looking for more to read!
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Exploring: Relief

Ryan P. Cumming

​Exploring: Relief

In this series of posts, we will take a closer look at some of the areas of work ELCA World Hunger supports domestically and internationally.  This week, our focus is on “relief.”

What Is Relief?

Relief is any response to immediate needs.  When someone comes to the door hungry, they are fed.  When someone is hurt, they are treated.  Relief might not look toward long-term solutions, but it is the most immediate response we can offer when we encounter someone in need.  Occasionally, relief can also be the best response to the needs of people who might never be able to reliably meet their own needs.  For example, someone who is unable to work due to a very serious injury might never be able to earn enough income to feed themselves.  Relief ministries can step in and fill this gap.

It is very important, though, to remember that RELIEF IS NOT THE SAME AS RESCUE.  Whether someone volunteers at a food pantry, receives a hot meal at a church, or packs backpacks of food for children on the weekend, relief should always be thought of first and foremost as work we do together – whether we are receiving food or providing it.  Relief done well creates a table at which ALL can be fed.

As Lutherans, we recognize that hunger takes many forms – physical hunger for food, emotional hunger for support or intimacy, spiritual hunger for fulfillment and so on.  Relief ministries aren’t simply a way for struggling families to be fed with food; they are opportunities for those serving to be fed spiritually, socially and emotionally, by being invited to share in the meaningful relationships that can be created when God draws together people who might otherwise not encounter one another at work, school, or home.  Seeing our mutual need as both recipients and providers can be an important first step in helping our ministry be guided by the dignity of the people involved on every side.

Roots of Relief

One of the clearest places we see relief in our scripture and tradition is in the miracle stories of the Bible.  In the Old Testament, we hear of God providing manna to the wandering Hebrews.  After they left Egypt, the people roamed through the wilderness, seeking the land God had promised them.  This story gives us some helpful tips for what relief ought to look like.

First, God isn’t just an outside “hero” who rescues Israel.  Rather, God is walking with them, accompanying them as they make their way to Canaan.  Because God is traveling with them, God knows their need, and God provides.

Second, God’s relief is given during a time when the Hebrews simply could not support themselves.  Without land, these agriculturalists would have been hard-pressed to provide for their families.  God’s relief is given in response to the expressed needs of the people and with an eye toward their future well-being and livelihood.  The goal isn’t to provide just enough of one kind of relief (manna) so that the Hebrews remain dependent.  Nor is it given to assert God’s worth over and above the worth of each human being.  It is given in love and hope, to support the Hebrews on the journey to a new life that they will build in cooperation with God.

Third, the Hebrews aren’t just passive recipients; they are part of a relationship with God and important actors in the progress of God’s plan for Israel.  There is no covenant without God, and there is no covenant without people.

Finally, and this seems almost to go without saying, Moses isn’t God.  No human leader, no human participant in the community is so elevated that they become replacements or substitutes for God.  God’s way of relating gives all of us an ideal picture of what relationships can look like, but there is a big difference between helping our community meet its needs and being the Creator and Sustainer of all existence.  In the wilderness, God uses the people’s gifts – Moses’ gift of leadership, Miriam’s gift of music, Jethro’s gift of counsel.  Each gift counts, each person matters.  There is a measure of equality among the members of the community; once they are confronted by the majestic powers of God, any minor distinctions between individual humans pale in comparison.

In the New Testament, Jesus provides excellent examples of relief in the stories of healing.  On the surface, this relief seems pretty straightforward.  Someone has a disease or disability; he or she asks Jesus for help; Jesus provides immediate help.  End of story, right?  Not quite.

As biblical scholars have pointed out, to have a disease like leprosy or a disability like blindness in Jesus’ time meant something very different than it does today.  To have leprosy was to be an outcast, someone who could never be “clean” enough to dine with others or to go to synagogue.  To have a permanent disability like blindness was thought to be a sign that a person was cursed by God for some failing.  Jesus, by healing people around him – indeed, even by touching them – was turning both of these notions on their heads.  People with disabilities weren’t cursed by God; they were loved by God – so much so, in fact, that Jesus is willing to break the law by healing on the Sabbath (Mark 3:16; Luke 13:10-17.)

Jesus wasn’t just healing people; he was subverting social mores that tossed justice and compassion out the window.  Relief ministries of today, when done faithfully, are important witnesses against a society that believes people’s suffering is ordained by God or that people who have real needs will somehow “taint” the community.  (If you don’t believe this happens today, I would invite you to read this fine article on recent laws passed to keep homeless people out of public spaces.)

Everyone Jesus meets is in need of healing, not just those who different physical abilities or illnesses.  Providing immediate relief to people who hunger for food, for companionship, for fulfillment – when done in love, in solidarity, and with an eye toward future well-being – can be a powerful testimony to the worth and dignity of every human being, including those who have been invited to serve.  And often, such a ministry can create a cycle, with clients of a ministry often using their talents and skills as volunteers or employees.

Examples of Relief

Relief ministries are some of the most vital ministries ELCA World Hunger supports.  Here are some examples:

Peace Lutheran Fellowship in Port Ludlow, Washington, provides an average of 20 backpacks of food to children who are food insecure in their community.  By working closely with the local school, they can identify children who might not have enough to eat during the weekends, when they are not receiving food at school.

Churches United of the Quad Cities Area is an ecumenical group of Iowa churches that maintains a network of 24 food pantries and 3 hot-meal sites.  Together, they are committed to serving all who are hungry, without discrimination.  Almost half of the people who receive free suppers at their hot meal sites are under 18, and all are food-insecure.  By working together and with support in part from ELCA World Hunger, they are able to serve meals to over 29,000 people each year.

Lutheran World Federation’s Kakuma Refugee Camp Assistance Program helps provide humanitarian assistance and protection for people fleeing violence and persecution in other parts of Africa, especially Sudan most recently.  When refugees arrive at the camp in Kenya, they are given food rations and referred to other agencies for psychosocial needs.  This year, LWF expects to assist 13,000 new refugees, including many asylum seekers, at the camp.  LWF supports these new asylum seekers and helps them get connected with other agencies like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Each of the refugees will be given immediate assistance until long-term solutions can be found for their protection and well-being.  In addition, the project helps improve educational opportunities for children, including providing accommodations for children with disabilities and has a program specifically for unaccompanied minors.

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April 19, 2015 Do You Have Anything to Eat?

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

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Warm-up Question

Why is eating such an important part of most gatherings?
Do You Have Anything to Eat?

“Do you have anything to eat?”  My wife wasn’t raised in the South.  Her cultural sensibilities would never allow her to ask for something to eat.  I grew up in the South where when someone asked if you wanted anything, you were free to ask. What you were not free to do (in the rural South of my childhood) was to refuse food when it was offered to you.  Eating was not only something you did to satisfy hunger; you ate as a way of showing respect and mutuality.

The weekly, ceremonial gathering of Christians is a meal.  Jesus instituted this new custom while participating in a very old ritualized meal with his disciples.  It is the Christmas dinner or the Thanksgiving lunch that show up in all the “ain’t it good to be home” artworks.

Sharing a meal; sharing food; eating – something happens here that far transcends our ability to understand or to explain. Something just feels right about it.  Something about it speaks louder than any words or with greater clarity than any explanation.  It speaks to our unspoken selves.  It communicates to those parts of us which are accessible only by way of emotion and conviction.

Discussion Questions

  • Recall a time when sharing a meal allowed you to learn something about your host (or your guest) that you would have never thought to ask in general conversation.
  • Allow yourself to chuckle at a “dinner mishap”, something like the time my brother-in-law drank from the bowls of water set on the table for folks to rinse their fingers.

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 3:12-19

1 John 3:1-7

Luke 24:36b-48

(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 course they had something to eat.  There was almost always something there to eat.  Only eight verses earlier they were prepared to share a meal with the resurrected Jesus when he suddenly disappeared (Luke 24:31b).   Why did they not think to offer him something?  Why was he left to ask?

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The text suggests it may have been a result of their being “startled and terrified.”  When Jesus came and stood among them, they weren’t completely sure it was him.  Luke’s narrative suggests they “thought they were seeing a ghost.”  Before they can reclaim their wits (and their manners) they need to receive the promise Jesus spoke as he appeared among them – “Peace be with you.”

Jesus encourages them to not be frightened.  He asks them to look at his hands and his feet.  “Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”  (Side note:  this is the ONLY biblical passage that speaks of the “flesh and bones” of the risen Lord.)  Jesus is no “ghost.”  “Ghost,” in the ears of his contemporaries, implied the immortal soul of all the departed as they awaited whatever fate awaited them next.   “Touch me and see (touch me and see with the eyes of faith?) that I am not merely a reinforcement of what others have tried to pass as the Truth.”  In the resurrected Jesus we encounter something other than merely the desires and longings of those who consider one life-time as insufficient.  “Touch me and see that the promises of God and the assurances of God are as real as the flesh and bone of my own body.”

It is after this encounter that Jesus asks for something to eat.  Some have suggested he asks in order to show that he is not a “ghost.”  The text tells us the disciples were “disbelieving and still wondering.”  One writer suggested their disbelief is the enormity of what they have come to realize has happened.  They are not wondering whether Jesus is resurrected, they are disbelieving that they would be front and center of this astounding occurrence.  If we can begin to think such, then Jesus asking for something to eat might be seen as an acknowledgement of the need for the disciples to be active.  What if Jesus is asking for something to eat, not in order to prove he is flesh and bone, but because he is hungry?  What if he wants them to realize that seeing him and believing in him means following him and that means feeding the hungry?  Earlier (in Matthew’s account,) Jesus had celebrated the sheep’s feeding the hungry.  Later (in John’s account) he will instruct them to “feed my lambs.”

The Resurrected Jesus is not some disembodied ghost.  He is not some celestial being.  He remains the God who set aside the heavens in order to make his home among us.  The Resurrected Jesus, no less than the Rabbi Jesus “opens our minds to understand the scriptures.”  The forgiveness extended to us makes it possible for us to set aside concerns for ourselves and act on behalf of the other.

“Do you have anything to eat?”  “Sure I do.  I can offer you a bologna sandwich, a few scrambled eggs. Some boiled fish.  And to feed the hunger that resides deep inside you I can offer  you a morsel of bread and a sip of wine – both of which come with the assurance that she who receives it receives the peace which sets aside all reasons to be startled and terrified.”

“Come and eat.  And when you are finished, maybe you will help me.  You see, I have been given so much that I am sure it is enough to share with all the nations.  And we will share it, together.  And bear witness to the abundance that others will be bewildered to consider.”

Discussion Questions

  • What is the difference between an immortal soul (the belief of the Greeks) and a resurrected life (the teaching of the Christian Church)?
  • Might the culture’s fascination with “ghosts” and “ghost stories” prove to be a hindrance to understanding God’s actions on Easter morning?
  • The disciples need to be assured and calmed; but they were also being called into action.  How do we balance these two objectives in our ministries?

Activity Suggestions

Give to each member of your group, Sunday School class, or member of your family an ample supply of your favorite on-the-go food.  I am partial to those nut and salty granola bars; they come in a box of twelve.  Instruct those to whom you give a box that they are to look for opportunities to give these away, one at a time, preferably to someone they don’t know.  As they offer a snack, all they need to say is, “I was given these, and it is more than I need.  Can I share one with you?”  Try not to say anything more – if you can.  It really is best if you don’t.  If you must, you could share that at Easter you were reminded off all that you had received, and that in this Easter season you were encouraged to experience that abundance by having so many snack bars that you had to find opportunities to give them away.

Closing Prayer

Precious Lord, take my hand, assure me of your peace.  Precious Lord, open your hand, allow me to see the wounds you suffered.  Precious Lord, use my hands, to share that which has been given me.  Together, let all God’s children say – Amen.

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