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The Church I See

When was the last time you were proud to be Christian?  When was the last time you felt good about calling yourself a Lutheran?

Articles, blogs, surveys, statements, and so on keep telling us that the Church is in crisis, that mainstream denominations are bleeding members and funds, that churches are trading vitality for gimmicks to stem the flow out the doors.  Too often, the public face of Christianity in the U.S. seems to be a culture of “no” – no to diverse sexualities, no to religious diversity, no to science, no, no, no.  Flocks of young people, with worldviews distant from generations past, are hastening away from a religion whose presence in the news is often a portrait of stodginess, of anachronisms, or – at its worst – of simply hate in action.  The pseudo-Christianity that holds sway in media portrayals of faith communities makes it difficult for many of us to identify as Christians – and as Evangelical Lutherans – with pride in our church.

But there are times when that vision of the church wafts away like the thin, untenable shell that it is.  This happens a lot in the work that I am blessed to do.  If I may, let me tell you about the church that I see.

Last year, I was at a summit hosted by the Alliance to End Hunger in Washington, DC.  For the opening panel, I sat at a random table, a nobody among leaders and representatives of some of the most prominent anti-hunger organizations in the country.  Across from me was a man representing a food bank out west.  He shook my hand and thanked me.  His food bank was supported by a Domestic Hunger Grant from ELCA World Hunger.  Next to him was a woman representing a meal delivery program in the South.  She likewise extended her gratitude; her program, too, was supported by ELCA World Hunger.  To my immediate left?  The father of a young woman who co-wrote a resource on food drives for us, herself “raised and retained” ELCA.  Where was his daughter?  On the stage, about to present to this diverse group and, unbeknownst to her, about to receive a scholarship for her anti-hunger work.

The ELCA is a member of the Alliance, but far beyond that, we are THERE in many profound ways.

I have had the chance to travel to many states and to Latin America in my work with ELCA World Hunger.  And the overwhelming impression I have taken from the conversations I have had and the things I have heard has been how well-respected our Church is among ecumenical partners, local communities, and companion churches.  Our commitment to accompanying our partners and companions opens up vital spaces in which we can learn and share with one another and engage in vibrant ministries in communities around the world.

While in Colombia with colleagues from the Global Mission unit of the ELCA and representatives of our companion church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia (IELCO), we had the unique opportunity to meet with three men from Caminando Juntos (“Walking Together”), an advocacy, activism, and support group for people infected with HIV/AIDS that is part of IELCO’s ministry in Colombia.  We heard stories of the group’s successes in accompanying newly diagnosed members, in helping to secure medication, and in raising awareness of HIV/AIDS throughout the church.  This was the first time members of the group had met with people outside the group.

This is a ministry supported by grants from ELCA World Hunger to IELCO’s Diakonia ministry.  We have been invited to be part of this work with our support, and our Church has said “YES.”  And we have been enriched as Church because of it.

On that same trip, w2014-05-04 11.36.57e climbed up a mountain in northern Colombia to visit with the Christian Kogui Community, an indigenous community facing significant challenges in defending their rights to education, health care, and religious freedom.  When they converted to Christianity years ago, they lost their protected status as “indigenous peoples,” which led to eviction from their traditional lands, lack of access to subsidized health care, and reduced opportunities for education.  Through IELCO, ELCA World Hunger helped some of the families in this community purchase land, including farms that provide food to Kogui families.

Our support for IELCO, in part, helps to provide the Kogui community with partners in their struggle to advocate for themselves.  We have been invited to be part of this work with our support and to learn from it by our presence, and our Church has said “YES.”  And we have been enriched as Church because of it.

Backpack programs in Iowa, shelters for homeless youth in New York and Texas, re-entry programs for men released from prison in California, community gardens and nutritional education in Wisconsin, hospitals in the Holy Land, refugee camps in Jordan and Kenya, improved sanitation programs in Myanmar – we have been invited to be part of this work with our support and our presence, and our Church has said “YES.”  And we have been enriched as Church because of it.

Our colleagues in ELCA Advocacy in Washington, DC, New York, and a variety of state public policy offices are prominent voices for justice, leading the charge on issues ranging from minimum wage and protections for workers, to care for creation, to federal safety net programs for people who fall on hard times.  Whether on the international, national, or state level, Lutherans have said “YES” to being part of – and leading – conversations about justice, peace, and fairness.

We are there.  It may not get written about in the papers.  It may not end up on the “Today” show.  It may not go viral like a hate-filled protest at a military funeral, but it does not go unnoticed.  With faith in God who ordains that government should be just, that every person’s rights should be protected, the ELCA joins its voice to the symphony of cries for justice and peace. When the world says, “No” to human beings and to the environment – “No, there isn’t enough money to support people in need during an economic crisis,” “No, protecting the environment would risk too many jobs” – the Church says, “YES” – “Yes, we can support people in need,” “Yes, we can practice sustainability in ways that benefit both humans and non-human creation,” “Yes, we can and must protect the rights of children, workers, immigrants, refugees, and all those who are vulnerable.”

This is what I see…

  • In a small town on Long Island, a visually impaired man whose home was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy stood with us and watched as members of ecumenical group helped rebuild his home.  Lutheran Disaster Response was there, and remains there.
  • In Port Ludlow, Washington, a young girl receives a backpack full of food to help ensure she will eat during the weekend, when she doesn’t have access to breakfast or lunch at school.  Peace Lutheran Fellowship and ELCA World Hunger are there, and remain there.
  • In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a man who is a refugee from Liberia participates in a program to help him learn skills to get a job and acclimate to American culture, ensuring he can use his gifts to support himself and his family.  Daily Work and ELCA World Hunger are there, and remain there.
  • In Texas, a young boy fleeing violence in Central America crosses a border after a perilous journey through Mexico and finds a safe place where he is welcomed and cared for.  Lutheran Social Services of the South and the ELCA are there, and remain there, even after the boy is placed in a home and given the support he needs to grow up in a place where his gifts and talents can be nurtured.
  • In Detroit, Michigan, young children learn the skills necessary to make healthy eating choices and gain skills to help improve their ability to read.  Revelation Evangelical Lutheran Church and ELCA World Hunger are there, and remain there.
  • In Los Angeles, California, a mother and daughter serve food to their neighbors at a community meal, while during the week they receive food themselves, to help them make it through the month.  They are there, My Friend’s House is there, and ELCA World Hunger is there, and remain there.
  • In River Forest, Illinois, young children learn about hunger while collecting gifts to purchase a family farm to support agricultural projects halfway around the world that will help hundreds of families feed themselves for years to come.  Grace Lutheran Church (River Forest) and ELCA World Hunger are there, and remain there, even as their hearts and gifts extend to our companions continents away.

There are hundreds of these ministries supported by ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response, and thousands more that are supported directly by gifts from church members, community partners, and others.  Any question about the power of faith to inspire people to respond to God’s invitation to be part of God’s work in the world is answered unequivocally, every day in the nearly 10,000 congregations of the ELCA and the hundreds of places around the world where people of faith work together to end hunger, walk together, and be fed – physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially.

As people of faith, we have to take seriously the criticisms levied against organized religion by its critics.  We certainly have not gotten everything right, and there have been times in history when the Church has been an agent of injustice, rather than a presence of justice and hope.  We move toward a future promised by God knowing that still, we will not get everything right.  We are saints and sinners, after all.

But the critics of organized religion  – and we ourselves – also must take seriously the multitude of ministries made possible by God’s invitation to authentic relationships and mutual ministry.  These stories may not get told on the mountain – they may be whispered about in the valley – but they are there, and they are part of who we are as Church together.  We have the opportunity to change the picture, to cast a vision of the ELCA and of Christianity as the community of justice and love that it is called to be.  And in so many ways, our Church and the churches of our partners and companions have said “YES.”

Everyday, the ELCA, its partners, its companions, and other people of goodwill are painting a picture of a faith that is vibrant, active, authentic, meaningful, life-giving, and justice-seeking.  To God’s invitation to be part of the work the Holy Spirit is doing in communities around the world, our Church has sounded a mighty “YES!”  As individual people of faith, what will we say?  Will we be part of the transformation of the public face of Christianity as a religion of “no” to a religion of “yes” – yes to our neighbors, yes to God’s work in the world, yes to a world in which all are fed, yes to communities of justice and equity?

“Listen, Listen God is calling,

through the Word inviting…”

 Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is Program Director for Hunger Education for ELCA World Hunger.  He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.

 

 

Food Insecurity is Real – Even in Iowa

This week, we are happy to welcome Alison Northrop as a guest writer.  Her post below originally appeared in the January newsletter of Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Sheffield, Iowa, and on the Northeastern Iowa Synod’s blog, “God’s Work, Our Blog.”  If you haven’t had a chance to see the synod’s blog, check it out for some great posts at www.northeasterniowasynodelca.blogspot.com.

When I was younger, I was a picky eater. To be fair, the incident I’m about to describe involved eating lamb brains at an age when I still enjoyed the show “Lamb Chop’s Play-Along.” I was at a Greek restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with my father and his mother.

Absolutely nothing on the menu was appealing to me. The restaurant smelled funny, I was tired, and quite frankly, I was stubborn. I remember settling on a salad which was far from filling, but at least I knew what was in it. Then my grandmother declared that I would try her dinner, and I would like it. Folks, it’s a terrible idea to tell an 8 year-old that you just made her eat brains – while she’s still chewing.

As I spat out my food and frantically tried to rinse my mouth out, my grandmother gave me THE line. “There are starving children in Ethiopia. You should be grateful to have food!” At the time, I mumbled that I would be more grateful to have normal food, but like most picky eaters, I heard this line frequently through childhood.

Over 800 million people in the world are chronically hungry. That’s 1 in 8. Chronically hungry means undernourished to the point of not being able to lead a normal, active life. Notice I said world, not just Ethiopia. When American people think of hungry children, many typically think of African children whose bones stick out. Those children do exist and do need our help, but there’s another face of hunger that we don’t like to think about. You see these faces all the time, in person.

If you think there are no hungry children in small-town Iowa, you are so very mistaken. Food insecure children often rely on their schools for regular meals. These children can depend on their schools for breakfast and lunch but often don’t know if they will eat dinner when they go home, or if they will have much or anything to eat over the weekend and school holidays. These children may be irritable or hyperactive, show vitamin deficiencies, and have difficulties in school. Chronic hunger affects brain development; necessary development for our future leaders.

One out of every two children will rely on food assistance at some point in their lives.[1] That assistance isn’t always enough. In fact, it rarely is. The price of food steadily climbs, and parents often have to choose between healthy food for a week or two and junk food that they can stretch through the month. A twelve-pack of Ramen noodles is less than half the price of a gallon of milk. What would you do in that situation? Empty calories get you through the day, but it’s incredibly unhealthy in the long term.

The problem is not with food production. This planet produces enough food to feed its entire population. The problem is with distribution. It could be a corrupt government that withholds foreign aid from its people.

Or it could be a food desert or “food swamp” in large metropolitan cities and small towns. A rural food desert is classified as a county where residents have to drive 10 or more miles to the nearest supermarket or grocery store. The classification of an urban food desert is one mile to the nearest supermarket or grocery store.

So how do people get to this point? Laziness? Drugs? Sometimes, yes. But when more than half (and as much as 85%) of families on food assistance have at least one working adult in the home, I find it hard to believe that the majority of those who are hungry are lazy. Often, it’s a matter of circumstance.

Those who are born into poverty are more likely to stay in poverty. Sometimes the main provider of a family loses their job and cannot find another. Some families go from a two-parent home to a one-parent home, often due to divorce or death. Have you ever wondered what a single parent with multiple children goes through when the other parent doesn’t pay child support?

Why should any of us help people facing food insecurity? Some of us have fallen on tough times ourselves and pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps.

Maybe we should do it because the children in these situations didn’t make the choices that got them there. Whether it’s the parent’s bad choices, lost jobs, or divorce, it is NOT the fault of the child.

Maybe we should help these families because it’s what Jesus expects of us.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…

 Matthew 25:35 

In December, our congregation (Zion St. John Lutheran) displayed what kind of Christians we wish to be. The amount of food we sent to the Franklin County food pantry was overwhelming. The Spirit of West Fork is a program that assists families in providing for their children at Christmas.

With the school’s winter break lasting two full weeks and three weekends, there are a lot of meals that the school will not be providing to the children that rely on them. Our congregation sent over 300 items to the school to be distributed through that program. The Spirit of West Fork served 26 families this year, with a total of 70 children.

I don’t know what the situations of those families are, and I don’t need to. I am just thankful that as a congregation, we did not let these children go hungry through our own inaction.

God’s peace,

Alison Northrop

Director of Youth & Family Ministries
Zion St. John Lutheran, Sheffield, Iowa

 

**Thanks to Alison and Pastor Joelle Colville-Hanson for permission to re-post.

[1] “Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood,” Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 163(11), November 2009.

All the fabrics were beautiful, but only one was covered in feet!

​In November I was blessed to accompany ELCA Diakonia staff members to Cameroon to meet with representatives of the Lutheran church in Cameroon, Denmark, France, Germany, and the United States, all in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic as it plans and administers health, education and sustainability projects in the villages of Central African Republic.

photoWhile there, we were asked to stand in front of the congregation after worship in the Garoua-Boulai hospital chapel ​on Friday morning and as we were all introduced (in French) the congregation said “Ahhh” when they heard it was my first trip to the continent. We were each presented with a gift of fabric, and apparently randomly –  but in the Holy Spirit there are no coincidences – mine was covered in feet, all different shades of the gold, green and reddish brown of the native vegetation and earth. The group of partners grinned, acknowledging the significance of the feet, not only for my journey to Africa, but for my journey to ELCA World Hunger.

The journey began with my father, who was national sales manager for a Chicago-based restaurant supply company. I admired his quiet, gentle yet powerful success, and followed his footsteps into national account sales and marketing with a career apparel firm based in Deerfield, Illinois. Then in mid-life the Holy Spirit called me into the ministry of word and sacrament. I attended the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and served congregations in Northeastern Iowa and Metropolitan Chicago Synods – until this fall when the Spirit moved once again. I began my position with ELCA World Hunger in October.  My focus is on congregations and supporting them in their work, which in turn supports the domestic and international health, education and sustainability projects we do as ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Response. I’ll be travelling throughout the United States to visit congregations two to three Sundays every month, learning from those who are so actively engaged, and helping to engage those who are not yet supporting this vital work of our church.

10703687_10152749626110428_9056604201809338865_nIt has been a joy to begin this work with such faithful, wise, compassionate colleagues – and I look forward to getting to know you! What a journey we are all on together, all our footsteps guided by the Holy Spirit as together we partner on this journey, accompanying God’s people so that all have food, water, health care, and income.

The Rev. Robin Brown is Associate Director of ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal, Congregational Support. Before joining the ELCA World Hunger Team, Robin served as a parish pastor in suburban Illinois. 

ELCA Pastor Tackles Minimum Wage

​It is no secret that many workers in the fast food industry are not paid enough to support themselves and their families.  A recent report found that 52% of front-line fast-food workers receive some form of public assistance, nearly twice the proportion of all workers who receive public assistance.quote.JPG

It is also no secret that the pulpit often has been a platform for prophetic voices, from John Chrysostom decrying excessive wealth in the Fourth Century to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., indicting segregation with the Word of God in the Twentieth Century.  This year, Rev. Annie Edison-Albright of Redeemer Luther Church (ELCA) in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, brought her voice and faith to bear on the plight of workers struggling for a living wage.  Her prophetic sermon was recognized by The Beatitudes Society, which awarded Rev. Edison-Albright its 2014 J. Philip Swander Brave Preacher Award!

Her poignant words call us to see our neighbors differently and to strive for justice in accordance with our baptismal vocation.  You can read the full sermon here, but below are some selections.

Rev. Edison-Albright reminds us what is at stake when workers are mistreated or ridiculed for their efforts:

“What it comes down to is this: the person you degrade, and dehumanize, and call names … that person is Jesus.  That person working at McDonald’s is Jesus.  And she’s Jesus regardless of how smart she is, or what life choices she’s made. The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The person you reject is the cornerstone: an essential, important, beloved child of God.”

She declares to people of faith that our hope is well-founded and calls us to carry that hope into the world:

“When it comes to big issues like poverty, it’s easy to get cynical, to get angry and judgmental, to be apathetic and try to ignore it, to get overwhelmed and feel like there’s nothing we can do. But if Jesus Christ was born, lived, died and rose from the dead, then anything is possible. And we truly are empowered to be God’s hands and feet and voices in the world.”

Powerful words from a powerful preacher.  Congratulations, Rev. Edison-Albright, and thank you!

Follow these links to learn more about the ELCA’s commitment to a living wage:

Playing the “Hunger Game” in the United States: When the odds are NOT in your favor

This weekend the “beginning of the end” of one of the most popular book and blockbuster film series of the decade hits the big screen. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 will no doubt lure fans of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling dystopian trilogy to movie theaters in droves across the country. People of all ages will be on the edge of their seats to see whether Katniss will prevail in the fight against the Capitol, how the love-story will unfold and, of course, whether or not the movie is true enough to the book to appease the most loyal fans.

While I must admit that I have read all three Hunger Games books, and did so in perhaps what was near-record time, my interest this week in anticipation of the movie release lies more along the lines of the connections we can draw between the perils of Panem – the fictitious setting of the novels – and the culture of food, class and justice in the United States. A quick Google search of “The Hunger Games + real life” reveals everything from conspiracy theories to blog rants about how the United States of America IS the Capitol. Although I don’t take quite the extreme view, I do find several specific connections compelling:

1) the rising role of food as a marker of social class in the U.S., and 2) the outrageous excess and waste of our consumption we too often fail to recognize.

From the outset of the series, a vast food gap is depicted between the Capitol and the various districts of Panem. Vignettes of extreme gluttony and extravagance – Capitol residents are able to take a pill to make themselves throw-up some of their food in order to continue indulging in elaborate meals – are contrasted with desperation, as Katniss revels in the acquisition of a single burned loaf of bread. The food gap in the United States may not look the same as that portrayed in the Hunger Games, yet food is nonetheless becoming an increasingly prominent marker of social class. In the United States the food gap reveals itself more in the type of food consumed. The well-off continually seek out healthier, fancier, more ethically produced foods. Those struggling financially often have little access to choices other than the empty calories of inexpensive, processed foods. In September of this year, the Harvard School of Public Health released a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine[1. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/u-s-diet-shows-modest-improvement-but-overall-remains-poor/.] tracking the eating habits of just under 30,000 Americans between 1999 and 2010. The study revealed that over the last decade “diet quality has improved among people of high socioeconomic status but deteriorated among those at the other end of the spectrum.”[2. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/access-to-real-food-as-privilege/379482/ This article also notes the study’s conclusion that diets in the US have improved overall when socioeconomic status is not accounted for, but one of the researchers notes that “the growing gap between the rich and poor (is) ‘disturbing.’… There can by no tenable ‘overall improvement’ when there is growing disparity around a point so critical to preventative medicine, or when there is deterioration among any such sizable marginalized population.”]

The paradox of this situation is that the push to improve overall health of Americans – from easing the obesity epidemic to lowering health care costs and incidence of diet-related diseases – seems to be a ubiquitous value. Yet, what is considered “healthy” is often only accessible to a relatively small portion of us. Healthy lifestyles are not solely determined by the foods we eat, but also by the ways we use our bodies, the air we breathe, the water we drink. Families and individuals who struggle to feed themselves healthy food because of financial limitations are unlikely to have the time or energy to exercise regularly.[3. http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/08/22/3474767/poor-people-use-diet-supplements-more/.] All of these problems compound rising healthcare costs, which can be an added burden, especially for families with children. Furthermore, the widening food gap promises to have cyclical consequences; as people fail to afford healthy food, their health is susceptible to deterioration, which can then intensify and deepen income inequality, and so on.[4. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rich-poor-dietary-gap-widening-in-u-s/.] It just goes to show, when you don’t play fair, nobody wins – especially in the real life “hunger game.”

Food’s role as a marker of class has been recognized and discussed for some time, as The Washington Post notes in their article about the 2014 Harvard study.[5. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/02/americas-growing-food-inequality-problem/.] (See this piece in Newsweek from 2010). So if the problem has been known for the last half a decade or more, why has the gap just kept on growing? It would be nice if the food gap could simply be closed by single solutions, like taxing junk food at increasingly greater rates or building a Whole Foods in every low-income neighborhood.[6. Whether or not introducing health foods stores in low-income areas improves diet is debated. http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=42342 This study actually takes an analytical look at the impact of health foods stores in gentrifying neighborhoods and reveals that this would actually probably not work at all. Other research suggests there are myriad benefits to their introduction from diet quality to economic boon. Policy Link and The Food Trust state, “Living closer to healthy food retail is among the factors associated with better eating habits and decreased risk for obesity and diet-related diseases.” http://thefoodtrust.org/uploads/media_items/executive-summary-access-to-healthy-food-and-why-it-matters.original.pdf ] But the reality is that, like most things, this problem is multi-faceted.

What we eat is an incredibly personal part of our lives, and whether we recognize it or not each of us has a relationship with food. Research reported on by Policy Link and The Food Trust “reveals that healthy eating is embedded in a complex set of relationships…[including] transportation options, quality and price of produce and other healthy food options, marketing of unhealthy food to children, and cultural appropriateness of neighborhood food choices.”[7. Ibid.] The food gap is stretched by income inequality, education inequality, food access inequality and limited choice, differences in taste and tradition, and the fact that often times it seems like what is considered “healthy” just plain old keeps changing faster than most people can keep up with! While this cacophony of policy problems is inevitably frustrating, I like the takeaway of a response to the Hunger Games’ themes of food and power written a few years ago. The author says: “Those of us with so much, we need to share.”[8. http://www.agriview.com/news/regional/the-real-world-hunger-games-not-so-far-fetched/article_4a6bc506-a537-11e1-9244-0019bb2963f4.html.]

And the thing is, we DO have plenty to share here in the United States. A report from the USDA released in February 2014 suggests that we waste approximately 1,249 calories of food per person, per day in the United States.[9. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/27/283071610/u-s-lets-141-trillion-calories-of-food-go-to-waste-each-year.] Much of this food waste is fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods that “spoil” or are discarded due to irregular appearance. I find this startling. Perhaps the American food scene is more akin to that in the Capitol than I first suggested. The enormity of our waste is captured eloquently by National Geographic: “More than 30 percent of our food [in the United States], valued at $162 billion annually, isn’t eaten. Pile all that food on a football field and the layers would form a putrefying casserole miles high.”[10. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141013-food-waste-national-security-environment-science-ngfood/.] So maybe that isn’t so much eloquent as it is disturbing. The good news is that reducing food waste, along with encouraging healthy eating, is a trend people are tackling more and more (football pun intended). Globally, new storage methods are being introduced. Here in the US businesses are innovating to cut down on waste. Farmers and producers are innovating to lessen food loss. [11. Ibid. ]

There is no doubt a long way to go in righting food distribution injustices of waste and inaccessibility. In all we do to eradicate food loss, we should always keep an eye to how we can help those who don’t have enough food or enough good food, have more on their table. We should remember just how much abundance there really is in the world, and that there is always something – resources, knowledge, compassion – to share.

(The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 isn’t your only option for a food-centric movie-going experience this weekend. Food Chains, a documentary about a grassroots movement for farm workers’ rights, will be released nationwide on November 21st. More information about the film and the movement at www.foodchainsfilm.com.)

Gina Tonn is a Program Assistant with ELCA World Hunger through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. While an avid reader, she rarely makes an effort to see the latest films. “I just can’t sit still that long!” she says, when pressed about the fact that it took her approximately a month to watch “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” She is still working up the wherewithal to start “The Two Towers.”

 

Welcome to the team, Kelly Winters!

​November 18, 2014

My name is Kelly Winters, and I am excited to join the ELCA World Hunger team as the Assistant for Constituent Engagement! My role involves responding to inquiries and communication from our wonderful constituents, and I look forward to talking with many of you about how your congregation can learn more about ELCA World Hunger.  I am also eager to hear about your ideas on how to raise awareness around hunger and poverty.

I come to ELCA World Hunger from Grace Lutheran Church of La Grange, Illinois, where I served as the Administrative Assistant.  Before moving to the greater Chicago area in 2010 I worked around the country in Outdoor Ministry.  Camping has always been a huge part of my life and spiritual growth, and continues to be important to me as I currently serve on the board of the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center in Oregon, IL.

Originally, I am from Ohio where I lived near Lake Erie, enjoying summers hanging out at Lakeside or Cedar Point.  I went to college at Capital University in Columbus, OH, and received my degree in Communications.  It has been many years since I lived in Ohio, but I still think of myself as a Buckeye at heart.

Now I am happy to continue to work for the ELCA; where we value always being made new, while staying rooted in our rich history.  ELCA World Hunger is an amazing mission of our church in the way it takes a comprehensive approach to the topics of hunger and poverty, and partners with Lutheran connections around the world, in order to assist communities where they need it most.  I am just grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of a team that is so passionate about the work they are doing!Kelly

Some fun facts about me:

  • My hobbies are quilting, glass art (making stained glass, kaleidoscopes and glass beads) and anything outdoors (hiking, kayaking, etc).
  • I love listening to folk & bluegrass music, and frequently go to concerts at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I am also learning how to play the upright bass – bluegrass style.
  • Though I haven’t done much international travel, I have been to Australia three times.  I just love it so much I keep getting pulled back!

Kelly Winters is the Assistant for Constituent Engagement with ELCA World Hunger. You can hear her friendly voice on the ELCA World Hunger telephone line.

Homelessness: A “Both, And” Issue

Gina Tonn

​November 17, 2014

This week is national “Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.”  The recent arrests of several activists in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over public outdoor meals served to people experiencing homelessness has brought homelessness to the fore of media coverage in recent weeks.  This year, Fort Lauderdale passed a series of restrictions aimed at moving feeding sites indoors.  These include requirements that all feeding sites have toilet facilities and that any feeding sites be located at least 500 feet away from each other.  These new regulations were passed in response to residents’ complaints about crowds of homeless people in public parks.  The Fort Lauderdale’s Women’s Club was a particularly vocal supporter of the restrictions, telling Mayor Jack Seiler that the use of one park as a site for feeding people in need made it problematic for them to hold weddings and yoga classes.

Fort Lauderdale is not alone in criminalizing the public provision of food to people facing hunger.  In the spirit of raising “awareness” during “Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week,” I want to share with you some information about where restrictions on serving meals have been implemented and what the restrictions are.

The passage of laws making it more difficult, or even impossible, to serve public meals to people was first brought to my attention when my colleague shared this article from National Public Radio with me. My interest was further piqued and motivation to put together this blog post heightened when, a few days later, the sidebar of my Facebook timeline informed me that the arrests in Fort Lauderdale were “trending.”

A report cited in the NPR article mentioned above, compiled by the National Coalition for the Homeless and just released in October called “Share No More: The Criminalization of Efforts to Feed People in Need” provides an overview of laws enacted  during 2013-2014 throughout the United States. These laws are categorized in several ways: restrictions on public property use, food safety regulations and community actions to relocate food-sharing events. The report also notes cities that repealed laws of these sorts during the last year, and places that attempted to pass laws but failed. I invite you to read the report for yourself in order to gain a full understanding of the regulations at hand and investigate whether your community imposed or repealed any restrictions.

Looking ahead, homelessness promises to be an issue that continues to demand the attention of federal, state and local governments, as well as non-profit and social ministry organizations. Just last week, Community Solutions, a national organization whose tagline indicates their mission toward “strengthening communities” and “ending homelessness”announced a new campaign to end veteran and chronic homelessness in the next two years. The campaign, called “Zero: 2016” will launch in January 2015 in 67 communities across the country. Many of these communities, listed in the press release, overlap with the communities imposing restrictions on meal programs. The “Zero: 2016” campaign is an attempt to accelerate housing efforts, connect people experiencing homelessness with available housing options and create public accountability around the issue of chronic homelessness.

ELCA World Hunger is a comprehensive approach to recognizing and fighting the root causes of poverty and hunger in our communities near and far. One takeaway from my time with the ELCA World Hunger team so far is that we are each a piece of a puzzle and all of the pieces are needed in order to make a dent in hunger and poverty. Yes, we need to change societal structure to eliminate homelessness through more accessible job programs, education and supportive housing, and more robust welfare programs. This is, in fact, the stated goal of many laws against feeding people who are homeless.  Meals, some argue, create dependency and do little to help people gain access to long-term financial independence.

But we also need to support people who are suffering now. I believe we are called to be advocates of both serving meals to those who are hungry and finding ways to prevent hunger and homelessness moving forward. People who are hungry have a need for food, yet laws such as these are also borne out of need, such as residents’ safety. What does it say about who is part of a community when some neighbors are treated as threats to safety or decorum? How are we called to balance different needs within a community?

 

Gina Tonn is a Program Assistant for ELCA World Hunger through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.

AGAPE* campaign supports ELCA World Hunger

Gina Tonn

​Agape dave

We all know music feeds the soul, but music can also help feed the hungry. Last year, musician and songwriter ​Jonathan Rundman donated a portion of the proceeds from his PledgeMusic campaign to ELCA World Hunger.  This year, Christian rap and hip hop artist AGAPE* (aka Dave Scherer) is also pledging 10% of proceeds from pre-orders of his new album to ELCA World Hunger.  Visit AGAPE* on PledgeMusic to watch a video about the album, get some great new music and support the work of ELCA World Hunger!

AGAPE* went on the road with fellow artists Rachel Kurtz and Lost And Found for the “100 Wells Tour” following the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. He talks about his commitment to raising awareness about water access issues as well as his support for ELCA World Hunger in a blog post featured on his website. He says, “The reason I chose ELCA World Hunger is because they don’t solve problems for communities, they allow the community to come up with their own solution to this crisis.” As excitement builds toward the next ELCA Youth Gathering this summer, ELCA World Hunger continues to be committed to partnering with communities around the world to solve issues of water access through your gifts and participation during ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water.

AGAPE* brings the word of God to his listeners through relational ministry called “Hip Hop Outreach.” His work doesn’t stop with the music. In addition to performing on stages across the US and in eight different countries, AGAPE* is co-founder of JUMP (Joint Urban Ministries in Praise), a program for urban youth. He’s also the founder of AMP (All Metro Praise), a youth-led worship service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. To learn more about the music and mission of AGAPE*, visitwww.hiphopoutreach.com. ​​​

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church supports ELCA Good Gifts with “Backpack Buddies”

Gina Tonn

​Special thanks to Kris Schultz of Gloria Dei for sharing the story of Backpack Buddies.

Over the summer Gloria Dei Lutheran Church posed a simple yet exciting challenge to its congregation: Read Books, Help Children.

The Downers Grove, Illinois, congregation holds a Summer Reading Program to encourage members, particularly children, to continue to visit the Memorial Library at Gloria Dei over the summer months. The Memorial Library is dedicated to providing resources for spiritual growth and to enriching the work of the congregation. This summer, however, the Summer Reading Program took on a new dimension with the addition of an ELCA Good Gifts matching challenge. Gloria Dei’s Library Committee and Mission and Justice Committee partnered to envision “Backpack Buddies.” Through the Backpack Buddies challenge, each participant in the Summer Reading Program was asked to set a reading goal of a certain number of books from the library, and adults were asked to sponsor them by pledging to give one dollar per book read. The money raised would go toward the ELCA Good Gifts program to provide schools supplies for children in need:

Ten Books = Ten Bucks = School Supplies for One Student

35 children, who ranged in ages from 3 to 12 years, enthusiastically made their pledges at the start of the summer, and 32 sponsors signed up, some sponsoring multiple readers.

Each Sunday that summer, the Memorial Library was busy with families returning books and checking out new ones. Each challenge participant had a reading progress chart to keep track of the books they read. The charts were hung up in the church’s gathering area for the whole congregation to see and celebrate.backpack buddies

By the time Sunday School began in September, 185 books had been read through the Backpack Buddies challenge. The Mission and Justice Committee collected $430– well beyond the $1 per book promised!

The Backpack Buddies challenge was a success. The Memorial Library met its goal of increasing use over the summer, new connections between adults and children in the congregation were established, and 43 children will benefit from the donations for school supplies through ELCA Good Gifts.

Thank you to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church for sharing their story of a creative way to encourage summer reading and avidly support the educational efforts of ELCA World Hunger to help combat poverty around the world!

Interested in donating $10 for school supplies for a child? Click here to visit the Good Gifts Catalog!

 

Gina Tonn is a Program Assistant for ELCA World Hunger through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.

Treasure Mapping – From Charity to Justice with the CICBA Program

Kathee Forrest

At a recent congregational meeting of MacArthur Park Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas, a corny skit about a treasure hunt triggered memories of all the “treasures” we’ve discovered through our work this past year with the Southwestern Texas Synod’s pilot Congregation-Initiated Community Based Advocacy (CICBA) program. It’s often tempting to look at what lies ahead in our journeys without reflecting on and celebrating where we’ve been and what we’ve learned along the way.

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MacArthur Park Treasure Hunters (L to R): Brenda Krueger, Jeanette Pierce, George Pierce, Lisa Hooter and Jean Schriever

 

What is CICBA?  Well…it’s a mouthful!  Congregation-Initiated Community Based Advocacy.  As one of six congregations in this three-year pilot program, we are on a journey as people of God to develop skills to identify systemic (real and permanent) causes of poverty in our communities using the tools of community organizing.  We are engaging in conversation and action with community partners and people living in poverty in our neighborhood.

Our group of congregations is diverse in settings and contexts, and each has their own unique CICBA journey – border ministry, mission start, rural and urban congregations among them.

But all share one goal: to  move from charity to justice and to know the difference between the two.

As we started out over a year ago, most of the CICBA team was new to advocacy and community organizing. So our first retreat was a “Community Organizing 101” intro from Sue Engh, ELCA Program Director for Congregation-Based Organizing. The retreat focused on power analysis (Who has power in our community?  What power do we have?) and cara-a-cara. Cara-a-cara, or “one-to-ones,” are relational meetings with each other that give the space for natural, yet uncommon conversation; this paradox emerges as we speak candidly about the parts of our everyday lives we often ignore or cover up. This type of conversation is at the heart of connecting with community leaders and our neighbors to identify assets, priorities and hopes of our community.2

We also began to use new language – the vocabulary of community organizing, including concepts such as “problems vs. issues” and strategies to cut big problems into “bite-sized” action items.  Team member Bee Moorhead, Executive Director ofTexas Impact, talked about public policy and “issues,” along with important data, including the fact that Texas ranks in the bottom half of the states for political action and electoral participation!  This is pretty disappointing, but it also presents a real opportunity for this kind of work here.

After the first retreat, our team practiced one-to ones with each other and the congregation, gaining confidence in the process and learning about gifts, values, passions, and concerns in our midst!

Listen, God Is Calling! – At the second retreat, we kicked the “treasure hunt” into full swing. The stages of community organizing are much like a treasure hunt. By digging deeper into one-to-ones, power analysis, and community partner identification, we unearth riches.  In this retreat, we practiced listening as a form of spiritual hospitality and as an opportunity to find out what God is already up to in our neighborhoods, connecting with Jesus’ great commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:27).

At this retreat, we put on our Grace Goggles.  Mikka McCracken, Program Director of Constituent Engagement and Interpretation with ELCA World Hunger, accompanies our CICBA program.  She spoke about the ELCA’s method ofaccompaniment, reminding us to always listen through a lens of grace amidst cultural and economic differences.  So, we all put on “Grace Goggles,” seeing each other as beloved children of God, created in God’s image.

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Haven for Hope – Retreat number 3!  We listened to a one-to-one conversation of “holy curiosity” between Sue Engh (see picture at right) and Ruth, a woman who, over the course of several months, went from middle-class to homeless due to a series of unexpected health and family events. CICBA groups asked Ruth and her husband questions, which were answered in a friendly and candid way, embracing the “natural, yet uncommon” essence of cara-a-cara. Ruth and her husband shared their journeys into and out of homelessness.  The couple met at San Antonio’s Haven for Hope, whose mission is “to offer a place of hope and new beginnings…by providing, coordinating and delivering an efficient system of care for people experiencing homelessness.” We heard their hard truths.  Ruth offered us advice when talking to people in poverty: “It’s okay not to be perfect, but [at least] be honest. Walls may be put up – it depends on the day – don’t take it personally.”

The Time Has Come to Act! – At Retreat #4 we are called to action – to keep this at a level of crisis.  The crisis is clear:  1 in 6 families live in poverty.  1 in 4 children live in poverty.  We have the resources, yet there is the risk of doing nothing because the task is so big.  And what happens when we do nothing?  Who benefits when we do nothing?  We were challenged by a question posed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  “Are we still of any use?”  We then worked to develop a 6 week action plan and Collaborative Table Team, to include new members with gifts to help us identify emerging patterns and clarify the actions of an ongoing Organizing Cycle:  LISTEN, RESEARCH, DEVELOP LEADERS, ACT! 

What’s Next? 

Our conversation and learning do not end here. We continue to seek more community conversation partners. CICBA Team members have talked with an apartment manager, riders on the local bus, a neighborhood barber, pharmacist, pastor and elementary school counselor. We are also looking for ways to further engage in conversation with people experiencing poverty within our neighborhood.

Here are some of our other ideas:

1) Community Partner Program – We are also exploring the possibility of becoming a resource to assist the community with online applications for services such as SNAP food benefits, CHIP health care benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  We heard about the need for application assistance through Texas Impact and will explore working with a neighboring church.

2) Economic Justice Workshop – We have recently joined with other faith-based groups, schools and non-profit institutions to launch a community-wide Living Wage and Economic Security campaign in San Antonio.  The rallying cry is “Si, se puede!” – “Yes, we can!”  Our team made a commitment to talk to our congregation, city councilperson and county commissioner about the issue, and to bring more people to a large, city-wide rally this November.

3) The Cross Marks the Spot – Okay, back to the corny skit.  We had some fun pretending to search for exotic treasure as we introduced our congregation to the Community Treasure Hunt which consisted of twelve important community topics paired with challenges and field trips for further digging.  Each month, we will have a congregational conversation based on Matthew 25:34-37 on issues that matter within our community: employment, education, homelessness, food assistance, etc.  The topics and challenges were created by Texas Impact and can be used for any community, so check it out! Throughout the treasure hunt we learned that “the cross marks the spot.” It is always Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves and Jesus’ love on the cross that informs our commitment to justice.  As people of faith, we should know our community.

 

Our final retreat is planned for February 2015 at Texas Lutheran University, opening with a conference event on Faith-Based Organizing:  Our guest speaker will be Alexia Salvatierra, ELCA pastor and co-author of Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World, and Dr. Ray Pickett, professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, will be our guest preacher.  Ray is currently working on a resource to look at the work of Jesus through the lens of community organizing.  We will also be among Texas Lutherans at the First Annual ELCA Legislative Event in Austin, Texas in February 2015!

Live the Gospel.  Change the World.

Yes, this is a bold vision statement for MacArthur Park Lutheran Church in San Antonio, as the CICBA team and congregation celebrate treasures of community organizing – those already identified and those yet to be unearthed.  But we know through faith that we, and the people in our community, are being called “to ventures of which we cannot see the ending…through Jesus Christ.”  And with the tools we’ve gained through CICBA, we are ready to start the adventure!

 

RESOURCES YOU CAN USE

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Dr. Ruby Payne’s book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, was especially helpful in understanding the culture of poverty, specifically noting the differences between generational and situational poverty and the “hidden” rules, behaviors and language gaps between those in poverty, the middle class and the wealthy. The book is full of case studies, examples and comparative charts.  For example, one of the quizzes asks readers if they could survive living in poverty or living in wealth with a checklist of life situations in each economic level.  The exercise was very eye-opening!

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Hope at Work – This comic book is about, well…not Superman or Batman…but superheroes of community organizing!  “Hope at Work” is an imaginative, fictional cartoon story about a couple from Hope Church who are called to move beyond canned goods drives to “feed God’s sheep”, and the excitement of working with a community group appropriately called “MISHPAT” (Metropolitan Initiative for Strong, Hopeful People Acting Together).  The Hebrew term “mishpat” refers to acts of justice in societies and is an important quality of godly communities in the Old Testament.  “Hope at Work” was written by Sue Engh, ELCA Director for Congregation-Based Community Organizing and the CICBA leadership team.  (The comic book is available at http://www.elca.org/Resources/Congregational-Based-Organizing.)

 

ELCA Social Statement – A social statement on economic life: Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All – an important resource as we work on the “Living Wage and Economic Security Campaign”  http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Economic_LifeSS.pdf

With thanks to Vi Lien, Mary Lou Walther, Pastor Herb Palmer, Pastor Charles Fredrickson, Sharon Wiggins and the Southwestern Texas Synod for the CICBA Pilot Program.  The CICBA program is supported in part by your gifts to ELCA World Hunger.