“Disasters are a leading cause of hunger, affecting all aspects of food security: economic and physical access to food, availability and stability of supplies, and nutrition,” according to the World Food Programme. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that as much as 25 percent of the damage and economic losses caused by disasters in developing countries falls on the agriculture sector – a huge problem when we consider the sheer number of people dependent on agriculture worldwide.

The immediate losses of homes and lives caused by Hurricane Harvey have been devastating in Texas:

• 93,942 homes damaged or destroyed
• 33,800 people in shelters across the state
• At least 46 deaths

But these numbers don’t fully capture the long-term and long-range effects the disaster may have on food security and the economy, particularly for farmers in Texas and beyond. Whether left in the fields or stored in bulk, crops such as grain, corn, wheat cotton are all likely to be affected.

“I can’t think of a crop that is designed to handle four feet of rain in a short period of time,” Mike Steenhoek said in a recent interview. Steenhoek is the executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. While many crops in Texas have already been harvested, anything still waiting for harvest will be at a risk of a total loss. Crops that have been harvested – rice, corn and the like – are at risk of contamination from floodwaters.

Even crops shipped from other states are at risk because of structural damage to infrastructure. Damage to roads and railroad lines may cause grain elevator operators to lower commodity prices that are paid to farmers from as far away as Kansas and Illinois. Steenhoek estimates that nearly a quarter of the country’s wheat is shipped through the Texas Gulf region, creating uncertainty for farmers across the country.

The road to recovery from Hurricane Harvey will be long. The pictures and videos coming across the news wires today are important calls to action to respond in the here-and-now, but as a recent editorial in the Chicago Tribune points out, “it’s important to remember Houston and neighboring areas once the sun is shining” and the storm (and media attention) has passed. Lutheran Disaster Response, the ELCA’s primary ministry accompanying communities faced by disaster, has been hard at work through its affiliate in the area to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. But we know from experience that this will be a years-long effort. Local congregations and affiliates of Lutheran Disaster Response are still at work in communities now years past their own disasters.

We also know that hurricane season is far from over, and even now, authorities are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Irma as it winds its way across the Atlantic.

It may be easy to see vulnerability to storms like Harvey as a regional issue, but with the widespread effects on food supply and livelihoods for farmers, the effects of disaster aren’t limited by regional or state borders. Thankfully, neither is the concern of our church and of other people of goodwill. Please keep in your prayers the people affected – directly or indirectly – by the storm, the first-responders working tirelessly to assist victims and the many folks who will be invested in long-term recovery.

For more information on the recovery effort, visit the Lutheran Disaster Response blog to sign up for updates. You can also read an article featuring interviews with staff from Lutheran Disaster response here. To support Lutheran Disaster Response’s accompaniment of communities affected by Hurricane Harvey and other hurricanes in the United States, please visit https://community.elca.org/ushurricanerelief?_ga=2.153566650.3498744.1504023048-1341912399.1476461047.

 

 

 

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Pointing Forward:

So let’s consider the 5 P’s of gardening:

Planning

Planting

Perspiring

Picking, and

Putting to bed.

In previous posts, we’ve planned, we’ve planted, we’ve perspired, and we’ve picked. Now it’s time to look ahead to next season by putting our gardens to bed. I think of the time between growing seasons as a time of Sabbath for our gardens and, in many ways, for us as the caretakers of the gardens. As Leviticus 23:3 reminds us:

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.” (ESV)

A Theology of Eating

As we contemplate putting our gardens to rest for the winter, one way to approach this down-time after harvest is by remembering that all of creation rested on the Sabbath.  I am reading a book by Norman Wirzba, Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating (Cambridge University Press, 2011), who reminds us that we have often lost the wonder and amazement that belongs to the miracle of plant growth and harvest. We have been lulled to sleep and fatigued by the prevalence and proliferation of nearly 40,000 different food items when we step into a grocery store. We can overcome food fatigue if we approach eating as a spiritual exercise. Wirzba states,

“Gardens are the practical sites in terms of which people begin to see, smell, hear, touch, and taste the breadth and depth of human membership and responsibility…that makes possible a spiritually deep appreciation for food.”

As we approach putting our gardens to bed, there are a few steps to contemplate. First, some plants can continue to produce into the Fall and, in some cases, the winter months. For example, Swiss Chard can often be harvested long into the late Fall if you take a few precautions, such as covering it at night to guard against hard frosts. The same is true of tomatoes. Some people even pick the green tomatoes when a hard frost is on the horizon. They may then let the tomatoes ripen indoors. We have had tomatoes of this variety until after Thanksgiving some years. We just position them in a cool place and see what happens.

Composting Possibilities

An important part of readying your garden for winter is to remove all the dead annual plants from the garden site. These dead annuals make great brown material for your compost pile to mix with “green” kitchen wastes. The general rule of thumb is to include two parts brown to one part green material. By removing the dead annuals, you reduce the risk of insect infestations and diseases that may be harmful to your future gardens.

If you don’t have enough room in your compost for all the dead plants, you can bury the dead plants in your garden area to allow them to decompose and fertilize the garden in the process. You might form rows of decaying material in order distribute it evenly and to insure it decays well before the next growing season.

Depending on the severity of your winter, your garden space may also act as a place to store vegetables until you use them later in the Fall or Winter. For example, many root vegetables, such as carrots, may be left in the ground until deep in the winter and harvested when needed. This allows you to have fresh carrots without the need to take up premium storage space indoors.

Mother Earth News is a great resource for other key topics related to getting your garden ready for the winter: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/preparing-your-vegetable-garden-for-winter.

Linking Back

Planting in Late Summer and Fall?        

Linking back to our blog on planting, late Summer and early Fall can also be a time to plant some hardy varieties, such as kale. If you plant kale in August, it will be ready to pick and consume after most of the garden has died and gone to compost heaven. Carrots may also be planted late, in August or September, and then harvested after frost has put an end to most growth. Covering the carrots with straw will prolong their growing season. And carrots seem sweeter after they have experienced a frost or two.

Producing a Meal With the Entire Harvest

Late Summer and early Fall are when many gardens are at their height of harvest, so we have our entire repertoire of vegetables at our disposal for cooking a feast. Especially when the weather is starting to produce some cool evenings, we like to prepare a vegetarian chili using many of the vegetables that may be harvested from the garden. I have provided one version of a recipe that may be modified to include the fruits and vegetable of your labors from your garden.

If you have kids helping with your garden, you might want to consider using songs or games to engage them in the activity. Our family played songs performed by Raffi a lot when our children were growing up. The song “Oats and Beans and Barley Grow,” on his Baby Beluga album, is a catchy tune that will stay with you, so beware.

Until next time, remember,

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Blessings to you!

Vegetarian Chili Recipe

You could serve this over a baked potato or by itself.

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-15 oz. cans black beans, drained, or you may use black beans from your garden. These would need to be prepared by boiling in a pan of water so that they are the same consistency as canned beans. Drain before you add to the recipe.
1 pinch cayenne pepper, chili powder, or chili seasoning mix
1 tablespoon parsley, freshly chopped

Directions

Sauté the onions and garlic in oil in a large sauce pan. Add carrots, tomatoes, herbs, spices, and beans.
Cover (to retain moisture) and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

This recipe is vegan and gluten-free as it is written above. You could add hamburger or sausage of your choice if desired.

Nutritional Info (per serving)

Calories: 141.3
Total Fat: 2.9 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 12.7 mg
Total Carbs: 23.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 7.6 g
Protein: 7.2 g

In this series by guest writer Ethan Bergman, we will consider the 5 P’s of gardening – planning, planting, perspiring, picking, and putting to bed – over the course of the next few months. Ethan is a Master of Divinity student in the Distributive Learning program at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Bergman is also the associate dean in the College of Education and Professional Studies and professor of food science and nutrition at Central Washington University, Ellensburg. He was named CWU Distinguished University Professor in 2001-2002 and was named by the Washington State Dietetic Association as Outstanding Registered Dietitian of the Year in 2000. He is a past delegate and past President of the American Dietetic Association as well as speaker of the Academy’s House of Delegates. Bergman also has served on the Academy’s Educator’s Task Force on Education Reform in Dietetics Education and on the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. He earned his doctorate from Washington State University.

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Pointing Forward:

So let’s consider the 5 P’s of gardening:

Planning

Planting

Perspiring

Picking, and

Putting to bed.

In previous posts, we’ve planned, we’ve planted and perspired. Now it’s time to reap some rewards by picking our gardens.

Whenever I think of harvesting, I am in awe that God has provided us with the miracle of vegetable and fruit growth.  What is even more remarkable is that the growing and developing plants only need a few simple things to make it all work. These include sunlight, soil and water. Here is a prayer from Evangelical Lutheran Worship Pastoral Care Occasional Services, Readings and Prayers (published by Augsburg Press) that helps express the thanksgiving we feel during the harvest season. Praying this prayer may be a fitting way to begin our harvest.

Most Glorious God, according to your wisdom the deep waters are opened up and clouds drop gentle moisture. We praise you for the return of planting and harvest seasons, for the fertility of the soil, for the harvesting of the crops and for all other blessings that you in your generosity pour out on all people. Give us a full understanding of your mercy, that our lives may show respect and care for your creation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Picking is the time when all your hard work starts yielding benefits you can savor! Or, if you have chosen to provide food for your local food bank, this is the time when your perspiration leads to inspired giving! Harvesting may also be a good time to meditate on the simple yet profound words of Psalm 67:6: “The land yields its harvest; God, our God blesses us.” God has blessed us with the opportunity to grow food for ourselves and for our neighbors.

As we contemplate Psalm 67:6 – that God blesses us with the harvest and the miracle of growth of food to pick, share, and eat –  we may also consider when it is best to harvest so that we get the most out of what we have planned, planted, and now are planning to pick. There are some simple guidelines for choosing the right time. Generally, for the best flavor and texture, most vegetables are best harvested just before they are fully mature.  If we let our vegetables become over-mature in the ground, they often lose their best flavor, texture and nutrition.

So, let’s consider a couple of examples of when to harvest:

Tomatoes: You should harvest tomatoes individually when they reach the right color. If these are red tomatoes, they should be close to fully red. They should also be pretty soft, but not mushy when you lightly squeeze them. The tomato would have the distinctive tomato aroma and should separate from the vine easily when you grasp the tomato and give it a slight twist.

Eggplant: Eggplant is best when it is picked a little bit short of total ripeness. The eggplant should have a definite firmness rather than be soft or too hard. The outer skin should shine. It is better to cut the eggplant from that plant to preserve the flesh of the fruit, rather than to pluck it by hand.

Radishes: Radishes tend to mature quickly, so they should be monitored often. When their shoulders start showing above the soil level, they are ready to pull. If you let them grow too big, they may become tough. Radishes are crops that you may select to grow in succession; that means you may want to plant several times in the season so they can be harvested throughout the summer.

For more harvesting suggestions, you might consider accessing the following website: https://www.thespruce.com/when-to-harvest-vegetables-1403402.

Of course, if vegetables do get over-ripe, they are still usable for a number of things. If nothing else, you can turn your over-ripe vegetables and fruits into compost for use as a soil enhancer or fertilizer.

Thinking of the tomatoes and eggplant we are harvesting above, our family likes to make lasagna without noodles. One alternative is to use slices of eggplant to substitute for the noodles. This also provides an opportunity for those who aren’t able to tolerate gluten to enjoy lasagna. Please find an Eggplant Lasagna Recipe below if you’d like to give it a try. Eggplant and tomatoes from this year’s harvest may be incorporated into the recipe. Also, with last year’s crop, or even this year’s harvest, you could produce the tomato sauce called for in the recipe.

Linking Back

Speaking of compost, let’s link back to our “Planting” where we considered composting. This might be a good time to access the composted material you started earlier in the planning and planting season to use as a fertilizer for the plants you just harvested. As we harvest some of the early vegetables and fruits of our garden, this is a good reminder that to continue the harvest as long as possible, we need to provide adequate water and fertilize the ground every 3-4 weeks.

This is also a good time to check back to our blog on “Perspiring” to consider the steps in keeping your garden in good shape. These are:

1. Watering;
2. Fertilizing;
3. Weed control; and
4. Pest control.

As you harvest the early fruits of your labor, it is valuable to check your watering, weed control and pest control as well to see if you need to make any adjustments in the patterns you have developed to keep your garden in good shape.

Until next time, remember,

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Blessings to you!

Eggplant Lasagna

Minutes to Prepare: 45

Minutes to Cook: 45

Number of Servings: 10 (1 to 1 1/2 cup each)

Ingredients

1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 lb Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh tomatoes chopped
2 26 oz jars pasta sauce
2 eggplants, peeled and thinly sliced
1 8oz bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a large pan, brown ground turkey and Italian sausage with onion and garlic. Drain all of the grease from pan. Add pasta sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Lower temperature and allow to simmer for 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to broil. Meanwhile, wash and peel eggplant. Slice eggplant into thin strips length wise and then in 2-inch squares. Place eggplant on an ungreased cookie sheet and allow to broil for 8 minutes (with the oven door slightly open) or until eggplant is very tender. Grease a large lasagna pan and preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl combine mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Place a layer of eggplant in the bottom of the pan, top eggplant with a layer of meat sauce, top meat sauce with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, top cheese with another layer of eggplant and continue layering until all meat sauce has been used. Your top layer should be eggplant. Top the last layer of eggplant with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until meat sauce is bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before you serve.

To make this vegan you may substitute the ground turkey with vegan ground turkey and the Italian sausage with vegan sausage.

You may also choose to replace the cheeses with non-dairy options. I suggest you visit your local natural foods store to find equivalents.

The original recipe as written is gluten-free. If you substitute the meats or the cheeses, be sure to read the label and watch for wheat flour ingredients if you wish to maintain the gluten-free status of the original recipe.

Nutritional Information (per 1 cup serving)

Calories: 155.5

Total Fat: 8.9 g

Cholesterol: 44.3 mg

Sodium: 195.5 mg

Carbohydrates: 6.3 g

Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g

Protein: 12.5 g

In this series by guest writer Ethan Bergman, we will consider the 5 P’s of gardening – planning, planting, perspiring, picking, and putting to bed – over the course of the next few months. Ethan is a Master of Divinity student in the Distributive Learning program at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Bergman is also the associate dean in the College of Education and Professional Studies and professor of food science and nutrition at Central Washington University, Ellensburg. He was named CWU Distinguished University Professor in 2001-2002 and was named by the Washington State Dietetic Association as Outstanding Registered Dietitian of the Year in 2000. He is a past delegate and past President of the American Dietetic Association as well as speaker of the Academy’s House of Delegates. Bergman also has served on the Academy’s Educator’s Task Force on Education Reform in Dietetics Education and on the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. He earned his doctorate from Washington State University.

 

“Isn’t that kind of…over?”

It is a surprisingly common reaction to my telling people what I do.

My name is Savanna Sullivan, and I am the Program Associate for the ELCA Strategy on HIV & AIDS. The Strategy on HIV & AIDS is a document the ELCA adopted in 2009 to direct the church’s engagement with communities living with and affected by HIV, and to outline our commitment to addressing HIV in the United States and the world. My work focuses on helping the ELCA live into the key commitments of the Strategy – like our commitment to theological reflection on our response to HIV and our inclusion of people living with HIV, our commitment to education and to effective prevention, treatment, and care of HIV, etc. And so, when I get a variation on that question, “Isn’t HIV over?” or comments like “It’s not as bad as it WAS,” I am frustrated, and then saddened, and then I get angry.

Because HIV isn’t over, but it could be.

What a simple thought, right? The reality is that there are STILL people being infected with HIV every day – 5,763 people every day, actually. That is 240 people an hour who are contracting a life-threatening illness. We know, too, that HIV doesn’t just affect people far away from us, in countries distant from our own. People in our own communities and congregations and fellow Lutherans in our companion churches are living with HIV.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “If one member (of the Body of Christ) suffers, all suffer together” (I Cor. 12:26). Friends, members of Our body are suffering unnecessarily.

Unnecessarily—because HIV is NOT what it was 30 years ago. Now, HIV is preventable.

Did you know there are prophylactic drugs available to reduce the likelihood of HIV infection during high-risk behavior (unprotected sex/drug use) to less than 30%? Or that there are medications that can prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV to less than 1%? Did you know there are drugs that can reduce an HIV positive individual’s viral load (amount of virus in their blood) to the extent that they are very unlikely to pass it to anyone else? Here are some other basic statistics about the HIV epidemic.

So why do people still get HIV?

The answer is complicated and wrapped up in problems surrounding access to education about HIV, testing availability, and access to prophylactic drugs or to HIV treatment. The answer is chained to systems of oppression that keep this information and access from marginalized populations – from communities of color, low-income communities and the LGBTQ+ community, among others. The answer is entangled with issues like availability of resources and gender inequality in developing countries around the world. So largely, the answer is colored – still – by stigma.

HIV isn’t over, in part, because we are still afraid to talk about it. And that “we” includes us, the Church.

These issues need to be tackled, and that may feel like quite the undertaking for us as the Body of Christ. So where do we start? Well, as I begin my work helping the church to implement the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS, I invite you to start by walking with me. I invite you to start by TALKING with me. It is high time we start conversations in our congregations and homes about HIV if we have not already. I invite you to pray with me for people whose lives have been affected by HIV. I invite you to repent with me for the ways the church has failed to include people living with HIV. Then, I invite you to act.

We in the churchwide office will be working hard to connect you all with resources for theological reflection in the coming months so you can check out ELCA.org/hiv for those resources, but you can also educate yourself about the HIV epidemic in the United States and around the world at CDC.gov/hiv. You can act with ELCA Advocacy to fight for healthcare for people living with HIV. You can start talking.

Because we are the Body of Christ – when one of us suffers from HIV, we all suffer together.

And because HIV and AIDS isn’t over, but it could be.

Here are some other links that you can check out:

• HIV Basics from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/index.html
• Interactive map depicting HIV and AIDS in specific states/regions: https://aidsvu.org/
• HIV Initiatives from the World Council of Churches: https://www.oikoumene.org/en/what-we-do/ehaia
• ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS: http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/ELCA_Strategy_on_HIV_and_AIDS.pdf
• Hear from leaders across the ELCA who participated in National HIV Testing Day June 27, 2017: https://www.livinglutheran.org/2017/06/working-erase-stigma-national-hiv-testing-day/

 

Savanna Sullivan is the program associate for the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS. She can be reached at Savanna.Sullivan@ELCA.org.

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Pointing Forward:

So let’s consider the 5 P’s of gardening:

Planning

Planting

Perspiring

Picking, and

Putting to bed.

We’ve planned, we’ve planted, and if we haven’t already, now is the time to Perspire!

Once you have planted your garden, there are no two ways about it—keeping a garden in good shape is hard work! But gardening can also help keep you in good shape! One way to work through the toil of hoeing and pulling weeds is to think of it as part of your daily workout. Yes, you can count working in the garden as part of your regular exercise routine! In fact, it can be part of a weight loss plan if you are so inclined. It is estimated that most people will use about 230 calories per hour while gardening. Of course, that varies from person to person and depends on how hard you are working. If you’d like to get more specific for your body weight, height and gender, the following website might be helpful: https://www.fitday.com/webfit/burned/calories_burned_Gardening_general.html.

Of course, most of us may not use gardening as a weight loss plan. Another way to approach the work of gardening is to use your time in the garden as a time of meditation. Some may choose to meditate on scripture during their gardening time. One verse you might use as a source of contemplation is Psalm 128:2 which states:

“You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours” (NIV).

The often sweaty work of maintaining gardens and fields has been part of the spiritual discipline of men and women religious in monasteries and convents for centuries. St. Benedict, for example, believed that they should rejoice in this labor, “for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands, as did also our forefathers and the Apostles” (Rule of St. Benedict, #48). Martin Luther was no fan of monasteries, but he, too, believed that tending to fields and gardens was work that was “pleasing to God [and] instituted by God” (Luther, Lectures on Genesis.) For both monastics and Luther, digging, planting, and harvesting provided an opportunity to reflect on God’s good creation—and to participate in it.

If you are planning to donate some of your harvest to the local food bank, you might consider meditating on Acts 20:35: “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (NIV).

I also think that gardening is part of a commonsense approach to life that gives us all tools to help God help us through the production of our own food supply. So, when I am in that mode, I contemplate Proverbs 12:11: “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense” (NIV). Sort of a bit of humor thrown in at the end of that verse!

What is involved in keeping your garden in good shape?

There are four basic steps in keeping a garden in good shape once it is planted:

1. Watering;
2. Fertilizing;
3. Weed control; and
4. Pest control.

For watering the general rule of thumb for most gardens is that you need the equivalent of about 1 inch of rain per week. If you are in a dry climate, this amount may be a bit higher. One deep watering that gets to the roots of the plants is more efficient and has a better hydrating effect than does several light waterings. Consider using a soaker hose that you might leave on the garden for an extended time. Some gardeners have developed an automated drip system that can be place in ground to help direct the water to the plant’s root system.

Linking Back

Remember when we discussed composting in the second blog in this series? The second step in keeping your garden in good shape is fertilizing. If you have been composting all Winter and Spring, you may have a great source of fertilizer in your compost bin. You will need to apply compost or fertilizer every 3-4 weeks during the growing season. There are also several very good fertilizers on the market. One that my sister-in-law uses is Happy Frog (http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/category/happy-frog.html). It really is an asset with vegetables. We have had good success using this with tomatoes.

Weed control can be taxing. One good way to stay ahead of weeds is by using mulch, such as leaves, bark, or hay. We used an old rug several years to cover big spaces. These mulching methods cover the areas where weeds might grow and make it difficult for weeds to find sunlight to nourish their development.

But we are almost always forced to weed. One good way is to wait until you’ve watered, then pull the weeds by hand when the soil is still moist and the weed is more likely to come out by the root. If you get the entire root, that weed will not be able grow back.

Pest control may be an issue. Hand picking small insect invasions is helpful but does not always solve the problem. Trying biological methods such as ladybugs may help offset some insect infestations, such as aphids. For more ways of dealing with specific pests, the following website may be useful: http://eartheasy.com/grow_nat_pest_cntrl.htm.

For more information about these steps you might want to access the following website: http://www.gardenguides.com/68971-basic-vegetable-gardening.html.

Now let’s consider a recipe using this year’s early harvest. If you planted your potatoes early, by July you may have some small potato tubers ready to harvest. If your peas are doing well, you may have some pea pods ready to pick. One of our family favorites is creamed new potatoes and peas with the early season harvest that was a delicious addition to our Fourth of July celebration meal. You may substitute the milk and cream in the recipe below with vegetable stock and/or a non-dairy milk such as almond milk to provide a vegan option. You may also substitute margarine for butter. To make this a gluten-free option, you can use cornstarch as a thickener instead of flour. Make sure you mix the cornstarch with cold water before stirring the cornstarch mixture into the liquid ingredients.

Until next time, remember,

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Blessings to you!

Creamed Garden Potatoes and Peas

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 25 min.

MAKES: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
• 3 cups fresh or frozen peas
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter (margarine may be substituted)
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups 2% milk (non-fat milk, vegetable stock, or non-dairy milk may be substituted)
• 1 cup half-and-half cream (non-fat milk, vegetable stock, or non-dairy milk may be substituted)

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-12 minutes or until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, place peas and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Drain.
3. In a large saucepan, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in potatoes and peas; heat through. Yield: 12 servings.

 

Nutritional Information (per 2/3 cup serving)

Calories: 156

Fat: 5g (3g saturated fat)

Cholesterol: 18mg

Sodium: 345mg

Carbohydrates: 22g (6g sugars, 3g fiber)

Protein: 6g

Diabetic exchanges: 1½ starch, 1 fat

In this series by guest writer Ethan Bergman, we will consider the 5 P’s of gardening – planning, planting, perspiring, picking, and putting to bed – over the course of the next few months. Ethan is a Master of Divinity student in the Distributive Learning program at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Bergman is also the associate dean in the College of Education and Professional Studies and professor of food science and nutrition at Central Washington University, Ellensburg. He was named CWU Distinguished University Professor in 2001-2002 and was named by the Washington State Dietetic Association as Outstanding Registered Dietitian of the Year in 2000. He is a past delegate and past President of the American Dietetic Association as well as speaker of the Academy’s House of Delegates. He has served on the Academy’s Educator’s Task Force on Education Reform in Dietetics Education and on the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. Bergman earned his doctorate from Washington State University.

 

Photo by Tori Soper, a Chicago Commercial photographer specializing in corporate and editorial photography as well as event coverage for meetings and conventions.

 

At the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, ELCA World Hunger staff fielded questions and gathered feedback from the folks packing a room in the New Orleans’ Ernest Morial Convention Center. For an hour, we shared updates, heard comments about our resources and programs, and listened to stories of congregations responding to hunger and poverty in communities across the ELCA. At the very end of our time, amidst the ruffling of papers and gathering of bags as people prepared to leave for the next session, an energetic man approached the microphone. In a few short words, he silenced the room with his story.

“I have sat here and listened as everyone has talked,” he began, a thin smile on his face. “Now, I decided, I want to talk.” We sat riveted as he described how the violence of civil war came to his hometown in Sudan and how it claimed the lives of so many of his friends and neighbors. He told us how he chased after his brother, both of them running alongside other young boys, toward a truck that promised safety and an escape from the conflict. The truck bore the letters “LWF,” an acronym he didn’t know at the time stood for Lutheran World Federation. His older brother pushed him on the truck, and he began a years-long journey, first to a refugee camp and then to Michigan, where he settled and started a family.

“L. W. F. Before I even knew what those letters meant,” he said, “they saved my life.”

Today marks the 17^th annual World Refugee Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to draw attention to the challenges faced by people around the world who have fled their homes – by choice or compulsion – seeking safety, opportunity, and a place to call home. It is a chance to celebrate the individuals and families who have built new lives in new places, to mourn those who have lost their lives while on the move, and, for Lutherans, to remember our own history as migrants and refugees.

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 65 million people are displaced from their homes around the world, with more than 22 million fleeing violence, poverty, and persecution as refugees. This is an almost-unprecedented number of people on the move, and the work of nonprofit organizations, churches and community partners accompanying refugees and migrants has rarely been so important.

Through ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response, our church accompanies our neighbors in their home communities, in transit and temporary shelters, in refugee camps, and in their new homes. The intersection between conflict, migration and food insecurity is complex but undeniable. In a study released earlier this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) found that for every percentage increase in food insecurity, refugee outflows from a country increase by 1.9 percent, demonstrating the significant role food insecurity plays in forcing people from their homes. Moreover, the WFP found that food insecurity also plays a role in increasing the intensity and duration of armed conflict, another significant factor that pushes people to seek safety in other regions and countries.

Working through companions and partners, ELCA World Hunger supports projects aimed at sustainably bolstering food security, making it possible for people to feed themselves and their families in their own hometowns. For those who cannot stay in their homes, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) administers refugee camps like Kakuma and Dadaab in Kenya. Kakuma, located in northwestern Kenya, was established by the UN in 1992 with a capacity for 125,000 refugees, most of whom were fleeing Sudan. Today, more than 160,000 refugees live in the camp. While it was never intended to be a permanent home, many refugees spend upwards of ten years living in Kakuma, waiting to return to their homes or to resettle in a new place.

Adapting to life in Kakuma is not easy, but many residents, with the support of LWF programs, find ways to use their talents and skills while in the camp. Programs that focus on education and improved livelihoods, supported in part by ELCA World Hunger, address some of the critical barriers residents face. One key opportunity for economic empowerment for residents is through village savings and loan programs (VSLAs). In a VSLA, community members pool their savings and provide small loans to individuals to start or grow a business. Once the business turns a profit, the money is repaid and loaned out to another VSLA member. This gives folks in Kakuma the resources they need to support themselves and their families. Moreover, much of the work administered by LWF, including efforts toward education, economic empowerment, and human rights, is done with the participation of both refugees in the camp and members of the local host community, many of whom face their own challenges related to poverty and hunger.

KTN News in Kenya recently featured a story of a thriving bakery that started through a loan from a VSLA:

 

 

Programs like this are important ways our church accompanies our neighbors as they build lives for themselves far from home. As the number of displaced people around the world increases, accompaniment of internally displaced persons, refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers continues to meet a critical need.

At the churchwide assembly, we were reminded of that need and the role that the ELCA and our companions can play in a world facing a refugee crisis. But we were also reminded of how much our communities stand to gain from the gifts refugees and migrants have to offer. The former “lost boy of Sudan” who didn’t know what “LWF” meant when he first saw the letters is now in the TEEM program of the ELCA, developing his skills of leadership to offer his talents within the church he now calls his own.

 

 

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

In the first post in this series on planning your garden, we named the 5 P’s of gardening:

Planning

Planting

Perspiring

Picking, and

Putting to bed.

So what time is it now? It is time to plant your garden!

Pointing Forward

What I love about planting is that planting seeds is really a metaphor of our lives as Children of God. As Children of God, we have the opportunity to plant seeds of love and hope in those around us. In many cases we have no idea how that planted seed will develop. Here is a link to an uplifting song about planting seeds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AmqYcWjBmc.

You may select to plant your garden at your home, or perhaps you are considering a community garden.  If a community garden doesn’t currently exist, or it exists but it is too far away, you might consider starting your own. Take a look at ELCA World Hunger’s Community Gardens How-To Guide to get started: http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/WH_GardeningResource.pdf.  This resource provides guidance on how to go about pulling together the resources for the community to use.

As stated in this resource, gardening is a beautiful expression of God’s diversity because gardens come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and scales, from urban plots to rural fields.  In almost any circumstance, a person may be able to have a garden because of the diversity of gardens.

The last few years, we have opted to plant our tomatoes in pots on our patio. We did this for several reasons, but largely to make the process more contained and easier to manage. We could see the status of the plants more easily than previously because the tomatoes were right outside our back door, where we go in and out many times a day. Checking the tomatoes became part of going into and out of the house. Pots could even be part of an indoor garden, if you so choose.  Personally, I love the appearance and aromas associated with new growth of plants so an indoor garden plot is certainly something to consider, especially if you have limited space outdoors.

Once you’ve decided where to plant, some preparation is required. You want to give the fetal plants the best chance of surviving and flourishing so that you can harvest a great abundance later in the Summer or Fall.

Planting a garden reminds me of Mark 4:3-8, where the farmer scatters seed in four different locations. First, he scattered the seed along the path, then in rocky places, and then among the thorns. Of course, none of these seeds produced much of anything because the place of the planting did not support the growth of the plant.

Finally, the farmer got it right and sowed the seeds on good soil. And that is what we want to do. How do we ensure that the soil is good and will support growth and development of the plants?

There are several options to enrich the soil with nutrients to enhance plant growth. Composting is a great way of using your own yard and kitchen wastes to develop your soil. There are many good websites to use for composting instructions. Try Composting Junkie at http://www.compostjunkie.com/how-to-compost.html.

Composting is about taking the nutrients that are found in yard waste—such as leaves—and kitchen waste—such as onion skins, potato skins, and other vegetable wastes—and ‘digesting’ these wastes using billions of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) found in the soils. The structure of the leaves is broken down by the microorganisms into smaller substances that the germinating seeds and sprouts can use for nourishment and growth.

Composting can be done simply by mixing the wastes with soil and adding water in bins or in piles. Many people use rotating bins so that the mixture of wastes can be rotated to increase the rate of breakdown of the waste products.

Once the waste has degraded to a rich, soil-like consistency, it may be added to your growing area as a type of natural fertilizer.

Linking Back

In the last post, we used some of the crops we had stored over the winter to make a mashed potato soup, using potatoes, onions and some garlic and herbs.

In today’s recipe, we will still rely on last year’s root crops while adding some diversity to the offerings. Roasted Root Vegetables are a favorite of our family and can be prepared at any time of the year. Because the bulk of the recipe ingredients come from root vegetables, these may come from last year’s crop that you have stored in cool, dry places over the winter.

It is also easy to add variety to this recipe because you can throw in almost any of your favorite veggies to mix it up a bit. In the recipe below, we use all root vegetables, yet you could add squash or brussel sprouts or any other substantial vegetable for color, flavor and variety.

Until next time, remember,

There is a Time for Everything, and a Season for Every Activity Under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

Roasted Root Vegetables with Maple Glaze

This dish is vegan and gluten-free and originally appeared in Cooking Light.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) slices carrot

1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) slices parsnip

1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnip

4 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, tossing well to coat. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Stir in syrup. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until tender and golden, stirring after 10 minutes.

Yield:

4 servings (1/2 cup)

Nutritional information (per serving)

Calories 150 (30% from fat)

Fat 4.9 g

Saturated fat 0.7 g

Monounsaturated fat 3.3 g

Polyunsaturated fat 0.6 g

Protein 1.7 g

Carbohydrate 26.1 g

Fiber 3.8 g

Cholesterol 0.0 mg

Iron 0.8 mg

Sodium 379 mg

Calcium 63 mg

 

In this series by guest writer Ethan Bergman, we will consider the 5 P’s of gardening – planning, planting, perspiring, picking, and putting to bed – over the course of the next few months. Ethan is a Master of Divinity student in the Distributive Learning program at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Bergman is also the associate dean in the College of Education and Professional Studies and professor of food science and nutrition at Central Washington University, Ellensburg. He was named CWU Distinguished University Professor in 2001-2002 and was named by the Washington State Dietetic Association as Outstanding Registered Dietitian of the Year in 2000. He is a past delegate and past President of the American Dietetic Association as well as speaker of the Academy’s House of Delegates. He has served on the Academy’s Educator’s Task Force on Education Reform in Dietetics Education and on the Evidence-Based Practice Committee. Bergman earned his doctorate from Washington State University.

 

The application for Domestic Hunger Grants for 2018-2019 is now open! The Domestic Hunger Grants program supports ministries that accompany people who experience poverty and hunger in the communities across the United States and Caribbean. These grants do more than just give food to people who are hungry – in addition to immediate relief programs, ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grants fund projects in advocacy, community development, community-based organizing and relief that strengthen the foundations of communities affected by hunger and poverty.

In 2017, this program allocated a total of $691,810 to support 347 domestic projects and programs ranging from congregational food pantries to urban farms, job training and living-wage advocacy campaigns. ELCA World Hunger-funded Domestic Hunger Grants make a difference.

Domestic Hunger Grants support a wide variety of ministries connected to ELCA congregations and groups, from food pantries to job programs for youth, and from community gardens to programs addressing food waste. If you are looking to seed, grow, or nurture a new or existing program, consider applying today!

All applications must be postmarked no later than June 30, 2017, to be considered for funding in 2018 and 2019. You can find the application online at ELCA.org/domestichungergrants.

Here are just a few examples of programs supported in part by Domestic Hunger Grants in 2016 and 2017:

Manna from Heaven – Myra, Kentucky

This food pantry in the heart of Appalachia provides nutritious food and clothing to more than 250 people each month, in an area where access to food and social services is hard to come by. In partnership with Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Cincinnati, Ohio, Manna distributes 10,000-15,000 pounds of food each month. Their Domestic Hunger Grant helps fund the delivery of this food from Cincinnati to Myra.

Young Leaders Program – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

In a community marked by contrasts – the most community gardens and the highest rate of pollution in the city – St. Paul’s Young Leaders Program works with youth ages 11-15 to help them develop their skills to be the leaders of today and tomorrow. Youth work on projects ranging from city beautification to arts to community engagement. With support from the community at St. Paul’s, the Young Leaders are making their mark on their neighborhood – and experiencing a welcoming community where their talents are valued and nurtured.

Table Grace Café – Omaha, Nebraska

At Table Grace Cafe, anyone who walks through the door is served a nutritious meal, even if they don’t have the money to pay. People who eat there are asked to pay what they can or to donate their time. But more than that, the staff at Table Grace Café don’t just serve food, they listen to the people who come in, they hear their stories, and they try to help in other ways, including through their job training program.

Christ the King Deaf Church – West Chester, Pennsylvania

Christ the King Deaf Church accompanies neighbors who face vulnerability to hunger in complex, interrelated ways and yet are under-served by other agencies, including immigrants and refugees with hearing and vision impairments, people in prison who are deaf, and neighbors who are both deaf and blind. Christ the King Deaf Church offers communication and mobility assistance, case management, visits to the Graterford correctional facility, literacy and life-skills mentoring, and advocacy. In addition, the church provides the opportunity for the clients accompanied by these services to exercise their leadership of the programs through participation on an advisory committee or church council.

ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grants Also Available!

If you or your congregation, synod or organization is considering an event or program to help folks learn about hunger, poverty and how our faith calls us to respond to both, you may be eligible for an ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grant. More information can be found at blogs.ELCA.org/worldhunger/edandnetgrants.

 

As we celebrate World Malaria Day, I cannot forget the words of Ryunosuke Satoro who said, “Individually we are one drop. Together we are an ocean” Together we can end malaria for good.

-Yeukai Muzezewa (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Malaria Project coordinator)

 

From 2011 to 2015, the ELCA Malaria Campaign raised both awareness about malaria and gifts to support companion churches and partners in fourteen countries to combat this disease. These gifts continue to support projects in countries faced with the daunting challenges posed by malaria. This World Malaria Day, we celebrate this important work that continues through the ELCA’s companion churches. We especially give thanks for Shoni Ngobeni, the Malaria Coordinator for the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), who compiled this post from reports from LUCSA member churches.

 

Since 2011, the ELCA has been accompanying six member churches of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) as they respond to malaria in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Since 2011, there has been a remarkable decline in morbidity and mortality related to malaria, particularly in these six countries.

The churches of LUCSA have played a role in that decline, and the work supported by the ELCA Malaria Campaign continues.

Yet, malaria continues to affect household livelihoods and education, especially because working adults and schoolchildren affected by malaria are often absent from work or school. In Malawi, malaria is still one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in children under five years of age, pregnant women and people living with HIV. There are approximately six million suspected cases treated annually, and malaria is responsible for 40% of all the hospitalizations of children under five years old and 34% of all outpatient visits across all ages.

Much work remains, but the success of LUCSA’s malaria programs so far is encouraging.

Strategies employed to achieve the success thus far include:

• Institutional Capacity Building
• Malaria Prevention and Control
• Malaria Case Management
• Sustainable Livelihood

The committed staff at the LUCSA secretariat office and of the member churches worked hard to build the capacity of the churches, congregations and surrounding communities through basic malaria awareness and education. This has enabled participants to take charge of their own health by preventing themselves from contracting malaria. The gap in knowledge was addressed, myths about malaria were dispelled, attitudes and behavior were remarkably changed, and participants laid the foundation for sustainable livelihoods to protect against future risk. Below are reflections and updates from two LUCSA member churches – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM).

 

Yeukai Muzezewa, ELCZ Malaria Program Coordinator:

 

The ELCZ cannot fold its hands and retreat from fighting malaria; I also cannot do that, when outbreaks are reported every rainy season, when children under five years are still suffering bouts of convulsions, when communities are not able to plow their fields because of sickness due to malaria. It is not over until we completely eradicate malaria. The ELCZ malaria project has declared war against the malaria-causing mosquito, and our weapons are mosquito nets, awareness-raising, indoor residual spraying and early treatment options.

For a number of years now, the project has been working with more than 45,000 households in two dioceses. The project has been divided into four strategic pillars: institutional capacity building, malaria prevention and control, treatment, and sustainable livelihoods.

The first strategic pillar is based on the realization that communities are able to solve their own problems. It, therefore, aims at working with church and community structures to build their capacity to prevent and control malaria as well as reduce its effects. The project works with schools, churches, community volunteers, community leaders, health facilities and other community organizations.

 

 

 

Judith Jere, ELCM Malaria Coordinator:

With support from the ELCA, the ELCM Malaria Program contributed to the reduction of morbidity and mortality due to malaria, particularly among pregnant women and children under five years old, as well as among particularly vulnerable population groups. Congregations and surrounding communities are empowered to reduce the risk and vulnerability to malaria infection and to alleviate the impact of the disease on the affected households, with a strong focus on children under five years, pregnant women and disadvantaged people from the hard-to-reach areas, based on the four strategic pillars (see above.)

Major achievements from the program include:

• Behavior change: Many achievements have been recorded from the community in terms of increased knowledge, changes in behavior, and an awareness of the myths and misconceptions about the diseases.
• Net distribution: Use of nets for children has increased from 55.1% in 2011 to 88% in 2015, and from 33% in 2011 to 84% in 2014 for the general population.
• Treatment support: The proportion of pregnant women who received two or more doses of intermittent preventive treatment has increased from 41% in 2011 to 73% in 2014, indicating that more pregnant women are protected from malaria during pregnancy.
• Advocacy: When the program started, the government had not yet rolled out Rapid Diagnostic Tests (MRDTs) in the village clinics because Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs), who are in charge of these clinics, had not yet been trained. Following a solidarity walk by the ELCM to advocate for training and use of MRDTs, it is pleasing to note that more than 80% of the HSAs are now able to diagnose malaria using the MRDT and are no longer treating malaria patients based solely on clinical symptoms. This was a great experience of effective advocacy creating meaningful change!

 

 

 

The introduction of the fourth strategy, the sustainable livelihood pillar of the malaria program, has brought a remarkable change to the income status and livelihood of the Lutheran congregants and surrounding communities. It improved the capacity of people in poverty to earn and save income.

 

 

Conclusion: Shoni Ngobeni LUCSA Malaria Coordinator:

Looking back at where the journey started, LUCSA and the member churches really appreciate the financial support and the technical support offered by our faithful and committed partners at the ELCA. We would really appreciate more support in the form of funds and accompaniment as we harness the lessons learned and build our capacity to raise funds locally to continue with the journey towards the elimination of malaria. The Communion Office of LUCSA continues to facilitate the member churches to further invest in the strengthening of community support structures and organizations as part of the transition from the campaign phase.

 

ELCA World Hunger thanks Judith, Yeukai, and Shoni for sharing their hard work with us for this blog post. Photos are courtesy of ELCZ (credit: M. Ndlovu) and ELCM.

 

 

World Health Day, sponsored by the World Health Organization, is an opportunity to raise awareness of global health issues. It is celebrated every April 7. This year, we are pleased to have a guest post from Katy Ajer. Katy program director of health and sustainable development for the ELCA’s Global Mission unit.

 

“Why should health be a priority within ELCA World Hunger programs?”

This was a question raised during the interview process for the position I currently hold as Program Director of Health and Sustainable Development within ELCA Global Mission. However, as we celebrate World Health Day – acknowledging all the efforts that are made throughout the world to improve the health of individuals and communities and the work that still needs to be done – I think the more important question is HOW are we a church called to respond to health inequalities in the United States and around the world.

We are called as a church to respond to health inequalities because those health inequalities are frequently not the result of biological chance but the result of other systemic injustices and power dynamics. We know that health is not in a silo but is deeply interconnected with hunger and poverty. The graphic below provides a visual of all the aspects of our lives that affect our health.

We know that health injustice is in direct relation to economic justice. We know that those who are poorest are least likely to be able to access health services, medicine, or even the clean water and nutritional food that would help prevent some of the diseases. We know that they oftentimes have a cyclical relationship – once sick, people miss work, resulting in less money for the necessary treatment and continued worsening health.

All of which brings us back to the question above: HOW are we as a church called to respond to health inequalities in the United States and around the world. When looking at the graphic to the right and all the areas that influence our health, it can often be overwhelming to decide where and how to start implementing efforts to improve health. In my short time at the ELCA, I’ve had the pleasure of learning how many of our companions around the world, with support from ELCA World Hunger, work to alleviate the short-term suffering of individuals while taking multi-pronged approaches to improve the long-term health of the communities. Below are some examples of this important work.

Educación Popular en Salud (EPES)

EPES in Chile provides nutritional courses with a twist through its Promotion of Nutrition project. It looks at the issue with a focus on rights and with attention to gender, in addition to nutrition value. What this means in practice is that in addition to education about nutritional foods and recipes, they examine the food production chain and how that can affect the nutrition of the food and the health of the surrounding environment, which in turn affects the health of the people. The participants then decide on actions to take to share this information and encourage healthy food choices and changes in food production or availability so that all may have access to nutritious food. Most recently, they have created a cookbook filled with nutritious recipes as well as a mural on a street advocating for decreased production pollution that can impact the ability to cultivate crops and the quality of the food.

Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA)

LUCSA InfoHuts projects in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi work to contribute to a generation free of HIV and AIDS by combining life skills and sexual and reproductive health education with computer use training. At first it may seem like an odd mixture of topics for a project; however, as with many of the projects that combine health education with livelihood training, students leave more knowledgeable about how to prevent and/or treat HIV and AIDS and have a new employable skill that allows them to earn money for nutritious food, medications and other needs to maintain good health or treat any future health concerns early on. By addressing both health and poverty, the impact is often greater and more transformative.

 

Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh (LHCB)

LHCB provides quality clinic care as a hospital and mobile clinic but also operates activities focusing on other aspects that impact the health of their patients and community. They provide livelihood training in agriculture development, vegetable gardening, poultry and livestock, and tree planting. They organize the installation of safer stoves that are less harmful for the lungs of the women who cook over them. LHCB also works on raising awareness and mobilizing their community through workshops on gender and human rights, advocacy meetings, and community dialogues. Recently, they arranged a space in the hospital for breastfeeding to encourage the practice while providing mothers with privacy should they desire.

How are we as a church called to respond to health inequalities in the United States and around the world this World Health Day?

I had been in this position for little over a month when we recognized World HIV Day here. One of the most impactful parts of the day was a reflection read aloud by Kim Serry, who attended the US Conference on AIDS in 2016 with a delegation from the ELCA. Throughout the reflection, she came back time and again to the proclamation of African theologians, “The Body of Christ has AIDS.” She also paraphrased Melissa Harris Perry who made a similar claim:

“Our collective HIV status matters. It is not to say that our individual status does not matter, it certainly does. It means that our communal life suffers when individuals in our community suffer. It means that our communities are gravely sick when power and privilege determine who is shielded from harm and who will suffer it… and a pharmaceutical will not fix that.”

An aspect that is present within each of these projects that positively impacts health (although we often don’t think about it in these terms) is the sense of community that arises. These and many other ELCA World Hunger-supported projects work with groups over time, and these groups become social support systems that can help participants maintain good health physically, emotional, and spiritually. This support can arise through sharing knowledge between neighbors, helping one another recognize health symptoms that may not be noticed otherwise, lending money through Village Savings and Loan Groups for medication or transportation to a hospital, and, importantly, listening to one another and praying together during difficult times.

We are part of that Body of Christ. While some of us receive the burden of poor health unfairly, we all suffer. We are part of the social support system that is so important in creating equality that all may have the best health possible – that there is justice in who has access to health care and medication, to clean water and nutritious foods, to environments free from violence, and to opportunities to learn.

So, this World Health Day I give thanks to our partners, companions, and missionaries around the world and in the United States, striving to alleviate short-term pains and illnesses and to address root causes of health inequalities to ensure that all can live a healthy and joyful life. Thank you for your work and thank you for teaching us how to address health injustices with a Christian heart.

Photos above are courtesy of: EPES (Chile), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, and Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh.