I had a professor in college who liked to tell students, “Communion is not a snack.” ‘Of course it’s not a snack,’ I thought the first time I heard his mini-lecture. ‘It’s you know, communion.’ Equating the Lord’s Supper with a snack was a humorous way for my professor to introduce what he was trying to communicate, but in truth that understanding was not a far-off stretch from what many of my friends and classmates believed, including myself. For I could sit there thinking, ‘it’s you know, communion,’ but struggle to put into words the depth and breadth of meaning and character of the holy meal that makes comparing it to a snack absurd.

In the time since then I’ve come, and am still coming to, a much richer, fuller, and truer understanding of the sacrament of holy communion. I could write a lot about that process, all the influences that shape it, my current convictions and what I’m still working through, but that would become a very long blog post! Instead, I’ll just share from a recent influence, the thoughts Dr. Samuel Torvend shared with us at the Detroit Hunger Leaders Gathering.

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Torvend presented a workshop, “The Spirituality and Practice of Eucharistic Ethics” and plenary session, “Who Benefits from Keeping the Hungry Poor Both Hungry and Poor?” at the Gathering. I loved what he had to say. (Torvend won me over in part by reminding me of my professor’s communion/snack distinction with his likening of individual communion wafers to fish food — “It takes more faith to believe its bread than the body of Christ,” I believe is what he said. Ha!)

But in all seriousness, Torvend said some very powerful things about the ways in which eucharistic practice shapes a spirituality of social commitment with, to and for people who are hungry and poor. There is an environmental ethic in every part of eucharistic celebration. Socioeconomic class is always invoked. Celebrating the eucharist always sends us out into the world to serve all in need and give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, to actually become what we eat and drink. Torvend made clear the “seamless flow between the table of the Lord and the table of the poor” and shared the conviction that sacrament and social action are coextensive, like breathing in and breathing out. For me, the connections between receiving the bread of life and feeding those who are hungry are undeniable.

I continue to think about the various ethical imperatives and questions that Torvend raised for us in Detroit, and hope you could gain something from my brief and humble attempt to reflect on them. I encourage you to check out Torvend’s thoughts yourself!

Julie Reishus

Last week my assignment for class was to read the ELCA Draft Social Statement on Genetics. In case you’re not a social statement expert (I was pretty clueless myself) or just need a reminder, ELCA social statements are teaching and policy documents that assist members in discernment for action and in forming judgements on social issues.

During my time working here I’ve had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders on the ninth floor with some of my Church in Society colleagues who work in Studies, the department responsible for overseeing the development of social statements and social messages. I believe the work they’re doing is incredibly important, and I’m glad that I am finally taking the time to read and think about our church’s social statements. (Nothing like a homework assignment to get you to make time for something you’ve been meaning to do!) This past week’s assignment was the Human Sexuality Statement, and I’m looking forward to some good discussion tonight.

But back to Genetics — one of the three social statements currently in process. I was surprised by how often issues surrounding world hunger were addressed in the draft or brought to mind as I read it. There was a disconnect in my thinking about how the root causes of and solutions to world hunger could be related to genetics, but there are many connections! When we talked about it in class last Wednesday, my discussion group highlighted the section of the draft statement about “the global context of genetic developments” as some of the most crucial material in the statement. The statement addresses agricultural, environmental and justice problems. Many passages plainly spell out these connections and the stand our church can take on them:

“The decision whether to use genetically modified seed affects not only the contents of U.S. breakfast cereal but also what kind of seeds become available for African farmers” (13).

“Inequalities limit who is included and who is excluded from discussions and evaluations of genetic developments. Some in the U.S. and others in the global village do not have access to, and likely will not benefit greatly from, the fruits of genetic research” (13).

“Many resource poor countries have critical needs that do not require genetic solutions. These include infrastructure, food distribution, clean water, housing and basic health care” (13).

“Genetic knowledge and its application will give particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable” (18).

“Human deliberation should give special regard to the voices of those who work closest to the land and with living creatures” (29).

“The principle of solidarity…calls for weighing the needs and desires of relatively affluent populations in light of the most pressing needs in resource poor nations” (27).

“The ELCA has called for scrutiny as to “how specific policies and practices affect people and nations that are the poorest.” This raises the question, for instance, of whether genetically engineered food, and the practices associated with it, increase the availability and equitable distribution of food for people who are hungry in the short-term and increase the ability of people to feed themselves in the long-term” (24).

Have you read the Draft Social Statement on Genetics? What do you think? The deadline for responding to the draft before the process continues is next Friday, October 15. Respond online here!

Julie Reishus

In this first post-Hunger Leadership Gathering blog, I want to share with you about one of the most interesting experiences from the weekend for me — the field trip. For these field trips, five small groups of participants and staff each went to different sites in the city of Detroit to engage in the community, learn about specific challenges facing the city, and see the good and hopeful work that’s going on there, too. We learned about and even got to participate in the work of programs and ministries supported by ELCA Domestic Hunger Grants and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) in Detroit.

I participated in the field trip with MOSES – Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength. MOSES is a congregation-based and faith-organized community organizing initiative.

Detroit, a city of 900,000, has zero typical standardized grocery stores. There are no major grocery stores in the entire 140-square-mile city! There are, however, over 400 liquor-based “grocery stores.” The reality is that in the city of Detroit it is easier to get a variety of liquor than a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Venus Chapman, MOSES’s Project Director, told us about the Detroit Food Justice Task Force, which works to ensure that grocers meet the standards of providing good food for customers. As a group, we got to participate in food availability campaign that MOSES is conducting.

We visited a corner grocery store in downtown Detroit where nutritious food availability is in question. We actually walked through the store with a checklist to assess the conditions of the store, restrooms and food. We looked for things like dirty floors, poor lighting, refrigeration units that were too warm, evidence of insects, expired food, meat and dairy products that weren’t refrigerated, decaying fruit and vegetables…and were amazed at what we found. Overall I’d say the store was not as bad as many of us expected, but we definitely saw meat and milk past their expiration dates, decaying produce, raw meat that wasn’t refrigerated, and other food products that would not be safe or good for consumers.

The experience made me very thankful for the work that many in Detroit are doing to improve food equity and access, bring retail food back to the city, develop more just, alternative local markets, and support food marketers and distributors.

For example, on our field trip we also got to visit the Detroit Eastern Market. Every Saturday the six-block space is transformed into a vibrant public market with hundreds of open-air stalls with independent vendors and merchants processing, wholesaling, and retailing food. During our visit with the staff person from Eastern Market, Randall Fogelman, he told us about cool projects Eastern Market supports for alternative food distribution methods, like MI Neighborhood Food Movers, a project that empowers people to start food trucks, and The Greening of Detroit Market Garden Project. I learned that Michigan is the second-most agriculturally diverse state (after California) – it just has a short growing season! Plans are underway for expansion of the Eastern Market, including a community kitchen, a market hall for production, retail and wholesale of food, as well as an education center with teaching kitchens and a restaurant.

It was incredibly encouraging to learn about this amazing, thriving market. I was also encouraged by what Randall shared with us as we were finishing our tour. He said that while Detroit is the most segregated city in the United States, the 40,000 people who come to Eastern Market every Saturday are incredibly racially, socially and economically diverse. He said the environment fostered by the natural community of Eastern Market was something really special.

Julie Reishus

As the summer came to a close and fall kicked into full gear, I transitioned from my summer internship position to an extension of my time with ELCA World Hunger — something I am very excited about! The past couple weeks have kept me quite busy, and the next few are equally packed full of new opportunities and experiences. I’m excited to report and reflect on all these wonderful things via Hunger Rumblings. So here’s a preview of future entries based on what’s been going on with me, and what’s coming up!

Class: Last Wednesday I started a Christian Ethics class at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. The class is called The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective. We’ll be exploring the nature and meaning of social ethics, specifically the tradition of Lutheran social ethics. I’m still figuring out what that means, but I am anticipating a classroom learning experience that brings together social ethical theory and the practical dimension of how Lutheran congregations and faith-based organizations engage problems in the world. The class meets for the second time tonight, and I’ll be blogging soon about some of the cool things I’m sure I’ll be learning once the class gets rolling.

GMGs: Last weekend I attended the Glocal Mission Gathering in Lexington, South Carolina. I also get to travel to Grand Forks, North Dakota in the beginning of October for another Glocal Mission Gathering. In South Carolina learned a lot, saw some cool things and had great workshop and conversation time with really interesting people! Stay tuned for more GMG reflections.

Hunger Leadership Gathering: This weekend I get to be a part of the ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering in Detroit, MI. I’m excited to get on the road tomorrow and join many of my colleagues who are already in Detroit, setting up for this awesome weekend event. I’m really looking forward to meeting ELCA World Hunger leaders from across the country and participating in the plenary sessions, workshops and field trips planned. I lived in Michigan nine months out of the year for four years while I was in college, but only ventured to the east side of the state one time. I think it’s going to be incredibly interesting to explore some of Detroit’s unique issues related to hunger and poverty.

All this going on means I have a lot to blog about! I’ll be sharing more soon!

Julie Reishus

Climate change is an issue I have generally shied away from in the past.
Climate change is an issue I’ve been comfortable with not having firm convictions about.
Climate change is something I once thought was untrue. A trustworthy and reputable professor in the biology department at a local community college convinced me of this during a summer class I took.

One awesome aspect of the work I participate in and observe at ELCA World Hunger is that coupled with educating me, it also pushes and stretches me to internalize what I’ve learned about an issue, articulate a position, and then hold to those beliefs. Climate change is one of those issues. I’ve learned through conversations with my colleagues, interaction with many of our resources, like the Hunger and Climate Change Connections Toolkit, reading numerous blog posts, observing the serious care with which this organization approaches its commitment to environmental stewardship, and most recently, through preparation for intentional engagement with people attending the South Carolina and North Dakota Glocal Mission Gatherings on the topic of climate change and its relation to hunger and poverty.

My conclusion is not something radical or new. It’s old news to many of you who’ve been here longer than me. It’s simply this: climate change is happening and is impacting the most vulnerable people in the world. Those who are poorest and most vulnerable have the fewest resources to adapt and cope, and are at the greatest risk of suffering and hunger. This issue that seems to be unrelated to hunger actually is, in a very real way.

My favorite plenary session from the Urbana09 student missions conference (I hope you are not getting tired of reading about this!) was an address from Denise-Margaret Thompson on the evening focused on the environment. Denise-Margaret Thompson is a professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Her work has focused on technology innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development. Hearing her passionate and compelling assertions about climate change was the beginning of a journey away from my reservations about the issue, and an excellent primer for all that I’ve learned at ELCA World Hunger.

Here are some of her remarks:

“This issue of climate change and the environment disproportionately affects the poorest, most vulnerable, and disenfranchised in our world who have no voice and had nothing to do with it in the first place.”

“Sustainability, climate change and the environment is not a new issue. It’s an old issue. But it will require each of us doing what we’re called to do to care for the earth.”

“The informed, deliberate, careful Christian worldview is too often absent because not enough of us have followed Jesus into this neighborhood.”

And my favorite: “Education is derived from the Latin educo, ‘I lead out.’ Nothing more succinctly describes our role in our societies today.”

Until recently, climate change is something I have been hesitant to “lead out” on. But that has changed. And even if I’m way behind the times are haven’t said much new in this post, I hope my honesty contributes something, and maybe encourages you to think about matters of injustice you might be hesitant to lead out on.

Julie Reishus

In my very first Hunger Rumblings post, I gave quick shout-outs to three different formative experiences that had huge effects on my passion for seeking justice, with a promise to follow up with more descriptive information in later blogs. I’ve already covered veganism pretty extensively, but I was reminded of another topic I promised to explore more as I read this post from Dan Ruth on LWR’s blog a couple days ago.

Dan’s remarks focus on the huge privilege of choice. He points out how we have the luxury to choose to devote hours to baking, as well as the luxury to choose convenience and instead throw something in the microwave, doing little to no work for a meal.

He writes, “I have a choice between home-cooked, slow food and microwaved, fast food. Having the option to come home from work and throw a certified organic meat-flavored black-bean patty into the microwave shows how little work I need to do to have a nourished, calorie-filled body. Millions of people around the world spend nearly their entire day, every day, gathering just enough food and water to sustain themselves and their families.”

Like Dan, over the past few years I’ve become a huge lover of cooking. I love perusing recipes, wandering the grocery store aisles and farmers’ market stands for fresh and fun ingredients, spending hours in the kitchen preparing a meal, and then feasting on my careful creation. Dan’s realized how lucky he is to be able to revel in the slowness of bread. I’ve realized how lucky I am to be able to choose healthy food over cheap but nutritionally empty food, to choose from a great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and to have so many incredible options available to me that I can be adequately – no, abundantly – nourished even while completely avoiding animal-based foods.

OK, back to that formative experience. I promise it relates! The power I have to choose the way I eat hit me hard when I shared a solidarity meal with 17,000 other people at the Urbana09 student missions conference last December. That night each of the 17,000 of us gathered in St. Louis had a small portion of bread, black beans, and two ounces of water for dinner. I will not soon forget the seemingly endless sea of students eating together in that huge hall, all sharing the same simple meal at the same time, intentionally entering into solidarity with people around the world who have little or no access to essential elements to life. While that night the we had no choice besides bread, beans, and two ounces of water, the rest of our lives are characterized by abundant blessings that allow us the luxury of choice. This realization struck me as I walked past the thousands of trays of bread and black beans at Urbana, and helped spur me on a path of becoming more and more aware of the many in our world who cannot make choices about what they eat, who have no access to educational resources about nutrition, and who actually go hungry every day.

Choices about food are only some of the many choices I have the privilege to make. I have the power of choice about my education, work, where I live, how I spend my time and money, and so much more. Dan leaves his readers with this thought: “what I love about the work of Lutheran World Relief (and ELCA World Hunger) is that access to choice, over the long-term, becomes a reality for many people who have never had that opportunity in the past.” I love that too.

Julie

Well readers, it took ten weeks, but on Monday of this week I had the overwhelming feeling that I’d reached the point of saturation – that state when no more can be absorbed, when one is full to the maximum possible extent and an increase will produce no further results.

A couple of images came to mind as I thought about how I was feeling: a sopping wet sponge sitting in a puddle of excess water, and a curious chemistry student standing over a glass of water, constantly stirring as she adds more sugar, only to watch it pile at the bottom of the glass because no more could be dissolved into the liquid.

I was full. Full of information, stories, statistics, thoughts, images, connections and questions. Ten and a half weeks ago I started interning at ELCA World Hunger and entered a time of intentionally and fervently raising my awareness of hunger and poverty by seeking out that information, those stories, statistics, thoughts, images, connections and questions. Then, on Monday afternoon as I sat looking at headlines and browsing blog posts, that feeling of saturation took over.

Nothing affected me. I could not process any new information. I longed to be in a large, empty white room or an open field, to listen to loud, numbing music, to run, or to dance. I needed a good wringing out.

I thought about my blog post for this week and my role in of adding to the noise, the chatter, and the endless sources of information. (I played with the idea of making this a very concise and simple post, but I will leave that for another time. Somehow I am loving the irony of working out my over-saturation through more and more words. Stick with me.)

Ultimately my saturation-induced paralysis and impassivity passed. A different image that came to my mind: the simple figure 1.02 billion. I focused on the single fact that 1.02 billion people are undernourished, and again felt like doing everything possible to learn more and to act against the overwhelming problem of hunger and poverty.

Again with the irony, somehow reading more also helped me wring myself out. I love what Allie said about hope in her blog yesterday. She writes, “I have gained knowledge of the realities of our world. Most importantly, as cheesy as it may sound, I have gained hope. I look back to the first week of the summer when I felt overwhelmed by the reality of hunger in the world and by the work done at ELCA World Hunger. Eleven weeks later, I am still amazed by the work that is being done and by the positive impact it is having, but I also have hope.”

So that’s what I leave you with today. In our often over-saturated lives, remember that 1.02 billion people are hungry, and that we have hope.

Julie

About three months ago, as I finished up my senior year of college and neared graduation, I was feeling the crazy stress, excitement, uncertainty, and busyness that accompany the end of the school year. I was also feeling them to a higher degree, I think, because it would be my final end-of-the-school-year experience (as far as I knew…but that’s another story!)

Anyway, in part because of the stress and busyness that accompanied that time, but also for many other reasons, I decided that I wanted to cultivate the habit of Sabbath rest. Beginning with the first week of the summer, I committed to taking one day a week as a true Sabbath. For me that meant taking a break from chores, shopping, exercising and anything else that I considered work, and most importantly, taking a complete Sabbath from technology for the day.

I shared my intentions with my family and close friends, which led to some great discussions about what it means to observe the Sabbath, what spending time with God looks like for us, and what things in our lives we felt were life-taking versus life-giving. I took up the practice with wonderful support from them, and great excitement on my part.

It went really well! For a while. I truly thought that I was beginning a no-turning-back lifestyle change. I figured once I starting working Sabbath rest into the rhythm of my life, and experiencing the wonderful benefits of rest, reordering my priorities, and letting my life be shaped by intentional time with God, I wouldn’t be able to give it up. But the summer has a busyness all its own. It’s one of a different character than the school year, but a busyness all the same. It became easier and easier for me to water down my Sabbath commitment (oh, I’ll only check my email once, or, I’ll just have to skip Sabbath this Sunday) as the summer progressed.

One of the things that excites and inspires me about being here at ELCA World Hunger is that there is so much good work going on, and so much good work to do. It’s energizing and fills me with hope. Learning more about  the root causes of hunger and poverty and starting to engage in work to fight hunger and poverty makes me want to learn more, do more, and work harder. It’s awesome.

Naturally my full-time internship has contributed to the busyness of my summer. But I’m not placing blame or pointing to one source for the watering down of my Sabbath commitment, or saying that my goal of observing the Sabbath this summer has been a complete failure — I have absolutely felt sustained and nourished and see small, cool shifts in my thinking and my habits. The point of this blog is to create some public accountability as I reaffirm my commitment and begin again to intentionally and truly cultivate that restful rhythm one day of every week.

It’s also to explore the idea of resting in God, trusting and placing faith in God’s action, and surrendering fear, anxiety and control in the midst of our work against hunger and poverty. So I see this as a jumping off point. I’m going to keep thinking about this, and welcome your thoughts and experiences, too! I’ll check in with you all about how my Sabbath-keeping is going in a few weeks, and how it’s affecting my continued commitment to fight hunger and poverty.

Julie

This week I have the awesome privilege of hanging out with about 80 kids at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Bethlehem Lutheran is using the ELCA World Hunger curriculum Taking Root: Hunger Causes, Hunger Hopes for its Vacation Bible School this summer.

I have lots of great memories from attending and helping out with VBS at the church I grew up in. The days were fun and full of energy, songs, Bible stories, crafts, games, and above all learning about God. This week has been no different. What’s even more exciting to me about VBS this week, however, is that while we’re learning about God we’re also learning about hunger and poverty, and how God calls us to envision and work for a world without hunger.

Anyone who’s ever been to a Vacation Bible School knows it gets pretty loud. We shout “Praise God!” and “Amen!” all throughout the day. Another of our cheers goes like this: “God is TAKING ROOT in our lives! We’re GIVING ROOT in the world!”

Every morning during our large group opening I get to talk about our Giving Root stewardship response. Each day we learn about a different development project around the world supported by ELCA World Hunger. Giving Root introduces the kids at VBS to different activities that help combat hunger and poverty, shows how these things happen because people in the Lutheran Church care and help, and invites them to give an offering to ELCA World Hunger.

Here are a few of my favorite moments from the week so far:

• Helping the kids to step in paint and make “Hunger Footprints” on the sidewalk, illustrating how many people in the world are hungry.

• Listening to a first grader’s definition of being humble: “Not always thinking about yourself, but thinking about other people and what they need.”

• Passing around the fun new God’s Global Barnyard coin boxes to collect our offering for ELCA World Hunger.

• Watching skits put on by the fun characters “Mr. and Mrs. Seed.” The kids love their creative costumes that look a little bit different every day, showing how they sprout and grow as they learn more about hunger this week!

• Picking vegetables in the church’s community garden to give to a food pantry.

I’m excited for the last two days of VBS here in St. Cloud, and for all the other churches that will have the chance to use Taking Root for VBS!

Julie

Last week I blogged about veganism, and at the end of my post introduced the idea that a challenge I face as a vegan is losing out on many experiences of social and communal eating. Right now I’m reading L. Shannon Jung’s book Sharing Food: Christian Practices for Enjoyment, and I’m enjoying thinking through the many compelling things he has to say about hospitality and sharing food, and how these are essential aspects of the Christian faith.

Jung writes, “Sharing food is perhaps the primary socializing and civilizing activity of human beings,” and “food becomes the carriage that conveys feelings back and forth” (40). This is a pretty evident idea that we’re well aware of. Just about every experience I have of sharing food with family, friends, and strangers confirms the inherently relational nature of sharing food to me. But it takes on additional meaning when I think about sharing food as a distinctly Christian practice, and consider the ways in which I currently do or do not share food with others. Jung goes on to say that genuine wholeness, and salvation, requires sharing.

There is definitely something sacred in breaking bread together. We need to share, and it is our joy to share. I love making vegan food with and for my family and friends, and then enjoying it with them! Eating alone, on the other hand, is not much fun. Even eating with people, but eating my own meal while they share of the same spread, is not much fun either.

Jung also focuses on hospitality, writing, “Hospitality is a way of being in the world, an orientation to others and to life itself. It is a means of grace, a way of both receiving God’s grace and being in tune with the gracious life of the world” (51). As someone who never goes hungry, I primarily think about hospitality from the giving end. Christians adopt a posture of hospitality to make room for and recognize the dignity and value of others, and minister to those in need. Practicing hospitality is a matter of justice, of ensuring that all people are adequately fed, clothed and sheltered. Rarely do I think of hospitality from the receiving end. As a vegan, sometimes I feel like I have lost the ability to trust in others’ hospitality. I almost always bring my own food to eat or supplement what I eat at a picnic or potluck, and I constantly do all sorts of creative planning ahead to personally take care of my food needs and not put a burden on others.

For me, these are some of the social and relational consequences of diverting from the mainstream in eating. Standing up to the general culture for justice issues and things you believe in is important. I think fighting hunger and poverty requires it. I’m curious to know things that you do or are committed to that are potentially socially alienating, and how that affects you and others around you!

Julie Reishus