A New Resource for Learning, Sharing and Leading

Good information is the backbone of effective responses to hunger and poverty. But where do we get the information we need? And where can we get reliable information about our local communities? ELCA World Hunger’s new “Know Your Neighborhood Worksheet and Guide” is here to help!

This fillable worksheet gives step-by-step instructions for finding the most up-to-date, reliable data on counties within the United States. Each section offers clear instructions for finding data from sources such as the United States Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are also tips to help you dig even deeper into the numbers and to share the information with others.

What Information Can I Find?

“Know Your Neighborhood” is divided into five sections:

• Housing
• Employment and Poverty
• Food Security
• Food Access
• Community Asset Mapping

Each section provides a brief introduction to the issues, a summary of what information to look for and a list of the sources used for the data (click to enlarge):

Some of the questions that you will be able to answer with the help of “Know Your Neighborhood”:

• How many people are homeless in my state? How many homeless people in my state are currently sheltered?

• What is the median household income in my county?

• How many people are living in poverty in my county?

• What is the median household income in my synod?

• What is the unemployment rate in my county?

• How many people are food insecure in my county?

• How many people in my county live in a food desert?

Another New Resource: Synod Maps

In addition to the worksheet in “Know Your Neighborhood,” ELCA World Hunger is happy to provide synod maps here. These maps are color-coded and show the median household income by zip code for synods. (The Slovak Zion Synod and the Caribbean Synod are not available.) In addition, each map shows the locations of ELCA congregations throughout the synod.

As you can see in this example map of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, the color-coded areas represent median household income brackets (click to enlarge):

How Can You Use This Data?

The worksheet and maps for “Know Your Neighborhood” give leaders a quick way to collect and share information with others in the community. These will be helpful for

• Presentations

• Temple talks

• Newsletters

• Considering new ministry plans

• Sharing the story of a current ministry

• Advocacy

• And much more!

Download “Know Your Neighborhood” from ELCA.org/hunger/resources#HungerEd. The synod maps can be found at ELCA.org/hunger/resources#Maps. And check out other resources from ELCA World Hunger on the same page!

Connect

If you use “Know Your Neighborhood” or have questions about how to use the maps or the guide, get in touch with us at Hunger@ELCA.org.

 

 

These reflections are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page if on a computer or near the bottom of the page if viewing from a phone. Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of these reflections. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. You are invited to use the message below for personal devotion as well as prompts for sermon writing. 

February 26- Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21

It’s curious how Jesus will use soil to heal things.

Like the man Bartimeaus, who is blind. He gets mud rubbed in his eyes to help him see. That makes no sense.

Or, how Jesus will draw in the sand as the woman about to be stoned is held on silent trial. Why would he turn to the dust to draw as charges are being brought up?

Or, consider the resurrection itself. How could the ground, the earth, the grave, bring about eternal life?

And yet soil is how Jesus seems to choose to heal.

If you want further thought on the healing properties of soil, consider this Irish idea about the healing properties of dirt. I’ve felt something like this, actually. Every time I put my hands in the earth of my yard, as I toil away growing and pruning and planting, I find my soul as improved as the soil.

What is it, Beloved, about dirt that helps to heal things?

We embrace this notion on Ash Wednesday. As we pull the dust of our lives and have it placed on our brows; as those burned Alleluias of praise become marks of humility (as, ultimately, all words of praise, should), we hold tightly to the belief that this dirt will, by God, heal us.

Matthew’s Gospel warns against practicing our piety in public. But on this day we hold that advice loosely as, though our piety is marked on our brow, the reasons themselves stay mute inside of us.

Because, honestly, we all come to Ash Wednesday with different, specific reasons: those moments we thrust needles into our veins to feel something; those moments we lashed out in rage, cursed out of fear, or judged out of prejudice; those times we cheated to get ahead, or because we are born ahead and denied someone their God-given dignity with impunity.

We all come to Ash Wednesday with a personal confession on our lips.

And yet we all, no matter our confession, receive the same sign of redemption: a dirt cross that intends to heal.

And note that the symbol on our brows is not just any sign. It is not a money sign, as if that can save and redeem us. And it is not the sign of this political party or that political party, as if our politics can save us.

All these things we rely on in life to save us: money, status, politics…they all blow away, like dust, as that dirt cross is smudged into our brows as an act of redemption.

On this day, though our piety is public, we don’t wear it with any sort of pride, Beloved. Because we all know, deep in the recesses of our hearts, that those things we bring to the altar on Ash Wednesday are not a moment of pride, but implicit acknowledgments that we cannot do this thing called life without the kind of redemption that our God in Christ gives.

Soil heals.  Perhaps it does every day, if you believe the websites. But even if you don’t, you know it does on Ash Wednesday, by God.

 

 

Brooke De Jong is the Program Assistant for Hunger Education with ELCA World Hunger. Previous to this position she worked managing grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a housing agency in Chicago, IL. 

When it comes to responding to homelessness in our congregations, often there is a will but not a way. We would help if we only knew how to do it safely, if we could guarantee that our money was not going to support an addiction, if we had more time to understand best practices and so on. Fear causes us to freeze and walk or drive past the neighbor in need on our everyday Jericho roads. We all have been the Priest and the Levite when we wanted to be the Good Samaritan. And sometimes we have been the person victimized on the hazardous road, waiting for our Good Samaritan.

However, many congregations do great work. They support shelters, make kits with important items such as clean socks and personal care products, act as warming shelters in the winter and more. Some even actively advocate for fair housing and oppose laws that criminalize poverty. Some of us have even made personal care kits or stood on a picket line – but still drive past the person with the cardboard sign standing on the median.

We all walk different Jericho roads every day seeing or not seeing and responding to or not responding to our neighbors without homes. Sometimes we are the Priest and the Levite and the Good Samaritan all in one day or even in a span of a few hours. This is what it means to be human and in need of God’s grace.

But just because we are afraid and in daily need of God’s grace, we should not forget our baptismal calling and duty as citizens. The ELCA social statement on Church and Society says we are daily called to be “[. . .] wise and active citizens. [. . .] Along with all citizens, Christians have the responsibility to defend human rights and to work for freedom, justice, peace, environmental well-being, and good order in public life. They are to recognize the vital role of law in protecting life and liberty and in upholding the common good.”

Our neighbors without homes are in need of our actions as wise and active citizens.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in January proposed a new rule that would weaken oversight and national data collection on fair housing projects. This rule change would disproportionately affect low-income communities of color. Under the proposed rule change the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule (AFFH) that was first designed to help communities promote diversity and inclusivity under the 1968 Fair Housing Act and take proactive steps to reverse the effects of housing segregation would be rendered almost completely ineffectual.

Read more about the AFFH Rule here.

To join with others in opposing this rule change, check out the ELCA Advocacy Action Alert here.

 

 

Brooke De Jong is the author of this post and the Program Assistant for Hunger Education with ELCA World Hunger. Previous to this position she worked managing grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a housing agency in Chicago, IL. 

 

The work towards economic and racial justice has never been easy. Making long-term sustainable and transformative changes is even harder. This is especially true in the areas of housing and homelessness. According to the latest Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data collected in January 2019, Chicago alone had 5,290 people without homes. But what is more concerning is that 1,026 or 19% of persons without homes in Chicago were white but 4,674 or 88% persons without homes in Chicago were people of color.

As we emerged from the holidays and rolled into the new year, news broke that HUD is proposing to repeal a 2015 fair housing rule, or the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, that could make this disparity worse.

What is the proposed change and why does it matter?

The proposal to repeal of the 2015 AFFH rule repeals a definition of fair housing that actively sought to reverse the effects of housing segregation and changes the definition of fair housing to “advancing fair housing choice within the program participant’s control or influence.” Under Secretary Ben Carson, HUD would now define fair housing as the ability to choose one’s housing and end proactive measures that sought to reverse the effects of housing segregation. Without the proper tools, training and financial support, many communities will not be able to continue the hard but important work towards ending housing segregation.

Housing segregation is a serious problem in the United States. In short, where someone lives is important. Where someone lives determines the quality of education, jobs, medical care, access to supportive services, food quality and more. Ultimately where some lives can impact a person’s ability to thrive. In segregated communities, like that of Chicago, often what happens is a concentration of the above items in more white and affluent areas and a decreased density of these crucial services in areas that have higher rates of poverty and large populations of people of color. Housing segregation has many devastating effects but the most sinister is the ability of housing segregation to create a never-ending cycle of poverty. If we  are serious about our mission to create a just world where all are fed, ending housing segregation is an important piece of the puzzle.

What is the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” Rule?

Let’s start first with what a rule is, why we have them and how they come about. Rules are created and used by United States government agencies, like HUD, to help staff and related programs effectively interpret and implement laws passed by congress. Often, laws passed by Congress leave a lot of room for the agency to determine how to put a law into practice. So, rules are created to guide the work of the agency, evaluate its grant programs and to prioritize spending.

In the case of the AFFH rule, the US Congress has passed several laws that govern how HUD does its work and spends its money. All of these major laws contain language directing HUD to prevent discrimination in its housing programs and create programs that actively implement fair housing practices. While the laws are clear that housing discrimination is illegal, it is not clear from these laws how HUD is supposed to go about developing fair housing programs. Therefore, it is up to every administration and HUD secretary to define what these affirmative sections of our housing laws look like in practice.

In the case of the 2015 AFFH rule implemented by then-HUD Secretary Julian Castro and the Obama administration, this looked like taking proactive steps to reverse the effects of decades of housing segregation created by redlining, discriminatory and predatory mortgage lending practices, and community disinvestment. This involved defining fair housing as:

taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws creating new sophisticated mapping and data tools for communities requiring extensive reporting on systemic housing segregation.

When this definition went into effect in 2015 as part of the AFFH rule, HUD had a new mandate: create new mapping tools and training programs to help communities understand the effects of systemic segregation and begin evaluating grant programs based on how effective they were at reversing systemic segregation. Communities and housing authorities that did well were awarded more money and others who failed to meet the new standards would see their funding cut or the program would find themselves under HUD monitoring.

Why would HUD propose this change?

HUD is proposing this change because it says, among other things, the 2015 rule is too burdensome on communities and programs.

As a former HUD grants administrator, I can see why HUD might be choosing to repeal such a complex rule. Because the thought of a regulation change still makes me feel a deep sense of dread. It is difficult to convey the amount of work and stress that comes with managing HUD grants. But I think it is important to try in order to better grasp and evaluate HUD’s stated reasoning for this rule change.

Many housing agencies administering HUD programs and funding, including the one worked at, are greatly understaffed and underfunded. As the grants manager, it is your responsibility to know HUD rules and regulations inside and out and make sure staff are following them. The bills and regulations that govern a single type of HUD funding can number into the thousands of pages. A violation of those regulations can result in loss of funding and mass eviction of those your agency serves.

Changes in how data is collected and how HUD defines different terms, both of which are part of this proposed rule change, can affect your ability to house people. In short, working on HUD grants and implementing rule changes means the lives of the most vulnerable depend on you doing your job well. That is a heavy burden that many grant administrators and other HUD program administrators carry.

Nevertheless, this burden is one I often carried with pride. The work my agency did to provide housing and supportive services to the most vulnerable populations in Chicago, was a direct result of the funding I was able to secure and manage. HUD rules like the AFFH rule, which it is proposing to repeal, made sure we were making long-term transformative and sustainable changes in the communities we served. That made a difference to me when I was up until 2 am trying to make grant submission deadlines.

In Summary

It is true the 2015 rule did place a heavy burden on HUD programs and administrators. Many programs reported to HUD that the current AFFH process required lengthy report submissions ranging from 200 to 800 pages. Many communities also had to hire outside contractors and spend vital funds on the completion of these reports. It is important and right that HUD should listen to their feedback.

However, HUD also needs to take a look at themselves. HUD never completed the mapping tools and training it promised these communities. These mapping tools and training would have been vital to the success of the 2015 AFFH rule.

So, if something is not working or is difficult and you have not made the proper investment, you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. In other words, despite some of the failures and difficulties of this 2015 AFFH rule, HUD should not ignore or give up on its mandate to make a positive impact on communities in the realm of fair housing and housing segregation. And HUD certainly should not give up on this mandate because it failed to provide the adequate funding and support these communities and programs needed.

 

These reflections are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page. Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of these reflections. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. You are invited to use the Christmas messages below for personal devotion as well as prompts for sermon writing. 

December 24th- Christmas Eve

Luke 2:1-20

My favorite Nativity scene is sitting on our end table in our living room.

It’s made out of olive wood and the pieces don’t move.  Well, except for one.

That is because it’s a depiction of the stable, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in a manger, some shepherds, livestock scattered round and then there are the Magi traveling to see them. And in between the stable scene and the Magi is a huge wall.

It’s like a fence, but solid, and it’s smack dab in the middle of the manger scene.

I bought it from a Palestinian artist who makes these scenes as a real-life depiction of what would happen today if Magi tried to visit Bethlehem: they’d encounter the great wall in Israel that holds Palestine penned in on all sides.

But that wall means other things, too.

It’s indicative of this long spoken-of wall to be built on the southern border of the United States.

It’s indicative of all of the walls that are put up around your dinner table at your holiday gathering between family members who can’t speak to one another due to politics, old wounds, new wounds, perceived slights, real slights…we have many walls.

It’s indicative of all of the walls that the people in your assembly on this Christmas Eve have put up, or have had put up in front of them, which is why they only show up twice a year at best. The church is excellent at building walls, Beloved.

And it’s indicative of the walls of checkbooks we’ve set between us and those experiencing poverty around the world, choosing to send money rather than build relationships. Money is good and necessary; please don’t get me wrong. But relationships change minds and hearts.  And if we’re going to be a world that stops building walls between people, we need to be about building relationships.

In fact, one of the big walls that you, preacher, will have to hurdle on this Christmas Eve is the huge wall of familiarity that most in your pews have with this text!  How do you preach on the same text every year and pull something new from it?

Well, maybe we don’t have to pull something new from it, but, rather, just let it do its thing.

Because God showing up in the person of Jesus is a sign that God is not about walls, but relationships. And God will traverse the cosmos over space, time, and reality to prove it.

I mentioned that, in this Nativity set, there’s only one piece that moves…and it’s the wall.  You can pull it out and set it aside.

Because although we have put up all sorts of walls in our world, real and figurative, God is about breaking down such walls between us, between all creation and between the human and the Divine.

December 25th- Christmas Day

Titus 3:4-7

If, on Christmas Eve, you leaned into the entirety of the Gospel lesson for this festival duo, which I think you should because the majority of the people will only hear the Christmas Eve service, then Christmas Day is the perfect opportunity to do two important things: preach a shorter sermon and focus on the obscure offering from Titus that the Epistle gives us.

Because Titus, a small and largely underutilized Epistle that is shrouded in mystery, gives us a wonderful distillation of Lutheran theology on this Christmas Day.

This day, Christmas Day, is a day to highlight the oppositional nature of this whole Divine experiment that we call the Incarnation.

Human and Divine are opposites, and yet on Christmas, they are fused as one.

We have been trained by society to believe that rewards are given by merit, and yet on Christmas, and in this Titus reading, we are reassured that the gift of salvific love is not something we’ve earned but rather something just freely given.

We have been trained by our world to live off our instincts, instincts which are largely driven by fear.  It’s our evolutionary heritage.  And yet, we learn at Christmas that faith is the opposite of fear and that we need not think the shadows will overtake us because the light of the world is born to us on this day.

We have been trained by our laws that only those who are deserving receive an inheritance. And yet, on Christmas Day we hear that the inheritance of God is ours to have not because we deserved it but because we are so richly loved.

It all sounds so impossible.

As impossible as a baby saving the world.

As impossible as God showing up through the womb of an unwed mother.

As impossible as a tree growing in living rooms.

Christmas is full of impossibilities.  Christmas is full of opposites being forged together into new realities.

It is especially true that, at Christmas, we can conceive of a world where ELCA World Hunger would not be necessary. We have been taught by the world that there are “haves” and “have nots.” But in the promises and living example of a Christ who doled out healing with reckless abandon, who ate with those who couldn’t find a table in reputable society and included those who the world purposefully excluded, we’re invited to believe that just as we’re given God’s grace so freely, we can be agents of that free grace for a world in desperate need of it still today.

 

 

This advent reflection is part of ELCA World Hunger’s 2019 Advent Study. You can download the full study here. The children’s messages are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page. 

Week 4

God is with Us

“‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23).

 

 

You are loved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is the message of Advent, Christmas — the entirety of the gospel story, in fact.

 

 

 

 

 

You are loved.

 

 

 

In the baby — whose name shall be Emmanuel, which means “God is with us” — God has drawn near to humanity in familiarity, intimacy and even identity. God has become human, entering into our world and our very existence. And the message God has brought? You are loved.

Two thousand years of Christian history, and yet that basic message has not changed. God has drawn near, and the message brought to all creation is “you are loved.” Scripture is filled with stories of God speaking to God’s people. Sometimes God speaks to them directly. Moses approaches a burning bush and hears God “informing him, ‘I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt'” (Exodus 3). In the middle of the night, Samuel hears God calling his name (1 Samuel 3). At other times, God speaks through the prophets to the people.

But here …

in this manger …

in this moment …

on this night …

There is no mountain-splitting, quaking prelude like Elijah heard outside his cave (1 Kings 19). There is no opening in the heavens, no descending Spirit, no voice from the clouds (Luke 3.) The baby in the manger is God’s whispered good news: “You are loved.” In the first session of this study, we read a sampling of modern-day billboards warning us of God’s coming wrath. The writings of our biblical ancestors reflect a similar level of trepidation about the day God would draw near. What judgment might befall them when God arrived? What word might God speak?

In the manger in Bethlehem, God did show up. And the word was “love.”

As gospel people, the church proclaims this message: “You are loved.” Obviously, such a simple message doesn’t give us the directives that are to be taken in the many complex situations in which the church finds itself in daily life. Such a simple message does not give us all that we need to make the many minute decisions that organizations and individuals must make. But it does give us a clear message and identity.

Who is the church? The beloved of God.

Who is my neighbor? The beloved of God.

Who is this stranger in my midst? The beloved of God. 

To be the church, to be people of the gospel, called to spread the good news, is to ensure that every person we encounter leaves knowing they are loved. To be “evangelical” is to be sharers of the good news – and that good news is that we are loved by the very creator of the universe.

This almost seems too simple, and in some ways, it might be. But how often does the message the world sends us undermine our confidence in this message? How often are we told that we must make ourselves lovable enough, work hard enough, look good enough, decide wisely enough, or behave appropriately enough to merit the concern or consideration of others around us? The church has a different message: You are loved because the One who created you has marked you as loved. Christ-centered ministries have this message of Christ at their heart.

Rain or shine, the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen opens each Tuesday without fail, serving up nutritious fare — with an extra helping of love — from the basement of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. Volunteers offer weekly breakfast, lunch and dinner to more than a hundred guests, many of whom face the challenges of poverty and addiction. Guests can also pick up hygiene kits or a set of clean clothes and access social services.

“This space is where we all come together and treat each other with love, with that respect and dignity that we all like to receive,” says Sandra Aleman-Nijjar, the kitchen’s lead volunteer. “We give that to everyone that walks through those doors.” Eddie, one of the guests at East Boston, knows this to be the case. Having lived on the streets since he was 18, Eddie calls the ministry “my home,” a place of belonging and acceptance where his needs — physical, spiritual and emotional — are met. “He feels loved, that someone cares,” says Sandra. “You can see it in [each of] them, that sense of belonging, that sense of acceptance. That someone cares about them, that someone is watching and looking out for their well-being.”

To be “evangelical” is not merely to share the basic facts about faith but to live out a faith that assures us — and our neighbors — that we are loved. For guests at the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, that means that every plate of food served is a form of evangelism, a way of sharing the good news that is the very message of “Emmanuel”: you are loved.

God’s love calls us to active love and service of one another. Authentic love — the love God shows through Christ — sets tables where all are welcome, calls religious and political leaders to repentance for their treatment of neighbors facing poverty or vulnerability, and testifies to new life in the face of death-dealing powers. It is not merely a word spoken but a life lived, walking with and standing by our neighbors.

This is the Promised One we have been waiting for, and this is the message we have been longing to hear. Through Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, through John the Baptist’s hours of ministry at the Jordan, through our expectant longing in Advent — this is the message we have been waiting for. And the message many of our neighbors continue to pine for.

 

You are loved.

Now, love one another.

Reflection Questions

1. When during this season have you felt loved?
2. How does your congregation share the message “you are loved” with neighbors in your community?
3. Watch ELCA World Hunger’s video “East Boston Community Soup Kitchen” at https://vimeo.com/293599869. How does the ministry in East Boston help guests feel “that sense of belonging, that sense of acceptance”?

Children’s Message

Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of this Advent children’s message. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. This Advent Children’s Message is cross-posted from ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters. 

Set-up:

The season’s texts provide the leader with an opportunity to practice Advent anticipation, and each children’s message with grow week to week until Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

This is the last week, and there should be a small box with a pocket mirror inside. A large yellow star should be on the outside of this small box, with the poem below printed on it.

Script:

Invite the youth to come forward.   

“Look here, folks, I have that final box here, and I can tell there are things inside of this one, too. How can I tell?  Just listen!” Shake the box “Now, remember what was inside of last week’s box? Right!  Band-Aids. And what did we do with those Band-Aids? Right, we gave them away as reminders that God invites us to heal the world.  Some of those people out there even put them on. What do you think is in this box?” Field answers as time allows “Could be any of those things! But look, on here is also a yellow star.  Ah, look, here’s a poem on the yellow star. Can someone read it?” If the youth are too young or too shy to read, go ahead and read it aloud:

“The baby is coming soon

And we’re dreaming of the child

And the night will arrive

So meek and so mild

But until then God’s dream

Is for someone else to be a life-changer

We don’t need to wait for the babe in the manger!

And just who should it be?

Open me up to see…

Should we open it and see what’s inside?” Open the box dramatically. If it has a lid, unveil it with panache. If it is sealed in wrapping paper, invite the youth to help you tear it open. Show the box with the mirror inside.

“Wow, a mirror. ‘But until then God’s dream/is for someone else to be a life-changer/we don’t need to wait for the babe in the manger/and just who should it be? Open me up to see…’ Who do you all see? Hold up the mirror.

“Yes!  It’s you. You are the one God is dreaming of who will start the change the world. And we can change the world by giving our gifts to help those who don’t have much, by being a good friend at school to kids who are picked on, by making meals and sharing it with our neighbors. Who else can think of a way we can start to change the world?” Field answers as time allows.

“But, there’s one more thing, come close! Make sure your mic is off “Those people out there? They need to start changing the world, too. So, I want you to go ask them a question, an important question this Christmas. Ask them how they will change the world this Christmas. Say, “How will you change the world this Christmas?”

Go ask them. And if anyone gives you an answer, come back and tell me. You can tell me now or after church. Ready? Go!”

 

This advent reflection is part of ELCA World Hunger’s 2019 Advent Study. You can download the full study here. The children’s messages are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page. 

Week 3

Signs of the Promise

“[John the Baptist’s disciples said to Jesus,] ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them’”
(Matthew 11:3-5). 

At only 17, Dawit (not his real name) has already faced a long and harrowing journey. He was born in Eritrea, and in 2017, he and his brother escaped lifelong military service by crossing into neighboring Sudan. On the border, they were intercepted by a group of traffickers. Dawit’s brother escaped, but Dawit was held by the traffickers for almost nine months and regularly threatened and beaten while they demanded money.

Eventually, Sudanese police raided the traffickers’ camp and took Dawit to a hospital in Khartoum, where he found his brother again. During their initial journey, Dawit had broken his leg while jumping out of a car. Although he had surgery in Khartoum, it was too late to fully repair the damage to his leg, and he can no longer put any weight on it.

In 2018, Dawit arrived in Cairo, Egypt, and connected with St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS), which is supported by ELCA World Hunger. StARS provided Dawit with a caseworker and helped him meet other immediate needs, such as food, hygiene supplies and, importantly, medical care. StARS also connected him to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), which is helping provide Dawit with psychological care and support.

Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt. Dawit’s story, like many of the stories of our siblings in Christ around the world, can seem so far away from communities in North America. Even within our own geographic region, communities can seem farther apart than the miles may suggest. Maybe it is the divide between rural and urban cities, or the gulf between affluent areas and areas facing disinvestment and job loss.

Of course, the distance between our communities belies the reality that, as a global community, we share many of the same challenges. Human trafficking, such as Dawit faced, is “a global phenomenon to which no country is immune,” according to a 2018 report from the U.S. Department of State. And research reminds us that even the most affluent counties in the United States are home to people facing food insecurity and challenges with access to housing.

Yet, it is not merely our shared problems that connect us. This season of Advent, the Scripture readings remind us that, in Christ, God has drawn near to us and to our neighbors. As God draws near to us, we, too, are drawn near to each other — in hope, in faith and in our mutual need.

Seeing this is easier now than it was for the followers of John the Baptist. Jesus was, by no means, the first to be considered (or to declare himself) the Promised One sent by God. So perhaps no one should be surprised that John and his followers were a bit suspicious. “Are we to wait for another?” is the question of those who have long awaited the Messiah — and may likely have been disappointed before. This isn’t the pleading of the psalmist crying, “How long, Lord?” but the cynical question of the skeptic whose faith is sure but whose trust must be earned.

And to some extent, this is our question, too. How do we know that God has drawn near? How can we be certain that the Messiah has come? In our day, we are confronted with promises of salvation from every quarter. Commercials and mass media hold out the pursuit of wealth as the path to new life. Social media seem to suggest that our lives will be transformed once we get enough “likes” or followers. For victims of human trafficking such as Dawit, the promises are more nefarious. Many victims were first lured by their traffickers with promises of resettlement in a new, safe country. Or they were deceived by promises of stable employment.

Jesus understands the skepticism of the question. In response, he shares with John’s followers the evidence he knows will convince the Baptizer: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” Echoing the prophecies of Isaiah, Jesus makes clear the signs of the Messiah’s coming, signs John the Baptist would seem to recognize: healing, restoration and hope. John the Baptist can trust that the one interrogated by his followers is the One sent by God because following in Jesus’ wake are those characteristics of God’s transformation of the world: healing, restoration and hope.

As we look for the promise of God in our midst, we are called to look for those signs of healing (physical and spiritual), restoration (of relationships with God and neighbor), and hope (for those who are poor or vulnerable). Our shared need for each of these is what draws us together with neighbors near and far as we long together for the transformation of the world. And make no mistake, God is with us in our need as well.

We are united in our common need with neighbors around the world. And yet, the miles are bridged by something greater — our shared participation in the promise God is unfolding in our world. The vocation to be a healing, reconciling, hopeful presence in the world is shared across the church universal in every community. United in trust that God is at work transforming the world, the church is called to participate in the signs that inspired the confidence of John and his followers — and inspires the confidence of our neighbors and ourselves today.

To share in the stories of neighbors near and far is to share in the work God is doing through them in the world. It is to seek together — and to be, together — those signs of healing, restoration and hope. In Advent, the expectant longing gives way to bold confidence that God is at work, revealing the promise that all shall be well and drawing us together in mutual need and mutual hope.

There may be much that separates us, but the promise that unites us can bridge any divide.

Reflection Questions

1. What experiences have reassured your faith that God is at
   work in the world?
2. Why is it important for the church, as the people of God, to
   help neighbors such as Dawit meet their needs for healing
   and care?
3. Where do you see God’s promise taking root in your
   community?

Children’s Message

Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of this Advent children’s message. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. This Advent Children’s Message is cross-posted from ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters. 

Set-Up:

The season’s texts provide the leader with an opportunity to practice Advent anticipation, and each children’s message with grow week to week until Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

As with last week, make sure this week’s box includes the smaller box surrounded by Band-Aids, one inside the other, like nesting dolls. 

Inside the smallest box should be a pocket mirror. Draw a large yellow star on the outside of this smallest box.  On today’s box draw a large red cross on it like an Emergency Aid kit, and tape one of the ELCA Good Gifts cards to the top.  You can find them here: http://bit.ly/33gC1kQ.

Script:

Invite the children to come forward.   

“Look here, folks, I have that other box here, and I can tell there are things inside of this one, too.  How can I tell?  Just listen!” Shake the box. “Now, remember what was inside of last week’s box?  Right!  Stickers.  And what did we do with those stickers?  Right, we gave them away as gifts of love. What do you think is in this box?” Field answers as time allows. “Could be any of those things!  But look, on here is also a red cross.  Has anyone seen anything like this before?  Where?” Field answers as time allows. “Right.  On hospitals and ambulances and first-aid kits.”

“You know, we all have built-in first-aid kits.  Want to see one?” Hold up your hands. “Yes, I know, these look just like hands.  But they’re more than that.  With hands like these we’re given the ability to help and heal others.  We can work, and through that work, we can offer help to others.  Hmmm…let me try to explain a little clearer.   Ah, look, here’s a card near this red cross. Can someone read it?”   If the youth are too young or too shy to read, go ahead and read it aloud:

“This is a card from ELCA Good Gifts, where people can buy animals, seeds, or other goods for people all around the world.  We work with our hands, and with the money we get for our work, we’re able to buy these gifts to bless others.  In this way, we help people who don’t even know to live well!  Should we open it and see what’s inside?”  Open the box dramatically.  If it has a lid, unveil it with panache.  If it is sealed in wrapping paper, invite the youth to help you tear it open. Show the box full of Band-Aids, and the other box inside.

“Wow, there’s a bunch of Band-Aids in here, along with another box.  This other box we can’t open until next week, I think, but what do we do with these Band-Aids?” Pretend to think.

“Wait, I have an idea!  Come in close.” Invite the youth forward and turn off your mic. “Go and give a Band-Aid to someone out there and say to them ‘God helps us help others.’.  Make it someone you don’t even know!  If they’re brave, they’ll even put it on today!  Go and remind them that God invites us to help others, and next week we’ll see if God has a new surprise for us in this other box.  Are you ready?  Go!”

As they give out the Band-Aids, you can make a general announcement about ELCA Good Gifts to the whole assembly and invite them to learn more by placing a bulletin insert in their hands, or point them to the ELCA World Hunger website.

 

 

This advent reflection is part of ELCA World Hunger’s 2019 Advent Study. You can download the full study here. The children’s messages are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page. 

 

Week 2

From Good New to Bad News

“He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness, he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (Isaiah 11:3b-4a).

In many rural villages in Guatemala, families tend to be large, and due to poverty, cultural traditions and other factors, daughters are often given away for marriage early. At 12 to 14 years old, girls are matched with husbands who are at least twice their age and sometimes older. Pastor Karen Castillo of the Augustinian Lutheran Church of Guatemala (ILAG) knows many of the girls’ stories well. Pr. Castillo hears their frequent concerns about the lack of educational opportunities that can change the future for girls and women throughout Guatemala. Schools are often far from people’s homes, and if instruction is available, boys are often given precedence. When girls are excluded from continuing their education, they are also excluded from new opportunities, including the opportunity to make many decisions about their futures.

Holy Scripture assures us that God hears their stories, too. The promise of Isaiah, indeed the promise of many of the writings in the Old Testament, is that God has heard the people’s pleas for liberation and salvation and will deliver them (Exodus 3:7-8). God’s intimacy with the people of God is such that God is attuned to the many obstacles that undermine the people’s well-being. God’s anger is revealed most clearly in those places where injustice and inequity reign – and God’s loving concern is revealed equally clearly when the children of God are blocked from enjoying life abundantly.

In the Gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist echoes this anger when he sees a group of Pharisees and Sadducees gathered among those desiring baptism. “You brood of vipers!” he calls out. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). John is not the meekest character in the Gospel, but here, he’s about to get medieval before there was a medieval to be gotten. What was it that so incensed the Baptizer? We get a clue about the fault of the Pharisees and Sadducees later in Matthew, when Jesus denounces both groups: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others … they love to have the place of honor at banquets … [they] lock people out of the kingdom of heaven … [they make] gold sacred … [they] have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith,” and so on (23:4-23).

The Pharisees often get a bad rap in the Gospels. They serve as foils for Jesus and the disciples so often that the reader might think “brood of vipers” is John the Baptist’s way of going easy on them. In reality, the Pharisees were one of several Jewish groups at the time and, in some ways, weren’t quite as bad as they might seem. They understood the life of faith as a life focused on obedience to the Law, so they rigorously held themselves to its high standards. The problem was, they held others to those standards, too, even when the Law seemed unclear or when the literal, traditional punishments for violations were downright deadly. For the Pharisees, being faithful meant obeying the Law and tradition, no matter what the consequences were.

Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels present a different understanding of faith. For Jesus and his followers, a relationship with God is not meant to be a burden. In fact, quite the opposite: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Isaiah, whom John the Baptist quotes in Matthew, describes what true righteousness looks like for God’s people: justice and equity, particularly for “the poor [and] the meek,” those without the social or economic status to demand these things for themselves.

As God draws near through the One prophesied by Isaiah and John the Baptist, the bad news of exclusion is transformed into the good news of hospitality, and the bad news of judgment is transformed into the good news of justice — for them and for the community. It is from among these people, whose lives are so circumscribed by legalism, tradition and inequity, that Jesus will draw both followers and leaders.

In Guatemala, where poverty, traditions and sexism prevent communities from benefiting from the gifts and skills of girls, the ILAG is helping provide new opportunities. Opened in 2018 at the Augustinian Lutheran Center in Guatemala City, the MILAGRO (“miracle”) Women’s Education Center is a place for young women from these rural communities to continue their secondary education, faith formation and development of vocational and life skills that will help them be financially independent in the future. With support from ELCA World Hunger and ILAG, the young women at MILAGRO Women’s Education Center are part of the work God is doing in their communities, proclaiming the good news of justice, equity and life abundant for all.

Reflection Questions

1. What does it mean for God to hear the cries of people who face oppression, exclusion or injustice?
2. How does the church listen attentively to the voices of people facing poverty or hunger in the community today?
3. What is the difference between seeing faith as obedience to God and seeing faith as liberation?

Children’s Message

Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of this Advent children’s message. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. This Advent Children’s Message is cross-posted from ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters. 

Set up:

The season’s texts provide the leader with an opportunity to practice Advent anticipation, and each children’s message with grow week-to-week until Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

Bring in a large wrapped box. Inside the box make sure to include two smaller boxes, one inside the other, like nesting dolls.

Inside the smallest box put a pocket mirror. Draw a large yellow star on the outside of this smallest box.  Inside the second-largest box put the smallest box along with a bunch of new Band-Aids and draw a large red cross on it like an emergency first aid kit. And inside the largest box, put the other boxes along with a bunch of stickers. On the outside of this larger box, put a picture of a stump with a stem springing forth. On the tree you’ll write the riddle below. Invite the children to come forward.

Script:

“Look here, folks, I have this box here, and I can tell there are things inside of it. How can I tell? Just listen!” Shake the box. “What do you think is in here?” Field answers as time allows. “Could be any of those things!  But look, on here is also a tree stump with this little twig coming out of it. It reminds me of what the prophet Isaiah said today that sometimes, out of things that don’t look alive anymore, new things can spring. And look, it has writing on it!  Can someone read it?   If the children are too young or too shy to read, go ahead and read it aloud:

At Christmas God does something new

And we can do something, too!

With each day comes the chance

To make another heart sing and dance!

Do something kind without pay

Go and make someone’s day!

“Huh, I wonder what that means. Should we open it and see what’s inside?” Open the box dramatically.  If it has a lid, unveil it with panache. If it is sealed in wrapping paper, invite the children to help you tear it open. Show the box full of stickers, and the other box inside.

“Wow, there’s a bunch of stickers in here, along with some other boxes. This other box we can’t open until next week, I think, but what do we do with these stickers?” Pretend to think.

“Wait, I have an idea!  Come in close.” Invite the youth forward and turn off your mic. “The riddle invited us to go and make someone’s day, so I think you should go out there to the people in the pews and stick a sticker on someone. Make it someone you don’t even know! Put it on their hand, their shirt, or even their forehead! Go and spread some love today with this new thing in church, and next week we’ll see if God has a new surprise for us in these boxes. Are you ready? Go!”

 

 

This advent reflection is part of ELCA World Hunger’s 2019 Advent Study. You can download the full study here. The children’s messages are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s sermon starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page. 

Week 1 

“Jesus is Coming” 

“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Matthew 24:44).

The readings for this Advent, appropriately, are full of expectation. In many households, “expectation” has been the theme since the last few days of November. Some folks are digging out dusty boxes of decorations, young children are making early drafts of Christmas wish lists, and local stores … well, they’ve been ready for Christmas since Halloween ended. The air is full of anticipation. In the midst of this, it can be difficult to wrap our heads around the idea that “the coming of the Lord” was not always a joyous thing to look forward to. Thankfully, roadside billboards across the country are there to
remind us:

• “Jesus is coming! Are you ready?” (against a background of flames);
• “Repent! Jesus is coming to judge YOU!”;
• “I will be back” (with a decidedly angry-looking Jesus on the cross); and
• (the rather specific) “Judgment Day is coming — May 21, 2011.”

The last one may have been a slight miscalculation. But the idea is still there — Jesus is coming, and he’s bringing the thunder (or fire or brimstone or a can of what-have-you). And you thought that sweater from Aunt Myrtle last year was the worst thing anyone could get for Christmas. As striking as these messages might be, they aren’t really that far off from a pretty common thread in Holy Scripture. The arrival of God into the world is a fairly frightening prospect. The “day of the Lord,” as it is sometimes referred to, is described as “great and terrible” by the prophet Joel (2:31).

In Scripture, it seems, the future is something to fear. And certainly, for many people around the world who are uncertain about their health, their job or the environment in which they live, there are some bleak prospects on the horizon. But this isn’t the only way Scripture describes the coming of God. Certainly, as the prophetic writings in the Bible make clear, God drawing near is always risky business. But the story of Christ subverts our expectations — a humble manger instead of a flaming chariot, swaddling clothes instead of royal robes, a carpenter instead of a king.

Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew about the return of the Son to the throne is not a pleasant passage to kick off the Advent season. It is full of dire warnings about the coming days for the people. Jesus admonishes the disciples to watch expectantly for his return, but he also says something about what shape that expectation ought to take. And in doing so, Jesus again challenges assumptions about the end of time.

Jesus makes clear that, first, preparing for the day of the Lord is not about getting ourselves “right with God” so that we might be among the ones taken up rather than left in the field (24:40). By grace, we are saved from dreading the future. In faith, we know that God’s salvation of the world has already begun — and that it includes us. The second thing Jesus teaches is that the day to come should not cloud our vision from the work left yet to do before that day. The parables Jesus tells describe servants at work, doing what they can and laboring now, before the return of the “master.”

Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 24 are part of a larger sermon that includes Matthew 25. It’s in this later chapter that Jesus lays out the labors of the people of God as we await his coming: feeding those who hunger, satisfying those who thirst, showing hospitality to strangers, visiting the imprisoned and caring for those who are sick.

What does expectation of the dreaded “day of the Lord” look like for followers of Jesus? Actively being about the business of caring for our neighbors. Ultimately, the end is not about our repentance, or our righteousness or our own fear of judgment. It is about accompanying one another, caring for one another, and meeting each other’s needs. That is the labor of the expectant servant. For all the talk about the separation between those who will be “taken” and those who will be “left” (24:40-41), Jesus’ warnings about the day of the Lord are not meant to separate us from one another but rather to draw us near to each other in love, hospitality and care.

God has drawn near and commissioned God’s people with a holy vocation: to attend to their neighbors. The future is not something to be feared but something to be embraced. As people of faith, we know that our best days are not behind us but ahead of us. We know that the plans God has for us are, in the words of Jeremiah, “plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” We cling to the vision of John, who in Revelation 7 describes the future as a time when all will be sheltered by the one on the throne: “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them … for the Lamb … will be their shepherd … and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” We know that we have been set free by grace to reimagine our world, no longer beholden to the past or worrying about the future. We are set free to be the church — to be bold and creative and courageous, knowing that we are part of a story God is enacting in our midst, a story of God at work through God’s people.

Gustin knows this about the future. A farmer and village leader in the Dowa district of Malawi, Gustin was 57 when he started to get sick. The day started like any other, but working in the field, he was overcome with muscle pain. Too weak to walk, he was helped by a fellow community volunteer, who hired a bicycle to bring them to the nearest clinic, 12 miles away. It was there that Gustin learned he was HIV-positive.

For Gustin, the future could have looked bleak, but he was determined to fight, not only for his own sake but for the sake of his neighbors. Through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM), Gustin met with a community health counselor who was trained in an ELCM program supported by ELCA World Hunger. With access to treatment, education and a companion for his long journeys to the clinic or hospital, Gustin got the help he needed. And now, he works in the community, actively counseling others who are living with HIV and AIDS.

Gustin refused to let his diagnosis become a prognosis for his future or the future of his community. With the right support, his diagnosis does not stop him from working toward a brighter tomorrow for his neighbors. “I know that my life is not over,” he says, “and I have a future.” God draws near, and the “day is coming.” But for people of faith, the future is filled with hopeful expectation, and the present is filled with active, loving service that draws us to one another

Reflection Questions

1. How does your congregation inspire hope for the future in you, your family or your community?
2. In what ways is your church part of building a brighter future within your community?
3. How can the church counter the messages of fear within our communities today?

Children’s Message

Brooke De Jong is the writer of this Advent children’s message. Brooke is the Program Assistant for Hunger Education with ELCA World Hunger and a youth director in Park Ridge, Ill. This Advent Children’s Message is cross-posted from ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters. 

Set up:

The season’s texts provide the leader with an opportunity to practice Advent anticipation and grow that anticipation with each children’s message until Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

Bring in a large wrapped box. Inside the box make sure to include three smaller boxes, one inside the other, like nesting dolls.

Inside the smallest box put a pocket mirror. Draw a large yellow star on the outside of this smallest box.  Inside the second-largest box put the smallest box along with a bunch of new Band-Aids and draw a large red cross on it like an emergency first aid kit. And inside the next largest box, put the other boxes along with a bunch of stickers. On the outside of this larger box, put a picture of a stump with a stem springing forth. On the tree, you’ll write the riddle posted next week. For the largest box, wrap it in blue paper and/or add a blue ribbon to it to make it look like a present that is the color of your advent paraments. Inside the box place a packing list and an image of a hard hat for each child.

Script:

Invite the children to come forward.

Good morning everyone! I invite you to look around and tell me if you notice anything different at church this morning. (wait for response)

We changed colors today and added a few things! This is because we are starting a new year at church! The church year does not start on January 1^st but with the season of Advent. (take a minute to point out the new color and explain any new objects, such as an advent wreath).

We also have this new big present! Would you like to see what is inside? (let the children help you unwrap the box). Hmmmm . . . there is another box and some other items. We will have to wait until next week to see what is inside this box. So, I wonder what these items could be for? (show everyone the items in the box) 

(take out packing list) The first thing we have is this piece of paper with a list on it. Would anyone like to read it? (if the children are shy or not of reading age, read the list out loud to the group). It’s a packing list!

I think I have an idea about what the things in our box are about! packing lists are ways we prepare for big, new and exciting adventures.

Did anyone travel for thanksgiving? Is anyone planning to travel for Christmas? (wait for responses) What did you bring with you or what are you planning to bring with you? (wait for responses)

Well, just like we prepare for a trip, we need to prepare for the baby Jesus and the coming reign of God.  Advent is a time when we prepare and slow down so we don’t miss the wonderful things God is doing and where God is calling us. But unlike a trip where we rest and relax, in advent, we are called to get to work! I think that is why we have these images of hard hats!

In our story for today, we learn that preparing for the baby Jesus means doing the work of loving and serving our neighbors. Preparing for the baby Jesus is about doing the work of things like showing hospitality to strangers, visiting the imprisoned and caring for those who are sick. What is something that you can do to be welcoming, helpful or show God’s love this advent? (wait for responses). 

You all have some unique gifts and unique work to do this advent! Now I invite you to take this hard hat and give it to one of the adults and remind them that they also have some work to do this Advent to welcome the baby Jesus. Ready! Go!

 

It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start planning for 2020 already, but ELCA World Hunger’s new Vacation Bible School program for 2020 is now here! “On Earth As in Heaven” invites children of all ages to learn about God’s world by diving deeply into the Lord’s Prayer. This full, five-day VBS is free and available for download and order (coming soon.)

 

“On Earth As in Heaven” explores the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer for our world today, using one petition each day to explore faith, justice and the work to which God is calling us. The program this year is unique in that each day focuses on one petition from the prayer and ties the petition to one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals in easily accessible ways.

“On Earth As in Heaven” VBS

In the Large Catechism, Martin Luther reminds us that prayer is something “great and precious.” To pray is to give voice to our needs and our trust in God, who meets them.

But to pray is much more than this too. In thanksgiving, prayer gives voice to the things that bring us together. In lament, prayer gives voice to the things that rend us apart. Theologian Karl Barth is believed to have said that “to clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” To pray is to lay bare the pain of the world and to trust God to transform it — and to strengthen us to be part of this transformation.

“On Earth As in Heaven” invites children and adults to (re-)experience the Lord’s Prayer and to see the connections between prayer and service in the world. As the church prays and plays together, we also serve together and walk together toward a just world where all are fed. The stories for each day lift up churches and communities around the world who are prayerfully and powerfully doing their part in this work, while celebrating the diversity with which God has gifted the world.

Daily Themes

 

 

Each day includes:

• An opening to introduce the prayer petition and the topic for the day, including a skit;
• Small-group times;
• Stories from projects around the world supported by gifts to ELCA World Hunger;
• Snacks and crafts from the countries and regions featured in the stories;
• Games for different age groups;
• Simulation Stations to help children dive deeply into the topics of the day; and
• Large-group closing suggestions

This year, we are also excited to include an appendix of handouts to send home, so that parents and caregivers can continue the conversation with children at the end of each day.

Coming Soon

More materials are on their way, including hard copies of “On Earth As in Heaven,” posters and a supplement media kit with logos and pictures you can print, post or put on t-shirts and other promo items!

Look for Us at the E!

ELCA World Hunger will once again be at the ELCA Youth Ministry Network’s Extravaganza in 2020! We will have hard copies of “On Earth As in Heaven,” sample posters and lots of information to help you plan your VBS.

“God’s Good Creation” and “Who Is My Neighbor?” VBS Still Available!

ELCA World Hunger’s VBS programs from previous years are still available! Visit ELCA World Hunger’s resources page to find “God’s Good Creation” VBS and “Who Is My Neighbor?” VBS  – and lots of other resources for children, youth and adults!

For more information about “On Earth As in Heaven” and other ELCA World Hunger resources, please contact Ryan Cumming, program director of hunger education for ELCA World Hunger, at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.