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Get Ready for Churches’ Week of Action on Food!

ELCA World Hunger

​October 11-18, 2015, churches around the world will join in prayer and action with people facing hunger during theChurches’ Week of Action on Food.  This global event includes World Food Day (October 16) as well as the International Day for Disaster Reduction (October 13), International Day of Rural Women (October 15) and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17).

This year is the international year of soils, so this Week of Action will be a special opportunity to raise awareness about farming and food production, and to pray for the people who help bring food from the ground to our table.  It is also an important time to raise awareness about our role in caring for God’s creation and each other.

Below is a list of resources you can use with your congregation to be part of this important event.  You can find more resources on the website of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.  You can also learn about an important way for your congregation to be involved in strengthening the United States’ support of small farmers, families and people in poverty around the world by visiting ELCA Advocacy.

Keep an eye out for more resources and news from ELCA World Hunger about the Churches’ Week of Action on Food!

Daily Bread: A Discussion Guide for Meal-Packing Events

This new resource from ELCA World Hunger is perfect for congregations and groups planning to do meal packing events.  With fun activities, prayers and stories based on real-life situations, this guide will help your group have deep, meaningful conversations about hunger, service and what it means to be church for the sake of the world.  Daily Bread will help guide your group along the way, from preparing to pack to celebrating and reflecting on the work you have done.  Download it for free at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/ELCA_DailyBread.pdf?_ga=1.13041399.177232605.1439408545.

2015 Act 2 Day 4 Tomorrow

This adaptable program from ELCA World Hunger is perfect for Lutheran youth interested in learning more about hunger, faith and hope.  It is designed for an overnight, a retreat, or a multi-week session for youth groups of all sizes.  As the group takes part in the spiritual practice of fasting, they will be led through four themed sessions.  Each themed session has three activities for youth group leaders to choose from and can be adapted to fit a variety of schedules and settings.  Download it for free at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Act_2Day_4_Tomorrow_2015.pdf?_ga=1.13041399.177232605.1439408545.

Road Map to Food Drives: A By-Youth, For-Youth Guide to Feeding Communities

ELCA World Hunger’s food drive guide can help youth and adults as they exercise servant leadership in their context.  Written by youth with input from service providers, this guide is a step-by-step guide to planning, promoting and coordinating a successful, youth-led food drive for local pantries.  In it, you will find instructions for planning a drive, handouts for youth to lead the drive, information on best practices and much more! Download it for free athttp://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/ELCA_FoodDrive_online_version.pdf?_ga=1.13041399.177232605.1439408545.

Do-It-Yourself Walk for Water Experience

At the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering, thousands of young people participated in ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water, an interactive track experience that brought them into the story of a person without access to clean water.  This Walk for Water Do-It-Yourself Guide has everything you need – discussion guides, instructions, posters, and signs – to host your own Walk for Water with your congregation. Download it for free athttp://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/ELCAWFWDoItYourself.pdf?_ga=1.125105482.177232605.1439408545.

Rooted in God’s Word and Lands: A Celebration of the Earth That Nourishes Us

This resource from Creation Justice Ministries encourages Christians to treat land as the special gift that it is.  It has ideas for sermons, Sunday School activities, and adult study and contemplation exercises. Download it for free athttps://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50750/images/rootedinland.pdf?key=62473672.

Sustainable Food in a Changing Climate

This 2015 resource from Creation Justice Ministries offers prayers and liturgies for worship, ideas for educational programs, and suggestions for personal food choices that raise awareness about and encourage action toward sustainable choices about the foods we eat.  Download it for free at https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50750/images/Earth%20Day%202015.pdf?key=62473672.

Just Climate: Study Guide for Adult Christian Education

Creation Justice Ministries’ popular 2008 resource is as relevant today as it was when it was first released.  This three-session study guide is perfect for audiences new to studying climate change.  It has discussion and reflection questions, a leader’s guide to the issues, and fact sheets on several countries to help your group see the concrete effects of climate change around the world and in the United States. Download it for free athttps://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50750/images/Just%20Climat%202008.pdf?key=62473672.

Care of Creation Lectionary Reflections

Lutherans Restoring Creation offers an online archive of commentaries on the Revised Common Lectionary that is perfect for developing a sermon, a children’s sermon, or an educational forum.  The archive can be found athttp://www.lutheransrestoringcreation.org/Home/care-of-creation-sermon-reflections-by-dr-dennis-ormseth.

Hunger and Climate Change Connections Toolkit

ELCA World Hunger’s toolkits are easy-to-use, adaptable for a variety of settings and suitable for intergenerational audiences.  The activities can take as little as 15 minutes, or as much as one hour, depending on your needs.  Learn about climate-related disasters, the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations and actions your congregation can take.  Download this toolkit at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Climarte_Change.pdf?_ga=1.23057915.177232605.1439408545

Hunger and Climate Change: Agriculture and Food Security in a Changing Climate

From biofuels to gender justice, from political stability to farming in the United States, this fact sheet from the ELCA highlights the wide-ranging effects of climate change.  With ideas for what your congregation can do to support farmers and others impacted by climate change, this fact sheet is perfect for Lutherans concerned about agriculture and hunger.  Download it athttp://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Agriculture_And_Food_Security_In_A_Changing_Climate.pdf?_ga=1.48224999.177232605.1439408545

Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice

The ELCA’s social statement on care for creation, adopted in 1993, remains an important reflection on our role as stewards in God’s world.  Read it here: http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/EnvironmentSS.pdf?_ga=1.87350616.177232605.1439408545.

ELCA World Hunger Blog

ELCA World Hunger is a primary supporter of ministries that help local communities adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, from using drought-resistant crops to learning about more efficient soil management.  Follow stories about programs your church supports, reflections on God’s Word and our Lutheran tradition, and updates on the latest hunger research by signing up for the blog.  Visit www.elca.org/blogs/worldhunger to learn more.

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil

The theme for this year’s Churches’ Week of Action on Food is soil.  The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has a great website with activities for adults and children to learn more about this precious resource.  Start digging athttp://forces.si.edu/soils/!

The Dirt on Soil: What’s Really Going on Under the Ground

In keeping with the theme for this year’s Churches’ Week of Action on Food, Discovery Education’s interactive online adventure is a fun way to learn more about the ground beneath our feet.  Explore the layers of soil, read field guides or micro-size yourself for an exciting adventure!  Get started at http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/soil/.

Land Governance

Who owns the land is an important question when thinking about food production.  Food and Business Knowledge Platform has an extensive website, with lots of information and easy-to-use fact sheets on land governance that can help you learn more about this important issue.  Visit http://knowledge4food.net/theme/land-governance/ to get started.

Hunger and Higher Education: The Campus Kitchens Project

Elyssa J. Salinas

August 27, 2015

Last night I went to the grocery store near closing, and I noticed how much food was still out in the produce section. There was an abundance of avocados, a plethora of pears and a bounty of bananas. There was no way that this would sell out by closing, so I wondered, what will happen to this food?

When we throw out our garbage, how much is food waste? We throw away leftovers, excess food that goes bad and remnants from our cooking. In larger settings like restaurants and schools, much of the food prepared for large groups may go unused. Food waste is astronomical in the United States, but how does that compare to the multitudes of people who go hungry every day? The Campus Kitchens Project, based in Washington, D.C., is working to raise awareness about food waste and hunger and to help college and university students do something about both.

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The project makes use of the leftover, quality food from schools and grocery stores that would otherwise be wasted and uses it for meals in the community. Students run Campus Kitchens at their university or college and are able to have hands-on experience in running a non-profit initiative while working with partners in their local communities. There are currently 45 schools that are part of this initiative, which spans the country from coast to coast. The project’s mission is to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities through empowering and educating students about what they can do to combat food insecurity in this country.

Every Campus Kitchen has the same general model to combat food insecurity in its community. Waste is curbed with food recovery that takes uneaten, quality food from places like campus dining services or local grocery stores. There is meal preparation, which trains volunteers to use the donations to create balanced and healthy meals. Meals are delivered to organizations or families in the area where the students make connections with the recipients. These connections enable the students to get a better understanding of the issue of hunger through relationships and conversations. These Campus Kitchens also provide education and empowerment to families in the community, including culinary training with unemployed adults and children’s programs on nutrition.

Through an Education and Networking Grant, ELCA World Hunger has helped support The Campus Kitchens Project’s work to promote opportunity and raise awareness about food insecurity.  ELCA World Hunger and the project agree that hunger cannot be solved by food alone. Education, advocacy and, especially, building relationships within communities are key parts in stopping hunger for good. At Campus Kitchens, as at many ELCA World Hunger-supported ministry sites, food is an entry point for a deeper, long-lasting relationship with neighbors.

To learn more about The Campus Kitchens Project please visit http://www.campuskitchens.org/start-a-kitchen/ or email Matt Schnarr, the Expansion and Partnerships Manager at mschnarr@campuskitchens.org.

To learn more about ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking grants, visit http://elca.org/News-and-Events/blogs/ELCAWorldHunger/646.

Elyssa Salinas is program assistant for hunger education with ELCA World Hunger.  Please direct comments or questions to Hunger@ELCA.org.

Cleaner Cooking in Bangladesh

Ryan P. Cumming

August 20, 2015

Ramoni Rani and her husband, Nor Uttam Hawlader, live in the village of Rajakhali in Bangladesh with their two sons. Like many Bangladeshi farmers, Ramoni and Nor use wood-burning stoves to cook food in their homes. The cost for fuel for the stoves can be very high for families with limited incomes, around 4,000-4,500 takas (about $50-57 per month). Wood-burning cookstoves also produce a lot of smoke, a key culprit in many health problems. In fact, a 2009 profile of Bangladesh from the World Health Organization found that indoor air pollution contributes to nearly 50,000 deaths every year. Ramoni, Nor and their children suffered from respiratory illnesses and eye problems because of the smoke in their homes.

Case Story on Improved Stove

Because of problems related to health, the cost of fuel and the risk of indoor fires, the Bangladesh Science and Industry Research Council developed an improved cookstove called “bondhu chula.” Yet, a Yale University study published in 2009 found that many Bangladeshis are reluctant to use improved cookstoves for a variety of reasons. Some of the Bangladeshis they surveyed didn’t know how to use the new stoves. Many had never even seen an improved cookstove. Nearly all worried about the cost.

Addressing some of these difficulties, Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh, supported in part by ELCA World Hunger, introduced bondhu chula stoves to 256 women, with significant, far-reaching goals:

  • reduce cost of fuel for cooking;
  • reduce the rate of respiratory infections and eye problems;
  • reduce the time women spent cooking;
  • reduce the number of trees cut down for cooking fuel; and
  • reduce carbon emissions from stoves.

By giving women in the Dumki Upazilla region of Bangladesh the improved cookstoves and offering training in using them, Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh helped many women provide a safer, cleaner and more affordable way to cook for their families. Ramoni and Nor, who participated in the program, found that the new stoves cut their costs and the time they spent cooking in half. Now the health problems they and their sons had are all but gone, and Ramoni and Nor can spend the extra money on taking care of their children.

The use of more efficient cookstoves is also a step toward better care of creation in Bangladesh.  According to a 2009 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, nearly 2,000 hectares of forest are lost in the country every year. This results in a “serious imbalance in the environment of Bangladesh,” according to representatives of Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh. This makes the increased use of improved cookstoves – and the country’s growing emphasis on planting trees – even more important.

By providing clean, efficient cookstoves to Ramoni, Nor and more than 250 other people, Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh is meeting the significant goals of its program. Slowing the deforestation of rural Bangladesh, improving the air quality in homes, and freeing time and money for other activities are made possible in part because of gifts to ELCA World Hunger. This sustainable solution to deforestation, indoor air pollution, and high costs for fuel is an innovative way Lutheran Health Care Bangladesh is making an impact, while demonstrating how care of creation can make good economic sense for families.

Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is program director for hunger education with ELCA World Hunger.  He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.

Hunger and Higher Education

Elyssa Salinas

I never thought that I would use a food pantry, but my first year in seminary changed that. I came to campus with barely enough money for a few school supplies and a meager pantry. It was embarrassing and I honestly thought I was the only one who needed help. My family was unable to help and I was anxious how I would survive the school year. On the day of orientation there was a bunch of announcements, but one in particular gave me a sense of belonging. There was an announcement about a food pantry on campus, where everyone was welcome. At first I was embarrassed as I walked toward the empty gym, but then I saw my classmates smiling and asking if I had enough for the week. There was no shame or stigma, just the honesty of our situation as students.

In recent years, college and graduate students are becoming the new face of food insecurity in the United States. The stigma usually associated with food and higher education is the weight gain associated with the glibly titled “freshman fifteen” (a fact in my experience), but now students have a different worry: how am I going to pay for food this week?

A study done at Western Oregon University found that 59% of students were categorized as food insecure. Food insecurity is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as, “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” There could be many reasons for students to be vulnerable to food insecurity for instance, rising tuition costs, not qualifying for food stamps, cost of living, or the shifting demographic of students that come from low income groups or are first generation children of immigrants.  The 2008 recession was also a significant factor for many students.

The consequences for students facing food insecurity are steep. They include links to depression and lower academic performance, because how can you focus on a test when you are unsure of where your next meal is coming from?

Many campuses have started to respond to this reality through relief programs. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, there were nearly 200 food pantries or banks for students across the country by August 2015.  Yet there is also a great deal of stigma surrounding hunger, so students are hesitant to talk about it. Although I had a great deal of support from my school and I confided in close family, this is the first time I am publically acknowledging my food insecurity.  Aware of this, some campuses have developed new models of pantries to alleviate stigma.  There are also programs that allow students to donate unused “swipes” of their meal cards to fellow students or other members of the community.

In a parable from Matthew 25, Jesus reminds us that when we feed one another, we are also feeding him. “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40b). When I was given that first handful of food from one of my peers, I was overjoyed that I would be fed and I was comforted that my community was helping to feed me.

To learn more about starting a campus food pantry, see this handy guide from the Oregon Food Bank.

To learn more about swipe programs, see Swipe Out Hunger.

Look for a post on our blog next week about the Campus Kitchens Project, a partner of ELCA World Hunger!

Elyssa Salinas is the program assistant for hunger education with ELCA World Hunger.  She can be reached at Hunger@ELCA.org.

Hungry. And surrounded by food

Jenny Sharrick

August 3, 2015

I have a very complex relationship with food. I absolutely love it. My favorite food changes almost daily because there are so many incredible ones from which to choose. So many flavors to experience within a short life. But often food does not love me. Or perhaps, a better way to explain it is that my body does not love food. You see, I have an intestinal disorder called Crohn’s disease. It means that portions of my 22 feet of small intestines can become ulcerated (like a bunch of open sores, but on the inside) and inflamed. Crohn’s disease, along with ulcerative colitis, is part of a group of diseases known as Inflammatory Bowel Disorders (IBD), which affect 1.6 million Americans.1

Personally, I don’t like to draw attention to my illness and generally I give a non-committal non-answer when people ask how it affects me: “I have good days and bad days; but I’m always hopeful for more good than bad.” It’s hard to talk about an illness that is invisible to everyone else. It’s even harder to talk about an illness when it presents with the symptoms of Crohn’s. And sometimes, I would just rather pretend that my body is healthy and that nothing is wrong. But the reality is that it always affects my body and sometimes it means I’m in excruciating pain when I eat.

But the worst part of all is not the lack of food. It’s the lack of fellowship. We encounter Christ at The Table. And we encounter Christ around our tables at home with friends, family, and new acquaintances. When we want to “catch up” with others, the first instinct is to grab lunch, ice cream or go for coffee. Without the ability to eat, it becomes nearly impossible for fellowship, communion, and emotional support.

Crohn’s can be so isolating. I can find ways to sneak in enough calories to survive until tomorrow with easily digested foods such as pureed baby food or nutritional shakes, but it’s harder to find ways to sneak in authentic time and experiences with friends that don’t end up exhausting me further. It’s hard to find those moments to say “I really need to be in fellowship with you, but I can’t continue to pretend like going out for Indian food isn’t the worst idea I’ve had all week. Can we just sit here on my couch and chat without any refreshments?”

I spend a lot of my life thinking about various aspects food. My favorite de-stressing activity is to bake any and all desserts (I’d be lying if I didn’t say I also love eating desserts, too!). I’m always in search of a good recipe on Pinterest. I am on my synod’s “(anti-) hunger team” within the ELCA. My congregation is involved in anti-hunger ministries including a food pantry and a food co-op. My research focus for my Masters in Public Health (MPH) is rural food insecurity. I even come from a long line of food-growers. Some day I will inherit one and a half farms in Nebraska (although truthfully I know very little about the actual process of growing food other than what I’ve gleaned from my unsuccessful ventures in gardening and what I’ve heard about the process of farming around the dinner table growing up). The thing I’m most looking forward to when I return home to Nebraska is my weekly bag of vegetables, fruits, cheeses, eggs, honey and freshly baked bread from local farmers and producers.

Even after all that thinking and reflecting on different aspects of food, I still struggle daily with what it means to come to the T(t)able and not be able to eat, regardless of the reason.

Food is everywhere. It’s engrained in my life and also in yours. It’s in the news (the newest fad diets, research about what we should or should not eat, advertising campaigns about food), and it’s in our homes and most places we visit. It makes sense. Food is literally life-sustaining. But now, more than ever, I can recognize how much fear and anxiety food can cause for people.

I have never been without access to enough food. I’ve been lucky enough to be food secure my whole life. I’ve always known that I can find food. But I can resonate with the 49 million people in the United States who are food insecure.2 Even more so with those who are food insecure and have IBD, an eating disorder or a food allergy.

I am often also hungry for the communion with others that comes from breaking bread, salad and casserole around the table.

Sometimes “feeding the hungry” also includes those of us who would give anything to be seated with you, but can’t. Can’t because of allergies. Can’t because our psychological relationship with food is disordered, for example, by anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders. Or can’t because of tiny pockets of inflammation that we don’t like talking about.

We are often surrounded by a sea of food but still drowning in our inability to eat any of it.

Jenny Sharrick is the 2015 summer intern with Constituent Engagement with ELCA World Hunger.

 

1 http://online.ccfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TS_homepage

2http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research/map-the-meal-gap/child-food-insecurity-executive-summary.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Water-Related Activities for Youth

Anna Smith

ELCA Walk for Water

Do-it-Yourself Track Experience ELCA World Hunger

This guide features all the information necessary to recreate the interaction Walk for Water track in your own community or congregation.

Local/ Personal Context:

Community Mapping Pg. 6. Produced by Polaris Institute.

A lesson that gives youth the chance to explore water in the place they call home and create a local context by mapping out the water resources in their surrounding area.

Lesson Plan: ‘Thirst‘ Written by Terri Carta. Produced by PBS.

This is a discussion guide to supplement the hour long documentary Thirst. Although the full video is currently unavailable online, this guide is an important learning and activity resource. It touches on themes of water privatization and The Commons. The guide features a mock town hall meeting activity surrounding the city council, citizens and water supplier’s role in privatization issues.

Water Bingo Pg. 7. Produced by Polaris Institute.

This game allows youth to interact with each other by filling out spaces with information like “has heard of or been to a protest to protect water,” or “has had to boil or filter their water for it to be safe enough to drink.”

 

Water Footprint Calculator Made by National Geographic.

An online, interactive resource that allows people to calculate much water they consume based on a variety of factors such as their home, diet and energy consumption.

 

Global Context:

Lesson: Village Voices Pg. 24. Produced by The Water Project.

This is a simulation which gives youth an insight into solutions to water crises from various perspectives: Geologist, Climatologist, Public Health Officer or Village Elder.

 

Race to Development Water & Hunger Toolkit. ELCA World Hunger.

This activity is a simulation which informs youth about the difficulty to obtain water daily faced specifically by women. They will go through a variety of tasks listed on situation cards.

Tragedy of the Water Commons Produced by Water.org.

A lesson guide that introduces youth to The Tragedy of the Commons by using an interactive, visual representation. This resource also helps youth connect The Tragedy of the Commons to the global water crisis.

Creating and Building:

Build Your Own Watershed Produced by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This activity allows youth to learn about the importance and creation of watersheds while also discussing the pollution issue watersheds are facing.

 

Mock Muck Produced by Water.org.

In this activity, youth will attempt to purify dirty water using various techniques.

 

Way to Flow – Water Irrigation Written by Jaimie Schock. Produced by TryEngineering.

Irrigation is a very crucial component of water issues around the world as it helps farmers sustain their livelihood. This activity gives youth the opportunity to learn about irrigation systems by designing and creating their own.

 

Discussion and Advocacy:

Water and Society: Day Two Pg. 5.  Produced by The Water Project.

This guide includes a game to introduce youth to what a commodity is and leads into a discussion/ debate about if water is a human right or a commodity.

 

Waters of the United States: Enforcing the Clean Water Act Produced by ELCA Advocacy. Coupled with the resource-Writing to Public Officials

These resources can be used to encourage youth to get involved with water-related advocacy.

Final Reflection Resources:

Becoming Changemakers Made by Polaris Institute.

This is a great resource to help youth generate ideas and examples of action that they can take with water crises.

 

Closing and Action section of Water Toolkit.

This can be a really helpful reference to give ideas for future involvement with water issues.

Water, Holy Water (Must fill out information before downloading).  Produced by Creation Justice Ministries.

This resource has information about various topics surrounding water, but also gives ideas for creating a water themed worship service.

 

Anna Smith is an ELCA World Hunger intern working with Hunger Education this summer. She is currently a student at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.

Reflections on the ELCA Youth Gathering

Ryan Cumming, Elysssa Salinas & Anna Smith

MIVES in the D

Ryan P. Cumming

I went to Detroit with 360 pool noodles, a three-seater latrine, a bag of tools, and a debriefing script, all to help make ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water a meaningful experience for the youth and adults who passed through our space.  The other items got used, but several times, the script was tossed aside as I listened to fellow Lutherans’ stories of their own water challenges, especially from California – dry wells, dangerously low lakes, disappearing streams.  I was happy to share with them the story of ELCA World Hunger.  But in hearing their stories and learning about their concerns, I learned as much about the connections between faith, water and hunger as I had to offer them.  Sometimes, we speak and sometimes, we listen.

Our work as a church is rooted in accompaniment, walking together with one another.  The values which inform accompaniment are mutuality, inclusivity, vulnerability, empowerment and sustainability.  We see ourselves as mutual partners creating inclusive tables where everyone involved feels safe enough to be vulnerable and guided in their own empowerment so we can shape long-lasting, sustainable relationships.  This is not just a method but an expression of who we are in relationship to each other and to God.  And it starts with listening.

In another series of conversations last week, this time with youth from Grace in Action in Southwest Detroit, I discovered that no matter how full our team packed boxes for the Gathering (and trust me, they were FULL), we could never bring enough to Detroit to match what the city and its people had to offer us.  Listening to these young people, you can get a sense of what it means to be in the midst of crucifixion and resurrection.  They have no illusions about the challenges their city faces.  If they ever forget, the national media will remind them.  But they also have a rich understanding of their own role in the renewal of Detroit.  Much has been said of Detroit’s recovery after the bankruptcy and leadership of their state-appointed emergency financial manager, but listening to young Detroiters, I found a clear sense that this resurrection did not begin top-down.  It began on the streets and sidewalks, in alleys and garages with individuals and families refusing to believe that Detroit would remain always in its own Good Friday.

I was also reminded last week what it means to be church together.  Sometimes, church looks like people standing and singing.  Sometimes it looks like people praying together.  Sometimes, church looks like a community working together to install a well for clean water.  Sometimes, church looks like 30,000 young people painting, cleaning, and building.  And sometimes church looks like young people from Southwest Detroit selling shirts they have designed with symbols of pride in their city, on a street corner near Cobo Center.

Those of us who traveled to Detroit – staff, partner organizations, volunteers, youth, leaders and so on – brought much to the city, and the media coverage of this massive event lifted up the hard work ELCA youth were part of in various neighborhoods.  But in Cobo Center and in a cramped hotel room with young people from Southwest, I was reminded the importance of accompaniment, the importance of listening and looking not for the gospel we think we bring but for the gospel that is being lived out already, for the presence of God in communities.  We brought a word of grace and hope – a “gospel” – to the city of Detroit, but not because the city was lacking in either.  There is a gospel being lived in the Motor City, as sure as there is a gospel being lived in California, Cameroon, Indonesia, or wherever we find people expressing resurrection hope in the midst of crucifixion.  We did not serve or teach or give or provide.  We accompanied and were given the chance not to bring God to Detroit, or to bring the good news to those who hunger and thirst, but to bear witness to what God is already doing, to be part of the good news already at work among our God’s chosen.  It was clear – from the dynamic speakers, the structure of the event itself and more –  that “Rise Up Together” was not a command we obeyed, nor a directive the ELCA proposed.  It was an invitation to which we responded, to be part of what God is doing in Detroit.  And we came away with more than we had to offer.

Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is program director of hunger education for ELCA World Hunger.  He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.

 

Worms, Diarrhea, and Malaria, Oh My!

Elyssa Salinas

The 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering last week has been marked on my calendar since my first week working for the ELCA, but I still could not fathom the scope of this event. I was confused in meetings when we talked about noodle forests and jelly bean medicine; I had never been to a youth gathering, so I was not able to comprehend the scope of this event.
The Walk for Water allowed participants to simulate the experience of many people around the world who do not have ready access to water. My base for the event ended up being in the clinic area of the track itself, which was about three-quarters of the way through the experience. The participants carried five-gallon jerry cans that weighed 41.5 pounds when full. On each of the jerry cans was a symbol telling them if they got a waterborne illness, such as malaria, diarrhea or worms. Then they would need to stop at the clinic to learn about their disease.

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I worked in the worms (ascariasis) and diarrhea area where I talked about the causes and effects of these two water-related illnesses. The youth would sit on a latrine, if diagnosed with diarrhea, and try to spot the clean water from four different jars, if diagnosed with intestinal worms.

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In the activity related to worms, there were two clear water jars and two that looked contaminated. When the youth or adult would pick the clear water jar as clean one, I would inform them that the water contained  bacteria or a parasite that could make them sick. Instead, it was the orange-colored water that was safe to drink because it had been treated with an iodine solution. This demonstration made us all consider the reality of water across the world, and the serious risks contaminated water presents.

Clinic 3.jpg

When participants saw a square drawn on their jerry cans, I would invite them to sit on the latrine because they had diarrhea! There was a lot of nervous laughing, especially from the youth, because here in the United States diarrhea is an illness associated with embarrassment but not death. The truth is that diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in children five years and younger.[1] This “laughing matter” kills 760,000 children every year.[2] In order to help the participants gain perspective on this number, I compared it to the population of Detroit, which is fewer than 700,000 people.[3]  Mouths would open wide, gawking at the often-deadly reality of diarrheal diseases. Our work through partners and companions is not just about helping people get access to water, but also helping them access education and resources to prevent water-related diseases like worms and diarrhea.

In the middle of our space was a baptismal font fashioned out of wood crates and a metal bucket meant to be a sacred space to remind us of God’s love. Yet after this week I believe that water is sacred, whether it stands in a font or comes home in jerry can. Water is always a sacred space.

Elyssa Salinas is program assistant of hunger education for ELCA World Hunger. She can be reached at Elyssa.Salinas@ELCA.org.

 

We Must Continue to Rise Up Together

Anna Smith

Growing up in the ELCA, I always wanted to attend the ELCA National Youth Gathering. When the time came in high school for me to attend, my congregation ultimately made the decision to forego the Youth Gathering in place of continuing with our annual mission trip. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that I was selected to be the ELCA World Hunger Education Intern and that my “duties” included attending the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit. I was set to attend my first Youth Gathering as a twenty-year-old!

I took on the Youth Gathering in full force. I wanted to take it all in and not miss a thing. Although I spent most of my time at ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water space, I was still able to attend the events at Ford Field almost every single night. I was also given the opportunity to speak to 500 youth from Northwest Wisconsin at my synod’s “Proclaim Story” day. After much contemplation about what exactly I wanted the youth to take away from my story, I eventually decided to speak about the place where I have felt the closest to God: Bible camp. My whole story centered on a quote from the former program director at the camp I worked at for three summers, Luther Point Bible Camp. Jesse Weiss would always remind the campers, “God doesn’t just live here at camp, God goes out with you.” It is so easy to see God at work each and every day at camp, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t working just as hard outside of the camp world. I shared this sentiment because at an event like the Gathering, many youth experience a similar high point in their relationship with God. I wanted to share with them that it doesn’t end here in Detroit.

I certainly witnessed a lot of moments of God at work in Detroit. While working the Walk for Water I was in awe as I watched incredibly athletic youth be humbled as they struggled to carry the 41.5 pound jerry can and realize that some people’s lives are far more difficult than their own. I also saw some youth finish in tears after they could barely complete one lap, let alone go the full 37 laps to reach the average distance some women and girls must travel to collect water. Those tears and the deep empathy shown for our sisters and brothers around the world were certainly glimpses of God.

Then there was Ford Field. To witness 30,000 youth cheering at the top of their lungs at callsfor change and justice was simply breathtaking. As I heard the roar when my colleague Mikka McCracken  said with confidence, “I believe it is possible to end poverty and hunger,” it was then that I knew this church and these youth WILL be a source of change and a beacon of justice.

After the Gathering in Detroit, we can’t just return to life as usual. Those “God sightings” cannot fade to distant memories. The overall theme of the Gathering was Rise Up Together. We did this every day in Detroit by bearing burdens, building bridges, breaking chains and bringing hope. I call my fellow attendees to practice what we learned at the 2015 gathering: that we find the issues that we are passionate about and that we never stop seeking God and continuing to do God’s work. The Gathering’s last day in Detroit was not the end; it was merely the beginning as we were sent to continue to Rise Up Together and never stop.

Anna Smith is an ELCA World Hunger intern working with Hunger Education this summer. She is can be reached at Anna.Smith@ELCA.org

 

[1] World Health Organization: Diarrhoeal Disease. April 2013. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs330/en/ (accessed July 23, 2015).

[2] Ibid.

[3] United States Census: Detroit (city), Michigan. May 29, 2015. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/26/2622000.html (accessed July 23, 2015).

Charleston, SCOTUS and Hunger: What a Week!

Ryan P. Cumming

Whew, what a week!  Even for the time, the second week of August 1965 was a whirlwind.  On August 6, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act that protected suffrage for Americans of every race.  The Act was the result of months of activism, including the actions in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.   But even the joy of the moment could not mask that trouble was brewing out west.  A few days later, on August 11, riots erupted in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. As Selma was celebrating, Watts was burning.

Fresh off success in the South, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., headed to California and was shocked by what he witnessed.  Many folks today are surprised to learn that King’s reception in Watts was less than enthusiastic.  When he spoke, he was greeted with jeers: “Get out of here Dr. King!  We don’t want you!”  As theologian James Cone has pointed out, not even the Jim Crow South could prepare King for the depth of economic and social racism of Watts.

The trip marked a turning point for King.  His message shifted; he started talking less about segregation and more about economic opportunity.  What did it matter if a lunch counter served both blacks and whites, if blacks couldn’t afford to eat there?  When he was assassinated, you might recall, he was in Memphis, Tenn., campaigning with striking sanitation workers for fair pay, the right to organize, and safer job conditions.  King lived fighting racial injustice and died fighting economic injustice, learning in 1965, as his counterpart Malcolm X has pointed out before his death, just how closely the two were connected.

Whew, what a week!  As we close in on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and the Watts uprising, black churches are burning, videos of racial violence are flooding the airwaves, and a Lutheran racist murdered nine African Americans as they studied the bible in church.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

And yet, the times have changed.  Supporters of a racially inclusive vision of the country (and that should be all of us, by the way) eagerly anticipate the (official) removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse following the murders in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.  Supporters of marriage equality celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to protect the right to marry in every state.

You’ve come a long way, baby.  But, man, there’s still a long way to go.

Removing a flag is an important step, but it’s just a step.  In another Supreme Court decision this past week, the justices upheld a key part of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that allows advocates to bring claims of discrimination when the effects of a practice are discriminatory.  What this means is that discrimination means much more than intent; when practices and policies disproportionately affect racial groups negatively, they are discriminatory.

This may help to address some of the more complex and challenging aspects of racism in the United States.

  • In 2013, more than 25% of African American households and 24 percent of Latino households were food insecure.  By contrast, only 11 percent of white, non-Hispanic households were food insecure.

Death-dealing racism wears many faces.  Sometimes it looks like a white Lutheran (and, yes, we have to admit this) and sometimes it wears the more subtle but no less destructive mask of economic disenfranchisement and poverty.

The Supreme Court decision protecting rights to marriage will have far-reaching economic effects, protecting (for the first time, in many states) the right of spouses to receive much-needed Social Security benefits and protecting their right to shared assets if one spouse passes away.  These are significant consequences that should be celebrated.  But the decision leaves much work to be done.  Gay and lesbian partners can now legally marry in all 50 states.  They can alsolegally be fired because of their sexual orientation in 28 states.  In more than half the states in the US, you can legally be evicted or denied housing if you are gay or lesbian.

The situation is even worse for transgender persons.  Even fewer states offer workplace and housing protections for those who are transgender.  An estimated 20% of transgender persons have unstable housing or are at risk for homelessness. When they do seek help from a shelter, they are often discriminated against, even at shelters that are open to diverse sexual orientations.  Gender identity is still stigmatized – at home, in workplaces, in churches, in shelters, and on the streets, where many LGBTQ youth find themselves.

Race, sexual orientation and gender identity intersect with policies and practices at critical points, and hunger and poverty can often be the results.

On June 18, 2015, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton issued a call to a day of repentance and mourning in the wake of the Charleston church murders.  After this day, she wrote, “then we need to get to work.”  She urged ELCA Lutherans to be involved: “We need to talk and we need to listen, but we also need to act.”

We do all of this with hope in the resurrected God and awareness of the crucified Christ.  Lowering a flag does not enliven a dead body.  Ensuring the right to marry for all people does not protect the rights to employment, housing or public accommodations for everyone.  We live in the tension of the reign of God that is “already” here but “not yet” here fully.  Too often, we get an appetizer of the “already” and gorge ourselves on the “not yet.”

This isn’t about building a perfect world.  As Lutherans, we know that the fullness of God’s reign is God’s doing.  Nor is this about saving ourselves, as if our works can make us or our world righteous apart from God.

It is not works-righteousness to strive for justice and peace in the world.  It is works-righteousness to sit back contented and believe we have done enough.  Striving for justice and peace in all the world is part of our baptismal calling.  Believing we have striven enough, that lowering a flag or protecting one set of rights has cleared us from addressing the deeper, more entrenched symptoms of sin, is works-righteousness and threatens to undermine our baptismal vocation.  God invites us into God’s work of building a community of justice and peace here, now.  God is already in the process of inaugurating God’s perfect reign.  We have been called to be workers in the vineyard.

There is some to celebrate, there is much to mourn and there is much to do. Addressing the root causes of hunger, a commitment our church has made through ELCA World Hunger, demands the kind of honesty Bishop Eaton asks of us.  Despite where we land on various spectrums of politics and faith, we are all invited to share in God’s work of crafting a world in which “justice roll[s] down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).

Regardless of which way we might answer the latest, greatest CNN/Fox News/NBC/Whatever-you-like-media poll, we can at least unite around this as a confession of faith in the Gracious Creator: no one should go hungry in a world of God’s abundance.  As our namesake, Martin Luther, once wrote, “we are bound to each other in such a way that no one may forsake the other in his distress but is obliged to assist and help him as he himself would like to be helped” (Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague, 1527).

We do this work not because we can make our world perfect, nor because we are compelled to obey a demanding God.  We enter into the hard work of eradicating hunger because we seek God.  And when there is suffering – from the direct violence of a shooter or the indirect violence of discriminatory economic practices – I can’t help but recall the response to an execution in Elie Wiesel’s Night:  “Where is God?  He is there, hanging from the gallows.”  We find God on the cross at Calvary, and we find God on the cross today, with those who have been excluded, marginalized and victimized.  To fight hunger – authentically, Lutheran-ly – is to feed others and be fed ourselves, by the presence of God among our neighbors.

What Can We Do?

So what do we, as people of God called to anti-hunger ministries do, practically?  There will be other suggestions (and I hope they are shared widely), but one step is to listen, as Bishop Eaton urges us.  Start a listening campaign in your hunger ministry.  If you are unsettled by the racism in Charleston, start listening for subtle and overt signs of racism in your ministry.  More than that, listen for ways that your hunger ministry can be anti-racist and part of the broader solution.  (For a great article on this, see Rachel Slocum’s article, “Anti-racist Practice and the Work of Community Food Organizations.”  If you don’t have a license, the article is still worth the purchase price.  Or ask a college student to look it up on a library database.)

Ask the right questions to the right people, too.  Many ELCA members are unsupportive of the protection of marriage for all people, yet profess love for LGBTQ neighbors. How is this exemplified in our other ministries?  For those who do support marriage equality, what other ways are you allying with the LGBTQ communities to address economic and social inequity?We may be one church under a big tent, but it is a tent in which ALL ought to be fed.

Here are some other questions to ask:

  • Are our relief ministries welcoming and inclusive?
  • Do my congregation’s or synod’s hunger education programs include education about the intersections of hunger and racism, sexism and heterosexism?
  • Are our sustainable development programs – tutoring, job placement and assistance, community gardens, etc. – affirming of persons from diverse backgrounds?
  • Does my advocacy include demands for protection of rights to employment, housing and public services for all people, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation and ethnicity?
  • In our community organizing, are we listening to and affirming voices that have been often marginalized and silenced in our communities?
  • Is our ministry’s leadership diverse?  Is there intentional space for a variety of voices to be heard?
  • Are our communications not only sensitive to but affirming of diverse identities?

ELCA World Hunger – from the team at the Churchwide organization to the local pantry in a congregation – can be part of the work God is inviting us into by listening and being open to what we hear.  The challenges can seem so large, the issues so complex, but anti-hunger ministry is already an entrypoint to doing our part in God’s work of reconciliation and renewal.  I hope that we, as a Church “gathered and shaped by the Holy Spirit to be a serving and liberating presence in the world,”take advantage of the opportunity we have to be the community we are called to be.

Maybe this is where we begin as ELCA World Hunger, with a season of listening for ways our Church’s hunger ministries can be enriched by addressing discriminatory practices and policies not as “race problems” or “sex problems” but as what they are – root causes of hunger that create scarcity when there is abundance and exclusion when there is more than enough room at the table.

 

“Each of us and all of us need to examine ourselves, our church and our communities. We

need to be honest about the reality of racism within us and around us. We need to talk and we

need to listen, but we also need to act. No stereotype or racial slur is justified. Speak out against

inequity. Look with newly opened eyes at the many subtle and overt ways that we and our

communities see people of color as being of less worth. Above all pray – for insight, for

forgiveness, for courage.  Kyrie Eleison.” – Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

 

Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is program director of hunger education for ELCA World Hunger.  He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.

Humanity and hunger

Anna Smith

If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. – 1 John 3:17 (The Message)

This past week, I was able to head to Wrigleyville, a Chicago neighborhood, to witness the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory celebration. Throughout the night I observed a great number of unsettling scenes unfolding. One in particular that deserves reflection occurred on the way home via public transit. I was transferring trains and walked through a tunnel among the sea of boisterous fans. Up ahead, someone caught my eye. There was a man sitting on the side of the tunnel. As I moved closer, I noticed he had signs made of cardboard. The two I remember said:  “$1.00 for my daughter to eat,” and “$1.00 for the Blackhawks.” The man was sitting there, holding a cup and staring at the wall across from him. My attention was quickly drawn away from him by the several fans shouting, “GO HAWKS!” I saw that every one of these people were walking straight by this man without sparing a dollar or even acknowledging that he was there. In particular what resonated with me about witnessing this occurrence is that most of us had probably spent dozens of dollars already that night on food, drinks and victory merchandise. Admittedly, I, too, fell victim to the pressure of my surroundings and continued to walk by this man just like everyone else. I spent the rest of my train ride home attempting to process what I saw and how I am called to respond as a Christian.

As I reflect on this, what first comes to mind is a late-night discussion I had while studying abroad in India last fall. We were discussing the practice of untouchability, an attitude based on the belief that certain people are “impure” that translates into a variety of behaviors, norms and physical acts. People in the Dalit community, with whom I spent my time, are most often considered “untouchable.”

During that discussion someone posed the question, “Does untouchability happen in the United States?” After a brief moment, we listed several examples, such as avoiding the “bad part” of town and sidestepping people who appear to be homeless.

What I witnessed that night – and, frankly, more often than not when I see people facing hunger on the street –  looks a lot like untouchability. There is a sense that the person on the side of the road is unclean, unsafe or unworthy of our attention.

The Bible proclaims that we are ALL created in God’s own image. As Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “So in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” As Christ commands, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As Martin Luther wrote in “Freedom of a Christian,” “Therefore, we should be guided in all our works by this one thought alone – that we may serve and benefit others in everything that is done, having nothing before our eyes except the need and advantage of the neighbor.” And we as Lutherans speak of the model of accompaniment, or walking in solidarity with and among our brothers and sisters of all walks of life. How do we practice this outside of our church walls or away from planned mission trips or service events? What does it mean for us to recognize each person – every person – as the very image of God?

Reflecting on that experience on my way home, I wish I wouldn’t have followed the crowd. This wasn’t a matter of not giving a dollar, but rather the inner feeling that I, too, had ignored the humanity of the man with the signs. What would it look like for us to go from ignoring the person, to offhand giving and finally, beyond this, to really seeing the image of God in our brothers and sisters? How does our choice to give or not to give reflect our belief that God has created us in God’s image and marked us as God’s own? Maybe that means giving a dollar, or maybe it means asking a person his name or listening to her story. Maybe it means recognizing even those whom society deems “untouchable” as people worth knowing, worth listening to and worth seeing.

Anna Smith is an ELCA World Hunger intern working with Hunger Education this summer. She is currently a student at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.

Exploring: Community Organizing

Raymond Pickett

In this series of posts, we will take a closer look at some of the areas of work ELCA World Hunger supports domestically and internationally.  Previously, we looked at relief, education and advocacy. This week, we take a look at community organizing, and we welcome guest blogger and New Testament expert Dr. Raymond Pickett.  Dr. Pickett is an ordained Lutheran pastor and Professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.  In addition to several articles and book reviews, he is the author of The Cross in Corinth: The Social Significance of the Death of Jesus and is a contributor to the multi-volume Fortress series entitled A Peoples’ History of Christianity, published in November of 2005. He also did the new SELECT DVD New Testament Introduction course with two other ELCA seminary professors. 
What Is Community Organizing?

Building relational power to transform communities!

Community organizing is a strategy and set of practices to build relational power with a view to bringing about social change that improves the quality of community life. The primary goal of community organizing is to connect with people around their values and passions in ways that engender collective public action. In community organizing, issues follow relationships. The foundation of community organizing is the relational meeting, which is a one-to-one conversation focused on learning the gifts, interests, energy, and vision of the person you are talking with. The aim of one-to-one conversations is to build relationships that motivate people to participate in public life.

As individuals, the social and economic issues that diminish the quality of our common life can be overwhelming and lead to a sense of futility and powerlessness that prompts people to withdraw into private life. Community organizing brings people together around their shared interests to form bonds of mutuality and accountability that empower them to take action to improve their communities.

Historically community organizing has worked with existing communities, especially faith communities, to effect social and political change by focusing on specific issues of concern. The ELCA has a longstanding involvement in congregation-based community organizing. One way to think about community organizing is as a practical strategy for enacting the church’s mission “to bear witness to God’s creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world” (ELCA Constitution, Chapter 4.01). Some congregations use the practices of community organizing to get know their neighbors and become more involved in their communities.

Congregations that are involved with community organizing also frequently discover that it is an effective way to identify and train leaders, and also a process for developing a relational culture within the congregation. Working with community organizing networks and partnering with others for the sake of God’s justice in the world is also a way of becoming a more public church empowered by the Spirit to effect transformation in the world.

Roots of Community Organizing

Throughout Scripture God is depicted as the One who creates, and first and foremost what God creates is a people, a community, that embodies in their life together the divine reality. Scripture in all of its diversity presupposes the existence of a covenant community that God calls into being and liberates from slavery. It is a community of people defined by relationship with a God who is experienced as loving, merciful and just. The Torah provides a vision for how to structure the life of the community, and the prophets hold those in power accountable to this vision that is predisposed to its most vulnerable members.

From the beginning to the end of Scripture God raises up leaders who faithfully embody God’s purposes for the covenant community. In the Gospels Jesus is anointed by the Spirit and empowered to “to bring good news to the poor … proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18). In his Galilean ministry Jesus was leading a social movement to renew community life. In addition to restoring to community people on the margins of Israelite society such as “sinners and tax collectors”, Jesus also addressed the physical and material needs of colonized people who were disenfranchised by imperial policies and practices.

A good example of community organizing in the Gospels are the meals and feeding stories which presuppose hunger as a constant reality in peoples’ lives.  The sharing of meals was part of Jesus’ program to restore, from the bottom up, a society fractured by urbanization and commercialization. In Mark 6:30-44 and 8:1-10 the appetites of five thousand and four thousand people respectively are satisfied by the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. While these stories serve to declare God’s abundant provision in the midst of what looks like scarcity, they also highlight underlying structural issues of unjust distribution of resources.

Jesus goes to Jerusalem as a prophet to address issues of poverty and exploitation in Galilee by performing what community organizers call an action in the Temple where he cites Jeremiah’s Temple sermon as he confronts the Jerusalem aristocracy: “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Power brokers in Jerusalem attempted to stop the movement Jesus started by crucifying him, but the movement continued when his followers encountered the risen Jesus.

The earliest documents in the New Testament are the letters of Paul written in the 40s and 50s of the first century. Paul’s letters portray someone who is establishing counter-cultural communities by building relationships in the public square with people from varied backgrounds. In other words, he was a community organizer.

A thread which ties the story of God’s people together in the First Testament with its continuation in the Gospels and Paul is the command to love God and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18; Mark 12:28-31; Romans 13:8-10). One way to imagine community organizing is as a practical approach for getting to know and loving our neighbors.

Examples of Community Organizing

The Organizing for Mission Cohort is a national network of pastors and leaders in the ELCA who are using the arts of community organizing in creative ways to develop and re-develop communities of faith by building relationships with people from diverse backgrounds who may be reluctant to go to a traditional church but who yearn for a connection with God and others and want to make a difference in their communities.

In the last 10 years, hunger has increased 40% in Missoula, Montana.  The Missoula Interfaith Collaborative Hunger Initiativeis building a network of 15 congregations to coordinate 15 food drives, producing 45,000 pounds of food. This network is also working together to raise community awareness about the root causes of hunger.  Lastly, organizing people who utilize the food bank and people in congregations, MIC will build an advocacy network in preparation for the 2015 Montana State Legislature.  The MIC Hunger Initiative is supported in part by ELCA World Hunger.

Transportation is a critical foundation to preventing hunger and food insecurity in Jefferson City, Missouri.  A lack of evening and weekend services creates major obstacles to people getting to work and to other important services, including community education programs. The congregations involved in Jefferson City Congregations Uniting want to help improve access to transportation for Jefferson City residents who are transit-dependent, especially those who are elderly, disabled or poor. By working with the City Council to create a task force of community stakeholders, including transit riders, they will help develop creative solutions to expand public transportation in Jefferson City.  This project is supported in part by ELCA World Hunger.
The ELCA World Hunger blog is edited by Ryan P. Cumming, program director for hunger education.  He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org.