Faith, Hunger & Justice: The ELCA Young Adult Cohort at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

Gina Tonn

March 24, 2015

Looking at a picture of the ELCA Young Adult Cohort, one might think we look like quite the random conglomeration of people – 3 men, 12 women; 13 young adults, 2 not-quite-as-young adults; 5 ELCA networks. What brings this group together, particularly around the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) and gender justice?

The ELCA networks from which individuals come to the ELCA Young Adult Cohort include the Justice for Women Program, Young Adult Ministry, Strategy on HIV and AIDS, Young Adults in Global Mission alumni and ELCA World Hunger. All of these groups bring their respective priorities and goals to the cohort, but more importantly, each of us comes to the table with a commitment to and interest in the intersection of faith and justice. Gender justice, or rather gender injustice, is prevalent in the work of each of these networks. As the ELCA World Hunger network, we are aware that hunger and poverty disproportionately affect women and their children. Anthony Mell shared this example from a session hosted by The Hunger Project in Bangladesh and the UN Zero Hunger Challenge in his post on the ELCA Young Adult Cohort blog:

In Bangladesh family life it is typical for the husband and other men to be given a larger portion of food relative to the rest of the family. This simple patriarchal cultural norm has profound consequences. Because of the state of poverty in which most Bangladeshi families live, the extra food taken by the husbands leads both their wives and their children to malnutrition. The injustice does not end there. The children also often suffer these nutritional deficiencies during key periods of cognitive development, the negative results of which can greatly affect them for the rest of their lives.

10422094_10153098995180428_1772328731233751310_n

Women’s equality and empowerment are prerequisites for development and eradication of hunger and poverty. Through the ELCA Young Adult Cohort and our presence at the UN CSW, ELCA World Hunger connects with other faith-based groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) committed to relief, advocacy, sustainable development, and grassroots organizing around the issues of hunger and poverty.

From my perspective, playing double-duty as cohort member from the ELCA World Hunger network and an ELCA World Hunger staff person, one of the most impactful aspects of the trip was witnessing and experiencing the ways in which the spirit of ELCA World Hunger’s message and mission touches people. The ELCA Young Adult Cohort did not only attend sessions; we also hosted several events. Over 100 members of the New York and New Jersey attended a “Meet & Greet” to learn about the cohort and its networks. We brought young people of faith together for conversation about justice and culture. We created space for dialogue about the church’s role in perpetuating and ending sexism and gender-based violence. Through all three of these events, and in all our interactions, I witnessed the spirit of our work to remain even as the specific content or presentation style varies to fit the setting. I believe this spirit endures because our work is firmly and clearly rooted in our identity as the church.

The ELCA Young Adult Cohort engages at the intersection of faith and justice. We also engage with the building up of young leaders in our church. These words shared during the March ELCA World Hunger Network Webinar by cohort member, seminary student and Hunger Leader Jessica Obrecht capture the connections between faith, work with ELCA World Hunger and membership in the ELCA Young Adult Cohort, and development as a leader in the church:

As I am new to the World Hunger network, it was really stark to me how connected World Hunger and the experience at the Commission on the Status of Women was…If we truly want to eradicate poverty and hunger we really need to empower women and look at how women are oppressed in different ways and the reality that 1 in 3 women has experienced gender based violence. We need to look at how that affects not only our economy, but how we function as a world interpersonally.

The fact that so many young adults participated in the experience raises the question: How do we empower young adults and pass the torch? As we listened to men and women speak about how we need to work together in the world, it was powerful to feel that we are at the table and that we are welcome to become leaders as well.

While the presentations and information sessions I attended during the UN CSW were fascinating and energizing, the time I spent with my fellow members of the ELCA Young Adult Cohort was inspiring and gives me so much joy and hope to be part of our church and have the privilege to be part of a group of convicted and passionate leaders for justice.

I will end my comments about the experience and takeaways of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women here, and allow the words of my peers shared on the ELCA Young Adult Cohort blog during and after the UN CSW witness to the change ahead – within the church and around the world.

As a church, how do we measure gender justice? At the very least, we need sex-disaggregated data about our leadership, members, communities, institutions, and the lives the church touches. We also need qualitative data to understand how women, girls, and LGBTQ persons are viewed and valued in all areas of ministry and church life. It is assumed that having females in leadership roles or educating girls will lead to empowered women….In Bible studies and other spiritual formation, may we learn to directly address detrimental inequalities in our hearts, families, churches, communities, and world. We need to partner with others to build gender justice. Gender experts emphasize that gender is found in all sectors of life and that complicated gender issues – such as gender-based violence – must take a multi-sectoral approach. This means you can look for or assess gender in EVERY context! – Crystal Corman – Young Adults in Global Mission Alumni

Men are needed to break this silence, and the first thing to do is to become aware, a problem can’t be solved if you don’t even know it exists. – Richard Adkins – Young Adult Ministry & Strategy on HIV and AIDS

I am a youth, children, and family minister within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I have returned home inspired with a renewed commitment to not only exemplify what it means to be a Christian feminist, but to be an active participant in creating a church culture that speaks about and practices taking up the cross. Within my sphere of influence, I wish to live out a theology of the cross by naming the reality and pervasiveness of sin as it is exemplified in the oppression of patriarchy and acts of gender-based violence. I will continue to recognize Christ in our midst, who bears the wounds of death, but is no longer fettered by death. I will remember the grace of the cross; that it is not our will or perfect abilities that will change the oppression of this age, but the transformative power of Christ within each of us. It is the power of Christ that strengthens us to step forward together, speak out against the reality of sin, practice forgiveness, and live remembering that the kingdom of God is among us. – Casey Cross – Young Adult Ministry

I am reminded that patriarchy is a pervasive, systemic, and viciously subtle force. It moves us and in us in ways that we struggle to conceptualize and combat. However this is not meant to be defeatist. Rather it has served to me remind of the diligence and creativity required to overcome these obstacles. Simply put combating patriarchy cannot be a part time job. – Anthony Mell – Justice for Women Program

I get overwhelmed as I learn more about the realities of women and girls in the world. And then Jesus puts it in perspective: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”(Matthew 22:37-39) – Fern Lee Hagedorn – Justice for Women Program

I understand that my sisters all around the world are being raped, beaten, oppressed, silenced and ignored every single day. I understand that this problem is not just somewhere else, it is in my own country, my own state, city, community, and church. And I have a seat at this great table, amongst great minds, warm hearts, and beautiful souls. What an honor, what a privilege, what a joy, and what a responsibility that holds. – Jessica Obrecht – ELCA World Hunger & Young Adults in Global Mission Alumni

Gina Tonn is a Program Assistant for ELCA World Hunger Education & Constituent Engagement through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. She graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN with a BA in Economics and Religion in 2014. She lives in Chicago, IL with four other Lutheran Volunteer Corps members.

World Water Day – March 22, 2015

Gina Tonn

How many times a day do I turn on the faucet in the kitchen or bathroom to fill a glass, wash my hands, brush my teeth, or fill a pot with water to cook pasta? How many times a day do I flush a toilet? How many times a day do I stop and think about the privilege of my easy access to clean, potable water? The answer to the former questions is “many,” the answer to the latter is “too few.”

This Sunday, March 22^nd is World Water Day. This year’s World Water Day also marks the conclusion of the UN-Water’s Decade for Action “Water for Life.” Last week, while in New York City with the ELCA Young Adult Cohort attending theUnited Nations 59^th Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) I took some time to explore an exhibit in the entrance hall of United Nations Headquarters commemorating the progress of the Decade for Action and looking ahead to the unmet needs for water access and sanitation around the world that call for action in the future.

Knowing I would have the opportunity to share both my experience at the UN CSW and call attention to World Water Day through the ELCA World Hunger blog, I made sure to pick up the exhibit brochure and snap some photos of the exhibit on my phone. Now, a week removed from the throes of the UN CSW and my perusal of the “Water for Life: Voices” exhibit, I realize that my experience in New York, the opportunity to research and promote World Water Day, and my position with ELCA World Hunger aren’t just happy, coincidental life experiences, but that working for gender justice, water rights, and solutions to hunger and poverty are inextricably linked. Women bear much of the burden for collecting water for their families in Sub-Saharan Africa and other areas of the world. The many hours women and girls spend collecting water are hours not spent in school or participating in economic activity, earning money or growing food to feed their families, or contributing to their community.

Over the summer, thousands of youth will converge on Detroit, Michigan for the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering. ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water at the gathering has a goal to raise $500,000 through fundraising efforts, to be matched dollar by dollar through the gift of very generous donors. If we meet our goal, $1 million of water-related projects will be funded around the world. You can read about ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water, including the types of projects the initiative will fund, fundraising ideas, and statistics about the water crisis, at www.ELCA.org/walk4water.

A point that was raised frequently at the UN Commission on the Status of Women is that, too often, when we throw phrases like “internationally” or “around the world” out into conversation, we forget that the United States is included. At UN CSW this was usually in regards to oppression and discrimination against women; no nation in the world, the United States included, has succeeded in establishing gender equality in legislation, in sentiment or in practice.

The same is true of the water crisis. Because of the effects of climate change, failing economies, or corporate negligence, there are people in the United States who would answer the questions I posed at the outset of this post rather differently. In fact, right in the ELCA Youth Gathering’s backyard are people experiencing the effects of a water crisis – the Detroit water shut-offs. Ryan Cumming, Director for Hunger Education, drew attention to this problem back in August in his post “Myths and Realities about Water Shutoffs in Detroit.” Water shutoffs continue to loom in Detroit, even as the city and suburbs justapproved an increase in water utility rates.

As Lutherans, we proclaim that all people, all around the world, are created in the image of God, are privy to equal rights and protection and inherent dignity. Gender justice affirms that no one should suffer discrimination, oppression, or exploitation on account of their sex or gender. Working to end hunger and poverty affirms that we live in a world of abundance that has been perverted by broken relationships and greed. The Water for Live: Voices Exhibition brochure voices invites visitors to the exhibit to add their voice to those featured because “humankind is notable for its rich diversity; yet we are all the same in our need for water and sanitation.”

This World Water Day, I invite you to add your voice with mine in prayers for strength for my sisters around the world who walk for water each day and the mothers who struggle to feed their families, prayers of rejoicing for the progress made during the Decade for Action and potential impact through ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water, and mindful prayers of thanksgiving for the life-giving gift of water…

We pray for people who don’t have access to clean water to drink. We pray for people who must walk long distances to collect water. We pray for people, especially children, who face disease and death because of unclean water. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray for areas of our world impacted by drought and chronic water insecurity. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray for areas of our world that are impacted by frequent floods, severe storms and other natural disasters. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We give you thanks that through water and the Holy Spirit you give us new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Amen.

Prayer & Litany for World Water Day written by Pastor Annie Edison-Albright of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Gina Tonn

Program Assistant, ELCA World Hunger

Lutheran Volunteer Corps

Changing Schools, Changing Lives: God at Work in Bolivia

Ryan P. Cumming

A lot of folks know how stressful it can be to switch schools. Imagine not just going to a different school in a new neighborhood but in a whole new region! For children displaced from rural areas to the cities in the Latin American country of Bolivia, this is a real challenge.

We know the strain instability can have on children in school. Research indicates that when families move, children often have difficulty adjusting to their new communities and new schools. When they are already vulnerable to economic instability, the challenges can be especially tough. When education is so central to reducing vulnerability to poverty and hunger, this is a serious issue.

In Bolivia, displaced families have found the support they need to meet some of these challenges. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bolivia (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Boliviana – IELB), with support from ELCA World Hunger, has welcomed displaced families to take part in the Escuela Biblica Apoyo Escolar after-school program. This program provides a space of support to at-risk children and youth. At the program, children learn about tolerance and equality and get help they need to build their math, spelling, and reading skills. During breaks from school, the center still runs, offering in 2014 not only tutoring in regular classes, but also workshops on peace and nonviolence relating those to Christian values.

Together, IELB and ELCA World Hunger are actively accompanying children and families in Bolivia as the church lives out its calling to serve the whole person. This is work we are called to do as Church, and it is also work the IELB is empowered to do as Church. As one representative wrote, families involved in the program are starting to see “the congregation as a new social service place, both for the youth and…for the families. Much of this confidence originates in the trust [the congregation has] from having this church program.”

As Lutherans, we recognize the role of both Law and Grace. Under the Law, we are commanded to be servants of God and neighbor in the world. By Grace, we are invited and empowered to do this work. For the IELB’s after-school program,the grace which inspires the church to be a place of welcome and trust is the very grace that empowers them to be part of the community, to walk alongside children and families as they gain the skills they need to feed themselves and their neighbors for years to come.

The ELCA has been invited to be part of IELB’s ministry by supporting this program for at least three years, during which many more families will be able to take part in this impactful ministry. Because of gifts to ELCA World Hunger, our church has been able to say “YES!”

Announcing a New Partnership and Grant Opportunity: ELCA World Hunger and the Campus Kitchens Project!

Ryan P. Cumming

WH_4_color_Small_Website CKP_Logo-Black

Anyone familiar with a college or university knows that there is a LOT happening on campuses these days! More and more students are becoming involved in service and activism, on campus and off. The leadership, creativity and passion for justice among college students are amazing, and we are happy to announce a new opportunity for students to fight hunger in their communities!

Through an ELCA World Hunger Education grant, ELCA World Hunger and the Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) have launched a new opportunity for ELCA colleges and universities and Lutheran Campus Ministries on public and private campuses. With this partnership between ELCA World Hunger and CKP, students that are eager to start or to deepen their anti-hunger work will have access to funding and support to launch a Campus Kitchen at their school!

This year, ELCA World Hunger will provide up to $5,000 each to two campuses to launch Campus Kitchens at their schools! This start-up funding will help new kitchens build support and meet the needs for a successful launch. In addition, CKP and ELCA World Hunger will help provide assistance and support during the launch, including helping link campuses with community partners.

The Campus Kitchens Project is a national non-profit that empowers student leaders to create innovative and sustainable solutions to hunger. Campus Kitchen students rescue food that would have gone to waste from a variety of sources, primarily their on-campus dining hall cafeterias, but also from local restaurants, supermarkets, food banks, and farms and use that food to prepare and serve balanced nutritious meals food insecure residents in their communities. Students involved in Campus Kitchens learn to see wasted resources as a sustainable solution to community issues and gain valuable service learning and leadership experiences, which build upon and enhance their work in the classroom.

The model CKP provides has had a tremendous impact in communities. In the 2013-2014 school year alone, more than 19,000 student volunteers dedicated nearly 75,000 hours to recover 939,034 pounds of food for 8,509 clients! What is more, 95% of students involved with CKP report that they have acquired skills that make them more likely to find a job, and 90% say they are more likely to address food insecurity in their own communities after graduation.

As readers of this blog know, ELCA World Hunger is dedicated to addressing the root causes of hunger, to be sure that families and individuals can feed themselves in the long-term. Both the ELCA and CKP share this focus. As folks from CKP will say, “We can’t feed ourselves out of hunger.” Ending hunger requires a complex, multi-pronged approach based in relationships with neighbors. For students involved with CKP, the relationships built through programs at their Campus Kitchens are the most energizing part of their work. And it is these relationships built through sharing food that give students and partners a way to go deeper into hunger, providing nutritional education, SNAP outreach, and a variety of other programs to address the many-layered causes of hunger in their communities.

We had our first webinar yesterday to showcase this opportunity, and you can check it out below! You can also find a recording of it here. To learn more about the grant and how to apply, visit www.campuskitchens.org/elca or email ELCA World Hunger Education at Ryan.Cumming@elca.org. To learn more about Campus Kitchens that are already up and running, check out Augsburg College’s Campus Kitchen or the Campus Kitchen at Minnesota State University, Mankato!

The Church I See

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is what I see…

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

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

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

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

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

“Listen, Listen God is calling,

through the Word inviting…”

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

Food Insecurity is Real – Even in Iowa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matthew 25:35

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

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

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

God’s peace,

Alison Northrop

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ELCA Pastor Tackles Minimum Wage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s Letter to the US Senate (April 2014): http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Federal_Minimum_Wage_Letter_To_US_Senate.pdf
Fact Sheet on Raising the Minimum Wage: http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Raising_the_Federal_Minimum_Wage.pdf
Hunger, Poverty and the Minimum Wage (ELCA World Hunger blog post): http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/blogs/ELCAWorldHunger/624
Social Statement on Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All (1999): http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Economic_LifeSS.pdf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to the team, Kelly Winters!

November 18, 2014

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

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

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

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

Some fun facts about me:

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

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