In a recent contest for elementary, middle school, and high school students in the city of Gaithersburg, Maryland, students were invited to write an essay on how “Character Counts!”  Of those who wrote, there were cash prizes given to the winners.  From that prize money, the winners were asked to donate a fourth of it to a charity of their choice.  This last week we received a check for $62.00 because the High School winner requested that ELCA World Hunger be the charity of choice, primarily because of the impact that World Hunger had on him at the last Youth Gathering.  The author of the essay, and wise soul, was Greg Von Wald.  He graciously allowed me to reproduce the essay here.  Happy reading, and go be the change!

The Change I Wish to See in the World
Let’s be honest, the world we live in right now is in pretty bad shape. Millions live in extreme poverty while a few live in extreme luxury. The poorest 40% of the world’s population accounts for 5% of global income while the richest 20% receive 75% of the income. Most of us today hear these figures and, disgusted by them, we say “Someone should do something about that!!” Mahatma Gandhi had the radical idea that the “someone” should be each and every one of us! Gandhi’s famous quote serves as a call to action to “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

I first heard this quote when I attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Youth Gathering in New Orleans the summer of 2009. I remember thinking to myself, “Yeah! That’s a great idea! I’m going to go home and change the world!” Of course when you are surrounded by 37,000 other Christians, changing the world seems a lot easier than it really is. As I went back to school, I quickly fell back into my daily routine of trying to fit in and soon had forgotten any ambitions to make a change in the world. However, as I have grown older and have started looking at the world around me and the problems my generation will face, this quote has begun to take on a greater meaning for me, and dreams of how I could apply it in my life have become reality. Each summer, through my church’s sponsorship of youth work camps, I have volunteered a week of my
time and effort to travel to economically depressed areas and assist the residents with home repairs. With each service trip, I became conscious of the fact that being the change I wish to see should not end after my one week mission trips are over. Rather it should be a living idea that grows with me and is in my mind every single day.

As I look around, it isn’t hard to find things that need to be changed. They are splashed all over news channels and every time I walk past a newsstand my gaze is bound to be met by a vivid front page picture of someone in need. One day it could be the victims of extreme poverty in villages of West Africa, where people are forced to live on less than $1 per day. Another day it could be the bleak images of the war torn Middle East. Mahatma Gandhi is calling each and every one of us to not just read the articles and look at the pictures, but to go and do something about it. Gandhi believes that we should all take a chance and try to change the world. The newspaper should no longer be our Sunday reading, but it should be our to-do list.

I truly believe that if everyone began to live by Gandhi’s words of wisdom, the world would change in a big way. Instead of accepting multimillion dollar bonuses, the richest 1% of the world would choose instead to use that money to wipe out hunger in entire villages and entire nations. However, revolutions like this tend to start out small, so I plan on living it out in my own life. One day I hope to not only be able to give money to feed those in extreme poverty, but to fly over to Africa and visit with them. I want to laugh at their jokes, and listen to their stories. I want to connect a face and a name to the problem of extreme poverty. I want to demonstrate that I care, not just anonymously but personally.

Additionally, as I begin college, I am planning to major in Integrated Science and Technology and work to develop and refine new methods of renewable energy. Everyone knows that global warming is a problem. Everyone knows that we are burning our fossil fuels at an exponentially increasing rate. Everyone wants someone to change it. I aim to be that change. I hope to reduce our country’s reliance on foreign oil through the production and distribution of renewable energy sources. We all share the same earth and we all need to treat it with respect; global citizenship is everyone’s responsibility. Our world is in desperate need of change and as I look to the future with big eyes and an open mind, I truly hope to make a difference.

Now after hearing these lofty ambitions, the inevitable response that I could expect from most of my classmates is, “But you’re just a kid,” and for now, they are right. But the ambition to “be the change you wish to see in the world” begins with the confidence to say “I can.” In my daily life, I aim to be the change in smaller things. Teaching through example, I have strived to treat everyone with fairness and behave responsibly. By exemplifying good character through my actions, I can begin a small revolution of the heart; spreading peace and love instead of violence and hatred. The movement for sharing and caring has become necessary and who’s to say I can’t start it. As I boldly take the next steps down the foggy trail that is my future, I am bound to reach many forks in the road. Through them all I aim to keep this quote in mind, so that with every decision I make, I can ask myself, “Am I being the change I wish to see in the world?”

Hello from the road! Did you know that we ELCA World Hunger staff travel quite often to be with your communities and congregations? It is an important and life-giving part of the work that we do together as partners on the journey—being with one another.

This past weekend, I was in a town called Winterset, Iowa. Winterset is located in the Southeastern Iowa (SE-IA) Synod, and I was hosted by local hunger leader, Pastor Joel Nau and his congregation, St. Paul in Winterset.

Top four Winterset facts:

1. Home of the first red delicious apple tree.
2. Location where George Washington Carver spent three formative years.
3. Birth home town of John Wayne.
4. Located in Madison County and home to the famed covered Bridges of Madison County.

While in Iowa, I had the joy of staying with three families, meeting a less than two year old baby, sampling some homemade, Master Gardener jam and worshiping with St. Paul’s. Additionally, there were two other events happening in the area that we attend: the SE-IA Synod “Called Together in Mission” (CTIM) event and the Lutheran Services Iowa “Lutheran Day on the Hill” event.

At the CTIM event, Pastor Scott K. Beebe talked about health and wellness, particularly in relation to vocation. Pastor Beebe asked us to go to our mental file cabinets and find the drawer from “10-11 years of age,” pull it open and open the folder marked, “dreams.” He asked us to remember what our dreams were at that time and encouraged us that it is never too late to dream our biggest and best dreams.

What is that dream for you? For me, health, wholeness and life-giving work and life for all is the dream. Poverty and hunger are all too constant companions, but if we as people of faith don’t dream of a different reality—the one we know we are called to work towards—who will?

Pastor Scott then shared a statistic with us. When ever you try and start something new (a project, a diet, a routine)…

• Alone: 30% success rate.
• With just one other person: 60% success rate.
• With a group: 90% success rate.

At the Lutheran Services Iowa “Lutheran Day on the Hill” event, a group of 200 ELCA Lutherans from throughout Iowa traveled to Des Moines, the capitol, to advocate for important community services for those most vulnerable in communities. A grant from ELCA World Hunger doubled the attendance at the Hill Day—this is our work together.

Friends and fellow workers, we are already a success. Though we live in the Lenten season now, we know the rest of the story. As the body of Christ, we are a group with unlimited potential for success. I was reminded of this in Iowa.

So, open up your mental “dreams” file, and let’s get started! Through our work as the network of ELCA World Hunger—we are on the move.

Mikka serves as program director for constituent engagement and interpretation with ELCA World Hunger. For more information on how to share the story of ELCA World Hunger through the network, write Mikka.McCracken@elca.org.

This was emailed to us this morning.  I think it is worth a read:

Today is the feast day of St. Gregory.  In his honor, a fabulous quote, rich with insight:

“We must make people clearly understand that the land that yields them income is the common property of all and its fruits are for the common welfare. It is therefore absurd for people to think they are not robbers when they do not pass on what they have received to their neighbors. Absurd! Because almost as many folk lack daily food as there are rations locked up for use at home. Really when we administer any necessities to the poor, we give them their own. We do not bestow our goods upon them, we do not fulfill the works of mercy. We discharge the debt of justice. What was given by a common God is only justly used when those who have received it use it in a common good.”

~ Gregory the Great (Pope Gregory I, 590-604)

Today is International Women’s Day. In 1975, during International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating 8 March as International Women’s Day. To learn more, visit the United Nations’ website.

You’ll remember that just last week on the blog, we highlighted ELCA World Hunger and the Lutheran World Federation’s participation in the United Nations Commission on the Status Women. Today, in honor of International Women’s Day, we share a continuation of that journey through a bilingual blog post of Irma’s Story. As you read and experience Irma’s story, remember, rural women play a critical role in ending hunger and poverty, and we are on the journey!

Recapturing the Seeds of Sustainability

By Irma; Translated by Jen.

Irma and Jen sharing Irma's story at a UN CSW workshop service.

Vengo de una familia campesina de pequenos agricultores que emigraron a la ciudad. Soy abogada, profesora universitaria, tuve dos hijos, soy abuela de tres nietos.

I come from a rural family of small-scale farmers that immigrated to the city. I am a lawyer, a university professor, I have two sons, and I am the grandmother of three.

Como abogada ayude a mujeres y familias a recuperar sus tierras. Durante mi actividad como defensora de derechos humanos con la Federacion Luterana y la ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) estuve camindando con las mujeres desplazadas de todas las formas de violencia desarraigadas de sus tierras; apoyandolas a buscar refugio incluso en mi propia casa, muchas de ellas salieron del pais con su familia pues sus vidas corrian peligro.

As a lawyer I helped women and families to recuperate their land. During my activity as a defender of human rights with The Lutheran World Federation and the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) I walked with the women who were displaced from their land; helping them to find refuge, including in my own home. Many of them left the country with their families, as their lives were in danger.

Supere mil obstaculos. Dure un ano amenezada. Como luterana siermpre le digo, “Senor, y ahora que?”

I have overcome a thousand obstacles. I endured a year of being threatened. As a Lutheran woman I always say, “Lord, what next?”

Fui directora del Centro Luterano de Comunicaciones Cristianas, ayude a conformar la Red de Mujeres de las iglesias evangelicas en Colombia; se organizaron las huertas caseras la cosecha se vendia los domingos en las iglesias “El Mercado Campesino”; apoye a las mujeres que sus hijós se habian involucrado en los diferentes grupos  armados, muchos de los cuales retornaron a hogares de paso, trabaje en el 95% del territorio colombiano donde no habia presencia del estado; dicte talleres sobre el Evangelio Integral siempre aprendi del otro y la otra; sigo superando obstaculos.

I was the director of the Lutheran Center of Christian Communications. I helped to form the Red de Mujeres (Network of Women) of the evangelical churches in Colombia. These women organized gardens and sold their harvest on Sundays in the churches in their “Mercado Campesino” (Country Market). I supported the women whose children had been involved in the different armed groups, many of those children then returned to their homes. I worked in 95% of Colombian territory, where there was no government presence. I gave workshops on the integrated gospel (“the gospel of here and now,” Irma says as I ask her to tell me more), and I always learned from others. I continue overcoming obstacles.

Realmente hay mucha esperanza porque las semillas que rugue en mi pais como profesora han dado resultados de profesionales, medicos, abogados, ingenieros. De mi trabajo con las Iglesias, quiero ratificar el apoyo de la Federacion Luterana Mundial y la ELCA, al saber que las mujeres siguen luchando, tumban muros y siempre estan dispuestas a trabajar con el nucleo familiar y la comunidad.

Really there is much hope because the seeds I watered in my country as a professor have given results: professionals, doctors, lawyers, and engineers. In my work with the churches, I want to ratify support of the Lutheran World Federation and the ELCA with the knowledge of women who continue fighting, who break down walls, and who are always ready to work with the whole family and the community.

La fe sigue firme a pesar de haber sido amenazada 8 dias de plazo me dieron para salir de mi pais, por mi participacion en la sensibilizacion de la gente en el evangelio integral, me converti en objectivo militar pues todo mi trabajo era de conocimiento publico. El desprenderme de mi familia, la muerte de mi hijo que vivia en este pais me derrumbaron; llegue con $50 dolares mi primer trabajo lavar carros. Mi proximo muro para derribar aprender ingles (no ha sido facil).

My faith remains firm despite having been threatened and given 8 days to leave my country for my participation in the sensitization of people with the integrated gospel. I made myself a military target as all of my work was public knowledge. The separation from my family and the death of my son who lived in the U.S.A. shattered me to pieces. I arrived with $50, and my first job was washing cars. My next wall to break through is learning English (it hasn’t been easy).

En Augustana Lutheran Church de Sioux Falls, SD tenemos el ministerio Pueblo de Dios es una comunidad ecumenica sufriente que entrega su fuerza de trabajo para beneficio de la nacion, de la cual soy su coordinadora tenemos clases de computacion, ingles para las mujeres; clases de arte, locucion de radio vamos a organizar un programa bilingue con ninos de los 9 anos a los 12; en la penitenciaria con los sentenciados voy dos veces por mes a realizar estudio biblico; consejeria familiar que incluye various asuntos y visita a la carcel; realizando clases de espanol para las madres como para sus ninos y ninas.

In Augustana Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. we have a ministry called Pueblo de Dios. It is an ecumenical community, of which I am the coordinator, which suffers and gives its strength and hard work to benefit the nation. We have computer and English classes for women. We have art and broadcasting classes –we are going to organize a bilingual program with children aged 9 to 12. I go twice a month to the prison where the inmates and I have a Bible Study. We have a multifaceted family ministry, one facet of which is visiting the jail.

Tambien hay que dar gracias. En cada actividad tengo buen@s companer@s que me acompanan.

One also must give. In every activity, I have good companions who accompany me.

Siempre doy gracias a Dios me tiene caminando y compartiendo; soy la vice presidenta de la Asociacion de Ministerios Latinos de la ELCA  tarea muy grande para realizar porque este incluye entre otras cosas nuestro compromiso con el Hambre en el Mundo. Vamos con la fuerte esperanza y fe de constituir la Red de Mujeres de la Asociacion de Ministerios Latinos.

I always give thanks to God who has me walking and sharing. I am the vice president of the Association of Latino Ministries of the ELCA. This is a large job to carry out because this includes, among other things, our commitment with World Hunger. We continue with strong hope and faith of creating a Network of Women (Red de Mujeres) in the Association of Latino Ministries.

ELCA World Hunger has had an annual goal of $18,500,000 for fiscal years 2010, 2011 and now 2012.  As of January 31, 2012, the completion of fiscal year 2011, we are so excited to report that giving from individuals, congregations, synods and others totaled nearly $19,100,000. 

It was possible to exceed our goal thanks to wonderful stewardship, faithful support, and the efforts of many passionate people across this church – pastors, synod hunger leaders, volunteers, donors, advocates, educators.  And now, important programs of relief, development, education and advocacy to address the root causes of hunger and poverty will be funded and implemented as planned. 

We have ambitious financial goals.  Could we grow our program to double such annual giving levels?  How do we engage the membership of the ELCA to own these efforts and the scope of programs?  What is our capacity for the breadth and scope of programs we can support in the U.S. and internationally?

Articles from recent issues of the Chronicle of Philanthropy lack substantive mention about fundraising results of religious-based organizations and philanthropic interests by donors to various denominations.  This is likely because results are not large enough, a significant portion of the pie, to attract attention or merit.  And yet this omission suggests tremendous opportunities even when it comes to fundraising and stewardship for ELCA World Hunger.  Can we change and grow a culture of giving, philanthropy, stewardship and legacy within the church that is not counter to the values of our faith and teachings through scripture?

 Here are some of the hot topics from the Chronicle:

• America’s most wealthy individuals are under a lot of pressure to be philanthropic, and there is scrutiny to consider investment in addressing social problems such as poverty as opposed to other common naming and legacy gifts.
• Of the top 50 philanthropists in the U.S. during 2011, zero gave $5,000,000 or more to a social service group.  Religious organizations and related donor affiliations were not mentioned on the list.
• As government funding is decreased, there will be increased demands for private giving will to make up the difference.  A recent study found that in states with the greatest reductions, private donors would have to increase giving by 60% to make up the difference.  Private philanthropy cannot begin to fund what the government can accomplish, and as a result, advocacy efforts are expected to increase and intensify by nonprofits.
• For continued fundraising success and philanthropic investment, nonprofits must excel at showcasing results and communicating the impact of programs.

One of my favorite worldly quotes is by Sir Winston Churchill – “We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give.” 

Is it a challenge then, that in a world where philanthropy can make such a strong statement, we can make a life of faith by what we give, and as people of faith, we can give generously of all that God has given us — in a public way and as an example for others?

Here’s to fiscal year 2012 and creating change in our faithful culture through stewardship and philanthropy.  AND to our efforts together to support a future in an ecumenical world where hunger and poverty are reduced and all communities thrive!

Sharon Magnuson, Associate Director — ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal

"Watch out for flying frozen chickens!"

Last Saturday, I spent the morning volunteering at a local food bank with a group of friends and a whole lot of other people — Girl Scouts, a boys’ club, even a group from the Navy base. The volunteer coordinator started us out with a little video describing what the food bank does, and told us what we’d be doing. “Watch out for flying frozen chickens,” he said, and we all laughed. What a kidder. And then we spread out and got to work.

We all gathered around several lines of steel tables in a chilly warehouse. A staff member drove a forklift back and forth to the giant freezer, bringing out big containers of packaged frozen meat donated by supermarkets and distributors. One team of volunteers sorted the packages into bins – beef, poultry, pork, and mixed – and others took the bins to the lines. There we checked the packages, covered the bar codes with “Not for Resale” stickers, and filled cardboard boxes with enough packages to make about 20 pounds. (That’s what I did.) Other volunteers weighed the boxes and taped them shut. And then others stacked the boxes on skids, which the forklift driver took back to the giant freezer. Simple and straightforward – and once we got rolling, fast and furious!

The energetic Scouts upstream from me slapped on stickers and sailed those rock-hard packages of frozen poultry across the table at me almost faster than I could sling them into the boxes. Yep, flying frozen chickens. And we hadn’t believed . . .

When our shift was done, we wiped the tables and bins with antiseptic and picked up our litter. The volunteer coordinator told us we’d packed nearly 500 boxes of food – 10,000 pounds! Five tons! — and we all gave ourselves a big round of applause. We were all so pleased — for a few hours we’d been part of the solution! There were two more shifts of volunteers coming in later that day. The food bank might have 1500 boxes of food – 30,000 pounds, 15 tons — ready to go to the food pantries by the time they closed the doors that night. (The food bank reports that they distributed more than 35 million pounds — 17,500 tons — of food last year.)

On the way home, I thought of where all those boxes would go next. They would be shipped to a distribution center in the suburbs. Food pantries, homeless shelters, after-school programs, and similar organizations would place their orders, and our boxes would be delivered to them.

The food pantries and other organizations would get the food to the people who needed it.  And then I thought about the people who needed it.

The number of people served by the food bank has more than doubled over the past five years. The food bank served more than half a million different people last year. Half of those people are children. 

It’s clear that the food bank and others like it are meeting an urgent need, and I’m grateful that dedicated people like the board and staff members of the food banks are hard at work every day, and that we volunteers can chip in and help them in their good work.

But how can it be that there are so many hungry people right here, right now? Can you imagine a world where the food banks are all closed for lack of demand? Where every parent can give their children enough nutritious food? What can we do to bring that world about?

In my work thus far with ELCA World Hunger Leaders and the Lutheran World Federation, I have come to know and believe one thing very deeply—Lutherans, especially women and youth, are deeply committed, knowledgeable, gifted people.

LWF and ELCA women sharing their seeds to sustainability stories at UN CSW side event.

On Monday, 27 February 2012, the Lutheran World Federation Women in Church in Society Office (WICAS) sponsored a side event of exactly these leaders in the Lutheran Communion. During the side event, “From Potential Impoverishment to Seeds of Sustainability,” Daniele, Irma, Jeannette, and Jessica each shared her relationship with rural women, her story of seeds to sustainability and her hopes for the future in this work.

Each woman’s story is her own and some of them will be highlighted here at other points, but as I sit here this afternoon, I want to highlight three key themes that shone through all their reflections and experiences:

1. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is coming down from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem and a multitude of disciples are singing his praise. The Pharisees told Jesus to quiet the crowd. Jesus said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Through their witness, these Lutheran women shouted out and raised their voices for wholeness and reconciliation in all our homes, communities and throughout the world.

2. At the Ecumenical Women orientation, Ana from Brazil who works with indigenous women shared a quote, “She learned not only to read or write…she learned to read the world.” These Lutheran women wrestled with, defined and redefined women’s leadership.

3. At the non-governmental organization orientation, Madame Michelle Bachelet, executive director, UN Women said, “Women are at the heart of ending poverty and hunger. […] We cannot do this alone. We depend on you.” These Lutheran women shared about the relationships in their communities and churches that bind us together and grow seeds into sustainability.

So ELCA World Hunger colleagues, what are your reflections on those three themes? Share your story and join the conversation!

Also, a special word of thanks to Jen who has been assisting us with interpretation and translation all weekend, including on the panel. We can look forward to more of her story here soon.

Lutherans with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Leymah Gbowee. Pr. Kevin, Dennis, Jeannette, Leymah, Mikka, Daniele, Jen, Irma, Kristin, Jessica, Christine

Hello Hunger Rumblers,

I have been posting like mad on the blog and Twitter trying to keep you up to date on the proceedings here at the 56th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Although there are many people with us here, Lutheran and not, let me take a moment to pause and introduce you more formally to a few of the women gathered here.

Jeannette, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon. Jeannette is a PhD student in theology and will be one of the first women ordained in her church this coming May. She serves with the Christian Women’s Association in her church and as the LWF Women in Church and Society (WICAS,) West African Regional Coordinator. Jeannette is married and has four children– two boys and two girls.

Daniele, Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB). Daniele is 25 years old and graduated in Pedagogy and Mathematics. Her life has been directly connected to agriculture as she was born in a family of small farmers. Now, Daniele works with CAPA (Support Center for Small Farmers), an NGO of the IECLB, which aims to assist small farmers in their fight for social justice and development. Daniele has two sisters and three brothers.

Irma, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), originally from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia. Irma was born in Colombia to hard working parents and life in the country. She is a human rights lawyer and professor of international humanitarian law. Irma is now the coordinator of the project/ministry Pueblo De Dios at Augustana Lutheran Church in South Dakota. She also serves as the vice president of the Lutheran Association of Hispanic (Latino) Ministries, ELCA.

Jen, ELCA. Jen comes from small town, North Dakota. Over the past seven years she has been blessed to work in Africa, North and South America, including last year where she served in Argentina with the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program. While there, Jen focused on inner-city community building and rural development with emphasis on the voices of women, native populations, and organic growers. Currently Jen works as community center director at Churches United for the Homeless, a shelter in Minnesota and is a youth leader at Martin’s Lutheran Church just outside of Fargo.

Jessica, LSW, serves the greater Fargo-Moorhead community as Community Partnership Coordinator for RSVP+ North Dakota’s Amachi Mentoring Coalition and Metro Youth Partnership programs. She advocates for social policies promoting the advancement of human rights regarding issues such as immigration, gender disparity in politics, trade and economic justice, and access to food and water. She is a Hunger Justice Leader for Bread for the World, co-chairs the Eastern North Dakota ELCA Synod Hunger and Justice Committee, is a 2008 alumni of the National Empowerment of Women’s Leadership (NEW) Institute, and serves on several volunteer boards and committees that promote community engagement and development. Ms. Arneson lives in Casselton, ND with her husband and daughter.

In posts below and in posts above, you will hear the voices of these women. We are happy to meet you!

We are marching, we are marching, Alleluia! We are marching in the light of God!

This has been my prayer song today, in this place that I am with thousands of women…from every corner of every land.

We are mothers, we are daughters, we are  sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and friends. We lead…by example, through our actions, through our words, our work, and our service. We are led…by our faith, by our passion, by each other.

Jessica

To shine God’s light…in places of darkness, in places of struggle, indifference, and idleness. To countries throughout Africa, where women and girls are gaining access to education, healthcare, and business… To Brazil, where women by the thousands stand up for land rights and food sovereignty… To the Australian outback and reservation lands throughout the United States, where indigenous women call out to end oppression and discrimination…

We stand with one another.

We are marching…we are praying…we are singing in the light of God, and my heart cries for joy for the greatness in the world! Alleluia!!