"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!!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhribaNXr7A&feature=youtu.be

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3UBwBH89iY&feature=youtu.be

What feelings does the first video evoke?  The second?  Which gives us a better understanding of poverty and marginalization?

David Creech

Tomorrow morning, the Lutheran women gathered here at the United Nations 56^th Commission on the Status of Women will lead the ecumenical community in worship. One of the texts is the story of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17: 7-16). Pastor Ada Maina Jeannette from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon offers us this reflection on the story:

Oh Lord! One more test? Don’t you see, I am a widow with a child in charge? Don’t you see that I am a poor woman, left alone without support? Don’t you see that all I have to eat for food is just this small bit of flour and oil, which is not sufficient for me and my child. I am thinking, “if we finish and eat this, what will we do after?” But you, my God, have seen the situation of your servant. You send me your servant, Elijah, that I might be fed.

Yes, you have made woman the mother of life. This is a great responsibility. Even if she doesn’t have the possibility to nourish herself, she must do a miracle to feed those who come to or depend on her. It is always a test to give, but giving when you have nothing is greater still. A number of women want to give, but they didn’t have the means to do it.

For those who are widowed or poor like me, give us the strength to be the protectors of life—to be the one who brings joy to the hearts without joy; to bring laughter on the lips that cannot smile; the peace where there is injustice and other sorrows. You are a just God who loves all your children—you will do it.

—

Indeed, women all over the world are providing for their families out of the little or nothing they have. What is our call? How will we answer? More to come on some of the solutions after the Monday side event we are hosting, “From potential impoverishment to Seeds of Sustainability.” Even the rocks are crying out—but are we listening?

ELCA World Hunger at CSW: Jessica, Mikka, Irma and Jen

Does that title look like alphabet soup to you? It did to me, too the first time I experienced the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. I first attended with the National Council of Churches Young Women’s Leadership experience, once as an intern with the ELCA Justice for Women program and now, bringing a group (in the photo) with ELCA World Hunger as mentioned in the last post. Hard to believe, but feeling very blessed.

You are invited to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Twitter: @MikkaMusic. #CSW56 and #UN_Women are good to track, too.

The work we are engaged in through ELCA World Hunger has many points of interest. Perhaps the network can be thought of as a house with many rooms where people can find affinity around topics that interface with hunger and poverty in a real way. So, what do hunger and gender have to do with one another?

Beginning tomorrow, three ELCA World Hunger Leaders, Jessica, Jen and Irma, will begin participation in the United Nations 56^th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). In addition the three women above, we will be joined by two women from the LWF, Pastor Ada from Cameroon and Daniele from Brazil.

CSW happens every year, and this year’s review theme is “the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.”  This theme is particularly suited to the work and ministry of ELCA World Hunger and the larger global communion of which the ELCA is a member, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

In collaboration with other ELCA colleagues and the Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), we will be participating in the Commission with the non-governmental organization (NGO), Ecumenical Women. We will also as be part of a side event about the Lutheran World Federation and ELCA World Hunger, “From potential impoverishment to seeds of sustainability.”

Today through next Wednesday, you are invited to learn more and follow us right here. See you back here soon!

In the meantime, check out the new Gender and Hunger Connections ELCA World Hunger toolkit. Use this, plus our coming blog posts, to start the conversation in your congregation or community.

I recently read Cynthia Moe-Lobeda’s Healing a Broken World: Globalization and God in which she discusses a new way to think about the Eucharist. Each week before we share the sacrament, the minister reminds us of the story of the Last Supper and Jesus’ command to “do this for the remembrance of me.” All too often we hear the words but don’t really think about what they mean; the ritual becomes a routine and we listen to the story and take the bread and wine out of habit but not necessarily with thoughtful purpose.

Moe-Lobeda offers a different way to understand the Eucharist. She challenges us to reconsider the word “remember.” Instead of taking the word to mean recall or recollect, she breaks the word into two parts “re” and “member” and presents a new way to participate in and think about Communion. In recollecting the story of the Last Supper, we re-member, that is put together again, the body of Christ. We essentially are making fractured relationships and the broken body of Christ whole again through the re-membering in the Eucharist.

In re-imagining what this holy meal means for us, what would happen if we did not try to build relationships and support for church members who are living without food or water? I think it is difficult to truly remember the Last Supper and re-member Christ’s body without thinking about our local neighbors as well as our global neighbors who are hungry. If we indeed want to work for God’s justice and love in the world, then we are called to strengthen and rebuild the brokenness we find in the world.

Emmi Gordon is in the second year of her M.Div. program at the University of Chicago.  Prior to her studies she lived for several years in South Africa and noticed the effectiveness of Christian aid programs and wondered why Christian programs in particular were so successful.   Your own thoughts and reflections, as always, are welcome.

By Allison Beebe

ELCA World Hunger recently held an event outside of Atlanta, Georgia on the topic of HIV & AIDS. Those in attendance were a blend of professionals in the field, people with personal testimonials related to HIV & AIDS, and interested members of the faith community. We looked at HIV & AIDS from our vantage point in the U.S., and also from an international perspective. It was an event which encouraged open dialogue and informed action.

I have had a heightened interest in HIV & AIDS after spending some time in East Africa. While in college, I studied and volunteered in Kenya through a program called “Minnesota Studies in International Development.” This particular study abroad program focused on public health as it relates to international development.

This experience brought me to an organization called “Solidarity with Women in Distress” or SOLWODI. This organization provides vocational training, access to basic health care and counseling to women who find themselves in difficult situations. Specifically, SOLWODI serves women who have been coerced into commercial sex work. Prevalence rates of HIV & AIDS are high within this demographic. With families to support and no jobs to be found in their community, women have sold their bodies in a desperate attempt to earn some income. Many of the women who frequented SOLWODI were people living with HIV or AIDS. They came for health screenings or vocational training, but stayed for the encouraging community where they wouldn’t be judged for their actions. While I admittedly arrived at SOLWODI with my own set of stigmas and assumptions, I left knowing that these were women with hearts of gold in desperate situations. They inspired me to find ways that I could be involved with the HIV & AIDS community in my home context.

The time spent in Atlanta reminded me of my cherished Kenyan friends. This was a chance to stand in solidarity with them, and rally around the same cause though we are in different places. When one member of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer.  With that logic, when one member of the body of Christ stands up against injustice, we can all stand together.

One of the things I took away from the event was that hunger and HIV & AIDS are very closely connected. Some reasons are obvious – people who are not eating a nutritious diet are not as healthy, and therefore have a more difficult time fighting off disease. Some reasons related to my SOLWODI sisters – people who are hungry will do anything to earn money for a good meal. This can lead to prostitution, where HIV & AIDS is more likely to be transmitted. Some reasons are consequential – once a person contracts HIV, they must purchase medicine, which may prevent them from purchasing adequate food. As the list goes on, it becomes clear that hunger is a thread which is woven into the HIV & AIDS story.

It is my hope that people left Atlanta knowing that ELCA World Hunger is a place where they can be engaged to support work related to HIV & AIDS. When we fight against hunger, we fight against many more issues of injustice, not the least of which is HIV & AIDS.

Allison Beebe, Assistant for Constituent Relations ELCA World Hunger