The state of the world is discouraging. But I’m a functional optimist. I try to live as if my actions and decisions made a difference. And when change shows up, I like to think I played a role in its birth.

My last post on the disappearance of garbage is a case in point. I’d like to believe that every can and bottle I’ve recycled since my junior high recycling project in 1970 has been like a dripping faucet, slowly and steadily advancing the idea that garbage is silly. That slow, steady drips from millions of like-minded people pushed this notion at all levels of government and civil society. That those drippers worked together on legislation, testified before waste management boards, set up municipal recycling programs or got degrees in product design or lifecycle engineering, the better to create products that use less energy and produce less waste.

I’m pretty excited about the drippers who work for manufacturers. In industry magazines, they are discussing compostable, returnable and reusable containers, and the radical notion of providing no packaging at all. In the retail industry, drippers are discussing In.gredients, a zero-packaging store opening in Austin, Texas, this fall. In.gredients was inspired by Unpackaged, which opened in London in 2006 by a dripper who has been praised for her “system-changing idea.”

That’s what these drippers and their drops are doing: changing a system. Which is what it takes to make lasting change. Individual efforts will always be important, but they must be multiplied to have an impact. Go ahead and light your candle in the darkness—but your light will be greater if you link up with some other candle holders. (I’m mixing metaphors, but water and light are elements that transform!)

Says the press release from In.gredients: “Americans add 570 million pounds of food packaging to their landfills each day, while pre-packaged foods force consumers to buy more than they need, stuffing their bellies and their trash bins: 27 percent of food brought into U.S. kitchens ends up getting tossed out.” Now that’s a system.

If I see that system as powerful and oh-so-distant from little me, I’ll feel overwhelmed. But if I can see zero-waste stores and returnable packages as another response to the steady drips of my 41-year-long recycling career, I can get up and live another system-changing day.

Jesus knew the power of the tiny mustard seed. (Oops! Metaphor # 3.)  In fact, he was counting on our mustard-seed faith, habits and practices, joined with others, to coax system-changing ideas like the kingdom of heaven into existence. For people of faith, life is a system-changing enterprise. Let’s live into it and see what emerges!

Anne Basye, Sustaining Simplicity

One of the most well known bits of theology that make Lutherans Lutheran is our idea of faith vs. works, most notably our insistence on justification by faith. Even though I had heard the words thrown around in various sermons through the years, I didn’t really start learning and thinking about this concept until my Church History class in college. I have wrestled with this concept ever since. I wonder if it may be one of the root causes of the inactivity I see in some churches, especially in regards to service to the community and around the world. In my own mind (perhaps over-simplifying it all) I wondered, “Well if works don’t get me to heaven, why bother?!” Now perhaps most believers don’t think like this… but what if this simple misinterpretation of theology did somehow encourage the church to be disengaged in the world?
Over the years I’ve witnessed many churches whose main focus was directed within the walls of the church. These focuses can range from trying to pay for the building, discussing the layout of worship or decorating for various holidays. Don’t get me wrong, these are important aspects of a worshipping community but I genuinely believe that being a follower of Christ, and specifically being Lutheran, means being able to reach out into our community and around the world as well. A few years ago World Vision conducted a survey among parish pastors across various denominations. They wanted to find out what these pastors’ and their congregations’ highest priorities were. The results, which are outlined in Richard Stearns’ (the current president of World Vision) book The Hole in Our Gospel, concluded that 79% saw worship as a high priority while only 18% saw “helping the poor and disadvantage people overseas” as a high priority for the church.
This is distressing especially since scripture portrays a very different priority list for Christians. James 1:26-27 advocates that religion that is pure and undefiled before God is one that looks after the least, the lost and the forgotten. Isaiah 1:10-17 says basically the same thing. God doesn’t want us to just go through the motions. Although maintaining the status quo might be the easiest thing to do, it is not the way to engage in deep committed relationship with Christ that God is looking for. The best way to do this, I think, is to show one’s faith in and love for God, is to show God’s love tangibly to others through compassion and by seeking justice in the world.
This August the church-wide assembly’s theme “Freed in Christ to Serve” echoes those hopes for the ELCA. The theme comes from Galatians 5:1, 13: “For freedom Christ has set us free … only do not use this freedom as an occasion for self-indulgence, but serve one another in love.” The concept behind the theme is that we are “bound to be free from the power of sin, death and the devil, and free to be bound to God in faith and to our neighbor in service.” By the grace of God through Christ’s death on the cross we have been liberated from the powers that separate us from God and one another. The ELCA is a “church that roles up its sleeves” to work together for the common good. The “common good” will perhaps take form in the new Malaria Campaign that the church will be voting on or other ministries of ELCA World Hunger and other Lutheran organizations. No matter the form it takes, this is our “faith and our way of life.”
As always, I would love to hear your comments. I’m aware that not everyone agrees with some of the things I’ve said in this blog and I would love to have open dialog so we can all have our opinions on the table. Thanks!

God Bless!
Karen

In recent days, my colleagues have been restless and anxious about doing more to share the story and seek financial support for the “hunger” related emergency in Eastern Africa, particularly in Kenya and Ethiopia where abnormally low rainfall in the last two years has created serious drought and famine that will affect approximately 10,000,000 people.  The situation in Kenya is further impacted by a population explosion of people arriving daily into the refugee camps from Somalia and Sudan.  (See ELCA news release).

The ELCA Disaster Response has been involved in this region during the last year by providing funding to The Lutheran World Federation to assist in the operations of the Dadaab refugee camp in Eastern Kenya.  Ideally this camp supports a community of 90,000, but at the present has had to expand to accept approximately 380,000.  Additionally, the ELCA Disaster Response can be so effective in dire times because of the base of relationships that already exist in these countries through the history of ELCA World Hunger funding and program support.   

When disasters occur, my colleagues at the ELCA Churchwide Office respond like a machine out of shared compassion and concern.  A new fund may be opened to specifically define how gifts will be used.  Press releases, congregational bulletin inserts, and gift forms are created to describe the emergency conditions and how the ELCA is involved or affected in the community that is suffering.  These messages encourage action through prayers of support and making gifts to provide relief and recovery.  Situation reports are then posted on the web site to provide updates on the critical details of the response and related progress in the communities being served.

What can we do to help?

• There is nothing more powerful than prayer.  Pray for those who may be hungry and thirsty as a result of the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.
• Make a gift to support the ELCA’s ongoing response to one or more of our related funds such as the Horn of Africa Drought Relief, ELCA International Disaster Response and/or ELCA World Hunger. 
• Follow these programs through the situation reports and information posted on the ELCA Disaster Response and ELCA World Hunger web sites.

Thank you for your awareness of and participation in these efforts.

In peace, Sharon Magnuson, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal

“After leaving the synagogue [Jesus] entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  Immediately she got up and began to serve them.  As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.”   ~Luke 4:38-40

Looking for a way to begin a devotional or educational activity about the ELCA Malaria Campaign? One of our favorite Bible stories is the story of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law, whose most prominent symptom looks achingly familiar: a high fever that probably meant malaria. Which gives us… a story of Jesus curing malaria!

There are wonderful insights to be gained from this brief passage. Recently I heard The Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, coordinator of the ELCA Malaria Campaign, give a devotion based on this story. I remember her passion as she noted that this vignette takes place at the setting of the sun. In Jewish tradition, the old day ends and the new day begins at sunset.

We, too, are coming to the end of a day– the end of the day that sees a child die of malaria every 45 seconds. The end of the day that allows pregnant or immuno-compromised people to die of a preventable and treatable disease.  The end of a day where the tiny parasite wins. We’re entering a new day– a day in which, together with our partners in Africa and all over the globe, we can overcome malaria.

Rebuke the fever! (photo: ACT alliance)

Like Jesus, we see healing as a vocation– a call from our creator to heal all of God’s people.  A call to work together with our companions in Africa to “rebuke the fever.”

~ Jessica Nipp, ELCA Malaria Campaign

Most anyone who grows up in the mid-west knows the saying, “knee high by the 4th of July.” It describes the average size of corn this time of year. The saying came to mind last weekend as I looked at my family’s backyard garden. We aren’t growing any corn, but our other plants are looking lively. They’re not full grown and ready to harvest yet, but it won’t be too much longer. Of  course it’s the same for all gardeners in this general latitude. And everyone knows what that means: zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes available for the taking in workplace kitchenettes, in church fellowship halls, from next door neighbors. So why is it that some are hungry at this time of year, when so many others have food to give away?

I recently spoke with Carol at an organization that’s trying to change that: AmpleHarvest. They are a national not-for-profit whose purpose is to connect gardeners who have excess produce with food pantries that can take it. Their website, AmpleHarvest.org, allows gardeners to search by location for nearby food pantries that accept fresh food. When I talked to Carol, she explained that they currently have almost 4000 food pantries registered… but there are some 30,000 in the U.S. So she asked if we could help with a couple of things:

1) If you are involved with a food pantry, ask them to register. It’s free, and all the panty has to do is fill out a short form on their website. The pantry can specify things like what types of produce they can accept, and what times of day or week they can take it. Since many of them don’t have refrigeration, this is important; they can’t store fresh food very long and may need people to pick it up fairly soon after they receive it.

2) If you are a gardener (or know someone who is), tell them about AmpleHarvest. Gardeners can go to the AmpleHarvest.org, enter their location, and see if there are any nearby pantries that will accept their surplus. (And the more pantries that register, the more luck gardeners will have using the site; see request 1.)

These seem like really simple yet helpful requests, so I pass them on to you. Please help! If you want to go a step further, the AmpleHarvest website has additional resources like fliers you can post at your local garden store. Together we can help ensure the bountiful harvest of summer and fall is eaten and not wasted.

-Nancy Michaelis

We all dream about it; at least I do anyway—a cause that brings the church together working as part of a whole to make the world a better a place. We dream about all members of the body of Christ serving God by serving others and seeing their faith rooted in that service. It is what the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America dreams about and acts out too.
We are on the precipice of living out that dream in a new way. In August at the Churchwide Assembly there will be a vote to move forward with the ELCA Malaria Campaign. With that vote every member of the ELCA, via their representatives, will be voting to be part of this campaign that will impact the world in a big way. The ELCA has a long heritage of combating malaria via companion churches in Africa and this $15 million campaign is a continuation of that heritage alongside the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Goal six specifically names malaria, along with Tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS, as a disease that needs to be contained. Therefore the ELCA Malaria campaign is part of a global movement that will reduce the number of deaths related to Malaria worldwide.
Recently at the churchwide offices in Chicago, members of the Malaria Campaign and other World Hunger staff picked the brains of various members of the ELCA who are knowledgeable about malaria and about ways to best spread the word about the campaign. During the Malaria Think Tank’s three days of intense discussion, the Malaria Campaign staff was blessed with fruitful and invaluable dialogue that will help the ELCA in all its expressions take on this endeavor.
The greatest hope from this meeting was that members of the ELCA will use this campaign as a way to go deeper in our faith and in our service to God and to our brothers and sisters around the world. Malaria is a complicated disease to wrap our minds around. It is easy to focus our entire understanding of malaria around bed nets. That’s what most people associate malaria relief with. While providing nets is part of the solution it will not, by itself, save lives. As ELCA members and synods go deeper in their understanding of Malaria and the mission of the Malaria Campaign they will see the bigger picture of malaria within the complex web of poverty. While this particular campaign will end in 2015, our struggle against hunger and poverty will not end. We will need more time and energy grounded in thoughtful discussion, education and prayer if we are to address in any meaningful way global poverty.
So let’s hear your opinions! What do you know about malaria and the ways to help fight it? What are your hopes and dreams for this campaign? How will you or your church or your synod be a public witness in your area? How will you take part in the Malaria Campaign? I can’t wait to hear from you!

God Bless! Karen

At the beginning of the fund-raising effort, mosquitoes "swarm" the sanctuary at Zion Lutheran Church, Marinette, WI.

800,000 people die every year of malaria. That’s more than 2,000 a day.

I’m proud to that our church– ELCA members, congregations and synods– is working together to overcome this devastating disease, and I wanted to share a story of one of the congregations that has done a great job raising awareness and raising funds for the ELCA Malaria Campaign.

Zion Lutheran Church in Marinette, WI started with some modest goals: to educate their congregation about the global realities of malaria and how they could help, and to raise $2,000 for ELCA Malaria Campaign projects in Africa.

Zion’s pastor, Keith Kolstad, had previously taken a sabbatical to Tanzania, where he experienced first-hand the devastating effects of malaria. One of the pastors he worked with, the chaplain at the cathedral in Dar Es Salaam, lost his 18-month-old daughter to malaria while Pr. Kolstad was there. Fueled by the certainty that even one such death is too many, the congregation at Zion got to work.

The congregation’s $2,000 goal was represented by two thousand mosquito symbols that were hung from the sanctuary ceiling.  The plan was to “rid” the building of one mosquito for each dollar that members and friends of Zion Lutheran Church contributed to the ELCA Malaria Campaign.

Well, the mosquitoes at Zion Lutheran Church have been eradicated, and then some.  Zion’s members responded to a critical need by giving $17,296.85… more than 8 times their goal! I’m inspired by the creativity and generosity of Zion’s members. I hope you will be, too.

~Jessica Nipp, ELCA Malaria Campaign

Perhaps the title is a shocking statement to some. However, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has agreed and is taking action to fight this pandemic both in this country and around the world. AIDS has killed over 25 million people leaving millions of children orphaned. Those affected include members of the ELCA and our brothers and sisters around the world. When one member of the body of Christ suffers we all suffer. Therefore the body of Christ has AIDS.
However, while this may bring about gloomy images, the ELCA HIV/AIDS strategy advocates the concept of living positively with HIV. This video explains further the strategy of the ELCA and how congregations in the United States can stand up and advocate for those living positively with HIV.

Monday, June 27th was National HIV Testing Day. During this past weekend I participated in a free HIV testing and I encourage you and your congregation to do the same and stand as an example of the power of God’s love in the world. Make an announcement during worship or talk to the pastor of your congregation. We are called by the Spirit to be with those living positively with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and the world. Search your local area for free screening locations. The screenings do not take long and many provide rapid tests that show results in 20 minutes!
In case you were wondering what you are in for if you choose to get tested: Most locations use EIA testing which draws blood from the vein or uses other fluids like saliva or urine. The rapid tests either take blood from a vein or finger prick, or a swabbing from the mouth. It is very simple! I took the oral swabbing exam and it was painless and easy!
Many people and congregations may worry what others will think and say if they hear so-and-so’s church got tested for AIDS. However, as you will see in the video previously mentioned, the community response was in fact very positive. As Christians we need to boldly proclaim the Gospel so we can be a light in the darkness. Please share your thoughts about this article. Also if you choose to get tested, which I hope you will, please share your experience afterward. To learn more about the ELCA’s HIV and AIDS Strategy check out this link. Thanks so much for reading!

God Bless,

Karen

Last week I had the good fortune to attend the Bread for the World National Gathering in Washington, D.C. If you’ve never gone, I highly recommend it. Generally speaking, you spend a few days learning about hunger issues and current, related legislation, and then you spend a day visiting your elected officials on Capitol Hill. It was a wonderful event, the content of which was inspiring, thought-provoking, troubling, challenging, and hopeful. 

But tucked into the thoughtfully-planned agenda, I glimpsed a telltale problem. It was not a problem with the event itself, but rather something less tangible…

Two incidents drew my attention to the problem. In the first, a group of maybe 25 or 30 people were going around a circle introducing themselves. As you might expect, many who attended the Gathering represented church groups, worked in food pantries, or had other non-profit work backgrounds. Then we reached a man who gave his name and said, “I’m from the dark side. I’m an engineer in the private sector.”

What does it mean when a person feels compelled to introduce himself as being from “the dark side” simply because he works for a corporation?

The second incident that gave me pause was at dinner Monday night. Sitting next to me was a scientist who works for a not-for-profit on improving the nutritional quality of seed, fertilizers, and food storage. She explained that her organization works with the private sector to get these higher-nutrient inputs into the food system. Then our keynote speaker took the stage: Mark Bittman, the New York Times food columnist. He spoke with passion about the problems with industrial food production systems and the way they harm our health. At the end, the woman next to me turned to me and said angrily, “He’s not a nutritionist or an agronomist, and he just dismissed everything we do.”

These incidents got my attention because here were two people committed to fighting hunger, attending an anti-hunger event, and both felt marginalized because they are associated with for-profit industries. And therein lies the problem. How many caring, interested, capable people never get involved because they feel insulted or excluded by a culture that vilifies the private sector? 

It’s a human tendency to simplify and generalize  complex issues to make them more manageable. But as we engage in this work, it’s important to remember that things are rarely black and white. We only make ending hunger harder if we don’t welcome diversity and seriously consider how people and institutions with a variety of viewpoints, motivators, and gifts can help.

-Nancy Michaelis

How much time would you spend to effectively help end world hunger and poverty? How much time do you think we as Christians are called by God to commit? How much educational time do you think it even takes before proper action can be taken? Hours? Weeks? Months? Years? A life-time? Christians span the gambit of this commitment from briefly handing money to an un-researched charity to committing their lives to understanding and ending world hunger and all of its intricacies.
For the past two weeks I have been reading The Bottom Billion by the director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Paul Collier. I am not suggesting that I am now an expert on all things world hunger and poverty related after two short weeks. However, this book, along with working for ELCA World Hunger have made me realize it takes a lot more than just giving to charities to end the suffering of millions of people around the world. Collier advocates that we must also look at trade policies, security strategies, changes in our laws and new international charters. For the average Christian this means spending time researching these topics to get a basic understanding of each. That is definitely where I am at!
So my question to all of you readers out there is this: How much time and energy do you feel God is calling Christians to commit? The second greatest commandment from Jesus is to love our neighbors. I think we can all agree that knowingly letting nearly 1 billion people struggle to fill basic needs such as food, water, shelter and health care while so many of us take for granted all the blessings God has given us is not too loving. What about all the passages in the Bible that call us to serve the least, the lost and the forgotten? Clearly these elements are crucial to living out a Christ-like life. But what form do you see that taking in your life as a believer?
I am not suggesting that everyone has to drop what they are doing and devote their life to serving these issues. I believe that God calls all of us to a different vocation. However, I do think that the gifts God gives us and the blessings that come from our vocations are also meant to serve those suffering from poverty.
Maybe you are at a place where you feel that you are serving out your call to serve people in poverty. I would LOVE to hear about what you are doing and where your passions are! Or maybe you have realized that you might not be fulfilling your call as fully as you could be. I would LOVE to hear from you, too! What are your concerns and ambitions?
A very important part of filling the call to effectively care for our neighbors is to educate ourselves about issues pertaining to poverty and hunger. ELCA World Hunger provides a helpful suggested reading list that I hope to take a bite out of this summer here along with other useful resources for hunger education. While The Bottom Billion might not be the best book to start your hunger education with, it is one I highly suggest at some point. Its foundation is quantitative research but it is an entertaining read full of useful information. Hope to hear from you!
God Bless!
Karen