Spirituality of Stuff

Have you ever seen the book Material World: A Global Family Portrait? To produce it, photographers and statistically “average” families from various countries collaborated on a portrait of each family outside of its home, surrounded by its possessions. Material World illuminates the question, can all 6 billion of us have all the things we want?

If my son and I hauled all of our stuff to the front lawn for a portrait today, it would still be an impressive pile. But since our freecycle, since the open house, my home is very spare and spacious. With more space around my belongings, it’s easier to see them, and decide which things to release and which to wrap, pack, and promote to heirlooms.

It would be nice to have heirlooms instead of stuff. Frederic and MaryAnn Brussat begin their book Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life with a chapter probing things and our relationship to them. They note:

Christians…hold everyday objects in high regard as vessels with which they can serve God. Jewish mystics teach that every created thing contains sparks of the divine. Hindus take great pleasure in ordinary things as manifestations of Brahman. And Sufi poets find the fingerprints of the Beloved on everything.

Despite this broad and holy tradition, many of us still have a hard time loving, honoring, and caring for things. We have many possessions but regard them superficially, value them slightly, and treat them shabbily….How different we might feel about our world after making a practice of saying hello and thank you to the refrigerator that hums while it keeps our food cool, to the slippers that warm our feet on cold winter nights, and to the pen that expends all its in so that we can express ourselves…when we cherish our things, they reciprocate; when we ignore them, they can turn toxic.

Are we thankful for the objects we live among? Can we appreciate our heirlooms, and follow the words of Hildegard of Bingen about everything else?

Greed says: “I snatch all things to myself. I hug all things to my breast; the more I have gathered the more I have…. When I have whatever I need, I have no worries about needing anything from someone else.” Simple sufficiency replies: “You are harsh and devoid of mercy because you do not care for the advancement of others. Nothing is sufficient to satisfy you. I, however, sit above the stars, for all of God’s good things are sufficient for me…. Why should I desire more than I need?”

Anne Basye

Skip a Latte. Make some change.

Good afternoon ELCA World Hunger Supporters,

Are you on Facebook? Have you joined our Cause? If not click here: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/29958

We have a new goal! Let’s raise $5,000 on Facebook in 2009 as a part of the Change the World: 2009 Lutheran Youth Challenge.

Little changes can have big effects.

Imagine…If we all skipped a latte…

Together we would raise $13,692 (blowing our goal out of the water!)

OR provide…

1,369 weeks of meals for a child orphaned by AIDS in Africa
273 goats to provide fertilizer and milk for families in Kenya
91 hand water pumps in Bolivia
Temporary housing for four U.S. families

ELCA World Hunger staff members will kick off this challenge on Friday, June 19, 2009, by skipping their morning beverage and donating it via the Facebook Cause. Then, we’re asking each of you to join in, donate the cost of your beverage, and then tell us about it! Post it, email it – spread the word!

Skip a latte. Make some change.

Thank you!
Lana Lile
Your Friendly ELCA World Hunger Intern

View this announcement on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/231070?m=8e92585a

Not Your Typical Desert

Living in a desert. Probably not the number one place any given person would choose to live. Yet, it is estimated that more than half of a million people in Chicago live in what’s called a food desert. Food deserts are large geographic areas that either have no grocery stores or they are located a great distance from the community. Much of what you find in these areas, instead, is fast food restaurants and food marts, which lack the fresh food options all people need. Unfortunately, Chicago isn’t even close to being the only city in the U.S. with deserts like these. Look in areas of Los Angeles, Detroit, Nashville, and many more cities and you will find them. Chances are also good that if you look, you will notice a trend within the people of these communities. Research is showing that many are likely to be an ethnic minority and additionally, likely to be obese.

Last week, some colleagues and I took a trip to the Austin/West Garfield neighborhoods of Chicago to visit a site that has been funded in part over the years via the ELCA Domestic Hunger Grant program. Upon driving through various parts of the neighborhood, it seemed that this part of Chicago could fit the mold of being a food desert. As we made our way to our destination it was hard not to notice the lack of mainstream grocery stores and overabundance of food marts, fast food restaurants, and liquor stores. From what we learned about the population of the neighborhood while visiting the site, it would be extremely difficult for a large portion of the people who live here to find nutritious fresh foods because they would have to travel long distances on public transportation, which can get expensive. In addition, even if someone had the means to get to a grocery store, the food in their own neighborhood is usually hands down cheaper than any fresh food likely would be. Unfortunately though, it is typically highly processed and is not healthy in large portions.

This raises so many questions about how we, as a society, could allow this to be the situation so many people around the nation find themselves in. Why is it so impossible to convince a business to move into a community and provide the very basics to people in need? Why did the grocery stores leave in the first place? The shells of their former buildings still sit vacant, just waiting for a new tenant. How can we let this be swept under the rug and not educate the general public about the problems faced by citizens living in these deserts? Are we not called to stick up for all humanity, even those a few neighborhoods over? I challenge you to take a closer look around as you travel through your towns and cities and neighborhoods. Look at how many, or how few, options you and your neighbors have to make good healthy choices when it comes to food consumption. I’m thankful I have options and don’t find myself in this type of desert, but that doesn’t mean that I can deny it exists. After observing and accepting that this is the way it is now, what can we collectively do as communities to change this in the near future? Check out this story from Tennessee about people who are trying to cope with food deserts in their communities (http://wpln.org/?p=8501) and then think about ways you can help the communities around you. Then, most importantly, go out, do it and share your ideas with others.

For more information you can also check out this link and read about the food deserts in Chicago as studied by the Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group
http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/members/sagra/LaSalleBank_FoodDesert_ExecSummary.pdf/view.

~Jessie Fairfax

A Lesson From the Middle of the Road

Last Thursday evening I attended a book discussion with some of my colleagues. The discussion was about The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer and the majority of us present were all members of organizations dedicated to fighting world hunger. As the evening came to an end and our small group of three left, we began to chat about the work that we were involved in, the different ways that we tithe, the importance of giving your time…and on and on. Eventually our group dropped down to two members, Jessica and I. As she navigated the way to my house to drop me off we pulled up to a stop light and there, standing in the middle of the road, was a young woman. She couldn’t have been more than twenty. It was ten o’clock at night and she was shivering in jeans and a light sweater, when I saw her I had an overwhelming feeling of meeting Jesus. In the Gospel Jesus talks about how if you have done unto the least of these, you have done unto Me. It was an incredible opportunity to share what we had been talking about all evening with someone in need. We rolled down the window and handed her three dollars – all the cash we had – realizing that this was a chance to affect the life we CAN save. At best the three dollars bought her a small meal for the evening, but more importantly, we wanted to show that other people do care, that there is hope. Before we rolled the window back up though, the woman turned to us and said, “Thank you so much, and God bless you.” The sincerity in her voice was unmistakable. It got me thinking about all of the homeless and hungry people I pass on the street downtown and how they also always say, “God bless you,” even if I only give them a passing smile. What faith!

I imagine that many of these people are fed at soup kitchens or food pantries and that if they are lucky they get to sleep in a shelter, but no matter what, they are faithful to their Creator. What an incredible lesson. Those who seem like they could be so angry at God for the position that they are in are instead the most faithful. Who am I, to not bless God and be His hands every day?

-Lana Lile

Meet the World Hunger Interns!

The World Hunger team is thrilled to welcome our new summer interns. They bring so much energy and excitement and will be doing so much to further the work of ELCA World Hunger. They have agreed to introduce themselves in this blog post and we look forward to the insight they will bring in their future posts.

jessie-775430

Jessie Fairfax
My name is Jessie and I am a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) where I am studying Family, Youth, and Community Sciences with minors/specializations in Organizational Leadership for Non-Profits and Leadership. This summer I will be joining Lana and Rachel as an intern on the ELCA World Hunger Team with a focus largely on the events side of the work they are doing.

I am really excited to be jumping in head-first to work with some of the major projects that are already underway (and of course to spend my whole summer in the great city of Chicago!). I am quickly learning a great deal about all of the work that is done here and the chance to spur one another on in this mission to combat world hunger and poverty is truly an honor. Projects for me this summer will include the 2009 National Youth Gathering taking place in New Orleans, LA in July (www.elca.org/gathering), promotion of the 2009 Lutheran Youth Challenge to raise $1 million throughout 2009 (www.elca.org/youthchallenge), functioning as a liaison for 3 ministers from West Virginia who are traveling the country by bike in the 2009 Tour de Revs (find their story at www.tourderevs.org), and working on various projects for the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Here’s to an exciting and busy summer of working to promote ways that YOU and others can be involved in our mission to fight world hunger.

Lana Lile Hej hej, hallo, salut, hi!

This is my first blog for Hunger Rumblings so I would like to introduce myself: My name is Lana and I am a recent graduate of California Lutheran University where I majored in Communication and International Studies. This summer I am working as an intern for ELCA World Hunger and will be spending most of my time rallying support through college campuses, Facebook, our new Ning site and the 2009 National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.
I am very excited to be hanging out in Chicago this summer and to be working with such a fabulous and passionate group of people. I am looking forward to the challenge of implementing ideas for recruitment, advocacy, and fundraising. When it comes to feeding people, implementation is everything.

I am also looking forward to this summer as being a time of great learning and action-taking as I become engaged with the struggles of those living without food, clean water, healthcare, or educational opportunities. I once heard a pastor say, “The question is not ‘Where is God?’ the question is ‘Where are God’s people?’” As I begin my internship building the already extensive ELCA World Hunger network, I look forward to encouraging God’s people across the nation to stand up and say… “HERE I AM!”

rachel-747522 Rachel Zeman
Hello Friends!

My name is Rachel. I am currently a nursing student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and very excited to be spending my summer as an intern for ELCA World Hunger at the churchwide offices in Chicago.

Shortly after arriving, I was battered with an extensive ‘to-do’ list by a group of people bubbling over with passion and excitement for the work of ELCA World Hunger. I don’t know if it’s the stack of papers on my desk or the numerous smiles, introductions, and hand shakes that have me overwhelmed, but I do know that it’s the positive attitudes of the staff here and the millions of God’s children that benefit from their hard work that has me looking forward to the tasks ahead.

My work this summer will include continued development of the Hunger Education Toolkits and the evaluation and expansion of the Taking Root curriculum. I will also be researching how hunger and disease intersect, especially malaria and HIV and AIDS. These projects will take me to Yakima, Washington for an Ethics of Eating event and to Bemus Point, New York for a creative retreat to develop ideas for expanding the Hunger Education Toolkit.

I am very excited to be sharing this journey with you.

God’s Peace!

Link to commencement speech by Paul Hawken

Paul Hawken gave the commencement address for the University of Portland earlier this month, and it’s making the rounds. I thought it was brilliant. Here’s a link to the address.

On Child Sponsorship

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Rob Radtke, the president of Episcopal Relief and Development, has started a rather interesting discussion of child sponsorship on his blog. Although this method of fundaraising is effective (see my earlier reflections on Peter Singer’s book, The Life You Can Save), there are several reasons why such an approach is not ideal.

Radtke offers four reasons for pause: 1) The focus should be on communities, not individuals; 2) Sponsorships run the risk of commodifying children; 3) Such a model is not sustainable and can create a relationship of dependency; and 4) Motives are often mixed (Radtke asks, “Do we want to do good or do we want to feel good?”).

ELCA World Hunger, like ERD, does not offer a child sponsorship program, for many of the reasons that Radtke lists as problematic. I should be clear, too, that I am personally uncomfortable with the idea. That said, I would like to push back a bit on the arguments against child sponsorship. I will do so by asking questions. I hope to spur some conversation so please feel free to comment and offer your insight.

First, what does it mean to say that the focus should be on communities? Effective agencies like ELCA World Hunger and ERD are effective precisely because they focus on communities. Would our work be seriously hampered if we generated support for individuals while still maintaining our commitment on the ground to communities?

Second, is commodification of children really a risk? If so, how? Maybe I trust too much in the benevolence of aid agencies and people who sponsor children, but is there really a sense that these kids are purchased or owned? Would an aid agency that uses this model really be so self-interested that it would see kids as a means to its ends? I understand how this may be a threat, but is it real or simply perceived?

Third, the sustainablility issue looms large. But is not this a threat to all our work? Aren’t all our projects dependent upon sustained interest and support? As to the dependency issue, are the communities supported by child sponsorship somehow more dependent than the communities supported by other means (like our Good Gifts)?

Fourth, is there really any truly altruistic deed? Mixed motives abound in all forms of philanthropy. Even finding joy in giving out of the right motives is a mixed motive.

I write these questions partly as the devil’s advocate, partly as a pragmatist. The fact is that there is a lot of need out there and child sponsorship can be an effective tool for mobilizing people and resources. How often does wanting to do it right lead to inaction? (And yes, I know that action ill-conceived can do far more harm than no action at all–but I really don’t think that will be a problem for ELCA World Hunger.)

David Creech

Staring down the stuff deadline

Have you held a freecycle yet? The one I held in April helped pare down my belongings in advance of my move. But now the realtor says I have to make my place look like a catalog spread—spare, spare, spare. And my 1200 books? “Just keep the pretty ones,” she said. (Oh, how that hurt!)

More stuff has to go—at least into storage, if not into someone else’s hands. That means more decisions. Giving the office table to my church for its basement dinners is easy. Debating whether to keep or release the extra set of plates and flatware for 24 is tougher. And what about those old Legos?

I have one week. One week. On the other side of this intense discernment I hope to find freedom—freedom from too much stuff; freedom of moving closer to a clear sense of what’s enough, for this life stage and the next.

Anne Basye

Review of Peter Singer, The Life You Can Save

singer-book-791556 I just finished reading Peter Singer’s new book, The Life You Can Save. The book is engaging and accessible and argues persuasively not only why we should give but also how much is reasonable for us to give.

I particularly enjoyed Chapter 4, which explored six psychological factors in giving. The studies he cites there make intuitive sense–one is less likely to give outside of their own group (parochialism), if they are simply given statistics (by the way, have you perused our Good Gifts Catalog lately?), or if the responsibility is diffuse. Our sense of fairness (who is shouldering the aid load) and the fear that our efforts are futile (expressed recently in Dambisa Moyo’s book, Dead Aid) can also inhibit giving.

The study I found most fascinating was the effect money has on helping. Quoting Karl Marx, who described money as “the universal agent of separation,” Singer describes a study in which one group of subjects was primed in various ways to think about money (through word puzzles, visual prompts, and so on) then asked to perform various tasks. A second group did not have the money prompts. The “money group” took longer to ask for help, left a greater distance between chairs when asked to discuss things in a small group, and were more likely to choose solitary leisure activities. At the end of the experiment both groups were asked to donate some of the money they had been paid for their participation. The “money group” gave less. I’m not sure what to do with this, but it is intriguing.

I found other parts of the book worthwhile, particularly his discussion on what we are morally obligated to give (the sliding scale idea sounds more or less right to me; see the book’s accompanying website for a calculator: http://www.thelifeyoucansave.com/). I also enjoyed chapters six and seven on how to evaluate the effectiveness of an aid organization (it’s difficult to do!). I found his argument against folks like William Easterly and the afroementioned Dambisa Moyo to be compelling as well. How can we say that infusion of aid won’t work when we’ve never really tried it?

On to a few of my problems. First, I think that Singer is far too materialistic in his understanding of “saving” a life (which, by the way, is a phrase I find quite problematic). I finished the book with the impression that, for Singer, saving a life only involves providing food and shelter. The emotional and spiritual health of a person is not considered. This was especially clear when Singer held up as models Paul Farmer and Zell Kravinsky who both strive not to love their own children more than any other child. The emotional health and well being of their children is somewhat immaterial–they have food and shelter so they are set. Singer really had no argument against this, other than it is difficult for typical human beings to live this way. I would argue that especially strong care and affection that one has for his or her own children is both natural and necessary.

All in all I enjoyed the book and encourage you to spend some time with it. For those of you in the Chicago area, a group will gather to discuss the book on June 11 at 7:30pm at United Lutheran Church in Oak Park (409 Greenfield Street). I invite you to join us for what promises to be a lively dialogue!

David Creech

What’s on the side of your bus?

I ran across a quote today that struck me as really strange. It was in an article about a group of atheists who are putting ads on public buses. They were unable to do so in Indianapolis, due to a “policy barring ads ‘involving or referring to political, religious, moral or environmental issues subject to public debate.'”

Which one of these is not like the others? It seems something of a well-known adage that the topics of politics and religion are to be avoided in polite conversation. And somehow I can pretty easily fit morals into that same general bucket. But environmental issues? Isn’t that on a different level of specificity than the others? I’m mean, sure, it can be a controversial topic just like religion and politics. But so can health care, education, immigration, and many other things. So what about the environment makes it something to be named alongside the old adage stand-bys in municipal policy?

Perhaps it’s because the environment and its impact on people’s lives and livelihoods has become enough of a concern for there to be public debate about it. Perhaps there’s something about Indianapolis’ environment that makes it an especially touchy subject there. But regardless of the exact reason, to have reached this level of taboo, it is clearly a problem. And that being the case, there must be a better policy than avoidance for addressing it.

-Nancy Michaelis