YAGM application deadline March 1

Below, find a time-sensitive announcement from Anne Basye in ELCA Global Mission. Speaking of Global Mission, on Monday, February 2, I will assume a new position as assistant director for Global Mission Support (www.elca.org/globalmission/support). I’ll keep the same e-mail address and phone extension as I move to a new cube on the 10th floor of the Churchwide Office. Please welcome Laury Rinker as she assumes the marketing and interpretation role for ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal. Blessings on your heads, Sue

For adults ages 19-29: Applications are now being accepted for the 2009-2010 Young Adults in Global Mission program, a one-year international cross-cultural experience of service learning and leadership open to ELCA members ages 19-29 who are active in their church or campus ministry. Young adults raise a minimum of $4000 towards their support. Participants are placed according to interest, skills, gifts or growth areas in Argentina and Uruguay, Jerusalem/West Bank, Malaysia, Mexico, Slovakia/Hungary, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Applications submitted by February 15 will get priority attention. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2009. Applications and details about countries and assignments can be found at www.elca.org/globalserve/youngadults.

For all ages: Join the 250 ELCA missionaries now serving in 48 countries! You can explore the basics of global service and find listings of dozens of international positions at www.elca.org/globalserve New mission personnel recruited this winter and spring will receive an orientation in August and begin their service in August/September 2009.

For more information contact the ELCA Global Mission unit at 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2520, or by email at dgmSERVE@elca.org.

Eat Less Meat

cow-picture-728329 As you’ve no doubt been reading, David Creech is in Nicaragua learning about the effects of climate change on life. In keeping with that theme and bringing it closer to home, I have a suggestion: eat less meat. It’s not an original suggestion. Today, I’ve lifted it directly from The Sierra Club. They recently had a post on on their blog, The Green Life, which I thought made their case succinctly. You can click here to read the original, but I’ll quote the two paragraphs that I found most fascinating and actionable (and, actually, comprise most of the post):

“Livestock production generates almost 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than the entire transportation sector. If Americans reduced meat consumption by just 20 percent, it would be as though we all switched from a sedan to a hybrid. (New York Times)

Animal factory farms pollute U.S. waterways more than all other industrial sources combined. And you’d save more water by refraining from eating a pound of beef than you would by not showering for an entire year. (E – The Environmental Magazine)”

Asking Americans to reconsider their meat consumption does not seem to me to be an unreasonable request, especially considering most of us could do with more vegetables in our diet, anyway. It also seems so very straightforward. How many of your meals each week include meat? What is 20% of that figure? Switch at least that many of your meals each week to vegetarian selections. That’s it! You’ll improve the health of the planet and quite likely yourself at the same time. In the process, you’ll also improve the environmental circumstances of everyone, but especially of those living in poverty who are most effected by climate change.

-Nancy Michaelis

On My Way Home

I am in the airport waiting for my flight back to the United States. My experience down here in Nicaragua has energized me for my work and given me new perspective on the challenges we face. I am sure that more stories and pictures and reflections from the trip will continue to find expression on this blog.

For now, I’d like to leave you with a Bible verse that our hosts gave us for reflection to open and close our trip. Genesis 8:22 reads, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” There is a rhythm to life and that rhythm is being interrupted. We are called to care for the earth. The issue is pressing–creation groans waiting for redemption and those who are poorest and hungriest already feel the impact. May we find the courage to accompany those who are marginalized, to do God’s work with our hands.

“You always have the poor with you…”

img_2325-722259 Mark 14:7 has always been one of those really problematic verses for me. In this short verse, it appears as though Jesus is rather pessimistically predicting that there will always be poor people (and he may very well be). I fear that such a hopeless sentiment might breed apathy on the part of the Church–we don’t have to worry about those who are hungry, they’re always going to be around. For this reason, I’ve often thought (and a few times said out loud) that this would be one of those verses that I would like to surreptitiously remove from our Christian Bible.

Yesterday we had the privilege of speaking with Phil Anderson, the director of Lutheran World Federation in Central America. In his work with the people of Central America, he offered a different reading of the text, one born out of his struggle for justice alongside the poor and oppressed people of El Salvador. Phil suggested that when Jesus says that we will always have the poor with us, he was not offering some dark forecast of poverty ad infinitum. Rather, he was giving a command, telling his followers to be sure that they always have those who are poor and oppressed beside them and, likewise, to always be on their side.

As I’ve been in Nicaragua, I must confess that at moments the problem of global poverty feels so big, so insoluble, that I find myself wondering why I even care. Phil’s interpretation of Jesus’ words remind me of why I have committed myself to this struggle. As much as I want global hunger to end, that’s not what motivates me. Indeed it cannot: I suspect hunger will be around for quite some time yet. Rather, I do what I do because Jesus calls me to be with those who are poor. To hear their stories. To walk alongside them in their struggles. To advocate on their behalf. May we have the courage and strength to always be with those who are poor.

-David Creech

In the picture above: Women and girls fetching water for the day in the community of Mata de Cañas in NW Nicaragua. The line for the well begins to form around 4am and usually lasts until about 9:30am. It takes about 90 cranks on the wheel (which amounts to about four continuous minutes of pretty physical labor) to fill a 5 gallon bucket. The temperature when I visited was in the low 90s. Some of the women who use the well travel as far as 2 km on foot.

“Thanks for the tarps.”

img_2342-782913 I just returned from the Atlantic coast, where we visited two communities impacted by Hurricane Felix in September of 2007. The experience was, to say the least, heart wrenching. On the NW coast, in spite of the poverty we saw, I had the sense that there was possibility for adaptation. The dry spells could be countered by digging wells, creating irrigation systems, and so forth. With good planning and an infusion of resources, the insecurities brought about by the changing weather patterns could be mitigated.

However, in the communities on the Atlantic coast devastated by Felix, the situation is far more complex. It is much more difficult to adapt to the buzz saw of a category five hurricane. A very similar situation is New Orleans post-Katrina (which by the time the hurricane made landfall it was actually a category three). Even though the U.S. has a very advanced infrastructure, building codes, and abundant resources, parts of New Orleans (such as the Ninth Ward) are still (three and a half years later) in ruins. Even with all our tools and resources, we in the U.S. still cannot fully adapt to a severe storm. In a poor place with limited resources such as Nicaragua, the picture is even bleaker.

One year and four months after Felix, whole communities are still in tatters, lacking basic necessities such as food and shelter. They have also become breeding grounds for diseases like Malaria and Dengue Fever. The situation is dire.

Obviously, relief is a key component to any response (and more of it is still needed on the North Atlantic coast). People need food, drink, and medical care. They need help rebuilding their homes and planting their fields.

But relief aid alone will not be sufficient. Energy and thought and resources must also be directed towards development. In the weeks and months following Hurricane Felix, the community of Santa Marta was sent tarps from USAID to provide temporary shelter. You can see from the picture above how well those have held up. They did not receive much else. Probably the most difficult moment in the whole visit was when the local leader of the community said without a hint of irony or sarcasm, “Gracias por las tarpas (Thank you for the tarps).”

So what does this all mean? First, it is clear to me (and to the people I have visited down here in Nicaragua) that climate change is already impacting people in the Global South. We are not simply talking about the future world that we will pass on to our children. Right now, today, we need to work to curb greenhouse gases, at both a personal and corporate level. Second, we need to rethink how we do aid (Bread for the World has made aid reform a key theme in 2009, see http://www.bread.org/). Let’s get to work!

Be sure to check out the other blogs chronicling our time down here: www.mariposa2009.blogspot.com and http://blogs.elca.org/09nicaraguatrip.

-David Creech

Back from NW Nicaragua

img_2318-732627 I just returned tonight from NW Nicaragua where we saw firsthand some of the impacts of climate change on poverty and a couple of the projects that ELCA World Hunger has supported. We also had the chance to talk to the municipal authorities in Villa Nueva and the Assistant Director of the Millenium Development Corporation in Nicaragua. I saw and heard much more than I have time to share. Tonight, allow me to share briefly about one project we visited that encapsulates my experience thus far.

One of the ways in which climate change is being felt down here is through the unpredictability of precipitation. Before Mitch (1998, the marker for most of the farmers for when the weather patterns began to change), farmers in NW Nicaragua would have two planting seasons, one during the dry season and one during the wet season. The dry season has become so unpredictable that farmers are now hesitant to plant. The dry season may be so incredibly dry that nothing can grow. This first planting season has become a real gamble–seeds from the previous harvest may planted and lost without any return.

In the community of Las Jolotas, LWF has dug a well (pictured above) for a family who is now experimenting with irrigation, so that they can plant in the dry season and use gravity to irrigate their crops. This is the first dry season with the well, and, as you can see from the picture here, things are looking very good.

The effects of climate change are already being felt down here, and those who are poorest are being pushed closer to the brink. I am encouraged, though. People are banding together to help each other and good work is being done.

Tomorrow morning I leave for the Atlantic Coast, where we’ll be looking at some of the relief and development work that has taken place since 2007 when Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc. I may be without internet again, but I will post as soon as I get back.

-David Creech

P.S. For more stories and different voices, be sure to check out the other blogs chronicling our trip: www.mariposa2009.blogspot.com and http://blogs.elca.org/09nicaraguatrip.

David Beckmann at Bethany Lutheran in Denver

If you live around Denver or will happen to be there on February 8, 2009, be sure to worship at Bethany Lutheran Church (technically in Cherry Hills Village). David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, will be preaching at the 8:00, 9:00, and 10:30 services.

-Nancy Michaelis

Nicaragua Update

My time in Nicaragua is off to a phenomenal (and frenetic) start. Today, we oriented ourselves to Nicaragua and the ways in which climate change is already impacting the people of this small (and vulnerable!) country. Our first meeting of the day was with Daniel Ortega’s liaison to churches in Nicaragua. I must confess that his presentation felt a bit like political propaganda, and later on when I spoke with our hosts, they offered a more realistic perspective.

Our second meeting was with the leading climate change expert in Nicaragua, Dr. Incer Barquero. In addition to reviewing the usual facts and figures of climate change (yes, the earth is getting warmer, we are already seeing the impacts in fiercer and more frequent storms, increased droughts and floods, and so on), Dr. Incer Barquero also gave us a picture of what this looks like on the ground here in Nicaragua. Two phenomena stuck out—first, Nicaragua lies to south of the typical hurricane routes. Yet in the last ten or so years, two very strong hurricanes have pummeled Nicaragua, Mitch and Felix, both of which caused unprecedented damage. Global warming is likely key to these new hurricane paths. A second way in which Nicaragua is feeling the impact of climate change is in the unpredictability of weather. It is growing increasingly difficult to predict when and where rain will fall. Some places are uncharacteristically dry, others are unseasonably drenched. This all leads to an upsetting of agricultural practices and disruption in food production.

What was perhaps most encouraging to me about Dr. Incer Barquero’s presentation was his suggestions for moving forward. He thinks that the most effective aid will be distributed on the ground within communities (such as churches) rather than top down (e.g., from the government). He also suggests that the people, especially the indigenous Miskitos on the North Atlantic coast, return to their traditions and heritage in food production (what we call accompaniment at the ELCA). Finally, he recommends that aid be long term and sustainable, “teaching the people how to fish rather than simply giving them a fish.” Each of these strategies matches well with the approach taken by ELCA World Hunger.

Our last session of the day was with the founder of our host organization, CIEETS (an acronym in Spanish for The Inter-church Center for Theological and Social Studies). I was very much encouraged by his vision and hope. I will have more to say about his presentation in a future post.

I will conclude today’s note with a word about Obama’s inauguration. The people we’ve spoken with down here are very excited about our new president. Each person who spoke with us commented on how thrilled they were for us and for the possibilities of renewed relationships between the US and those in the region. Today is, in their estimation, a momentous day filled with hope for a brighter future. As we watched the inauguration over lunch, I must confess that I was proud of my nation.

-David Creech

Nicaragua and Climate Change

I just touched down in Nicaragua, where I will be for the next 10 days looking at the impact of climate change on hunger. We will be, among other things, speaking with certain officials in governmental posts, meeting with various NGOs, and visiting sites on the north Atlantic coast impacted by hurricanes. I will be blogging some of my adventures here, so be sure to check in periodically. Also, some of my cohorts will be sharing their thoughts on blogs of their own: check out http://www.mariposa2009.blogspot.com/ and http://blogs.elca.org/09nicaraguatrip.

-David Creech

MLK Day

On this day in which we honor an iconic modern-day saint, I wanted to reflect a bit on race in America. It is true that we have made strides towards equality, and that in many places racist attitudes and stereotypes are simply no longer acceptable. I, like many other Americans, am very excited to watch Barack Obama be sworn in as our 44th president.

Although we have made steps forward, much work remains to be done. There are still too many structures and institutions that inhibit human flourishing, especially among minorities. A very telling statistic is that, according to the US Census Bureau, in 2007, 24.5% of the Black population and 21.5% of the (somewhat inaccurately identified) Hispanic population live in poverty. This is compared to the 8.2% of the White population. While poverty is simply unacceptable for any racial or ethnic group (or person for that matter) in a land with so much wealth, I find it disconcerting that of the 37 million people in the US who suffer in such circumstances, Blacks and Hispanics are so disproportionately represented. We must pray and work against the unjust systems and structures that perpetuate discrimination.

So I conclude with a verse from the Bible to which Dr. King himself frequently alluded: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). Amen.

-David Creech