According to Bloomberg.com, as of 10:23 a.m. EST this morning, the price of petroleum in the United States is $127.14 per barrel. The Energy Information Administration states that, as of July 21, the average price of gas in the Midwest is $3.91, which is down from a week ago, but up an entire dollar from the price at this time last year.

In our truly, globalized economy, most everything is interconnected. As the price of gasoline continues to climb, it is amazing, and somewhat alarming, to watch as the entire market begins to change. This past week, Newsweek magazine did an article in the business section entitled “Life at $200 a Barrel.” The article research comes from different sources and is based on the estimated effects of $200 per barrel oil. Here are some of the projections (all in USD):

Barrel of Oil
Now: $147
Future: $200
Gasoline
Now: $4.11/ gal.
Future: $6.30/ gal.
Diesel Fuel
Now: $4.50/ gal.
Future: $5.55/gal.
Tomatoes
Now: $1.77/lb.
Future: $2.86/ lb.
Lettuce
Now: $0.90/ lb.
Future: $1.45/lb.
Shipping containers from Asia:
Now: $8,350
Future: $15,000

The article makes a good point, stating, “When people and businesses spend more on fuel, they have less to spend on everything else,” and argues that $200 per barrel oil “would cause economic growth (in [Gross Domestic Product] GDP) to slow by a couple of points a year.” As of now, people are still spending more on food than on gas, but it is forecasted that around fall 2009, we will begin to spend more on gasoline for our cars than on food for our stomachs.

I read articles like this often, and I am always left with the question, “What does all this mean?”

My thoughts are these. First, with the price of oil on the rise, which directly and indirectly affects everything else, it will be important for minimum wages and salaries, in general, to change in response to increasing prices. I know there is a need for much more extensive planning and long-range thinking, but what do we do in the interim? Second, if we are heading toward a world where we pay more of our hard earned money on gas to get to work than on food for dinner with our family and friends…how does that affect hunger, both the physical experience of hunger and, possibly, the experience of emotional and relational hunger?

The future at times looks bleak, but, I am struck by these words from an African proverb, “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” People of peace, let us begin to prepare, intentionally and carefully, today!

Music has always been an important and influential part of my life. It is the one art form that speaks to me in such a way that has given me entry and understanding to the world.

The other day while out on a run, the lyrics of one song became really apparent to me. The song is by one of my favorite social justice singers/artists Michael Franti. The song is called “Never Too Late”.

And though you might think the song title is cheesy because the phrase “never too late” is cliché, the song is not. The song is about friendship, family, and the idea that life is meant to be lived and learned.

For such a clichéd phrase, there is much meaning and a reminder that change is possible.

Working as a World Hunger Intern and studying Public Health, it would be easy to become depressed about the daily goings-on of the world. Between poverty and racism, malnutrition and disease, climate change and hunger, there are more than enough problems to spend your day in tears.

This is where I get excited about my work and my future.

It is never too late to start the day over, because if it was, I would not ever be gainfully employed. Besides my employment (which is insignificant in the grand scheme of things), in our lives and in the world, we would never have change, we would never prosper, and we certainly would never look forward to the future.

Just as Franti says it is “never too late”, he also artfully states in the song, there is no need to “fear the long road, because on the long road you got a long time to sing a simple song”.

This summer I’ve realized that we all need to sing our own simple songs to help us grasp that it is “never too late”. We all need to find our vocation in helping to heal the gravity and depth of problems that exist in the world.

Though the answers to my vocation are being revealed to me now, I am thoroughly excited to live out my call to advocate for change. It is my hope that I will always live by the phrase it is “never too late”, because if I don’t, not only is my innate optimism gone, but also, my fire for life would be extinguished.

It’s the creeping feeling I get when I am drinking my $4.14 USD designer coffee as I snub a woman asking for change on the “L.” It’s the slight grimace I make when reaching for my favorite Gap t-shirt. It’s the sinkhole in the pit of my stomach that falls out when I finish a delicious meal and the bust person (who is usually a person of color, hopefully making minimum wage, maybe experiencing poverty or hunger) silently cleans my plate, the plate that I would not exactly enter into the “Clean Plate Club” competition.

I have come to recognize these sensations as personal guilt feed by my realization that I live, work, and breath a hypocrisy, of sorts. As workers for peace and justice…how do we wrangle with our own “guilt” that our “talk” is sometimes in direct opposition to our “walk?”

Last week, July 7-9, 2008, The Group of Eight (G8) leading industrial nations met at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Toyako, Japan on the holiday island of Hokkaido.

EXTRA! EXTRA! “THE TALK” Sounded Promising!
According to an article by Environment News Service, “climate change, world hunger, oil production and rice production, energy security and disaster reduction” were top agenda items for the summit. One news source went so far as to call it the “World Food Shortages Summit.” Additionally, an article from the online newspaper, Telegraph, states that on board his flight to the summit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown commented:

“If we are to get food prices down, we must also do more to deal with unnecessary demand, such as by all of us doing more to cut our food waste which is costing the average household in Britain around £8 per week.”

It seems as though the Prime Minister is a fan of simple living and good stewardship!

EXTRA! EXTRA! THE WALK—Maybe Not so Much!
An article by The Guardian points out that dinner for the evening was entitled “Blessings of the Earth and Sea,” an eight-course, 19-dish dinner prepared by 25 chefs. Click here for the full menu of the dinner, and just in case you’re wondering (because I know I was) according to The Guardian, the “G8 Fantasy Dessert” consisted of “a special cheese selection accompanied by lavender honey and caramelized nuts.” Mmm…

There were 15 guests present at the meal, mostly comprised of “key” leaders and their wives. Click here for a picture of the dinner. Now, notice who is not at the table– namely any of the African leaders, from countries like Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Senegal, who were invited, but apparently only to the talks during the day. Additionally, since I’ve breached the subject already, how many people of color are seated around that esteemed table—at all?? Hmmm…

Oh, and, as a full-circle note, the plane that Prime Minister Brown was on when he made his remarks, was allegedly chartered out of Texas and had to fly, sans-passengers, to pick him up in Britain. Classy.

The total cost of the three-day, G8 Summit, according to The Guardian, £238m or about $473,765,280.54 USD. That amount of money:
1. Could, according to the ELCA World Hunger “Good Gifts” catalog, provide a nutritious meal for about 172,278,283 people at a congregation-based food program– that’s a little over half the population of the United States.
2. Is over 23 times the ELCA World Hunger annual budget.

It is easy for me to cast blame about these world leaders’ hypocrisy and laugh at the ridiculous-ness of the monetary reality. However, I realized that the week-long, 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA will cost an estimated $30 million USD, which is 1.5 times the ELCA World Hunger budget for the year.

Don’t get me wrong, events like the G8 Summit and the Youth Gathering, of course, have incredibly positive aspects—I am in no way discrediting the importance of such events. There is most certainly much to be said about face-to-face, relational contact and cultural understanding, and the gathering of people together. After all, “wherever two or more are gathered in God’s name, the presence of God is with us,” (Matthew 18: 20)!

It all comes down to this. With the “realities” of costs and the limitations of resources and supplies available to us—hey, Prime Minister Brown couldn’t exactly have walked, biked, or swam to Japan, and I can’t always be certain that my Gap t-shirt is completely legit — how do we continue on without being overburdened by our hypocrisy and subsequent “guilt?”

Then again, wait, isn’t guilt a selfish sentiment to begin with centered on…ourselves??

In my estimate, we usually do the best with what we have. BUT—What if what we have simply just isn’t good enough? Some choices do seem “unavoidable.” However, just maybe, all the “unavoidables” are, in fact, avoidable if we make the choice to challenge ourselves to think prophetically, outside the norms and the seemingly all-encompassing “box.”

Call me an idealist, but I do think that “realities” can be relative, and I like to think that we have an important stake in creating new paradigms in which to serve and live as people of God. Amen!

References:

“G8 Summit Opens with Climate Target Up in the Air.” Environment News Service 7 July 2008. 11 July 2008 .
“Man-Made Hunger.” Editorial. New York Times 6 July 2008.
Winnett, Robert. “G8 Summit: Gordon Brown Has Eight-Course Dinner Before Food Crisis Talks.” Telegraph 8 July 2008. 11 July 2008 .
Winnett, Robert. “G8 Summit: the Eight-Course Menu.” Telegraph 8 July 2008. 11 July 2008 .Wintour, Patrick, and Patrick Barkham. “Just Two of the 19 Dishes on the Dinner Menu At the G8 Food Shortages Summit.” The Guardian 8 July 2008. 11 July 2008

If the answer is “Augusta Victoria Hospital, water project in Zimbabwe, new homes for cell phones,” can you guess the question? Find clues by scanning the excerpts from the ELCA News Service July 14, 2008 posting, found below. Blessings! Sue

SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) — Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) celebrated the close of its second decade July 12 with the distribution of its 20th anniversary offering, updates on current programs and the introduction of a new program.

Women of the ELCA gave a financial gift of $25,000 to two international Lutheran projects — Augusta Victoria Hospital, operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Jerusalem, and a Stand With Africa/LWF water project in Zimbabwe.

The Rev. Twila Schock, director for global mission support, ELCA Global Mission, Chicago, introduced the Rev. Mark B. Brown, LWF regional representative, Jerusalem, who thanked Women of the ELCA for the gift via video. “Your financial support, advocacy and prayers strengthen our ability to serve those most in need in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza,” he said. “Your encouragement helps us to remain firm in our resolve to offer healing and hope in a land exhausted by violence and injustice.”

Kathryn Sime, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal, ELCA Development Services, Chicago, thanked the women’s organization for its “generous and faithful support of ELCA World Hunger and Stand With Africa.” She noted the organization supported such projects through “a lifetime of giving through this ministry.”
The water project in Zimbabwe is especially significant, she said. “We could hardly have imagined the great needs in Zimbabwe today,” she said. “Following months of political unrest, social upheaval, staggering unemployment of 85 percent last year and devastating inflation … through all of this, this country is now gripped in disaster, leaving many in dire poverty, hungry and homeless.”
Lutheran Development Service in Zimbabwe, an independent program of the LWF, will receive the funds for safe water development projects, she said. The organization is focused on sustainable community development in Zimbabwe, including providing access to safe, drinkable water supplies, Sime said. By the end of 2009 Lutheran Development Service is planning to provide all households in its targeted area with nearby access to safe, drinkable water. “Your gifts change lives, and it all begins with water,” Sime said.

The Women’s Funding Network, in association with the Good Deed Foundation, is holding a cell phone recycling drive in which two-thirds of revenue received will be invested in programs that build women’s financial assets, job opportunities, skills and entrepreneurship. Women of the ELCA is one of 128 organizations that are a part of the Women’s Funding Network. According to the Good Deed Foundation Web site, recycling 1 million cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368 cars off the road for one year and recycling 100 million cell phones would save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households with electricity for one year. Chris Grumm, president and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network and former vice president of the ELCA, San Francisco, said the network hopes Women of the ELCA can recycle up to 250,000 phones through the drive.

Find ELCA News Service postings at http://www.elca.org/news
Find the ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog

My husband, Paul, and I recently returned from a trip to Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. There were 21 of us related somehow to St. Luke’s Lutheran in Park Ridge, Illinois, traveling “On Holy Ground” together. We had the time and the leadership to (1) encounter people and groups representing many perspectives/views/sides of the issues; (2) visit important Lutheran places and people at Augusta Victoria Hospital and Resurrection Lutheran in Jerusalem, St. Andrews in Cairo, and Christmas Lutheran in Bethlehem and others; (3) experience the holy places and churches; and (4) do some fun, touristy stuff like visit Petra and take a bob in the dead sea.
Our group had regular meetings to prepare for the trip and we’ve had our first meeting to debrief and prepare for post trip. We talked about how we answer the question, “How was your trip?” We came up with words like engaging…enraging…enlightening…and others less alliterative. We admitted that we couldn’t yet really answer “How was the trip?” for ourselves, much less for others. Most of us just answer “It was great!” and promise ourselves to work on a better answer for the next time.
I invite you to visit our photo journal at http://imageevent.com/edisonswift/onholyground — e-mail me for the password. And, if you or your congregation is planning a trip to the Holy Land, I heartily encourage you embrace a “Peace Not Walls” itinerary and to visit Lutheran “holy ground” places like those I mention above. I happen to know that, as I type, someone is attending New Global Mission Personnel Training who will be charged with helping travelers to the Holy Land accomplish these very things. Until we have direct contact information, please call 800/638-3522, ext. 2654 or 2117.
By the way, our trip was great, blessings on top of blessings. Sue-s

Brett Nelson (ELCA Communication Services) created two short videos that are a “must see” for yourself and a “must show” in your congregation. Please spread the word about “After the Flood” (ELCA Disaster Response) and “Bowling for Jesus” (LYO/ELCA World Hunger Appeal).

Find “After the Flood,” at www.elca.org/disaster Currently, After the Floods is an elca.org homepage feature (click on the basketball image).

Find “Bowling for Jesus” at http://tinyurl.com/5rv6xd

Blessings!
Sue

Food for Life: Recipes and Stories on the Right to Food

I am a firm believer that when you make a commitment to fight any injustice in the world, you are (maybe unbeknownst to you) making inroads into understanding and fighting against other injustices. To me, most all injustices are inextricably intertwined and work together to hold people down or at the margins. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

When we are working to end poverty and hunger in the world, it is important to remain mindful that poverty, the distribution of wealth, and hunger are chained, not only to one another, but to other, equally important injustices, like sexism, ageism, and racism.

This last weekend, June 27-29, through gracious funding from women’s ministries at the National Council of Churches- USA, I had the opportunity to attend the International Conference on Racism and Globalization at the Lutheran Center here in Chicago, Illinois. The event was organized by Agricultural Missions, Inc. (AMI) and Federation of Southern/ Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund (FSC/LAF). People from across the United States and around the world, brothers and sisters from Alabama to California, Uganda to El Salvador to Sri Lanka, gathered to share stories and network.

The goals of the conference were two fold:
To raise awareness of the interconnectedness of racism and globalization in the current context and affirm our commitment to seek to end racism within our organizations, our communities and ourselves.
To develop international networks that will assist organizations, individuals, and communities in using their power to confront and defeat any aspects of globalization that are driven by racism and negatively impacts their lives.

The weekend was full of panel dialogues on topics such as trade policy and financial institutions, human migration, food, land, water, and the environment, employment and labor, culture and spirituality, and education. We also met in small groups for in-depth discussion and cultural sharing. The culmination of the event was a declaration from the group, which I will link to when it becomes available to me.

In the mean time, here are my highlights.

Mikka’s Top 3 Learnings

1. XenoPHOBIA vs. xenoPHILIA. According to Miriam Webster’s online dictionary, xenoPHOBIA is “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.” In a speech given by Luis Rivera- Pagán, he expressed the terrible things that we, people, do to one another when we see each other as strangers. Instead, Rivera-Pagán argued for a heightened sense of xenoPHILIA, which comprises hospitality, love, and care for the stranger. Pagán is quoted here,

“In times of increasing economic and political globalization, xenophilia should be our duty and vocation, as a faith affirmation not only of our common humanity, but also of the ethical priority in the eyes of God of those living in the shadows and margins of our societies.”

2. Globalization has many definitions and many different manifestations in the world. Globalization is a huge term, which encompasses economic realities, but has a very real human impact. Globalization, as we currently know it, has been furthered through technological advancements and the ease of capital transfers around the world. However, do humans, human capital, have the same abilities and rights?

3. The church has a strong presence to offer. There were two main themes that I took away from the event in relation to the church.

First, there was a sentiment that the church, religion, and the Bible have all, at times, been “co-opted” to falsely explain acts of violence, racism, and other injustices.

However, more promisingly, people at the event recognized that faith-based organizations are essential partners. Faith-based organizations are on the front-lines, working and serving with people against injustice. Faith communities have the ability to organize and effectively advocate for things like debt cancellation and fairer practices at events like the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Rounds.

I am always amazed at the good work being done by our sisters and brothers in the global community. I am constantly humbled and challenged as I learn more about the world that we are a part of. For more information, please email me or comment on this blog. I’ve written 715 words here, and I would be happy to continue the conversation, because, for me, continuing conversations are where the real learning happens.

For the first time the other day I heard this phrase “Green is the New Black”. At first I thought this statement was in reference to the actual color green, but no, this statement refers to the fashion industry becoming more environmentally “green”. So as a proclaimed fashionista, I had to check this out! How could I miss such a trend?
At first chance, I googled the statement “Green is the New Black” and the amount of websites choices I had was phenomenal! There were t-shirts with this phrase printed on them, information detailing that the quote dates back to Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter (via 2006), a book literally called “Green is the New Black: How to Change the World with Style”, and much more. As I was reading the list, I thought, could my clothing and my pension for fashion be ruining the world?
My answer to both questions was yes.
Ugh.
The truth hurts. But I surely can’t be that much of an earth destroyer! Come to find out, I am and I am not. So, where could I make changes?
I found this article on Ivillage.com, called: “How to Use Your Purchasing Power to Help the Earth”. The article is excerpted from the 2008 book “Big Green Purse” written by Diane MacEachern. In the article, MacEachern provides seven ways individuals through their shopping and spending habits can contribute to making the world better, they are:

1. Spend less. When we use less it reduces the impact of manufacturing needs to produce products, prevents pollution, and curtails global warming. More importantly, there is more money in your pocket to either save or pursue activities to enrich your life!

2. Read the labels. Because the US government does not regulate a company’s use of words like “green”, “natural”, or “biodegradable”. Read the label of the product, and it will be a give away to the truth. You can also check out the website www.climatecounts.org to check if the company’s “green” statements are true.

3. Support sustainability. Look for brands that use the words “SMART Certified” because these companies have “Adopted comprehensive standards guaranteeing that their products protected the public’s health and the environment throughout their entire commercial ‘life cycle’”.

4. Look for third party verification. When a company says they are producing “green” products ensure that are and look for these third party labels to support their claims: Green Seal, The LEED Green Building Rating System, Energy Star, VeriFlora, Fair Trade Certified, and USDA Organic.

5. Choose fewer ingredients. The fewer the ingredients in a product usually translates to the less chemical are within the product.

6. Pick less packaging. Get this, 1 out of every 11 dollars we spend at a store pays for packaging! Whoa! In order to get more bang for your buck, you should consider: buying in bulk, purchasing “refills”, recycle packing as much as possible, bring your own bag, choose concentrated items (i.e. laundry detergents- I promise, they work the same!), and avoid Styrofoam.

7. Buy local. I didn’t need to author to tell me this! I swear by buying local. Not only does it ensure your community’s economic viability, but it has environmental and health benefits. Also, local food growers are usually more stringent about following US environmental and health laws and regulations.

I was glad to find out I was doing “pretty well” on MacEachern’s list, but there are some areas I can definitely improve on, especially numbers 2, 3, 4, and 6.
I guess for me, this leads me to ask the question, when are people around the world going to have the “green” epiphany? And though MacEachern’s article offers people a feel good approach to creating a more sustainable environment (through their pocket); what does it take to make people catch on? I know for me, if it wasn’t through my Public Health program or my environmentally conscious friends I would not have successfully accomplished numbers 1, 5, and 7. And now spending the summer working on anti-hunger and anti-poverty initiatives, I know it is my responsibility to help sustain the world and work on making numbers 2, 3, 4, and 6 a part of life. Even if it means that I might not be able to be the fashionista I want to be (I am okay with that!).
But perhaps this is the best part of going “green”: the fashion and beauty industries can stimulate people not just to be aware of what being “green” is, but they can provide ways for people to use their buying power to apply green living to their lifestyles. Although I think the industries are far from adopting all of the “green” principles, recognition is the first step. And for an industry where one thing is “in” one day and “out” the next, I just hope “green”, like black, will always be in style. Well, because, it has to be.

I was looking at pictures of flooded Iowa today and was awestruck by the destructive power of too much water. I’ve blogged about how important water is to life. But it’s amazing how you can have too much of a good thing. So much land completely under water, killing the crops and destroying livelihoods. Between floods, tornadoes, and wildfires, it’s been a rough month or two in the United States.

How many people’s lives have been altered by nature in the past couple of months? And how many of them have the means to recover? Some are insured, have savings, and other support structures. Reconstructing their fractured lives will be difficult and emotional, to be sure, but largely a matter of time. But those living at or near poverty before disaster struck are facing a whole different reality. Disasters destroy homes, leaving some with nowhere to live. Disasters close businesses, sometimes permanently, causing loss of employment and income. Disasters interrupt health care treatment, making it difficult (or impossible) to tackle the work of recovering. Disaster interrupt education. For those who were struggling to stay in school in the first place, it can be difficult to go back. In the short term, disaster can destroy local food supplies and roadways, making short term hunger very real for everyone. But longer term, especially in rural areas, those who relied on gardens for even some of their food face new and unwelcome challenges.

The list of ways that natural disasters exacerbate the conditions for hunger and poverty go on; I’ve mentioned just a few. Knowing how many disasters the United States has had already this year, I wonder what the longer-term effect will be. How many who were living on the edge of poverty will now be solidly in it? The U.S. Census Bureau provides annual data about poverty in this country. It will be interesting to see how 2008 compares to 2007.