On Sunday, November 9, lectors across the Church will read from Amos, chapter 5: But let justice roll down like waters.
Take a moment to review the related pieces in the Pentecost 2008 edition of Congregation Connections (page 9). Maybe there’s still time to include the “Thought Prelude” or the Water Facts in this Sunday’s bulletin or share it with in a Sunday forum or class. Remember to share the new ELCA World Hunger Life-Giving Water bulletin with your congregation, too.
Chris Carpenter and I have recently returned from World Hunger project visits in South Africa and Malawi. Water and justice issues streamed through our visits. I am busy getting photos captioned and posted on imageevent.com/elcahunger (South Africa and Malawi).
Advocacy, or “voicing out” streamed its way throughout the trip, too. The development service arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELDS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa (ELCSA-DS) are associate programs of the Lutheran World Federation. ELDS and ELCSA-DS staff shared how they accompany communities through relief, to rehabilitation, to development, and on to the power of advocating for rights. “We build capacity so the community can find its voice. You can’t speak out when you have nothing. We move communities from a focus on needs to a focus on rights.”
It’s not always easy or neat. “Sometimes, when you speak out in Africa, you can be mistaken as an enemy.”
It’s election day in the United States. May our votes be voices for justice.
Sue Edison-Swift
