This Fall, ELCA World Hunger was invited to join leaders from Arizona via Zoom at the first statewide gathering of advocates and friends hosted by Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA).

John Johnson, program director for domestic policy for the ELCA, highlights the importance of this work to the work God calls this church to pursue:

Our return on investment for advocacy is one of the great untold successes of the ELCA. Our federal and state advocacy leverages BILLIONS of public dollars annually for vulnerable populations at home and abroad. In 2020, with COVID-19 recovery packages in Congress, Lutherans have engaged policy makers to the tune of trillions of dollars.

Ryan Cumming spoke about the importance of advocacy in the work and mission of the church and the difference between responding to hunger and ending it.

For many of our neighbors, the economic consequences of the pandemic has thrust them into the sometimes-confusing world of applications, documentation and eligibility requirements that make up our public assistance programs here in the United States. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) increased funding and broadened eligibility to many of these programs, but since many of these programs are administered by states, how to apply depends on where you live.

ELCA World Hunger’s newest set of guides, “Community Assistance Resources by State,” is meant to help potential applicants get started in applying for benefits they and their families may need. Each one-page guide has links to information and applications for each of the following programs for all 50 states and Washington, DC:

• unemployment insurance;
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
• Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
• Rental and housing resources from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and
• child care assistance (for most states).

In addition, each sheet has contact information for the National Suicide Hotline, the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Farmer Crisis Hotline.

We included some information about changes to programs, where possible, though with many programs in flux, we only included information that we are reasonably certain will still be accurate as we head into Fall 2020.

How to Use the Community Assistance Guides

The guides are on the ELCA World Hunger resources page under the “Hunger Ed” tab. All of the states are grouped together in a zip folder. If using a PC, simply save the folder to your desktop, right-click on the folder once it is downloaded and click “Extract All…” A folder with all of the guides should appear.

The guides are meant to be a starting point for finding applications and information on public programs. These can be shared electronically with members of a congregation, contacts on an email list or with clients of a feeding ministry. They can also be printed and placed in bags with food during distribution days at a food pantry. These can also be posted to social media groups for a community or shared on a website.

As you can see in the Montana guide above, most of the information contains links to websites, while some also have phone numbers. There are a few reasons for this. First, the agencies that administer many of these programs have been overwhelmed with calls. Some potential applicants are finding that hold times are very, very long, if their call is answered at all. Going online is typically the quickest way to apply. Where possible, we included links to paper applications for some assistance programs, for folks with challenges filling out forms online, either due to internet access or ability level. The second reason is that the most up-to-date information on eligibility and process can be found online.

Having direct links to the information can also help potential applicants find what they need much faster. Digging through state government websites can be tricky, and there are several websites that appear to be state-run are not the right sites and may present a risk for security of applicants’ information. The links on ELCA World Hunger’s Community Assistance Resource Guides have been checked by multiple staff for accuracy.

What If Clients Don’t Have Internet Access?

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing what many folks have known for years: there is a deep digital divide between communities that have access to the internet at home and communities that have insufficient or no access. So, how can neighbors who don’t have internet access use these resources?

There are a couple solutions to this problem. First, some of the guides have links to paper applications that can be printed out and sent to congregation members or placed in a bag of food during distribution at a food pantry. The paper applications usually include the mailing address for the agency, so this is one easy solution.

Second, if your ministry has switched to a drive-through or walk-up model at a church, look into how far your church’s wifi extends on the property. For some churches, guests may be able to access the network from their cars. Consider setting up a waiting section of the parking lot for guests to access the church’s wifi and fill out the application using their own computers. In many cases, the applications are quick to fill out. This does depend on your state, though. For unemployment insurance, some states have set up scheduled days when applicants can apply. Be sure to check these first. Also, be sure to check with the church administrator to make sure the wifi connection is secure and available for clients to use.

Another option during food distribution is to provide computer stations outside for clients to use. This is a bit more difficult. The computers would need to be secure (especially in deleting browser history after each use), socially distant from other computers, guests, or volunteers, and covered in such a way that they can be easily disinfected after each use.

Also, remember that the crisis response resources are phone or text-based. For neighbors facing crises related to mental health or domestic violence, these hotlines can be an important help and do not require a computer.

Accessing the public benefits that are available in your state can be confusing for folks. But with these guides to get started, the process can be much easier and less time-consuming.

Note: Most of the public benefits expanded under the CARES Act are not available to undocumented immigrants. The ELCA’s AMMPARO ministry has shared a spreadsheet of resources on its Facebook page to help non-citizen neighbors find the support they need.

As new as the COVID-19 pandemic is to us living today, it is far from the first pandemic the church has had to address. One of the deadliest was the bubonic plague, which ravaged Europe in the mid-1300s, killing millions (estimates range from 25 to 50 million people.)  In 1527, the plague re-emerged. When it hit Wittenberg in late summer, the University of Wittenberg closed. The students were sent home, and many residents self-quarantined to avoid the deadly sickness.

Peter Bruegel the Elder, Triumph of Death (1562)

Martin Luther, recovering from his own illness, responded to an earnest plea from Johann Hess, the pastor at Breslau. Hess’ central question was thus: as everyone else sequestered themselves in isolation, “is it proper for a Christian to run away from a deadly plague”? Luther responded with his letter “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague.” Below are four lessons we can learn from Luther’s response, both for our situation today and for our long-term approach to health and wellness.

Good health matters to God.

The Lutheran World Federation’s “Waking the Giant” initiative invites member churches to reflect on the many ways churches are already contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of good health and well-being for all – and to consider new ways churches can be part of this work. Accompanying communities as they seek good health for all people is a cornerstone of ELCA World Hunger. As a member of the LWF, and with the United States being a target country of “Waking the Giant,” the ELCA continues to accompany companions and partners in this initiative and to work toward the goal of good health here in the US and the Caribbean.

This focus on health is nothing new for the church. Some of the earliest hospitals were founded by Christian leaders, and history is full of examples of churches accompanying people living with illness, from the Plague of Justinian in the 600s to today.

For Luther, this work was grounded in two claims of faith. First, the church is called to service of the neighbor, particularly in times of distress. Citing Matthew 25:41-46, Luther argued in his response to Hess that “we are bound to each other in such a way that no one may forsake the other in his distress but is obliged to assist and help him as he himself would like to be helped.” To help one’s neighbor in times of illness is to serve Christ. Second, Luther believed that medicines, treatments and intelligence are God’s gifts so that “we can live in good health.” Recalling St. Augustine’s image of Christ as the “physician,” Luther counsels Hess that God cares both for the spiritual needs of the soul as well as the physical needs of body. Simply put, good health matters to God.

Christ as apothecary; suggesting the idea of Christ as the universal healer. Reproduction of a photograph of an oil painting after J. Marie Appeli, 1731. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

And good health matters to God’s people.

So, can one flee a plague if one’s life might be threatened? Luther’s answer is not simple, in part because the question itself is a bit of a problem. When we ask, “what ought we to do in a crisis?” it’s often asked from the perspective of obedience. “Can one flee a deadly plague?” is really a way of asking, “Can I flee a deadly plague and still be doing what God wants me to do?”

Of course, for Luther, the life of faith isn’t about obediently completing certain tasks. It’s about responding in love to the neighbor. So, whether one can flee a crisis to save oneself depends: what is in the best interest of the neighbor? Luther offers a well-reasoned defense of self-preservation in the face of pandemic. BUT, he is quick to temper this by saying that self-preservation is only permissible if we are certain our neighbors are taken care of. It’s one thing to leave a neighbor with a network of other supporters. It’s a very different thing to leave a neighbor alone, without aid.

What ought we to do in a crisis? For Lutherans, the answer isn’t obedience to a universal rule but rather a question of discernment – what is in the best interest of our neighbor? Accompanying the neighbor is the end against which our methods should be measured. This includes helping care for the bodily needs, as well as the spiritual, as we’ll see below.

That said, Luther also wanted his readers to consider whether their presence was more harmful than helpful. What, besides self-preservation, ought to shape our response to a pandemic? And, what might love of neighbor look like?

Pray…then work.

Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others.

Leaving aside his questionable belief that epidemics are spread by “pestinential breath,” Luther’s description sounds timely, still today. What he is describing, essentially, is social distancing. Pray, yes, but take practical steps to avoid infecting yourself and others, he claims.

Of course, Luther is not discouraging prayer. But in his day, as in ours, there are those who believe that prayer, faith or other spiritual powers can protect them, and so they do not need to take other precautions. Luther called this sinning “on the right hand.” Those who rely solely on faith as a sort of spiritual, magical power without taking advantage of the other gifts of God, such as intelligence and medicine, “are much too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague.” Contrary to this, Luther argued that Christians are called to take necessary, practical steps to protect physical health.

He went further, too, arguing that governments should “maintain municipal homes and hospitals staffed with people to take care of the sick so that patients from private homes can be sent there.” This, he wrote, would be “a fine, commendable, and Christian arrangement to which everyone should offer generous help and contributions, particularly the government.” This echoes what Luther says elsewhere, namely that government, too, is a gift of God for our well-being. As such, those in power are obligated by their station to help. Churches, for their part, are called to assist in this work – and to hold government accountable when it fails.

Listen to the experts.

In his letter, Luther admonishes readers of the importance of taking medicine, of self-quarantining, of hygiene and other practical measures. He also offers his proposals for care for the soul, responding as we would expect a pastor to do. But throughout, what is very interesting is Luther’s deference to medical experts. Sure, he is more than qualified to offer spiritual care advice, and he does so. But when it comes to specifics about avoiding illness, he is more hesitant.

This is clearest near the end of the letter, where he writes about burials. Because of the spread of the bubonic plague, there was debate about how to handle the dead bodies of victims. Luther writes,

I leave it to the doctors of medicine and others with greater experience than mine in such matters to decide whether it is dangerous to maintain cemeteries within the city limits. I do not know and do not claim to understand whether vapors and mists arise out of graves to pollute the air.

What to do with dead bodies is no small matter in any religion. Christians, like other faiths, have specific rituals and practices, informed by our beliefs about death and life. It’s not too much to assume that deferring to medical authorities here is a pretty significant step for Luther. It means giving up the church’s right over its dead. Luther does a bit of fancy prooftexting of scripture to support not burying corpses within the city limits in his letter. But in the end, his thought process is clear: when it comes to health, defer to those who have been gifted by God with expertise. And recognize their work as one of the ways God is active in our world, promoting good health for all.

Luther’s understanding of health and illness may be scientifically outdated, but his nuanced approach to the church’s vocation during times of crisis can give us food for thought. Health and wellness for all are not ideals for the future reign of God but practical realities the church is called to pursue today. Accompanying neighbors facing illness and working to keep communities healthy is an important way to reduce hunger and to discover God at work in our midst, through community leaders, medical experts, first responders and one another. And we see this in the hospitals, maternal and child care programs, health education initiatives and other ministries ELCA World Hunger supports.

Health was part of God’s intention for the world long before it was a Sustainable Development Goal. Working together toward this – even if that means, right now, working and living apart for many of us – is where the church is called to be, and where it has been during the “plagues” of the past.

All quotes cited above are from Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague (1527),” in Timothy F. Lull and William R. Russell, eds. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, 3rd edition (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 475-487.

A New Resource for Learning, Sharing and Leading

Good information is the backbone of effective responses to hunger and poverty. But where do we get the information we need? And where can we get reliable information about our local communities? ELCA World Hunger’s new “Know Your Neighborhood Worksheet and Guide” is here to help!

This fillable worksheet gives step-by-step instructions for finding the most up-to-date, reliable data on counties within the United States. Each section offers clear instructions for finding data from sources such as the United States Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are also tips to help you dig even deeper into the numbers and to share the information with others.

What Information Can I Find?

“Know Your Neighborhood” is divided into five sections:

• Housing
• Employment and Poverty
• Food Security
• Food Access
• Community Asset Mapping

Each section provides a brief introduction to the issues, a summary of what information to look for and a list of the sources used for the data (click to enlarge):

Some of the questions that you will be able to answer with the help of “Know Your Neighborhood”:

• How many people are homeless in my state? How many homeless people in my state are currently sheltered?

• What is the median household income in my county?

• How many people are living in poverty in my county?

• What is the median household income in my synod?

• What is the unemployment rate in my county?

• How many people are food insecure in my county?

• How many people in my county live in a food desert?

Another New Resource: Synod Maps

In addition to the worksheet in “Know Your Neighborhood,” ELCA World Hunger is happy to provide synod maps here. These maps are color-coded and show the median household income by zip code for synods. (The Slovak Zion Synod and the Caribbean Synod are not available.) In addition, each map shows the locations of ELCA congregations throughout the synod.

As you can see in this example map of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, the color-coded areas represent median household income brackets (click to enlarge):

How Can You Use This Data?

The worksheet and maps for “Know Your Neighborhood” give leaders a quick way to collect and share information with others in the community. These will be helpful for

• Presentations

• Temple talks

• Newsletters

• Considering new ministry plans

• Sharing the story of a current ministry

• Advocacy

• And much more!

Download “Know Your Neighborhood” from ELCA.org/hunger/resources#HungerEd. The synod maps can be found at ELCA.org/hunger/resources#Maps. And check out other resources from ELCA World Hunger on the same page!

Connect

If you use “Know Your Neighborhood” or have questions about how to use the maps or the guide, get in touch with us at Hunger@ELCA.org.

Brooke De Jong is the Program Assistant for Hunger Education with ELCA World Hunger. Previous to this position she worked managing grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a housing agency in Chicago, IL. 

When it comes to responding to homelessness in our congregations, often there is a will but not a way. We would help if we only knew how to do it safely, if we could guarantee that our money was not going to support an addiction, if we had more time to understand best practices and so on. Fear causes us to freeze and walk or drive past the neighbor in need on our everyday Jericho roads. We all have been the Priest and the Levite when we wanted to be the Good Samaritan. And sometimes we have been the person victimized on the hazardous road, waiting for our Good Samaritan.

However, many congregations do great work. They support shelters, make kits with important items such as clean socks and personal care products, act as warming shelters in the winter and more. Some even actively advocate for fair housing and oppose laws that criminalize poverty. Some of us have even made personal care kits or stood on a picket line – but still drive past the person with the cardboard sign standing on the median.

We all walk different Jericho roads every day seeing or not seeing and responding to or not responding to our neighbors without homes. Sometimes we are the Priest and the Levite and the Good Samaritan all in one day or even in a span of a few hours. This is what it means to be human and in need of God’s grace.

But just because we are afraid and in daily need of God’s grace, we should not forget our baptismal calling and duty as citizens. The ELCA social statement on Church and Society says we are daily called to be “[. . .] wise and active citizens. [. . .] Along with all citizens, Christians have the responsibility to defend human rights and to work for freedom, justice, peace, environmental well-being, and good order in public life. They are to recognize the vital role of law in protecting life and liberty and in upholding the common good.”

Our neighbors without homes are in need of our actions as wise and active citizens.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in January proposed a new rule that would weaken oversight and national data collection on fair housing projects. This rule change would disproportionately affect low-income communities of color. Under the proposed rule change the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule (AFFH) that was first designed to help communities promote diversity and inclusivity under the 1968 Fair Housing Act and take proactive steps to reverse the effects of housing segregation would be rendered almost completely ineffectual.

Read more about the AFFH Rule here.

To join with others in opposing this rule change, check out the ELCA Advocacy Action Alert here.

Brooke De Jong is the author of this post and the Program Assistant for Hunger Education with ELCA World Hunger. Previous to this position she worked managing grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a housing agency in Chicago, IL. 

The work towards economic and racial justice has never been easy. Making long-term sustainable and transformative changes is even harder. This is especially true in the areas of housing and homelessness. According to the latest Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data collected in January 2019, Chicago alone had 5,290 people without homes. But what is more concerning is that 1,026 or 19% of persons without homes in Chicago were white but 4,674 or 88% persons without homes in Chicago were people of color.

As we emerged from the holidays and rolled into the new year, news broke that HUD is proposing to repeal a 2015 fair housing rule, or the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, that could make this disparity worse.

What is the proposed change and why does it matter?

The proposal to repeal of the 2015 AFFH rule repeals a definition of fair housing that actively sought to reverse the effects of housing segregation and changes the definition of fair housing to “advancing fair housing choice within the program participant’s control or influence.” Under Secretary Ben Carson, HUD would now define fair housing as the ability to choose one’s housing and end proactive measures that sought to reverse the effects of housing segregation. Without the proper tools, training and financial support, many communities will not be able to continue the hard but important work towards ending housing segregation.

Housing segregation is a serious problem in the United States. In short, where someone lives is important. Where someone lives determines the quality of education, jobs, medical care, access to supportive services, food quality and more. Ultimately where some lives can impact a person’s ability to thrive. In segregated communities, like that of Chicago, often what happens is a concentration of the above items in more white and affluent areas and a decreased density of these crucial services in areas that have higher rates of poverty and large populations of people of color. Housing segregation has many devastating effects but the most sinister is the ability of housing segregation to create a never-ending cycle of poverty. If we  are serious about our mission to create a just world where all are fed, ending housing segregation is an important piece of the puzzle.

What is the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” Rule?

Let’s start first with what a rule is, why we have them and how they come about. Rules are created and used by United States government agencies, like HUD, to help staff and related programs effectively interpret and implement laws passed by congress. Often, laws passed by Congress leave a lot of room for the agency to determine how to put a law into practice. So, rules are created to guide the work of the agency, evaluate its grant programs and to prioritize spending.

In the case of the AFFH rule, the US Congress has passed several laws that govern how HUD does its work and spends its money. All of these major laws contain language directing HUD to prevent discrimination in its housing programs and create programs that actively implement fair housing practices. While the laws are clear that housing discrimination is illegal, it is not clear from these laws how HUD is supposed to go about developing fair housing programs. Therefore, it is up to every administration and HUD secretary to define what these affirmative sections of our housing laws look like in practice.

In the case of the 2015 AFFH rule implemented by then-HUD Secretary Julian Castro and the Obama administration, this looked like taking proactive steps to reverse the effects of decades of housing segregation created by redlining, discriminatory and predatory mortgage lending practices, and community disinvestment. This involved defining fair housing as:

taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws creating new sophisticated mapping and data tools for communities requiring extensive reporting on systemic housing segregation.

When this definition went into effect in 2015 as part of the AFFH rule, HUD had a new mandate: create new mapping tools and training programs to help communities understand the effects of systemic segregation and begin evaluating grant programs based on how effective they were at reversing systemic segregation. Communities and housing authorities that did well were awarded more money and others who failed to meet the new standards would see their funding cut or the program would find themselves under HUD monitoring.

Why would HUD propose this change?

HUD is proposing this change because it says, among other things, the 2015 rule is too burdensome on communities and programs.

As a former HUD grants administrator, I can see why HUD might be choosing to repeal such a complex rule. Because the thought of a regulation change still makes me feel a deep sense of dread. It is difficult to convey the amount of work and stress that comes with managing HUD grants. But I think it is important to try in order to better grasp and evaluate HUD’s stated reasoning for this rule change.

Many housing agencies administering HUD programs and funding, including the one worked at, are greatly understaffed and underfunded. As the grants manager, it is your responsibility to know HUD rules and regulations inside and out and make sure staff are following them. The bills and regulations that govern a single type of HUD funding can number into the thousands of pages. A violation of those regulations can result in loss of funding and mass eviction of those your agency serves.

Changes in how data is collected and how HUD defines different terms, both of which are part of this proposed rule change, can affect your ability to house people. In short, working on HUD grants and implementing rule changes means the lives of the most vulnerable depend on you doing your job well. That is a heavy burden that many grant administrators and other HUD program administrators carry.

Nevertheless, this burden is one I often carried with pride. The work my agency did to provide housing and supportive services to the most vulnerable populations in Chicago, was a direct result of the funding I was able to secure and manage. HUD rules like the AFFH rule, which it is proposing to repeal, made sure we were making long-term transformative and sustainable changes in the communities we served. That made a difference to me when I was up until 2 am trying to make grant submission deadlines.

In Summary

It is true the 2015 rule did place a heavy burden on HUD programs and administrators. Many programs reported to HUD that the current AFFH process required lengthy report submissions ranging from 200 to 800 pages. Many communities also had to hire outside contractors and spend vital funds on the completion of these reports. It is important and right that HUD should listen to their feedback.

However, HUD also needs to take a look at themselves. HUD never completed the mapping tools and training it promised these communities. These mapping tools and training would have been vital to the success of the 2015 AFFH rule.

So, if something is not working or is difficult and you have not made the proper investment, you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. In other words, despite some of the failures and difficulties of this 2015 AFFH rule, HUD should not ignore or give up on its mandate to make a positive impact on communities in the realm of fair housing and housing segregation. And HUD certainly should not give up on this mandate because it failed to provide the adequate funding and support these communities and programs needed.

 

“Peace and the end of conflicts are fundamental in the battle against hunger.” – Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

For those of us old enough to remember, it is hard to imagine that nearly twenty years have passed since the World Trade Center towers graced the New York City skyline. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 brought into striking relief for Americans and neighbors the world over the vulnerability under which we live – and the threat posed by those who would exploit that vulnerability. 9/11 made clear that terrorism was a threat that could not be ignored, no matter how strong the walls or wide the oceans that might seem to offer protection from it.

In the days after, it became clear that the US and its allies would soon be at war, though few knew just how long the conflicts following 9/11 would last. As military preparations began and continued for more than a decade after, it also became clear that renewed energy for peace-building was also needed, to establish a just peace that strengthened institutions against violence and corruption, protected communities from terrorism, and fostered resilience to conflict.

Against this background, the member nations of the UN laid out the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a framework for encouraging development toward peace and prosperity for people and the planet. SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – directly addresses the need for equal access to justice and protection of rights for all people. The goal makes clear what many have already known – without justice, there is no peace.

SDG 16 doesn’t stand alone, however. The need for justice and peace is closely tied to SDG 2 – Zero Hunger. Without justice, there is no peace. And without a just peace, there will always be hunger.

Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) bear this out. After decades of decline, global hunger has been on the rise since 2014, driven by conflict within countries in the developing world. The FAO found that in 2017, 489 million of the 815 million undernourished people around the world lived in countries facing conflict, violence and/or fragility. The growth in global hunger also correlated with a growth in non-state violence, which increased 125% between 2010 and 2017.

To be fair, the FAO understands “conflict” broadly, but terrorism is not without ties to hunger and poverty, too. Studies about these ties often look in one direction, trying to see if poverty and hunger are drivers of terrorism. But more recently, the research has started to look the other way, too, identifying the ways that terrorism and other forms of violence can make people more vulnerable to hunger and poverty. In a study of northern Nigeria, for example, researchers found that Boko Haram, a terrorist organization known for its kidnapping of schoolgirls in 2014, significantly disrupted markets through a series of attacks. As one respondent put it,

“People are afraid of coming to the market, me too am afraid. This market have been attacked many times, while perishable goods left wasted each time of attack causing many traders into incurring debt (sic).”

Attacks along roads to markets have also made it harder to exchange goods between markets. Threats of violence have significantly reduced access to food and left traders, particularly farmers selling their produce, vulnerable to debt and poverty. The recent debate over funding for health care expenses for rescue workers in the US following 9/11 highlights yet another way that terrorism and violence can leave individuals and families vulnerable to financial insecurity. Getting treatment for injuries and illnesses incurred as a result of the attacks left many workers and their families saddled with medical bills and lost income still felt today, 18 years later.

Terrorism isn’t the only type of violence that can increase food insecurity. Conflicts in places like Syria and Yemen, for example, have forced people from their homes and livelihoods, leaving them especially vulnerable to hunger. Interpersonal violence, too, particularly violence against women and children, is another significant cause of hunger. Often, violence or the threat of violence is used against women to prevent them from defending their rights or pursuing their vocations, as a 2004 study in the Journal of Poverty found. This is one of the many ties between SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and another of the SDGs, SDG 5 – Gender Equality.

The ELCA, through ELCA World Hunger, is working with fellow member churches of the Lutheran World Federation toward these Sustainable Development Goals as part of the “Waking the Giant” initiative. Together, we are lifting up the ways that churches and communities around the world are addressing the complex causes and effects of hunger, violence, and injustice and encouraging one another to deepen our efforts. We know that achieving any one of the SDGs will require a holistic response that addresses the other goals. If we want to end hunger, we must work for peace. If we desire a just peace, we must work for equality.

Certainly, as the refrain goes, we can “never forget” 9/11. But we should add to this the active commitment to “be ever mindful,” particularly of the ways that violence continues to threaten communities around the world, sometimes in the starkness of violent attacks but often in the pernicious effects of fear, instability, insecurity and hunger.

The pervasiveness of sin renders the world God has created a threatening place for us and our neighbors. The tragedy of violent attacks and the tribulation of undernourishment are painful, powerful reminders of how far we yet remain from the world which God has intended and promised for us. And yet, the hope enlivened by individual acts of courage and collective movements toward resilience reminds us that in the world as it is, too, God remains present – mourning as we mourn, and ever inviting us to share in the work of reconciliation and restoration.

We lift our voices in prayer, as lamentation for those who have been lost to violence and as invocation of hope in the transformative power of God to fill our needs – for food, for safety, for community. As a church, we pray for peace. We pray for justice. We pray for an end to hunger. And we pray knowing that each of these petitions is tied together in one single, holy plea to God for a just world where all may experience well-being and security amid the goodness of God’s creation.

Or, in other words, a world where all may be fed.

 

“When we begin to attend as a community to public issues, we exercise faith practices that embody our understanding of the gospel, witness to the world our public commitments, and communicate a different way of being a church.” – Amy Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy

Many people – Lutheran and non-Lutheran – are familiar with Martin Luther’s teachings on civil order and obedience to laws. Fewer folks, though, recall the Luther who admonished preachers to use the pulpit to rebuke rulers for injustice, argued for public support for education of girls and boys, and inspired generations of future Lutherans to stand against political oppression and injustice.

The authors of The Forgotten Luther II: Reclaiming the Church’s Public Witness (Fortress Press, 2019) offer this side of Luther and Lutheran faith to congregations today. Featuring chapters by theologians, pastors and teachers in the ELCA, this second volume in the Forgotten Luther series shares the stories of Lutherans from today and yesterday whose faith moved them into public advocacy and activism – and encourages readers to hear the call of faith to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”

Carter Lindberg, a contributor to the first Forgotten Luther book, Mary Jane Haemig and Wanda Deifelt deal with issues as diverse as war, education and embodiment, while Amy Reumann, the director of ELCA Advocacy, offers a clarion call to advocacy by congregations, shaped by faith and inspired by the stories of congregations already active in the public square.

Chapters by Kirsi Stjerna and Anthony Bateza recall the dangerous memories of racism and anti-Semitism that have pervaded Lutheran history, sins that have deformed the church’s public witness in history, while offering suggestions for building a more inclusive, just church today.

Together, the authors address critical questions for the church today: When should the church support the state’s agenda? When should it resist? What are the options for critical but constructive cooperation? Their answers are surprising, troubling and inspiring.

Discussion questions accompany each chapter to help guide conversations in education forums, adult Sunday School series and more. Interviews with each of the authors are also available at https://vimeo.com/showcase/5926704.

Order copies for yourself or your congregation from Fortress Press: https://fortresspress.com/forgottenlutherii.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to ELCA World Hunger to support the longstanding work of ELCA Advocacy as part of a holistic and transformative strategy to end hunger.

The Forgotten Luther III symposium is coming! The Forgotten Luther III: Reclaiming a Vision for Global Community will be hosted at Saint Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, October 25-26, 2019. Learn more here. Watch for more updates on the ELCA World Hunger blog!

This post comes from ELCA World Hunger’s weekly email list, “Sermon Starters.” For this week, Rev. Angela Khabeb of Holy Trinity Church in Minneapolis, shares with us her reflections on forgiveness and how we are called to make this gift more than an act, but a lifestyle as followers in Christ.

If you’d like to receive posts like these ahead of the liturgical calendar, please subscribe to ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters by clicking on the link, or email us at hunger@elca.org.

Here is a recent review of the resource from Vernita Kennan of the Saint Paul Area Synod:

“I receive the ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters each week from the ELCA and find it is a helpful way for me to look ahead and “preach my own sermon” in preparation of what I will hear next Sunday at my home church, Incarnation Lutheran…You needn’t be a rostered person in the ELCA to find them inspirational.”

February 24, 2019 – Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Luke 6:27-38

We continue this week with the Sermon on the Plain. We hear Jesus proclaiming a new way. “Turn the other cheek, go the second mile, love your enemies.” Unfortunately, this passage has been misused in some religious circles.

Please allow me this commercial break…

If someone is in an abusive situation, they are not required to stay and risk their life and/or the lives of their children. There are times when it is best to forgive from a distance. We can continue to love the person but if the relationship is physically, verbally, emotionally, or economically abusive, the most loving and faith-filled response we can have is to practice self-care. When we try to enforce forgiveness like it is a law and not an act of God’s love and grace, all of humanity is in jeopardy.

We’ve heard these passages many times before. But for the original hearers, these words were earth-shattering. Jesus’ words were radical. More to the point, his life was radical. After all, Jesus constantly challenged the status quo. He repeatedly broadened the center so that those on the margins of society would be included.  He challenged the religious leaders of the day and caused so much political upheaval that he received the death penalty.

Jesus was revolutionary in ways that people never expected. Even today, Jesus enters our lives in unexpected ways and I love it. After all, Christianity should not be comfortable for us. The Gospel should not be like our favorite pair of jeans or a pair of old shoes or a worn-out sweater that we drag out this time of year. Certainly, we find comfort in God’s word. But we don’t need to have a hold on the Gospel because Jesus does not belong to us. Rather, the Gospel needs to have a hold on us because we belong to Jesus. Otherwise we are just nominal Christians playing church. We create our own brand of Jesus that suits our needs and pets our egos. We manipulate Jesus into whatever makes us feel safe, or superior, or righteous. So, what is the earth-shattering news we need to hear?

You see, the life changing power of the Gospel message has the greatest impact on our lives when it is destabilizing. Whenever we are challenged to redefine or examine who we understand Jesus to be, we grow. Whenever we challenge what it means to be a Christian in our world today, we grow.

In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus is encouraging his followers to abandon business as usual. Through his sermon, Jesus turns the accepted societal norms inside-out. This is Good News because even when we dishonor God by our actions or inactions, God still seeks after us. Now, for the life of me I cannot figure out why. But Jesus chooses to use us as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Jesus chooses us even though we are broken, selfish, and woefully imperfect. Jesus chooses us to broaden the center in our own communities so that all God’s people have a seat at the table. Jesus uses us to increase God’s healing and hope in the world. Is this the earth-shattering news for us?

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

It’s hard to ignore the theme of forgiveness in this week’s lessons—and believe me, I tried. Yes, the story of Joseph is a powerful illustration of love and forgiveness overcoming hatred and bitterness. But even as I encounter this undeniable witness to the hidden hand of God, I find myself distracted by many questions.

Firstly, what does true forgiveness look like for us? What happens to trust? Is it wise for me to trust this person again if they had deliberately betrayed me? What if the best I can do is just be cordial to them? Isn’t that enough? Isn’t it enough for me to simply not hate the sight of them? Let’s face it, forgiveness is hard. There’s no “forgiveness switch” on our hearts that we can simply click on or off when we need more or less of it. I’ve been wondering if forgiveness is like love. You know, when you give away love it multiplies and comes back to you.

Sometimes it seems, in our country, we are more concerned with punishment than we are with peace. We seem more concerned with revenge than reconciliation. We find it easier to fight than to forgive. No wonder some of us find it difficult to accept God’s extravagant gift of love. Even when we are receptive to God’s mercy and forgiveness, we may yet be reluctant to give mercy and forgiveness to others. Maybe we feel that we are giving away our power when we forgive. Maybe we are simply afraid of being hurt again and use our grudges to keep us safe. But, at the end of the day, ministry involves risk.

It can feel like a risk to forgive. But what exactly are we risking? Our power, position, politics, morals, self-constructed ideas of who we are and how others should perceive us seem to be potential risk-factors to forgiveness. But on the other side of forgiveness, on the other side of the tension and resistance we often experience when confronted with someone who has “wronged” us, we find relationship. We find a leveling and sharing of power, we find mutual respect and dignity, and we find the Holy ground that lives between us all. If hunger and poverty are symptoms of deeply broken relationships around the world, forgiveness could be our first-step on the path to living lives of abundance and sharing.

Forgiveness is not necessarily an event, but rather a lifestyle. God doesn’t expect us to forgive perfectly every time. But God is encouraging us to live our lives with forgiveness as our North Star. In doing so, we honor God and we help heal the body of Christ. C.S. Lewis illustrates forgiveness as part of our baptismal identity as Christians:

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

This is both gift and challenge.

To be clear, forgiveness cannot erase pain or eliminate the need for justice. But forgiveness is God’s gift to us. The Holy Spirit empowers us to share that gift with others. Fortunately, forgiveness, like most things, gets easier with practice. The more we remain open to the Spirit, the more able we are to forgive. Forgiveness can be extremely difficult, but it is possible. In fact, God makes all things possible for us. This is good news.

Children Sermon

Forgiveness seems to be an overarching theme in this week’s lessons. Forgiveness is an important concept that might be difficult for children to grasp. We learn to say we’re sorry but that does not always lead to forgiveness. Have you ever heard a child offer an angry “sorry!” because her mother told her she had to apologize?  It happens with my kids on occasion.

So, it might be a good idea to ask the children to help you describe forgiveness. This way you can gauge the understanding of the group. Invite the children to share examples of times when they needed to receive forgiveness or times when they needed to forgive someone (be prepared to share your own examples if need be).

For an object lesson, bring two items–something rather heavy and something rather light. A brick and a feather would work well and pretty easy to get. Grudges are heavy like this brick (or rock or concrete paver–probably less than $1 at your local hardware store). Forgiveness is light like this feather (or cotton ball or stuffing from a pillow). You could get a sturdy backpack and put several heavy objects in it and invite a child or two to try and carry it. Ask who would rather carry the heavy bag or the cotton ball all day.

Remind them of the words about forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. Say it out loud, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Encourage the children (and adults) to listen for those words later in worship. Remind them that Jesus helps us forgive and forgiveness brings joy.

The guests sit back, satisfied. The plates are scraped clean. The utensils are carefully stowed for the next meal. Where do we go from here?

In the first session of this study, Babette’s guests had finished their sumptuous, if strange, feast, praising the talents of their hostess, if not the exact recipes she brought to life. The eponymous meal was not the end of the story, however. Thirty-year-old spoiler alert: At the end of the film, Babette informs the two sisters for whom she works that she has spent all her newfound wealth on the meal and so, rather than returning to France, will be staying on as their live-in servant. Almost as important as the climax of the meal is the denouement of Babette’s decision to remain in their service. The feast is not a farewell dinner but rather a celebration of transition — from the servitude she was forced into by circumstance to the loving service she continues by choice.

In the second session of this study, Martin Luther extolled the virtues of Abraham, whose radical hospitality created an opening — both literal and figurative — for Abraham and Sarah to hear the promise of God in their humble tent. It was a model of hospitality Luther commended to the church, that it might be a place of refuge for all who are vulnerable, for all the strangers-maybe-angels in our midst. The people of God are called to be church for the sake of the world — and this starts with the concern for the well-being of others that gives rise to hospitality.

In the third session of this study, Paul admonished Peter for creating tables that were exclusive rather than inclusive. Peter had refused to dine with Gentiles and, in so doing, had decided who was in and who was out based on the law rather than on grace. Paul also held the Corinthians to account for their treatment of people in need, chastising them for mimicking in the church the pattern of relationships already present in the world, where those with earth and power received the places of prestige, and those in poverty had to make do with scraps.

Each of these threads is pulled together in Luther’s teaching on the most important meal in the Christian church, Holy Communion. Calling Holy Communion a “blessed sacrament of love,” Luther writes:

The fruit of the sacrament is nothing other than love. As Christ gave himself for us with his body and blood in order to redeem us from all misery, so we too are to give ourselves with might and main for our neighbor…That is how a Christian acts.

For Luther, Holy Communion draws those at the altar closer to God and closer to one another. To partake of the sacrament authentically, one must remember both dimensions — the presence of grace in the sacrament and the willingness to bear the burdens of the other people at the table. Holy Communion is a means of grace that forms us to be signs of grace to one another.

In Holy Communion, we are reminded of Christ’s sacrifice for us and are invited to give ourselves in like manner to one another. The sacred meal is nourishment for a sacred vocation. In fact, for Luther, the sacrament has no meaning without this: “For the sacrament has no blessing and significance unless love grows daily and so changes a person that he is made one with all others,” he writes. At the table, a community is fed and formed for service in the world. The sacrament’s significance does not end at the table where we eat but extends into the world in which we live — a world we shape by our witness to the hospitality of God, who welcomes all to the table. It is a somber meal of penitent reflection and a celebratory feast of new beginnings.

This season, as we have prepared for the arrival of Christ, it may be easy to see Christmas as the end, the culmination of what has gone before, rather than as the beginning, the inauguration of what is to come. But the coming of Christmas is not merely the end of Advent. It is the start of the life of the church in the world. Freed from sin and death by Jesus Christ, it is the beginning of the servitude we choose — service of the world in gratitude for the grace we have received. It is a celebration of the freedom to join with others at the table and the freedom to concern ourselves wholly with the needs of our neighbors. In Advent, the church is created to be part of the re-creation of the world begun on Christmas.

The “reason for the season” is Christ’s birth, certainly. But it is also the creation of the people of Christ, who are called into the world to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

The guests sit back, satisfied. The plates are scraped clean. The utensils are carefully stowed for the next meal. Now, the work of Christmas begins.

Questions for reflection:

• What memorable meals in your life have brought you into relationship with other people at the table? How did dining together help you become closer to them?
• How does Holy Communion help nourish you for service of others?
• Where is God inviting you to be in the new year?
• How are you renewed for service of the world by the holiday season?

Prayer

Gracious God,

we give you thanks for the many ways you nourish us — with food, with family, with friends, with faith. In you, we are made new to be instruments of your grace in our world. Recall to us the many places of need in our world — places of injustice and violence, of hunger and poverty. Enrich us with love at the tables you set that we may seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with you into the future you have promised.

In your holy name,

Amen.

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To download this entire Advent study, click on the cover image below. To other congregational resources from ELCA World Hunger, please visit www.elca.org/Resources/ELCA-World-Hunger.

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