{"id":5831,"date":"2024-03-06T13:36:20","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T19:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/?p=5831"},"modified":"2024-03-06T13:37:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T19:37:30","slug":"2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is taken from the 2024 ELCA World Hunger Lent Study. The full resource can be ordered as a hardcopy or downloaded as a PDF in English or Spanish at the link\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Week 4 \u2014 Restoration<\/h1>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/h3>\n

Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first reading for this fourth week of Lent is from the book of Numbers. The Israelites have been on their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land for years, and the goal is nigh. They have received the law from God through Moses at Sinai and are now on the final leg of their journey. Yet rather than being hopeful and eager, they \u201cbecame discouraged\u201d (Numbers 21:4), complaining about Moses\u2019 leadership and even their \u201cmiserable food\u201d (21:5). God\u2019s response is inventive, if not entirely gracious: \u201cpoisonous serpents\u201d sent by God \u201cbit the people, so that many Israelites died\u201d (21:6). The people repent, Moses prays, and God grants Moses a staff that will heal all who are bitten.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the kindest of stories. Nor is it the easiest story to explore as we continue our study of encounters with God. What exactly is being encountered here, besides a seemingly devious and vengeful God who sends venomous serpents to kill people, then rescues them?<\/p>\n

The psalmist gives the story a different spin, omitting any mention of the venomous snakes and lifting up the healing of God, who heard the cries of the people and \u201csaved them from their distress\u201d (107:19).<\/p>\n

Despite the psalmist\u2019s sanitized take, this pattern can be found throughout the story of the exodus. God rescues the people, the people turn on God, God punishes them, they repent, God shows mercy. Over and over and over.<\/p>\n

These biblical narratives are often used to extol the merciful nature of God, who repeatedly forgives the people despite their sin. Truly, God does show mercy. But this might be cold comfort to the Israelites killed by snakebites. \u201cMercy\u201d may not be the only lesson implicit in the people\u2019s journey with God.<\/p>\n

The exodus begins in Egypt, where God\u2019s people are enslaved and oppressed. God seeks out Moses to lead the people, lays low the unjust Pharaoh and accompanies the people across the wilderness for generations, providing food, water and safety along the way. The people are often ungrateful and at times even spiteful, turning to idolatry in their frustration and despair. Yet God continues to lead and provide. Why?<\/p>\n

Simply put, God is invested in this community. God has a vested interest in its future, and this faithfulness to the people the Israelites will become supplies the theme for this week\u2019s study. Despite the violence of the story as recorded in Numbers, there is a lesson here about what it means to encounter God in the restoration<\/strong> of relationships.<\/p>\n

The covenant between God and the people leaves both parties vulnerable to the other. By leading them from Egypt and forging a covenant with them, God has tied their futures together. God has a plan and has invested much to ensure that the people will be part of it. This people, this nation, is God\u2019s future. The provisions God grants are not mere merciful gifts but further investments toward a future shared by God and the people who will become Israel.<\/p>\n

Of course, the church is not God; we are spiritual descendants of the wandering Hebrews, dependent still on God\u2019s promise of this future. Yet there may be something we can learn here about what it means to pursue a promise of hope and restoration.<\/p>\n

Often we see the virtues of mercy and grace in the church\u2019s work to end hunger. Food, clothing, shelter and cash donations are often interpreted as mercies showered on suffering people or as gifts offered to neighbors in need. But in reality our response to hunger surpasses a desire to meet immediate needs. In our Lutheran faith, meeting others\u2019 needs is a response to the grace we have received from God, the grace that restores our relationship with our Creator. We are set free from worrying about our relationship with God, from feeling as if we aren\u2019t good enough or loved enough. The grace of Jesus Christ sets us free from focusing on ourselves so that we can freely focus on others. In other words, God restores our relationship with God so that we can restore our right relationships with one another.<\/p>\n

Yet, in true Lutheran fashion, we aren\u2019t really the ones doing the restoring; God is working within and through us, restoring our relationships with each other and all creation. That\u2019s what makes grace so complex. Grace is the \u201cstuff\u201d that restores our relationships with God or our neighbors.<\/p>\n

Serving the neighbor is one step toward that restoration. In its most authentic form, service is a foretaste of the full restoration we will experience when the promise of God is fulfilled. Today we dine together as neighbors at the table of a community meal. Tomorrow we shall dine together as the beloved of God at the banquet.<\/p>\n

There is something to be learned here about the shape service ought to take. When we understand serving our neighbor as an obligation commanded by God or as something we do because it is \u201cright,\u201d we miss what service is really about. Responding to hunger is not about fulfilling God\u2019s law (as Lutherans, we know we can\u2019t do that anyway). Responding to hunger is about restoring our community and world.<\/p>\n

It is as much about the future God is building through us as it is about the present needs we are meeting through each other today.<\/p>\n

At just 14, Lalistu knows the importance of restoring community. Lalistu\u2019s family was one of the poorest in their town in Ethiopia. Both her parents are HIV-positive, and the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS isolated Lalistu\u2019s family from their community and kept them from earning enough money to feed themselves. The Central Synod Development Department of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) provided food for the family and school supplies for Lalistu and her brother. Funded in part by ELCA World Hunger, the project supports 80 orphans and vulnerable children in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, providing them with school supplies, food, clothing and other basic needs for survival. In addition, the project leaders work with communities to help them better understand the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS.<\/p>\n

With this support Lalistu and her brother have excelled in school. Their mother has found work selling and trading goods, and the family has gotten support to start building their own home. Instead of relying on relatives for their survival, Lalistu and her family can look ahead to a time when they will have access to the things they need. The program has not only inspired their hope for a brighter economic and educational future; it has helped to change the perceptions and attitudes of people in their community. Instead of feeling isolated, Lalistu and her family now feel accepted by their neighbors.<\/p>\n

This restoration of community relationships is critically important. The stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS, like the stigma that often accompanies hunger and poverty, can create huge obstacles for those who are stigmatized. They may be less likely to seek medical treatment or acquire nutritional support, and more likely to face hunger or poverty in the future. We experience this over and over again, whether it is the stigma faced by Lalistu\u2019s parents and other people living with HIV in countries around the world or the stigma experienced by the clients of food pantries. Feeding someone or helping them find work can go only so far if the community in which they are fed or employed continually excludes, marginalizes or discriminates against them.<\/p>\n

Simply put, we cannot end hunger if our communities remain places of exclusion, fear or stigma. If the ministries we support and participate in are to be meaningful and authentic, they must be what God calls them to be: sites where God is encountered through the experience of restoration. Ministry in response to hunger is ministry in response to the promise that God is drawing us all together toward a reconciled and restored future. Every meal served, every neighbor heard and every new relationship built in the context of service gives us a foretaste of the fullness of life to which God will restore us and our world. When this happens, our service will change. We will change. And our communities will change.<\/p>\n

God makes that ongoing restoration possible by investing in a future when hunger will be no more. How might our work as church together change when we see it as not merely a \u201cgood thing\u201d but also an investment in this shared future?<\/p>\n

Reflection Questions<\/h2>\n

How might stigma or exclusion make it more difficult for a family such as Lalistu\u2019s to overcome hunger and poverty?<\/p>\n

What does it mean to believe that God is invested in our future?<\/p>\n

How might our understanding of hunger ministries change when we view them as a restoration of community?<\/p>\n

How are people experiencing hunger or poverty stigmatized in your community? What has the church done or what could it do to change this?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Semana 4 \u2014 Restauraci\u00f3n<\/h1>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/h3>\n

N\u00fameros 21:4-9; Salmo 107:1-3, 17-22; Efesios 2:1-10; Juan 3:14-21<\/h3>\n

La primera lectura de esta cuarta semana de Cuaresma es del libro de N\u00fameros. Los israelitas han estado en su \u00e9xodo de Egipto hacia la Tierra Prometida durante a\u00f1os, y la meta est\u00e1 cerca. Han recibido la ley de Dios a trav\u00e9s de Mois\u00e9s en el Sina\u00ed y ahora est\u00e1n en el tramo final de su jornada. Sin embargo, en lugar de sentirse esperanzados y entusiasmados, \u201cse impacientaron\u201d (N\u00fameros 21:4) y se quejaron del liderazgo de Mois\u00e9s y aun de su \u201cp\u00e9sima comida\u201d (21:5). La respuesta de Dios es inventiva, si no del todo misericordiosa: \u201cserpientes venenosas\u201d enviadas por Dios \u201clos mordier[o]n, y muchos israelitas murieron\u201d (21:6). El pueblo se arrepiente, Mois\u00e9s ora, y Dios le da a Mois\u00e9s un asta que sana a todos los que son mordidos.<\/p>\n

Esta no es la m\u00e1s ben\u00e9vola de las historias. Tampoco es la historia m\u00e1s f\u00e1cil de analizar en la continuaci\u00f3n de nuestro estudio de los encuentros con Dios. \u00bfQu\u00e9 es exactamente lo que se est\u00e1 encontrando aqu\u00ed, adem\u00e1s de un Dios aparentemente inescrupuloso y vengativo que env\u00eda serpientes venenosas para matar a las personas y luego rescatarlas?<\/p>\n

El salmista le da un giro diferente a la historia, pues omite toda menci\u00f3n de las serpientes venenosas y exalta la sanaci\u00f3n de Dios, quien escuch\u00f3 los clamores del pueblo y \u201clos salv\u00f3 de sus aflicciones\u201d (107:19).<\/p>\n

A pesar de la versi\u00f3n expurgada del salmista, en toda la historia del \u00e9xodo se puede encontrar este patr\u00f3n. Dios rescata al pueblo, el pueblo se vuelve contra Dios, Dios los castiga, se arrepienten, Dios muestra misericordia. Una y otra vez.<\/p>\n

Estas narraciones b\u00edblicas se utilizan a menudo para ensalzar el car\u00e1cter misericordioso de Dios, que perdona repetidamente a las personas a pesar de su pecado. Verdaderamente, Dios muestra misericordia. Pero esto no les servir\u00eda de consuelo a los israelitas que hab\u00edan muerto por mordeduras de serpientes. Es posible que la \u201cmisericordia\u201d no sea la \u00fanica lecci\u00f3n impl\u00edcita en la jornada del pueblo con Dios.<\/p>\n

El \u00e9xodo comienza en Egipto, donde el pueblo de Dios es esclavizado y oprimido. Dios busca a Mois\u00e9s para guiar al pueblo, humilla al injusto fara\u00f3n, y acompa\u00f1a al pueblo a trav\u00e9s del desierto durante generaciones, d\u00e1ndoles comida, agua y seguridad a lo largo del camino. El pueblo a menudo se muestra ingrato y a veces incluso rencoroso, pues en su frustraci\u00f3n y desesperaci\u00f3n recurren a la idolatr\u00eda. Sin embargo, Dios sigue guiando y proveyendo. \u00bfPor qu\u00e9?<\/p>\n

En pocas palabras, Dios ha invertido en esta comunidad. Dios tiene un inter\u00e9s personal en su futuro, y esta fidelidad al pueblo en el cual los israelitas se convertir\u00e1n nos da el tema del estudio de esta semana. A pesar de la violencia de la historia seg\u00fan es registrada en N\u00fameros, aqu\u00ed hay una lecci\u00f3n sobre lo que significa encontrar a Dios en la restauraci\u00f3n<\/strong> de las relaciones.<\/p>\n

El pacto entre Dios y el pueblo deja a ambas partes vulnerables la una a la otra. Al sacarlos de Egipto y forjar un pacto con ellos, Dios ha unido sus futuros. Dios tiene un plan y ha invertido mucho para asegurarse de que el pueblo sea parte de este. Este pueblo, esta naci\u00f3n, es el futuro de Dios. Las provisiones que Dios concede no son meros regalos misericordiosos, sino inversiones adicionales hacia un futuro compartido por Dios y el pueblo en el cual Israel se convertir\u00e1.<\/p>\n

Por supuesto, la iglesia no es Dios; somos descendientes espirituales de los hebreos errantes, dependientes todav\u00eda de la promesa de Dios de este futuro. Sin embargo, es posible que aqu\u00ed haya algo que podemos aprender acerca de lo que significa perseguir una promesa de esperanza y restauraci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

Con frecuencia vemos las virtudes de la misericordia y la gracia en el trabajo que hace la iglesia para acabar con el hambre. Las donaciones de alimentos, ropa, refugio y dinero en efectivo a menudo se interpretan como misericordias derramadas sobre personas que sufren o como regalos ofrecidos a vecinos necesitados. Pero en realidad nuestra respuesta al hambre va m\u00e1s all\u00e1 del deseo de satisfacer las necesidades inmediatas. En nuestra fe luterana, satisfacer las necesidades de los dem\u00e1s es una respuesta a la gracia que hemos recibido de Dios, la gracia que restaura nuestra relaci\u00f3n con nuestro Creador. Somos liberados de preocuparnos por nuestra relaci\u00f3n con Dios, de sentir que no somos lo suficientemente buenos o amados. La gracia de Jesucristo nos libera de centrar nuestra atenci\u00f3n en nosotros mismos para que podamos concentrarnos libremente en los dem\u00e1s. En otras palabras, Dios restaura nuestra relaci\u00f3n con Dios para que podamos restaurar nuestras relaciones adecuadas entre nosotros.<\/p>\n

Sin embargo, al m\u00e1s puro estilo luterano, no somos realmente nosotros los que hacemos la restauraci\u00f3n; Dios est\u00e1 obrando dentro y a trav\u00e9s de nosotros, restaurando nuestras relaciones entre nosotros y con toda la creaci\u00f3n. Eso es lo que hace que la gracia sea tan compleja. La gracia es la \u201ccosa\u201d que restaura nuestras relaciones con Dios o con nuestro pr\u00f3jimo.<\/p>\n

Servir al pr\u00f3jimo es un paso hacia esa restauraci\u00f3n. En su forma m\u00e1s aut\u00e9ntica, el servicio es un anticipo de la restauraci\u00f3n completa que experimentaremos cuando se cumpla la promesa de Dios. Hoy cenamos juntos como vecinos en la mesa de una comida comunitaria. Ma\u00f1ana cenaremos juntos como los amados de Dios en el banquete.<\/p>\n

Aqu\u00ed hay algo que aprender sobre la forma que el servicio debe tomar. Cuando vemos el servicio al pr\u00f3jimo como una obligaci\u00f3n ordenada por Dios o como algo que hacemos porque es \u201clo correcto\u201d, perdemos de vista de qu\u00e9 se trata el servicio realmente. Responder al hambre no se trata de cumplir la ley de Dios (como luteranos, sabemos que no podemos hacerlo de todos modos). Responder al hambre se trata de restaurar nuestra comunidad y el mundo. Se trata tanto del futuro que Dios est\u00e1 construyendo a trav\u00e9s de nosotros como de las necesidades presentes que estamos satisfaciendo a trav\u00e9s de los unos con los otros hoy.<\/p>\n

Con tan solo 14 a\u00f1os, Lalistu sabe la importancia de restaurar la comunidad. La familia de Lalistu era una de las m\u00e1s pobres de su pueblo en Etiop\u00eda. Sus padres son seropositivos, y el estigma en torno al VIH y al SIDA aisl\u00f3 a la familia de Lalistu de su comunidad y les impidi\u00f3 ganar suficiente dinero para alimentarse. El Central Synod Development Department [Departamento de Desarrollo del S\u00ednodo Central] de la Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) [Iglesia Evang\u00e9lica Et\u00edope Mekane Yesus] proporcion\u00f3 alimentos para la familia y \u00fatiles escolares para Lalistu y su hermano. Financiado en parte por ELCA World Hunger, el proyecto apoya a 80 hu\u00e9rfanos y ni\u00f1os vulnerables de la regi\u00f3n de Oromia en Etiop\u00eda, proporcion\u00e1ndoles \u00fatiles escolares, alimentos, ropa y otras necesidades b\u00e1sicas para la supervivencia. Adem\u00e1s, los l\u00edderes del proyecto trabajan con las comunidades para ayudarlas a comprender mejor las necesidades de las personas que viven con el VIH y el SIDA.<\/p>\n

Con este apoyo, Lalistu y su hermano se han destacado en la escuela. Su madre ha encontrado trabajo vendiendo e intercambiando bienes, y la familia ha recibido apoyo para comenzar a construir su propia casa. En lugar de depender de sus parientes para su supervivencia, Lalistu y su familia pueden mirar hacia el futuro para tener acceso a las cosas que necesitan. El programa no solo ha inspirado su esperanza de un futuro econ\u00f3mico y educativo m\u00e1s brillante; tambi\u00e9n ha ayudado a cambiar las percepciones y actitudes de las personas de su comunidad. En lugar de sentirse aislados, ahora Lalistu y su familia se sienten aceptados por sus vecinos.<\/p>\n

Esta restauraci\u00f3n de las relaciones comunitarias es de vital importancia. El estigma que hay en torno al VIH y el SIDA, al igual que el estigma que a menudo acompa\u00f1a al hambre y la pobreza, pueden crear enormes obst\u00e1culos para quienes son estigmatizados. Es menos probable que busquen tratamiento m\u00e9dico o reciban apoyo nutricional, y es m\u00e1s probable que se enfrenten al hambre o la pobreza en el futuro. Experimentamos esto una y otra vez, ya sea por el estigma que enfrentan los padres de Lalistu y otras personas que viven con el VIH en pa\u00edses de todo el mundo, o el estigma que experimentan los clientes de las despensas de alimentos. Alimentar a alguien o ayudarlo a encontrar trabajo solo puede llegar hasta cierto punto si la comunidad en la que se alimenta o emplea lo excluye, margina o discrimina continuamente.<\/p>\n

En pocas palabras, no podemos acabar con el hambre si nuestras comunidades siguen siendo lugares de exclusi\u00f3n, miedo o estigma. Si los ministerios que apoyamos y en los que participamos han de ser significativos y aut\u00e9nticos, deben ser lo que Dios los llama a ser: lugares en los que uno se encuentra con Dios a trav\u00e9s de la experiencia de la restauraci\u00f3n. El ministerio en respuesta al hambre es el ministerio en respuesta a la promesa de que Dios nos est\u00e1 uniendo a todos hacia un futuro reconciliado y restaurado. Cada comida servida, cada pr\u00f3jimo escuchado y cada nueva relaci\u00f3n formada en el contexto del servicio nos da un anticipo de la plenitud de la vida a la que Dios nos restaurar\u00e1 a nosotros y a nuestro mundo. Cuando esto ocurra, cambiar\u00e1 nuestro servicio, cambiaremos nosotros, y cambiar\u00e1n nuestras comunidades.<\/p>\n

Dios hace posible esa restauraci\u00f3n continua al invertir en un futuro en el que ya no existir\u00e1 el hambre. \u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00eda cambiar nuestro trabajo como iglesia cuando lo vemos no solo como algo \u201cbueno\u201d sino tambi\u00e9n como una inversi\u00f3n en este futuro compartido?<\/p>\n

Preguntas de reflexi\u00f3n<\/h2>\n

\u00bfDe qu\u00e9 manera el estigma o la exclusi\u00f3n pueden dificultar que una familia como la de Lalistu supere el hambre y la pobreza?<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9 significa creer que Dios ha invertido en nuestro futuro?<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00eda cambiar nuestra comprensi\u00f3n de los ministerios del hambre cuando los vemos como una restauraci\u00f3n de la comunidad?<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo se estigmatiza a las personas que padecen hambre o pobreza en su comunidad? \u00bfQu\u00e9 ha hecho la iglesia o qu\u00e9 podr\u00eda hacer para cambiar esto?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is taken from the 2024 ELCA World Hunger Lent Study. The full resource can be ordered as a hardcopy or downloaded as a PDF in English or Spanish at the link\u00a0here. Week 4 \u2014 Restoration \u2022\u2022\u2022 Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21   The first reading for this fourth week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":300,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[69,60,27057,27056,17578],"class_list":["post-5831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-elca-world-hunger","tag-lent","tag-relationship","tag-restoration","tag-stigma"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4 - ELCA World Hunger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4 - ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The following is taken from the 2024 ELCA World Hunger Lent Study. The full resource can be ordered as a hardcopy or downloaded as a PDF in English or Spanish at the link\u00a0here. Week 4 \u2014 Restoration \u2022\u2022\u2022 Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21   The first reading for this fourth week […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-06T19:36:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-06T19:37:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"petermclellan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"petermclellan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"petermclellan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b5ce80a391ff1d0702f8663a3f638426\"},\"headline\":\"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-06T19:36:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-06T19:37:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3327,\"keywords\":[\"ELCA World Hunger\",\"Lent\",\"relationship\",\"restoration\",\"stigma\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/\",\"name\":\"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4 - ELCA World Hunger\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-06T19:36:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-06T19:37:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b5ce80a391ff1d0702f8663a3f638426\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/\",\"name\":\"ELCA World Hunger\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b5ce80a391ff1d0702f8663a3f638426\",\"name\":\"petermclellan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/76a7feae4a3a948458b6135bbb6ffa19585d5174c2b2b363c1ca3e4b125c85bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/76a7feae4a3a948458b6135bbb6ffa19585d5174c2b2b363c1ca3e4b125c85bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/76a7feae4a3a948458b6135bbb6ffa19585d5174c2b2b363c1ca3e4b125c85bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"petermclellan\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/author\\\/petermclellan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4 - ELCA World Hunger","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/2024-world-hunger-lent-study-week-4\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2024 World Hunger Lent Study: Week 4 - ELCA World Hunger","og_description":"The following is taken from the 2024 ELCA World Hunger Lent Study. 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