Guest Post - The Faces of Hunger

This Lent, CtK joins thousands of other ELCA congregations in ELCA World Hunger's 40 Days of Giving. A daily devotional booklet, a piggy bank, and the challenge from CtK's 40 Days of Giving Team to give $0.25/day will help us learn about hunger issues, and make a difference in our world. Look for occasional guest posts from team members during this season!

Faces of Hunger, by Jerry Johnson

The many faces of hunger are . . . emaciation, bloated bellies, stunted minds, helplessness, hopelessness, disease and death . . . a trackless wasteland . . . a vast emptiness . . .

About 34 years ago, shortly after I returned from an ALC (American Lutheran Church) hunger-justice study trip to Mexico and Nicaragua, I was sitting in a church council meeting in Whitefish, MT and one of the members said he was tired of hearing about hunger. As a new hunger advocate, I vigorously disagreed.

A few years later, in 1998, I wrote an essay where I quoted Martin Luther who said, "If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the Gospel." It was at that time that the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Reno, NV, began a once a month second offering with fast food cups to support the ELCA World Hunger Appeal against world hunger.

In 1999, when Margaret and I joined Christ the King Lutheran Church, we mentioned this way of collecting funds for World Hunger and CtK began using the fast food cups, also. Christ the King's "hunger" offering went from almost nothing to several thousand dollars a year for hunger relief, locally (Food Bank) and globally (ELCA World Hunger Appeal).

On the first Sunday of every month, when the ushers pass around the fast food cups for a second offering, it does two great things: 1) it helps educate people to curb obesity, and stave off diabetes and hypertension; and 2) it helps feed hungry  brothers and sisters and teaches them how to combat hunger, thus achieving dignity and life quality.

A couple of the Montana Synod congregations have adopted this same means of collecting special offering for ELCA World Hunger, but I must admit I haven't been able to get the churchwide organization to adopt this as a good way to increase hunger giving churchwide.

There are approximately four million members in the ELCA and the 2016 budget for hunger is 24 million dollars. This amounts to $6.00 a year per member, 50 cents a month or 1 3/4 cents a day. If every ELCA member gave a dime (10 cents) a day, it would add up to $3.00 a month and $44 million dollars a year. Can you imagine what could be done to alleviate world hunger with that?

I hate to say it, but in 10 years the average ELCA Lutheran has only increased hunger giving by 3/4 of a penny a day. We pray for God to help, but God uses our hands to do it! We don't give to pat ourselves on the back, but I thank you, thank you CtK for holding up our end of the bargain and also for taking on the 40 Days of Giving journey.

Guest Post - Jesus is our Power Supply for Faithfulness and Generosity

This Lent, CtK joins thousands of other ELCA congregations in ELCA World Hunger's 40 Days of Giving. A daily devotional booklet, a piggy bank, and the challenge from CtK's 40 Days of Giving Team to give $0.25/day will help us learn about hunger issues, and make a difference in our world. Look for occasional guest posts from team members during this season!

Power Supply
February 7, 2016

My computer crashed this weekend and perhaps in a causative yet reflective way, so did I.

How do I write an inspirational “devotion” addressing ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving for CtK’s website when I am swamped  trying to book tickets and Airbnb rentals for my daughter Natalie and my long-awaited trip to meet Jeff in Italy next month?   One night spent in a European hostel could feed an African village for at least a day!  Our wealth and opportunity in the face of world-wide poverty and oppression makes my “circuits” cross and shutdown.   Sorting out thoughts, feelings, and experiences with hunger and poverty, and more importantly rebooting myself to take action in helping alleviate it, is about as looming and complex for me as trying to understand the operation of my aged computer. Can’t we just fix it?

I am thankful for the insight and guidance of others - in particular to Joel and “the computer guy” who tell me that it’s possible my computer “just” has a power-supply issue; diagnose that and it could continue to still have a use in my life - cool!  Power-supply issue…hmmm, could this help explain my own “shut-down” lately when it comes to feeling like I have little purpose, reflected in even less effort , in helping end hunger and poverty?  “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord…”  The song we sang in worship today reminded me that Jesus is our never-failing Power Supply, who can plug hearts back into seeing, feeling, and caring for all of God’s children and their wellbeing.  I can’t fix poverty or feed the whole world, but connected to Jesus I can be useful in someone’s life in some way that can makes progress in doing so.  

Once again, I am thankful for the insight and guidance of others - in particular the ELCA World Hunger 40-day devotional book and adult forum studies/discussions that will happen during Lent in our families and church.  With our Power Supply issue diagnosed (like my computer, I hope), we can wake up to the invitation of participating in life-changing work and “refresh” our efforts in ending hunger and poverty here at home and overseas.

With you together on our 40 Days of Giving journey-

Barb Benson
CtK 40 Days of Giving Team

Bishop Eaton's letter on the SCOTUS marriage ruling

ELCA presiding bishop offers letter on Supreme Court marriage ruling

6/30/2015 4:00:00 PM

            CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offered a pastoral letter June 30 to the 3.8 million members of the denomination in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples may now exercise the right to marry. The full text of the statement follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of the crucified and risen Christ.

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision announcing the right of same-gender couples to have equal access to marriage. For many members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this decision is a welcome sign of hope and a time for celebration. Other members of this church do not agree with the court's decision and remain deeply concerned because of their understanding of Scripture.

This decision affects each of us, some profoundly, and we are not of one mind. Let us continue to accompany one another with prayer, love and mutual respect as we reflect on this new reality and remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians about the enduring power of God's love.

The ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" (2009) neither endorses nor forbids same-gender marriages and recognizes that we have differing understandings and convictions on this matter. In its decision, the court stated that "the First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths."

According to this church's social statement on human sexuality, all decisions about recognizing, supporting and holding publicly accountable same-gender relationships are entrusted to congregations.  Recognizing that the church is not of one mind on this subject, our 2009 actions provide that congregations and clergy should discern together whether to recognize such relationships and to what degree.

Pastors are to engage in conversation, discernment and partnership with the congregations who have called them prior to solemnizing or presiding over a same-gender marriage. On the other hand, no pastor is obligated to solemnize the marriage of any couple, same-gender or different-gender, whom the pastor cannot in good conscience marry.

As Lutheran Christians, we continue to be a church that engages in conversation and discernment in all aspects of our faith and life. Creating space for respectful conversation and dialogue continues to be an important part of our life together. A helpful resource for engaging in difficult conversations is "Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues."

In addition, the ELCA Ministry to and with Same-Gender Couples and their Families Working Group remains in the process of completing its work. A report of the group's findings and possible recommendations will be presented to the ELCA Church Council at its November meeting.

We seek to see our differences as a gift to be celebrated as we live out that which unites us: the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ who leads us into mission and ministry in the world. In the midst of this change, we are first and foremost church – a church that proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. May God bless, guide and strengthen you each day as you go in peace and serve the Lord.


The statement is available on the ELCA website at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Letter_on_Supreme_Court_Decision.pdf,
the ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" at http://www.elca.org/en/Faith/Faith-and-Society/Social-Statements/Human-Sexuality?_ga=1.109044290.1780749877.1352499724
and "Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues" at  http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Talking_Together_Social.pdf.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
Associate director, ELCA Publications and Public Relations
773-380-2956 or Melissa.RamirezCooper@elca.org
ELCA News: www.ELCA.org/news
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lutherans
Living Lutheran: www.livinglutheran.com

- See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7759#sthash.Zmf381HM.dpuf

NEW book for Friday Morning Small Group - Join the Discussion!

The Friday morning Small Group finished reading and discussing The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James Cone, this past Friday morning. Just a day and a half after the horrific attack on Bible Study participants at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, we wondered together what to do, as white Christians in America, where clearly racism is alive and well. That will be an ongoing conversation, but includes continuing to learn about American history as experienced by people of color, to listen to perspectives different from our own, to speak up against racial slurs and stereotypes when we hear them, to pray, to examine and repent of our own racist thoughts and behaviors, to work for justice and reconciliation...

One of the quotes at the beginning of the book's Conclusion especially struck me:
"Perhaps nothing about the history of mob violence in the United States is more surprising than how quickly an understanding of the full horror of lynching has receded from the nation's collective historical memory." - W. Fitzhugh Brundage

Yes, the shooter on Wednesday night appears to have acted on his own, though he certainly did not live and form his opinions and beliefs in isolation. Yet, the history of lynching in the US is something most of us in the Friday small group didn't know much about. And it's not ancient history. As hard as reading The Cross and the Lynching Tree was, we're all glad we read it. And I think I can safely say each member of the group would encourage you to read it, too.

The group's next book is Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, by Imaculee  Ilibagiza. The discussion of the first chapter begins on Friday, July 3rd, at Clark's Fork at 7am. All are welcome!

When the government can't pass a budget...

Here's some food for thought, a post on the Lutheran Confessions blog written by ELCA pastor Clint Schnekloth.

On this day in 1948...

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I encourage you to read it, and to pray for all those people and places waiting for recognition of basic human rights.
We pray also for Liu Xiaobo. He is being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China, but cannot accept this prestigious award in person because he is serving an 11-year prison sentence for proposing democratic reforms. His prize was placed on an empty chair.