News
Hopes high for year-end World Hunger push A
t the end of September, ELCA World Hunger giving lagged
about $400,000 behind giving for the same period in 2012. Concern was palpable among World Hunger staff who see the impact of members’ gifts, which go directly to help peo- ple living in poverty in the U.S. and around the world. Staff had high hopes that Christ-
mas and end-of-the-year giving would bring in even more than the usual boost. Nearly half of World Hun- ger gifts come at the end of the year, thanks in part to the ELCA Good Gifts catalog (
www.elca.org/goodgifts). Meanwhile domestic hunger is becoming more of an issue. As of Nov. 1, Congress’ temporary increase (since 2009) in Supplemen- tal Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP ) benefits for low-income families had expired. Many affected families are seeking additional help from Lutheran social service provid- ers and congregations with food pan- tries and feeding programs. In Bloomfield, Iowa, ELCA mem- ber Monica Blum helps with her con- gregation’s “Caring for Our Com- munity with God’s Help” free lunch on the last Saturday of the month—
9
Legal debate on ‘Allah’ Malaysia’s Court of Appeal ruled in September that the use of “Allah” is exclusive to Muslims. But the word for God in Malay is Allah. In 2009, the government seized Malay-language Bibles printed and imported from Indonesia. In 2011 those Bibles were released after the country’s High Court ruled that the name of God isn’t exclusive to Islam, agreeing with many Chris- tians in Malaysia who said that had been the case for centuries. “We are
10 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
saddened, troubled and dismayed by [the September] decision [in] the Allah case,” said Bishop Thomas Tsen, president of the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Malaysia and Singapore. The ruling is being appealed.
Words that inspire In October, political aide Joshua DuBois released The President’s Devotional, a compilation of 365 of the more than 1,500 meditations he
12 Quote
Being Catholic is like being in the Admiral’s Club of Christian- ity: Membership has its privi- leges. But if even atheists can be redeemed, what’s next, Luther- ans? It’s madness.
Comedian Stephen Colbert on comments by Pope Francis, speaking at the Al Smith Dinner, an annual event for Roman Catho- lic charities in New York named for the late New York governor.
when Social Security checks and SNAP benefits tend to run low. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church’s free meal program is supported by an ELCA World Hunger grant. More than 8 percent of Bloomfield’s 2,600 residents receive SNAP benefits, according to 2010 census data. Every Tuesday in Anchorage, Alaska, Jane (name changed to pro- tect her identity), a school crossing guard who lives in a tiny, bedbug- infested apartment, picks up fresh produce from a mobile food pantry run by Lutherans. Jane, who also receives government food benefits, is grateful for the “cauliflower, broc- coli, onions, lemons, yogurt, rice, breads and even pies sometimes.” Lutheran Social Services of
Alaska and the Lutheran Church of Hope, Anchorage, and six other Food Bank of Alaska sites draw 6,300 people a month—a number that continues to rise. Yet what most people don’t real-
ize is that all of the food provided by agencies, congregations and other charities in the U.S. amounts to only about 6 percent of the food that is distributed by federal food programs such as school meals and SNAP, said
Mikka McCracken, program director for ELCA World Hunger constituent engagement and interpretation. ELCA World Hunger also sup- ports “sustainable development, educating ourselves about the root causes of poverty and hunger and then advocating for just and equita- ble policies,” McCracken said. On this the gospel is clear, added
Ryan Cumming, ELCA program director for hunger education. “The ‘sheep’ and the ‘goats’ will not be separated according to which one balanced the budget or which one did the most to instill ‘individual responsibility’ among the poor. What separates them is simply this: Which group served Christ by feeding, clothing, satisfying and visiting the neighbor (Matthew 25:31-46)?”
Section editor Elizabeth Hunter and ELCA World Hunger staff contributed to this article.
To help: You can pray, learn, advo- cate and support ELCA World Hun- ger projects. To give, send checks to ELCA World Hunger, PO Box 71764, Chicago, IL 60694-1764, or by credit card at 800-638-3522 or www.elca. org/hunger.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52