the term, saying the militants are nei- ther a state nor religious.
Members get building New Hope Lutheran Ministry, Great Falls, Mont., held a service of healing and blessing as members rededicated their building last summer. Four years ago, the majority of the congre- gation left the ELCA, but the minor- ity who wanted to stay contested the ownership of the property. After four years in court, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the minor- ity should be awarded the building and assets due to an unusual addi- tion to the constitution of the syn- odically authorized worshiping com- munity. The congregation had been meeting in a warehouse and funeral home, said Jessica Crist, bishop of the Montana Synod, who attended the rededication.
Lutherans join march
Hundreds of ELCA members were among more than 400,000 partici- pants in the People’s Climate March in New York City on Sept. 21. The Lutheran delegation joined the Peo- ple’s Climate Interfaith Contingent, one of the largest groups participat- ing. “As a Lutheran … I was given the responsibility to hold domain over nature, that is to protect it and nurture it,” said participant Kristin Heinemeier, Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Davis, Calif. “The march illustrated all the different communities that care about the planet, from faith groups to unions to farmers to scientists.”
Church offers asylum Francisco Aguirre, 35, a labor activ- ist originally from El Salvador, in September took refuge in Augus- tana Lutheran Church, Portland, Ore., after immigration agents tried
10 November 2014 9
Day of service Thousands of ELCA members gathered to serve their communities Sept. 7 on the second “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday. Wearing bright yellow T-shirts bearing the ELCA emblem, all ages worked at food pantries, cleaned pub- lic spaces, wrote letters, etc. More than 47,000 of the T-shirts have been sold. More than 1,000 congregations offi cially registered their day of service with the churchwide offi ce. Grace Kuenning (left), Glenna Bohling, and Kylie and Sheryl Gaston of Luther Memorial Church, Syracuse, Neb., helped clean up the downtown and a park.
1 in 7 rely on food banks O
ne in seven Americans (46 million people) rely on food pantries and meal
service programs, according to a study by Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks. (See page 12.) And 25 percent of military families, 620,000 house- holds, need help putting food on the table. “It means that people in
America have to make trade- offs,” said Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America. “They have to pick between buying food for their children or paying for utili- ties, rent and medicine. ... Hun- ger exists in literally every county in America. It’s an urban prob- lem, it’s a suburban problem, and it’s a rural problem.” Linda Patterson, executive
director of the Lorton [Va.] Community Action Center, said stereotypes of the people who
need help are misleading. “The peo- ple who come here are hard work- ers. They are employed. They are the school bus drivers, the lab techs in doctor’s offices, receptionists, the janitors who clean the floor of your children’s school,” she said. “They just can’t make ends meet because some kind of crisis has hit them.” The center has seen an 18 percent
increase in people who need food assistance since food stamp benefits were cut last November, she said. The “Hunger in America” study
found that of people who use food banks: • 26 percent are African-American, 20 percent are Hispanic, 43 percent are white and 11 percent are other. • 33 percent of households have at least one family member with diabetes. • 65 percent of households have a child under 18 or someone 60 or older.
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