August 2019

Until All Are Fed
In July, Pastor Dawn and I attended the 4-day ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering in Minneapolis. The theme of the meeting was “Creative Congregations. Courageous Leaders.” Over 50 people from all over the US and the world gathered to network, share best practices and to learn from each other and from experts. There were members of each Synod’s Hunger Team, Hunger Grant Recipients, representatives from our various Lutheran Offices for Public Policy, ministry partners and skills experts. Pastor Dawn and I were there representing Coastside Lutheran Church because last year we received a grant to buy a new stove for our community breakfast which will be part of the West Wing renovation.

It was amazing to be at this conference with all these people who are so passionate about ending hunger. It was inspiring to learn about all the ways that ELCA Hunger at the national level along with synods and congregations were attacking the problem of hunger on all fronts from direct support (food banks and meals), to addressing root causes like unemployment and underemployment to advocating for legislation. ELCA Hunger staff also provides educational materials and tools that help congregations develop and run their ministries efficiently and effectively.

 At the conference, we met many amazing people. Here is a recap of the people  highlighted in my sermon, July 28, and who touched Pastor Dawn and I deeply:

Jamie Stark
Jamie runs a 12 week farm to table job training program here in the Bay Area. While living in El Salvador, Jamie learned about a program where homeless folks were hired to work on a farm and cook for others. Jamie brought this idea back to the West Coast and it has grown into the Farming Hope program. Farming Hope trains people to grow food on a farm and then cook and serve it at Manny’s restaurant in San Francisco on 16th Street. In addition to teaching the participants new skills and providing them with a steady income, it positions them to find more permanent employment by giving them a job history and a reference.

Maria Rose Belding
Maria Rose Belding developed a web application (the MEANS Database) which links up organizations which have extra food such as grocery stores and restaurants with organizations that distribute food to those who need it. Maria Rose Belding is an amazing 23 year old woman: she spoke to us the morning after she had sat for the day-long MCAT exam; her goal is to become a doctor. Maria Rose grew up in a home that depended on a food bank and when she was old enough volunteered at that same food bank. She saw food thrown away when the food bank received more than they could give away before it expired and she saw hungry people being sent away when they didn’t have enough donated food. She decided to do something about it and now her application has users in 49 states and has recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds of food.

Veronica Mwakasungura
Pastor Veronica was the keynote presenter at Saturday night’s dinner. Pastor Veronica is from Tanzania and serves a church in Rwanda. She is in the United States right now working on a Masters’ at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. This summer she was pastoring at a church in Pleasant Hill. Pastor Veronica told stories of how the gifts of goats, cows and chickens that her community in Rwanda receives from ELCA Hunger empower and enable the people to rise above their poverty and become self-sustaining.  But the most powerful story she told was about the aftermath of the genocide in that country. She said that in the wake of the bloodshed and destruction, when her people desperately needed help, it was the Lutherans who were the only ones to come and the only ones who stayed to help.

Ryan Cumming
Ryan Cumming, the program director for hunger education with ELCA World hunger, in addition to familiarizing us with all the tools and educational materials that are available for congregations, also brought to our attention to the fact that fighting for social justice and speaking out for the oppressed is part of our heritage and goes all the way back to Martin Luther himself. In his day, Luther instituted “the Community Chest” which provided not just for emergency assistance to people in need but also for preventative measures such as vocational retraining and health care. As I mentioned in my sermon, ELCA Hunger has released a video series and two books which examine Luther’s teachings. They are The Forgotten Luther: Reclaiming the Social-Economic Dimension of the Reformation and The Forgotten Luther II: Reclaiming the Church’s Public Witness.

When we were first invited to attend the conference, we weren’t sure we should take the time to go but now we are so glad we did. It gave us hope and energized us to know that so many people were addressing the problem of hunger in the world and that it has made a difference. (In the 1970’s, 1 out of every 4 people was in extreme poverty, today it has dropped to 1 out of 10, although it is on the rise again due to migration, climate change and social fragility). We were so proud of the role our Lutheran church has played and was excited to learn this is part of our Lutheran heritage.

We also found ourselves proud to tell others about the community breakfast that takes place here twice a week and about the support it receives from this congregation.  In case we are tempted to take it for granted, the breakfast is an important ministry and it puts us in good company with all these others who are working tirelessly until all are fed.  It powerfully represents good news in action.
 

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Sue (and Pastor Dawn)
 


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