Dear Friends,
I was honored to meet so many of you this past February at the ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering in Houston, Texas. Those of you who heard me introduce myself might recall my background in education; therefore, it seems only fitting to begin this issue with a brief pop quiz.
What do the following have in common?
- The Princess Bride (book)
- Happy Days (TV show)
- Rubik’s Cube (puzzle)
- Skittles (candy)
- ELCA World Hunger (ministry)
Answer: They all turn 50 years old this year!
This is a humbling reminder that the work we do in service of our neighbors — whether down the street or across the globe — is worthy of our time, talents and giving. Isaiah 1:17 calls us to do right, seek justice and defend the oppressed; let this 50th anniversary of ELCA World Hunger remind us of our steadfast commitment to feed those who experience hunger, empower those that society has not and provide a message of hope and resilience to a broken world.
How fitting it is that our 50th anniversary coincides with the triennial Youth Gathering and the ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering in Houston! I was inspired by the excitement expressed by so many people in Houston about possibilities for collaboration and networking, and I hope this issue of “Go & Do News” reminds us all of how much we can accomplish together. With so many opportunities to lift up the work, stories and experiences of those touched by ELCA World Hunger, I am delighted to share these highlights with you as we all strive to celebrate and amplify the message of this ministry.
Peace be to you!
Lauren Smith
Director, Building Resilient Communities Education and Networks
NEW! ELCA WORLD HUNGER 50th ANNIVERSARY VIDEO
ELCA World Hunger turns 50 this year! Watch our new 50th-anniversary video and share it with your community to generate excitement.
Domestic Partner Spotlight: The Allegheny Valley Association of Churches
Congratulations to one of our Big Dream Grant partners for being featured in local news!
“Expectant mom Bridget Ashby was down on her luck and found herself without a place to live when ‘God stepped in,’” writes Tawnya Panizzi at Trib Live. “Ashby and her 7-year-old son have a warm bed to sleep in this week with the opening of Family Promise House in Brackenridge [Pennsylvania]. The transitional housing facility, run by the Harrison [Township]-based Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, opened Feb. 12 … in the former Applewood Personal Care Home. ‘It’s a great environment,’ Ashby said. ‘They not only help you find housing, but they help with school for the kids. And they seem like they really care. It’s not just a homeless shelter.’ The Pittsburgh woman is among more than 20 people who are calling Brackenridge home, at least temporarily.”
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: FLD-COMIN-CAPA
At the ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering we had the honor to learn about transformative diakonia from our international companion from Brazil, the Rev. Cibele Kuss, executive secretary of FLD-COMIN-CAPA (a partnership of the Lutheran Diakonia Foundation [FLD], Conselho de Missao Entre Povos Indigenas [COMIN] and Centro de Apoio e Promacao da Agroecologia [CAPA]).
Transformative diakonia is a concept that mobilizes the reflection and action of the FLD, which aims to generate a circularity of liberation, transformation and incidence. It promotes collective actions in realities and groups that experience economic, social, political, cultural, sexist, racist, xenophobic, homo-lesbo-transphobic and environmental oppression. In the text of Mark 12:30, Jesus points out that love is the heart of diakonia when he defines the first commandment as love: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Take a moment to view the ways in which FLD-COMIN-CAPA is engaging the Kilombo community of Brazil in agricultural sustainability and hunger work: https://vimeo.com/723427216
