Greetings, fellow Hunger Leaders and advocates for justice!
As autumn arrives across the country, we prepare to celebrate the bounty of God’s great earth. Pumpkin patches, apple orchards, corn mazes and more beckon us out of our climate-controlled homes for one last hurrah before the frost and cold fall upon us. During this time of harvest, let us remember to pause and to praise God for gifts of the land and for the hands that sow, tend and reap the food that nourishes us.
We encourage you to mark your calendars and join us on Oct. 15, the eve of World Food Day, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of ELCA World Hunger. You can find more information in the newsletter below. We pray that this celebration will inspire you to share your stories with one another and to strike up conversations in your church and surrounding communities. Take time in this season of harvest and festivities to reach out to someone you don’t know, break bread with them and give thanks for the gift we have in one another.
We invite you into this work of feeding our neighbors and identifying and meeting their needs. If you’re reading this and wondering, “Where do I begin?,” you’re in the right place. Reach out to us — and to one another — so that we might work together to build a bigger table.
Until all are fed,
Lauren Smith
Director, Building Resilient Communities Education and Networks
ONLINE EVENT CELEBRATES WORLD FOOD DAY AND ELCA WORLD HUNGER
In honor of World Food Day and the 50th anniversary of ELCA World Hunger, the ELCA will present a special online event on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Central time. The event will be hosted by the Rev. Amy Current, bishop of the Southeastern Iowa Synod, and Imran Siddiqui, vice president of the ELCA, and will feature firsthand stories from ELCA World Hunger partners — including Educación Popular en Salud (EPES), a community health organization in Chile founded over 40 years ago, and more recent starts such as Tapestry Farms, a Midwestern urban farm system in the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois. You’ll hear about their work with ELCA World Hunger and their impact on their communities — all as we celebrate 50 years of ministry and recommit to our shared work toward a just world where all are fed.
ELCA WORLD HUNGER 50TH ANNIVERSARY RESOURCES
For 50 years, we have joined together as Lutherans to address the root causes of hunger and poverty around the world through ELCA World Hunger. Part of our church’s long tradition of meeting human needs, ELCA World Hunger testifies to our hope for and commitment to God’s promise of a time when we will hunger and thirst no more. Resources, including an action guide, brochure, poster and window cling, are available to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ELCA World Hunger!
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
In Anchorage, Alaska, Central Lutheran Church has formed a nonprofit, In Our Backyard, to build five tiny houses on its property that will provide temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness. The project, which focuses on senior citizens, will provide case workers to help occupants find permanent housing. Lack of housing is one of the roots of hunger addressed by ELCA World Hunger.
