Go & Do News February 2023

40 Days of Giving, new Vacation Bible School, MLK event and more

View in your browser.
 
Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Donate
Go & Do News -- a newsletter from ELCA World Hunger
  Global Farm Challenge  
ELCA WORLD HUNGER'S 40 DAYS OF GIVING BEGINS ON FEB. 22
Lent is a season to reflect and remember, to look forward and ahead. During these 40 days we journey with the Hebrews in the exodus, through the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness and to the foot of the cross on Good Friday. We remember our dependence on God and one another and reflect on the many ways we have fallen short of what God calls us to be.

These are not easy times for many of us. We know the challenges our world faces. Yet the season of Lent reminds us that God is not yet through with us or our world. Amid our own dependence on God, we know by faith that God is even now at work, drawing us toward the resurrection and restoration of the world. ELCA World Hunger's 40 Days of Giving invites us to be part of that work and to bear witness to it with partners, companions, friends and neighbors.

Visit the 40 Days of Giving landing page to access and order resources, subscribe to the email series and give online.
40 Days of Giving


A new Vacation Bible School program is coming soon from ELCA World Hunger! In each session "God's New Creation" will focus on a different animal from real projects around the world, including goats, cows and pigs. Children will have a chance to learn how these animals help farming families build a sustainable future for themselves and their communities, the day's lesson augmented by skits, games and small-group times. Sign up here to receive "God's New Creation" as soon as it's available!

  climate justice  

A BIG DREAM TO END CHILD HOMELESSNESS
Roxana Boroujerdi had spent decades as a social worker serving youth in Everett, Wash., when she opted for a change of pace in her career: she opened Fun Times Ice Cream, a small fleet of ice cream and yogurt delivery trucks. That might seem like a major shift, but at its heart, Boroujerdi said, the work is similar. "There's nothing that brings me more joy than seeing a happy kid."

Yet as she served ice cream — finding it difficult not to hand a dairy treat to every smiling kid who approached — she started to hear more from community organizations about children and their families struggling with hunger and housing instability. Boroujerdi began to volunteer with those groups and was struck by how many families needed assistance and had few options for support.

To help, Boroujerdi, a member of Faith Lutheran in Everett, took on a leadership role with the congregation's feeding ministry, Faith Family Food Bank. Since 2014 the ministry has been open weekly, with volunteers serving hot meals in the fellowship hall on Tuesdays and distributing groceries on Fridays.

READ THE STORY


"To follow Christ means that you will always be on a journey. It means that your work is never done. To follow Christ means that the minute you think you've arrived, you've only actually just begun." —Rev. Emily Norris, pastor of the Dwelling in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Dwelling is an ELCA World Hunger Domestic Grant partner and a 2022 Big Dream Grant partner. Learn more about this exciting ministry.

  Ukraine  
UPCOMING EVENT: THE LEGACY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod will celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an in-person and livestreamed ecumenical worship service on Sunday, March 26, at Berkeley Hills Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh, Pa. The service will encourage attendees to engage actively in the practice of nonviolence in their communities. The focus of this year's service is "A Home for ALL in the Beloved Community."

Following the liturgy, a program and panel focusing on housing and homelessness will feature ELCA World Hunger's new housing resource. Deacon Brooke De Jong, ELCA World Hunger program assistant for hunger education, will be participating in the panel.

LEARN MORE


Share images of your community in action! Email pictures and videos of your ELCA World Hunger activities to hunger@elca.org, or tag @ELCAWorldHunger on social media.

  Hunger at the crossroads  
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: LIRS ANNOUNCES FOUNDATIONAL GIFT FROM ELCA WORLD HUNGER FOR BALTIMORE-BASED PROGRAMMING
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) has announced a generous $400,000 gift from ELCA World Hunger. Since LIRS' founding in 1939, the ELCA and its preceding church bodies have been central to the organization’s ministry and mission—and though LIRS has expanded from a four-person operation to a nearly 500-strong national nonprofit with offices around the country, its shared commitment to the work of welcome has never wavered.

"This generous gift from ELCA World Hunger is a testament to our long-standing partnership and will help launch new programming that builds off of our strong shared history of welcome," said LIRS President and CEO Krish O'Mara Vignarajah. "Immigrants and refugees represent both the past and future of the United States, and together, LIRS and the ELCA will continue to work toward an inclusive, equitable future for all who call this country home."
KEEP READING
Featured Resources
NEW! LARGE-PRINT LENT STUDY
Find our popular Lent study now in a large-print edition ›

40 DAYS OF GIVING LENT CALENDAR
Use this calendar filled with Scripture, song, prayer and stories from Ash Wednesday to Easter ›

"ACTION GUIDE FOR CONGREGATIONS"
Preview some of the newest and most popular resources to activate your congregation ›

HOUSING GUIDE
Download our new guide, "Housing: A Practical Guide for Learning, Advocating and Building" ›

"LIFELINES," FALL 2022
Read stories of ELCA World Hunger's impact around the world ›
Follow Us  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram
Did you receive this email as a forward from a friend?
Subscribe to ELCA World Hunger news.

© Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631-4101
800-638-3522
Home  |  Privacy  |  Unsubscribe

.