Lutheran

Valuing Things and People: Responding to Natural Disasters

Picture courtesy of
elca.org/

Valuing Things and People is an article from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The article is meant to create a discussion about the value we place on money compared to the value we place on people, especially those we don’t know. There are questions about the recent natural disaster in Indonesia and the moral lines people are crossing to survive, and about wealth and the effects it has on a person’s relationship with God. Additionally, there is a gospel reflection on the relationship between wealth and God. To read the entire article, click here.

ELCA Global Farm Challenge

Picture courtesy of elca.org

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) created a global farm challenge where they give youth and adults the chance to walk through one season with smallholder farmers and to learn about the challenges and opportunities they face. They have now created a guide so that this experience can be shared with all congregations. The guide includes instructions, tips from ELCA World Hunger staff, and printable copies of the signs needed to host a “Field Experience.” To read more or download the guide, click here.

German Church aims to be CO2 Neutral by 2050

Picture courtesy of lutheranworld.org

Helena Funk, the COP23 delegate from Germany, comes from the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Northern Germany where their goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050. She discusses her personal experiences as a theology student and how she got involved with climate justice. Helena is one of ten young adults from the European and Asian regions that form the Lutheran World Federation delegation to the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, Germany. To read more, click here.

One Tree at a Time

EELCO youth clear church grounds where new trees will be planted. Photo: Cedrick Y. Kitwa

Picture courtesy of lutheranworld.org

Cedrick Yumba Kitwa, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo delegate for the 22nd UN Conference on Climate Change (COP22), reached out to young people to launch a reforestation and environmental education project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the span of 14 months, they planted 71 trees and created a park with a variety of plants. Kitwa said they are driven by their desire “to see sustainable development and safeguard the creation. We want to see the church involved in climate action because we are suffering very much from climate change already.” To read more on this program, click here.

When Water Comes to Life

Bringing water and life to the Turkana people at Nakururum and Lokwamur in Kenya. #WorldWaterDay Photo: ALWS / H. Wikstrom

Picture courtesy of lutheranworld.org

Australian Lutheran World Service Community Action Manager Jonathan Krause reflects on the importance of providing clean water. Krause describes the importance of clean water in communities like Nakururum in Kenya where the lack of clean, safe water can be life threatening. The Lutheran World Federation states that across the world, three children die from impacts of dirty water every sixty seconds, and that is why they work to provide water in places like South Sudan, Cambodia and Nakururum. To read more or watch a video about the work that LWF does to provide clean water, click here.

The Lutheran World Federation Season of Creation

Picture courtesy of lutheranworld.org

In order to honor their commitment to creation, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) invites its members to engage in the season of creation that is annually observed worldwide. They provide weekly blogs from the communion of churches and biblical reflections. There are biblical reflections for each week of the season and they contain a variety of resources including prayers, poems, reflections and personal stories. To read more on the LWF blog and biblical reflections, click here.

“As people of faith, we are called to live in the right relationship with creation and not exhaust it.”

–Lutheran World Federation Assembly Resolution on Climate Change (2017)

World Environment Day in Ruvu Mungano Tanzania

Picture taken by Natalie Georgalas at the ceremony

On July 5, I spent the day at a World Environment Day celebration in a camp known as Loresho on the outskirts of the village of Ruvu Mungano in the district of Same in Tanzania. Loresho camp has been established by the Tanzanian government to help relocate people who have been affected by the flooding of the Ruvu River. The guest of honor for the ceremony was the Regional Commissioner who spoke of the relief the government was providing to the people and also how all the people of Same can make a difference on World Environment Day. The focus for the celebration was planting trees, which was done at the end of the ceremony to show a good example.

After the regional commissioner spoke, the regional bishop of the KKKT (in Swahili it is Kanisa la Kinjili la Kiluteri Tanzania) Northern Diocese Lutheran Church spoke about World Environment Day as well. Because the ceremony was given in Swahili, Mr. Gerry Mmbaga, who works for the Kilimanjaro Hope Organization (Kiho), did his best to translate it for me.

The Bishop spoke about the Bible, and how God created the world but he created the man last. As he created the first man, Adam, he ordered him to take care of each and every thing concerning the environment. He also discussed how conserving the world was ordered by God because the environment is life; without the environment there is no life. He emphasized that God created the world first and the man last and ordered the man in the Eden Garden to take care of the environment.

The translation from Swahili to English can sometimes be tough, but the main idea remains. If you would like to read more about Kiho, you can click here. If you are interested in learning more, I will be posting more about the religious organizations in Marwa, a village in the Same district, and how they engage with sustainable community development.

Columbus Church Earns Green Spot and Energy Star Certification

Picture courtesy of energystar.gov

The First English Lutheran church in Columbus created a Green Team to measure their energy use and carbon footprint. They took those numbers and applied to become a Columbus Green Spot and was soon after awarded the certification. Soon after, they replaced their gas furnace with a highly efficient one and became the first congregation in Ohio to earn the Energy Star Certification. To read more about the First English Lutheran church in Columbus, click here.

ELCA Living Earth: Some Things to be Thankful For

Picture courtesy of
elca.org/

Some Things to be Thankful For is a reflection on being thankful and not taking the resources we have for granted. It is a segment from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Living Earth resource.

“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” – Psalm 69:30

To read the entire document, click here. 

ELCA Living Earth: Too Much Stuff

Picture courtesy of
elca.org/

This segment from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Living Earth is called Too Much Stuff. It focuses on consumerism and poses the question, “Is all of our stuff interfering with our work to build God’s kingdom on Earth?”

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

To read the entire document click here.