The Lutheran Church is often best known to people in the community through programs dealing with the resettlement of refugees and the root causes of poverty. The World Hunger Appeal of the ELCA is a primary way individuals and congregations support people who are currently on the margins of society.
In 2024, with the 50th anniversary of the ELCA World Hunger, the Minneapolis Area Synod and Saint Paul Area Synod partnered together and renewed their commitment to hunger work.
From a blog post on the Saint Paul Area Synod website:
People who care about hunger issues from the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Area Synods gathered in March [2024] to talk about how we might work together. We acknowledged needing renewed efforts within our congregations, communities and our synods. Some of us came from congregations, some from specific hunger ministries, some from synod and churchwide staffs but all came with a heart for those who live with hunger. Some had years of experience working on hunger issues and others had less, but everyone came with a passion somehow connected to hunger.
Conversation about programs and policies, local and global efforts, immediate aid and sustainable efforts abounded. Networking was raised as a need as was acknowledging monetary contributions, advocacy, and hands-on efforts. We see the need to talk about “on ramps” to engage others in hunger ministry. Our hope is that we can work towards something that supports the current hunger ministries across the synods as well as moves to more education and learning for all of our congregations.
Additional voices, experience, and questions are valuable and welcome! Please contact or Justin Grimm (Saint Paul Area Synod) at justin.grimm@spas-elca.org or Bob Hulteen (Minneapolis Area Synod) at: b.hulteen@mpls-synod.org if you are interested in joining future planning.
Vernita Kennen
Incarnation, Shoreview