My April, 2015, column for The Bellringer, my internship congregation’s monthly newsletter. Enjoy!
Reaching Out
A couple of weeks ago, my wife Christin and I had the privilege of leading a 30 hour famine with some of the youth of our church. From Friday afternoon until after worship on Saturday, we drank only juice and water.
During our famine (in addition to bonding as a group and getting to know each other better), we learned about hunger and poverty around the world and here in Dubuque. I don’t know about you, but for me, when I think of hunger, I picture the stereotypical starving children in Africa.
There is some truth to that stereotype. Some of the activities we did and and videos we watched focused on Ethiopia, where 29% of children under age 5 suffer from malnutrition. We also talked about how our church is making a difference in Ethiopia and other countries through ELCA World Hunger.
But beyond Africa, we also talked about hunger and food insecurity locally, here in Dubuque. We went door to door collecting food, and donated what we collected to St. Stephen’s Food Bank, which distributes food to area food pantries and charities. They distribute 1.5 million pounds of food annually, serving around 20,000 people in need in the Dubuque area and surrounding communities.
As the season of Lent draws to a close and we move into the Easter season, I challenge you to find a new way to support those in need. Maybe that’s through doing something like a food drive, sponsoring a child, or donating to other organizations in town. Or maybe it’s through donations to the church. As a congregation, we support many agencies and programs both locally and around the world through our synod and the churchwide programs of the ELCA.
How will you help live out our mission to share the good news of Christ by reaching out in love?
In Christ,
Daniel Flucke, Pastoral Intern