My congregation was recently awarded a Top Giving certificate for our collections toward disaster relief during 2023, particularly for the people of Maui after the horrible fire that destroyed so many homes and disrupted people’s lives last August. The award was presented by Lutheran Disaster Response, an auxiliary organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (the ELCA).
I was surprised by the congregation’s recognition, and it made me think about how religious organizations work hard to help those in need. And not just Lutherans. But let’s start there and then look at other charitable work in other faith communities.
There is ELCA World Hunger that helps reach communities most in need of food throughout the world. In 2019, ELCA World Hunger support totaled over $23 million. Lutheran Disaster Response (Global Refuge) works domestically to help victims of flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires; and internationally in the Eastern Europe crisis, the Horn of Africa drought, the Middle East crises, South Sudan relief and protecting migrants.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service works with congregations and social ministry organizations to welcome more than 379,000 refugees to the US since 1939. There are other ministries throughout the world that ELCA congregations support through their contributions. You can look up the ELCA website at ELCA.org to learn more.
Other social ministry organizations are represented in our Interfaith Community of South County and Interfaith Clergy Alliance. Islamic Relief USA, Catholic Charities, American Jewish World Service, Latter-day Saint Charities, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Episcopal Relief and Development, and so on. You get the idea. All of these have websites that describe their work.
What is really great is that many of these organizations have found ways to work together to help those in need throughout the U.S. and the world. Faith-based organizations are not limited to running a local congregation, but can participate in outreach and service to people they will likely never meet.
And local congregations work together on service projects in their communities as well as international service projects.
In her book, ”The History of God,” author Karen Armstrong takes up the great monotheistic faiths throughout history—the Hebrews, the Christians and the Muslims. All are monotheistic faiths; they all believe there is one God.
Each main group has its own story and history of their relationship with the one God. And, according to Karen Armstrong, all great faiths have two main teachings: all are compassionate, and all seek justice.
While none of these faiths have lived fully into those basic ideas, compassion and justice are where we need to meet and work together for a better world. The outreach of each organization’s social ministries brings us together, working for a better world, and responding to the call of our faith leaders and of God to serve others.
Ronald E. Koch is Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gilroy. He is a founding member of the Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County. Pastor Koch can be reached at [email protected].
