In his Easter message, Presiding Bishop Curry says that even though we consider ourselves to be an Easter church, we must remember that we are also a Lenten church, a time when we live in uncertainty, waiting and hoping for renewal. Curry reminds us that in the midst of that uncertainty, comes God’s promise of reassurance and hope. Death does not have the final word. “Yes, we are Easter people. Even when the ground below us is shaking, we will not grow weary. We know that Jesus is our foundation. Christ is risen, and that truth strengthens us. It gives us courage to live, to hope, and to proclaim joy. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!” Text: Matthew 28:5; Taizé Community Music: Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994 Text and Music © 1998 Les Presses de Taizé, admin. GIA Publications, Inc.

Watch Bishop’s Curry’s Easter Message Herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?si=HzsmWuQH6JJR2VD1&v=Cpw7B04qrgY&feature=youtu.be

Read Here:

We remember the whispers of Advent as we anticipated the birth of Jesus. Now, as we journey through Holy Week, we anticipate the joyful noise of alleluias on Easter Sunday. But before we reach the Easter celebration, we make our way through Lent, through an in-between time where we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We often describe ourselves as an Easter church, but in this holy, solemn time that begins with Ash Wednesday and moves on to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we are also a Lenten church. Living in uncertainty, waiting and hoping for renewal. Longing for the moments when God’s presence feels closer and more sure. During Lent, we learn what it means to live on unsettled ground. In Matthew’s retelling of the resurrection, he describes a “violent earthquake” as the angel came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb where Jesus lay.  I imagine the earthquake, the rumble deep below the earth, as the ground shifted far under the surface. Perhaps those who were nearby felt the tremble. Maybe the women who were on their way to the tomb with prepared spices felt the earth shift. They were unsettled, but they knew something powerful was happening. We can understand that human experience of feeling out of control, of not being able to make sense of what’s happening around us. Many of us can relate to this as we witness the current unrest in our world and in our communities. Like the women at the tomb, we feel isolated, disconnected. We’re unsettled, unsure, living the Lenten reality of waiting and hoping.  And then, in the midst of that shaking, comes the promise. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen.” God’s promise offers reassurance and hope. The resurrection does not deny disruption — it meets us within disorder and disturbance. The stone is rolled away. Death does not have the final word.  Yes, we are Easter people. Even when the ground below us is shaking, we will not grow weary. We know that Jesus is our foundation. Christ is risen, and that truth strengthens us. It gives us courage to live, to hope and to proclaim joy. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!

During this holiest of weeks, we pray for our siblings across the world who are living out the work of Christ. We remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the love he continued to show, even when those closest to him fell short.

In this sacred time, we lift up all who carry that same love into the world today, especially those serving and walking alongside our most vulnerable neighbors. May they be strengthened, sustained, and reminded that they do not labor alone.

Amen.

On the ELCA World Hunger website, there are plenty of good resources amiable for congregational engagement! 

Lifelines

For the World Hunger annual report please see the 2025 Fall Lifelines  issue, now available for download, as a PDF and interactive flipbook, and also available for order as a physical copy. 2026 Spring Lifelines should also be available by April.

Print/Digital Resources

Feeding Ministries Guide

If you are interested in starting a feeding ministry, this guide provides tips and strategies for planning, sourcing food, engaging volunteers, and much more. If you’re part of an existing feeding ministry, you’ll find ideas for growing, expanding or reimagining the work you’re already doing.

Backpack Buddies Guide

This helpful guide contains tips for starting a backpack hunger relief program in your community. It was developed in partnership with ELCA congregations already engaged in backpack buddy programs across the country. Approaching your local elementary schools is also an effective way to begin identifying specific needs in your community.

Know Your Neighborhood: Worksheet and Guide

This guide provides suggestions for finding data related to several areas that impact food security: housing, employment and food access. Data can help you and others know more about the challenges our neighbors face and the assets available in a community.

“At the Table” Vacation Bible 

“At the Table” is ELCA World Hunger’s 2025 VBS curriculum, inviting your community to learn how storytelling can make a difference in your neighborhood and the world.

“En la Mesa”/”At the Table” Bilingual English/Spanish VBS

For the first time ever, ELCA World Hunger has a bilingual VBS. Designed to be either a traditional VBS or an intergenerational program, each day offers large- and small-group activities, crafts, games, snacks and more.

Act 2 Day 4 Tomorrow

This overnight program brings youth together to learn about the role they can play in eradicating hunger and poverty in the world.

Generation Zero-Hunger Interactive Journey Guide

With your youth group or congregation, experience the challenges faced by a family in Nepal as they seek a sustainable livelihood with this interactive roleplaying guide. The setup is based on how ELCA World Hunger designed the track for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering. For an intergenerational activity, consider asking a group of youth and young adults to run this experience for your community.

Many other resources can be downloaded  here.

Videos

“Intersections: Justice Ministries with ELCA Partners” — an ELCA World Hunger Documentary

“Intersections” was created to introduce the ELCA and its communities to the overlapping causes of hunger. Using the M.E.R.G.E. (Migrant, Economic, Racial, Gender, and Environmental) justice acronym as an illustration, the film follows the stories of three ELCA companion ministries and explores how the church is working at poverty’s tangled roots.

Consider playing this video at your table or running a discussion session at your synod assembly based off the documentary. If you are interested in putting on running a discussion around the film, and have any questions, please contact Peter McLellan at peter.mclellan@elca.org.

“We live in a hungry world” w/ Bishop Michael Rinehart

“ELCA World Hunger in Puerto Rico” w/ Everidys Concepción

Online Course: “What is a Hunger Leader?”

• https://bit.ly/hungerleader— This 20-25-minute online learning resource introduces prospective, new, and longtime advocates to ELCA World Hunger’s ministries and invites them to join us. Through brief reflections and videos, this tool helps people in your network see themselves in the work of ending poverty. Share “What Is a Hunger Leader?” with your neighbors of any level of familiarity with anti-hunger ministry!
• Print the attached flyer to display at your synod assembly tables.

How to Order Printed Resources

• See attached flyer for how to order!

How to Create a QR Code

• Click here for a YouTube tutorial on how to create a QR code using Google Chrome web browser or Canva.

Please send us photos of your synod assembly table displays!

Thank you, and have a wonderful time at your assembly and engaging your congregations!

Important information in light of new Death Penalty Law passed yesterday by the Israeli parliament. Find each source in the link in our bio.

We welcome Faith Snipes to the ELCA advocacy team! Skills she brings to the position of ELCA World Hunger Advocacy Fellow come from her pursuit of a dual masters at American University and Wesley Theological Seminary, studying international peace, conflict resolution and theology. She has a keen interest in how religious leaders and communities can play a pivotal role in peacebuilding and reconciliation.