November is Native American Heritage Month!

LEAN honors Nevada’s 28 tribal nations, the first caretakers of this land, by learning, listening, and taking action for Indigenous sovereignty.

From ELCA Advocacy Blog dated November 20, 2025

When Dr. Paul Mmbando was in medical school 20 years ago, AIDS was generally a death sentence. Nowadays with better drugs, when the conditions of good nutrition and sticking to the daily meds are met, it’s a disease like others that can often be managed.

Dr. Paul leads the health department for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). Daudi Msseemmaa, ELCA Regional Representative to East Africa talked to him on Nov. 17, 2025 about how the church’s role in making sure those conditions are met as World AIDS Day observance approached.

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What has the church been doing in supporting people with HIV?

The ELCT was the pioneer in launching palliative care services in Tanzania. Until recently, at least three-fourths of our palliative care patients had HIV. Annual AIDS deaths in Tanzania are now a fraction of what they were in those early days, and to keep it that way we need to be proactive about medicines, nutrition and education. In April 2022 we started a partnership with USAID [the U.S. Agency for International Development] that led to youth-focused HIV/Aids services that reached more than 250,000 people. This year, that project was one of the casualties of the American aid freeze. There were more than 167,000 participants at the time it was shut down.

What did the aid freeze mean for you?

It was a big blow to the health sector nationally. But for the church, it decimated our staff and volunteers’ ability to follow up on patients to make sure they were getting their medicines, to take orphans to the clinic, to support livelihoods so people can afford food. It meant non-adherence, which in turn means higher viral loads, increased transmission of HIV, and reversing the progress of the last decade. We don’t want to go back to those dark days.

What are you doing now?

We still need to meet the UNAIDS [United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS] targets for Tanzania of 95-95-95, where 95% of people with HIV know their status, 95% of them are on antiretroviral medicines (ARVs), and 95% of those on ARVs have suppressed viral loads (which means fewer HIV copies in the blood, making it less transmissible). But we can’t do it on our own.

We reached out to partners to fill some of the gaps for the most essential services that were cut. With ELCA support we have just relaunched some essential services for vulnerable youth in three regions through SARAH Project. ELCT has also conducted for the first time a unique fundraising event through the first annual ELCT Marathon, income from which was dedicated to bridge gaps caused by this project termination.

Despite those efforts, we have a long way to go to meet the need, but since this work is part of our calling as a church and our vocation as individuals, we keep pushing. HIV doesn’t need to be a death sentence.

We remain grateful for the solidarity and companionship to make a difference while amplifying our voice for the voiceless and those in need.

Are you moved to act? You’re invited to share your values and experiences with your federal representatives using the Action Alert posted 11/19/2025.

You can make a difference for global neighbors.

We know, we know—it’s not even Halloween yet. But the work of welcome just can’t wait!

We are thrilled and grateful to announce the launch of our annual Hope for the Holidays™ program, a card-collecting campaign to spread hope to our newest neighbors!

By participating and writing messages of welcome, you can extend a moment of warmth and humanity to those threatened by rhetoric and harmful policies. During a time of uncertainty, your kindness assures refugees and other immigrants in your community that they are (still) welcome.

Learn more and download our toolkit at globalrefuge.org/Hope

After a record-setting 43 days of shutdown, the federal government resumed operations with a bill signed by President Trump on the evening of Nov. 13, 2025, which funds most federal agencies through Jan. 30, 2026. A message was sent to U.S. House and Senate representatives expressing gratitude for the reopening. This message, which follows, also noted prayer in our ELCA communities for our elected leaders and public servants and encouraged “lawmakers at all levels of government to prioritize consistent and good governance in the future.”

Gratitude for Reopening of Government

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gives thanks for the resolution of the government shutdown and the restoration of essential services to families across this nation. With the government open, we ask our elected leaders to now work together to ensure all are able to afford healthcare in this country. We pray for all who were affected during this period of uncertainty and disruption as well as for all those who face the deadly consequences of unaffordable healthcare.

The Bible emphasizes a consistent ethic of care for people who are poor in over 2000 verses. As Christians, we hold in our hearts profound concern for people experiencing poverty and we are called to act in civic life for the benefit of our neighbors. Many of our congregations work in parallel and in partnership with the government to implement federal nutrition programs such as SNAP, WIC, and child nutrition — services that face disruption, delays, or uncertainty during shutdowns. Over the past few weeks, many ELCA World Hunger ministries and countless food pantries across this church have witnessed firsthand the shocking and overwhelming demand that arises when families lose access to these vital resources.

The impact of government shutdowns extends beyond immediate hunger relief. Farmers who depend on Department of Agriculture services, dedicated public servants, community organizations that rely on federal partnerships, and more, all experience the ripple effects of governmental dysfunction. The ELCA’s social message on “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy” reminds us that government exists to serve the common good and protect human dignity and that public service is a noble vocation. While we recognize that people of faith may disagree on matters of policy, we share a responsibility to ensure that governance itself functions effectively. Shutdowns undermine the trust essential to democratic institutions and harm the most vulnerable among us.

We urge our elected leaders to:

• Prioritize good governance and return to a bipartisan appropriations process focused on the common good;
  1. Advance and pass legislation as soon as possible to address surges in healthcare premium costs;
  2. Protect and fund programs that serve people experiencing poverty, hunger, and illness in all upcoming budget negotiations;
  3. Seek common ground through civil dialogue that honors the dignity of all people and creation;
  4. Remember that behind every program and service are real people whose lives and livelihoods depend on stable, functional government.

As Christians, whose baptismal call is to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth” we work together for the common good and commit ourselves to continued advocacy for just policies and accountability in public life. We will continue to accompany people affected by hunger and economic insecurity. We encourage congregations to engage and partner with their elected representatives to ensure no one goes hungry.

We pray for our elected leaders and all public servants as they enter the next period of budget discernment and encourage lawmakers at all levels of government to prioritize consistent and good governance in the future.

The Rev. Amy Reumann
Senior Director, Witness in Society
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Join fellow Bread for the World members and advocates in the West, Southwest and Midwest Tuesday or Wednesday, November 18 or 19 for Bread’s fourth quarterly meeting of the year.

• Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. AZ (7:00 p.m. EST)
• Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. AZ (2:00 p.m. EST)

These one-hour meetings will include:

• Updates on in-district congressional meetings
• Status of Bread’s top advocacy priorities
• Review of victories and setbacks over the course of 2025
• Planning and preparing for the work ahead, including the 2026 Offering of Letters

Bread holds these meetings on a quarterly basis to educate, encourage and equip individuals and groups as we advocate for a world without hunger. The meetings include updates on important legislation, discussion with fellow advocates, and next steps to put our faith into action for our neighbors facing hunger—near and far.

Hosted by David Gist, Ken Fujimoto, and Nicole Schmidt