2022 Bread for the World Offering of Letters

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

As Christians, we are called to seek justice, care for those experiencing hunger and poverty, and embrace our Creator’s vision of hope, love, and peace. We are called to embody it in public as we commit to live in solidarity with those who are made vulnerable by the inequities that drive hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.

Letters are a strong witness of community concerns and personal testimonies. Over the years, letters and emails from congregations, campuses, and community groups have helped inspire our leaders in Washington, D.C., to pass legislative victories that reduce hunger in the U.S. and around the world.

This year, Bread for the World is asking for your help urging legislators to permanently expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC). Expanding the CTC permanently would do more to reduce hunger and poverty among our nation’s children than any single policy has in decades.

Here’s how you can make a difference:

  1. Read this fact sheet to learn about the impact of the Child Tax Credit.
  2. Watch the brief video below from Bread for World.
  3. Act – click here to take action by emailing your members of Congress to help end hunger today! If you prefer to handwrite your letter, you can find a sample letter here and addresses here. Bring your written letters to church and we’ll offer them in worship on Sunday, May 29th before mailing them.
  4. Contact Paul or Wendy Manganiello, OSLC’s Offering of Letter organizers, to let them know you’ve submitted your letter.

Hope for the Holidays

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

Here is a wonderful opportunity to involve children (and even adults!) in helping others.  Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) offers a program called “Hope for the Holidays.”  The goal is to bring hope and light to thousands of immigrants in the US.  It is quite easy!  Make homemade cards to be distributed at migrant detention centers across the country and at shelters along the border, reminding individuals and families that they are not forgotten during the holiday season. The steps are simple and the deadline for mailing is December 3.

Step 1:
You can make a card and write messages of hope and encouragement in English or Spanish.  Draw a picture or share a favorite poem, quote or Bible verse to personalize the card.  Sign the card with your first name and city/state.  DO NOT put cards in individual envelopes.

Step 2
Place all the cards you have made in a larger envelope and add a note that these cards are from Our Savior Lutheran Church, Hanover, NH 03755.

Step 3
Mail this larger envelope to
First English Lutheran Church
3807 N Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21218

If you would like more info, you can watch this webinar.
If you have questions, contact the church office or Wendy Manganiello.

LISTEN’s Holiday Basket Program

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

For many years OSLC has participated in the LISTEN Holiday Basket Program, previously called the Giving Tree.  The program began many years ago as an effort to make sure that our neighbors in the Upper Valley did not face the holidays without gifts for their children and enough grocery money to make a festive meal.  Last year alone LISTEN helped 486 people celebrate the holidays. Our congregation contributed to its success last year and we would like to do so again this year.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, LISTEN is once again requesting monetary contributions instead of specific purchased items. The donations will be used to provide families with gift cards for winter clothes for children and a grocery store gift card for food purchases.The needs of our Upper Valley neighbors have increased since the beginning of the pandemic. There are already families on the wait list for this program. The goal is to provide a $100 gift card for each child in a family so that the adult is able to purchase the children’s winter clothes, and a $50 grocery card per family. If there are enough funds, LISTEN will be able to serve some of those on the wait list too.Please help bring Christmas Joy to our neighbors in need:

  • You can donate online directly at www.listencs.org/donate. Enter the requested information and under “I wish to support:” select Holiday Baskets. List OSLC in the special note box.
  • You can write a check and send it to LISTEN Community Services at 60 Hanover Street, Lebanon, NH, 03766, and indicate in the memo field that this gift is for holiday baskets, OSLC.

Please consider making this donation ASAP so that LISTEN can have enough time to plan for and distribute the Holiday Baskets before the holiday season starts. Help bring joy to families in our community.

Bread for the World Offering of Letters

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

As people of faith, we know that we are called to care for one another. We are called to speak out for all those in need, especially our children. What is critically needed now is our unified voice assuring that people receive the help they desperately need now. By participating in this year’s Bread for the World (BFW) Offering of Letters you will make a difference, not just to Bread for the World, but to those who experience hunger and poverty. 

Continue reading Bread for the World Offering of Letters

The Giving Tree

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

LISTEN’s Holiday Basket Program
In past years, our congregation has participated in LISTEN’s Holiday Basket Program by selecting tags from our Giving Tree and generously buying gifts for local families and seniors in need. This year the program is taking a different shape to further protect us all from the pandemic. Instead of going out and buying gifts, LISTEN is instead requesting monetary contributions. LISTEN has many families and seniors who have asked to receive holiday gifts this year – in fact, they have a waiting list of people that are hoping for help. They have committed to providing warm clothing and holiday food for 200 local individuals that have requested support. Each child will receive a $100 gift card for a local store to purchase clothing and each family (including seniors), will receive a $50 gift card for a local grocery store. 

Here is how OSLC can help bring Christmas Joy to our neighbors in need:

  • You can donate online directly at www.listencs.org/donate. This will go through PayPal and there will be a transaction fee. After donating online, please email Monica at holidaybasket@listencs.org and let her know that you made a donation and include a reference to OSLC.
  • You can write a check and send it to LISTEN Community Services at 60 Hanover Street in Lebanon, NH, 03766, and indicate in the memo field that this gift is for holiday baskets, OSLC.

Please consider making this donation ASAP so that LISTEN can have enough time to plan for and distribute the Holiday Baskets before the holiday season starts. Wouldn’t it be great if they receive so many donations that they are also able to bring joy to those in our community on the waiting list.

Bread for the World Sunday

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

We invite you to learn more about hunger and its impacts in the U.S. and globally at bread.org/write-congress, then please act by sending email messages to your elected officials.  Sample messages are provided in the links below to help get you started.   [Scroll down for the Temple Talk delivered by Paul Manganiello during our April 26, 2020 Virtual Worship Service.]

  1.  Click here to customize and send an email urging your elected officials to help end child malnutrition internationally. 
  2. Click here to customize and send an email urging your elected officials to end summer hunger.
  3. Click here to customize and send an email to urge your elected officials to respond to COVID-19 and support vulnerable populations. Learn more about COVID-19 and Hunger here.

Text delivered by Paul Manganiello during virtual worship service on Sunday, April 26, 2020, the Third Sunday of Easter:

Good morning. Hope you are all doing well. My name is Paul Manganiello, a member of OSLC’s Social Ministry Committee. This is our 2020 “virtual” annual Bread for the World, Offering of Letters.

Bread will focus on childhood nutrition. In addition to continuing our advocacy work to improve global nutrition, we will also be paying attention to those experiencing hunger in the United States.

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More than 820 million people in the world were food insecure in 2018, which causes many of the world’s children to suffer from malnutrition roughly 20 percent, or 150 million are not growing as they should, and malnutrition also threaten their very lives 7 percent—or roughly 50 million children under the age of 5.

The United Nation’s intervention strategy is aimed at the all-important 1,000 days, from the beginning of a woman’s pregnancy through to her child’s second birthday. This time frame is critical for a child’s health and future well being. Malnutrition before the second birthday can be responsible for irreversible damage to their rapidly growing bodies and minds.

In the US, 1 in 7 children live in food-insecure homes. Children who suffer food insecurity have more headaches, stomachaches, anemia, ear infections, asthma, and colds than children from equally poor families who don’t experience food insecurity. Children with consistently nutritious diets are physically and emotionally healthier, and they do better in school and later in life overall.

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As an example, in Shaw, Mississippi, Kendra Whitehead, drops her four daughters off at Delta Hands for Hope summer camp. The nonprofit, housed in a storefront across from a scenic park, is a summer meals site for children facing hunger. Summer is the hungriest time of the year for children living in food-insecure households because they do not have access to school meals. Of the roughly 22 million children who receive meals during the school year, only about 4 million benefit from nutritious summer programs—this leaves millions of children without adequate nutrition. Food programs—such as summer meals and the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), are available.  They were piloted several years ago, and over time, the number of states participating and children served has increased. The program has proven effective and should be implemented nationwide.

stop-child-summer-hunger-act-infographic cropped

By investing in domestic and international nutrition programs, we can help children get off to a good start and make the future better not only for them, but for all of us.

This year, we are asking that you not handwrite the letter to be mailed, but to do it electronically by going to the websites that will be provided and personalizing the sample letter given. It is extremely easy and effective. Click on the links provided.

We are also asking that you urge your legislators to increase funding for SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps) in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. More information, including the SNAP fact sheet and the online letter can be found at the link providered.

We ask you to educate yourselves about these issues with the Bread resources; pray about these issues; and act on these issues. Thank you for considering our request.

love your neighbor cr