Public Theologians Advocate on Behalf of PA General Assistance

Wow, I'm live-blogging from the start of Lutheran Day at the Capitol and it's really exciting to see so many Lutherans from throughout Pennsylvania living out their baptismal call to do justice!  In addition to working on issues combating a pay-day lending bill, protecting Pennsylvanians from a proposed food-stamp asset test and strengthening the Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, another major issue we're working on today protection PA's General Assistance Program.

The General Assistance program supports the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians who have no other income. It is truly a program of last resort that is in danger of being cut from this year's PA state budget. The only people who can receive GA funds are:

- Disabled or sick adults without children,
- Domestic violence survivors, many of whom have just fled their abusers,
- Adults caring for someone who is sick or disabled, or for an unrelated child,
- Adults participating in alcohol and other drug treatment programs, and
- Children living with an unrelated adult.

We're trying something new with this particularly advocacy issue by recording advocacy videos, putting them up on YouTube,  and tweeting them to @GovernorCorbett and other legislators... please see some of our best ones below.  If you're interested in helping out, check out www.pacaresforall.org for more information, record a video, posted it to YouTube (LAMPa can help with that if needed) and tweet it to @GovernorCorbett.  Be sure to use the #KeepPAGA hashtag and let LAMPa know about your video by tweeting us @LAMPaADVOCACY.  Thanks so much friends!













If you're here today at Lutheran Day at the Capitol, please see Dustin to record a video before you go home!

God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin is a Masters of Divinity candidate in his second year of study at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice building in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin really likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World @ LTSP

On February 7th the LTSP community was privileged to hear David Beckmann, a Lutheran pastor and President of Bread for the World, speak at our first convocation of the spring 2012 semester.  The talk was an encouraging yet sobering update on what has occurred in the struggle to end global food insecurity since the publication of Mr. Beckmann’s book Exodus from Hunger in 2010.  Through Exodus’s inclusion in the “One Seminary; One Book” campaign, the LTSP community has learned a great deal both about hunger and what role public theologians have in leading our world out of what is very solvable crisis.  Much like in his book, Beckmann discussed how solving hunger can be a bi-partisan issue, evidenced by the fact that Bread for the World has both former Republican Senator Bob Dole and former Democratic Senator Tom Harkin on it’s board.”  He also stressed that public theologians have a responsibility to help faith communities see citizenship as stewardship and considering offerings of not only money and food but advocacy actions that work towards changing the system that causes hunger in our world.

While a great deal of work has already been done towards ending food insecurity, Mr. Beckmann discussed how given the current political environment, we need to help defend the “circle of protection” around the poor and vulnerable of our society.  Although maintaining church food banks is a great start, they only contribute 6% of what federal assistance programs currently do towards feeding hungry people.  As state and federal politicians continue attacking the federal safety net of food stamps, school breakfast and lunches, tax credits and other programs, the faith community must stand, the faith community needs to lend its voice to those who do not have one.  Here are only a few ideas of what folks at LTSP and elsewhere could do to help in this effort:

1. Pick up a copy of Exodus from Hunger and read it to educate yourself on the issue if you have not already done so (it’s a really easy book).
2. Check the websites of Lutheran Advocacy Ministries of PA and Bread for the World to learn more about current legislation and issues.
3. Write, call or visit your local, state or federal representatives as indicated on those websites… even if you’re against their position, the people who work in legislative offices are generally pretty nice. Help folks at your congregations and field sites realize how important advocacy is as part of their faith.
4. Let’s get creative on the LTSP campus! Figuring out how to do a well-publicized hunger fast during part of Lent might be a great start.

By engaging in these actions, we can both ensure that hungry people are fed and that we are doing our best to be the Church, Christ’s body on earth.

God's peace,

Dustin

A History of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia Campus

I'm deep in the midst of writing my J-term paper on the what "narrative" has been written about the LTSP campus over the years, and I figured folks would appreciate a preview of the first couple paragraphs.  If you have any questions (or construct criticism), please let me know!

          A few months ago while planning for an upcoming green certification program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, one member of the committee suggested it would be helpful to study how our campus identity has changed over the years and how it is currently perceived.  In following up on that request with professors and in the seminary library, I was astounded at the amount of information available.  Beside a nearly countless array of original sources, a number of histories had been published since the seminary’s founding, the most significant being Theodore Tappert’s History of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, 1864 – 1964.  While many of these sources provided valuable information about the names of professors and staff, the acquisition and destruction of various buildings and the character of the student body, they all stopped short of answering my committee member’s question.  I had to dig past such information to tell the story of how our campus community viewed its land, understood its urban setting and its relation to the surrounding neighborhood.  In doing so I hoped to discover how LTSP constructed a campus narrative over its nearly one hundred and fifty year history, the current state of that narrative and how that narrative has impacted the faith of our community.

It quickly became apparent that exploring the evolution of LTSP’s campus narrative would not simply be a historical enterprise, but would necessarily incorporate elements of psychology, sociology and theology as well.  With that fact in mind, my research took a variety of forms.  In order to develop a background for my study of original sources, I first read a number of books on Christian theologies of land, place and the city.  I carefully tilled the Tappert book and other similar works for background historical information.  Using Tappert’s bibliography as a starting point, I next examined minutes from Ministerium of Pennsylvania meetings, LTSP Board of Trustee meetings, transcripts of historical addresses and the like.  I am greatly indebted to the seminary archives staff members who helped me locate a number of early seminary publications and photographic slides (and often the near-ancient equipment to view those slides).  The staff of the Germantown Historical Society also proved helpful in providing old property maps and an outside perspective of the seminary through clippings of newspaper articles.  Finally, I sought to allow the diverse voices of the LTSP community to carry into my work through interviewing a number of staff, faculty, students, alumni and other key individuals.

After engaging in such research I propose that through many changes a “narrative of place” has indeed been constructed by the women and men who have lived, studied, worked and worshiped at here.  I have come to understand that this story has a complex plot which is centered around a single question: how can LTSP best serve the church, Christ’s body on earth, out of this place?  The seminary has generally answered this question somewhere between viewing campus predominately through a monastic tradition of separation and a more missional model of engagement with the outside world.[1]  With notable exceptions, our campus has been on a pilgrimage across that spectrum, slowly shifting away from some of the weaknesses of the monastic model while striving to retain the sacred character of its space and community.

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[1] As the current Seminary President Rev. Dr. Philip Krey aptly reminded me, at it’s the best the monastic model can indeed be missional, as such institutions engage in a wide variety of ministries on behalf of their surrounding neighborhood and the church.  “Missional” in this paper however designates a disposition toward interacting with and recognizing the sacred in the wider world whenever possible.

Why Christians Need to Care About Food Stamps

One of the best parts of my field site placement with Lutheran Advocacy Ministries of Pennsylvania is taking part in strategy sessions about helping our state's most vulnerable citizens.  Last week I attended a broad coalition meeting of anti-hunger organizations and other interested parties working to combat the Corbett administration's proposed asset testing for the federally funded SNAP or food stamp program.  As I wrote in a recent post on the subject, this is simply a mean spirited, ideologically based move that would in some situations force seniors to spend down what little savings they have for medical care and a dignified funeral before they can apply for food stamps.  Folks from AARP were therefore in attendance at the meeting, as seniors would be disproportionately affected by an asset test.  While proposed under the guise of saving the state administration costs, instituting an asset test would only add the costly step of tracking the assets of over 900,000 households to the food stamp approval process.  Representatives from Walmart and other major groceries attended the meeting as well, because asset testing would also take away roughly $50 million federal dollars from the state economy.

Why should we care about this as Christians?  First of all, we're charged in the waters of baptism to care for, feed and welcome our neighbor, amongst other things.  From a very practical, concrete standpoint though, Pennsylvania's food bank system is largely supported by faith communities, who provide $60 million worth of food assistance each year.  As an asset test program for food stamps would eliminate $50 million dollars of food from the state, Pennsylvania's churches will nearly need to double their amount of food donations to make up the difference.  It's simply not doable for congregations that are already stretched thin.  If you're someone not in Pennsylvania reading this, instituting an asset test here could effect food stamp programs nationwide.  Since this is such a big state, other state governments will have an easier time instituting asset tests if Pennsylvania has one.

So what can you do?  First, get educated about the issue.  This documentary on hunger in America put out by AARP is a great start: "Hunger in America."  Next, think about contacting state representatives and especially in this case Governor Corbett's office.  Most importantly, start organizing in your congregations against food insecurity, wherever you are in the country.  1 in 6 folks are hungry right now in America... talk with your pastor about your congregation could work to advocate against the root causes of hunger in conjunction with donations of food and money.  Thanks so much for reading friends.

God's peace,
Dustin

State of the Union Address

Having started to read descriptions of President Obama's upcoming State of the Union address on Tuesday, I got to say I'm pretty impressed... pretty impressed by both its political ramifications and as document about the battered, weathered, yet still strongly held American Dream.  From what I've heard, the central theme of the address will be "fairness," which includes the stereotypically liberal stance of giving everyone a fair chance but also the stereotypically conservative stance of everyone doing their fair share of working toward the American Dream.  One of the biggest reasons I've supported President Obama from the beginning is that his positions have been based on practicality, rather than ideology.  He's gone against his liberal base a variety of times in regards to Afghanistan, Libya, budget cuts and even in going against single payer healthcare (something I continue to support).  This idea of doing what is practical and perhaps most effective stands in stark contrast to folks like Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Corbett, who is currently waging a mean spirited, ideologically based attack against our state's seniors by instituting an asset test for food stamps.  While President Obama of course takes liberal positions more often than not, it is his ability to make decisions from a practical, rather than ideological basis that has in fact changed the way Washington works.  Has his old campaign promise to bring liberals and conservatives together worked?  Nope.  That promise has however morphed into President Obama being one of our first post-ideological candidates... especially after President Bush's clearly ideologically based administrations.

Also, check out the following clip from David Plouffe, senior adviser to the President:



Put quite frankly, this is pretty cool.  It's been amazing how the Obama campaign has been so creative in tapping into the increasingly politically powerful online community, and this feedback opportunity is another example of that creativity.  I encourage all folks, liberal or conservative, to follow up and offer our president some constructive criticism.  Thanks so much folks, and have a great rest of your weekend!

God's peace,
Dustin

A Lutheran Seminarian @ the MLK Memorial

I've had an amazing opportunity this January break to check out a bunch of things I otherwise wouldn't have had time to.  Wired Beans Cafe and the LTSP archives were definitely some amazing discoveries, but my most profound experience over the last couple weeks was experiencing the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC.  Thanks to some of my old fraternity brothers I had free lodging in the district, so I figured MLK Day would be great opportunity to check out the new memorial.  Returning to DC is always sort of a pilgrimage for me, and this time was no exception.

After a great night visiting with friends from Camp Calumet the night before, I woke up at a friend's place on Capitol Hill and decided to walk to the memorial since it was a pretty warm day out.  I even had the opportunity to check out the Smithsonian's Botanical Garden on the way. Eventually after walking down the national mall and past the empty reflecting pool, I was able to find the memorial by the huge crowds around the shore of the DC's tidal basin.  It was definitely a perfect space for MLK surrounded by the cherry trees, and the MLK sculpture itself gazes out over the water (perhaps symbolically) towards the Jefferson memorial.

While I didn't think the central sculpture was particularly amazing, many of the quotes around the rest of the memorial were extremely thought provoking, especially "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, quality and freedom for their spirit."  All to often us Lutherans think about advocacy and social justice as important but limited by our belief that we cannot create an ideal world.  While we indeed cannot make things absolutely perfect in this world due to our sinful natures, we're saints too and thus can greatly improve from its current state.  The basic goals MLK set forth in the above quote are not only something we should strive for but can in fact attain with God's help.

My other favorite part of the memorial was the other people there visiting.  There were park rangers, some Occupiers but also a large number of families, both black and white.  I overheard one young mother telling her child about civil rights, comparing Dr. King to Moses in the Bible.  A few folks, one who told me he personally knew MLK, were quite emotional, with one even crying that the dream had not yet been met.  I don't love the central sculpture itself, but I do greatly appreciate that it looks unfinished, because Dr. King's dream has indeed yet to be fulfilled... we are not finished reaching the dream.  In this regard, it was helpful to read President Obama's interpretation of the controversial quote on one side of the memorial, which reads "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."  President Obama points out that interpreted in the context of the whole speech, the quote is a call to service, stating that we can all become drum majors for justice.  In a time when some states are trying to once again restrict voting rights, as folks of all backgrounds are crying out for jobs, and as elderly folks are refused foodstamps in Pennsylvania, we need those drum majors for justice more than ever.

God's peace,
Dustin

A Christian Response to Gov. Corbett's Plan to Asset Test Food-stamps

A article came out a couple of days ago in the Inquirer stating that Gov. Tom Corbett plans to reinstate asset testing for food-stamps in the state of Pennsylvania.  Anyone under sixty receiving food-stamps would be limited to having $2000 dollars in assets, excluding one's home, first car and retirement benefits.  Folks over sixty would would be limited to having $3,250 in assets.  While this measure is purportedly part of a larger effort to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across all state programs, it simply won't do so.  As the Inquirer article stated, Pennsylvania has received rewards for how efficient their food-stamp system is, with the program's fraud rated being an estimated one-tenth of one percent.  As food-stamps are federally funded, the only expense Pennsylvania incurs at all is in the program's administration.  While the state's asset test will reduce the number of food-stamp recipients by about two percent, thereby theoretically reducing administration costs, it will cost more money to add an expensive step to the approval process.  Furthermore, every dollar of federal funds spent on food-stamps adds $1.73 to the state's GDP.

As the asset test really won't reduce waste, fraud and abuse (but will hurt the state's economy), the Corbett administration's move simply isn't practical.  Instead, it is either a politically or ideologically motivated attack on the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians.  Young families on food stamps won't be able save up money to get out of poverty.  Poor elderly folks won't be able save up enough for proper funeral expenses.  The Corbett administration is using a $2000 limit that was set back in 1980.  At very least, the asset limit could be adjusted for inflation, which would put it close to $5500. 

As roughly a quarter of state food-stamp recipients reside in the city of Philadelphia, the local faith community needs to rally around encouraging Governor Corbett to drop the asset test plan, maintaining the circle of protection around our most vulnerable fellow parishioners and neighbors.  Besides everything Christ taught about caring for the poor, the Incarnation itself points to why Christians are called to feed the hungry.  The simple fact that God was fully incarnate in the person of Jesus points to a need for us to respect all humanity.  If God thought humanity was worth Christ being fully human and fully divine, shouldn't all humanity be worth being fed?

So what can you do?  Tell your friends and neighbors, write to the editor of your local newspaper about the issue.  Talk with your pastor to see how your congregation might engage in advocacy efforts against this attack on the poor.  Put a phone call into the governor's office or even plan a visit to Harrisburg with your congregation.  I just put a call in myself and I promise, the receptionist is friendly.  While the advocacy community is still figuring out how to work with the issue, Lutheran Advocacy Ministries of PA can help you get started as well.  Thanks so much for reading and your efforts to maintain the circle of protection around Pennsylvania's most vulnerable citizens.

God's peace,
Dustin