RESOLUTION #1:
Hunger – A Community Priority

PASSED

Sponsors: West Linn Lutheran Church, West Linn; St. Mark Lutheran Church, Portland; Milwaukie Lutheran Church, Milwaukie; Creator Lutheran Church, Clackamas; Calvary Lutheran Church, Hillsboro; and Zoar
Lutheran Church, Canby

RESOLUTION #1: Hunger – A Community Priority
WHEREAS the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, confronting the scandal of hunger in this world as a core dimension of living out the Christian faith, recommitted this church to:
a. Provide relief and development assistance for those who suffer from hunger and injustices related to hunger;
b. Foster the education of the members of this church to understand and confront the reality and underlying causes of hunger;
c. Advocate policies and actions for social and economic justice relating to hunger with governments, business institutions, and structures of this church and its related agencies; and
d. Facilitate listening to and working together with those who have special awareness of the realities of food and hunger, including poor and hungry people in local and global communities and those who produce, process, and distribute food; and

WHEREAS that assembly also encouraged synods to:
a. Equip congregations in their efforts to feed the hungry ensuring adequate nutrition, to advocate for just laws and policies aimed at ending hunger, and to promote community economic development on the local level;
b. Initiate with the leaders of other judicatories, especially with full-communion partners, discussions to promote the advocacy of laws and policies to end hunger on the state, national, and global level; and
c. Support the World Hunger Appeal generously; and
WHEREAS people in our communities are hungry;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that each congregation will designate a hunger leader liaison to work with the Oregon Synod Hunger Committee to create and coordinate hunger efforts. Such designation is to be implemented by September 1, 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each congregation will use the present economic situation as impetus to evaluate and expand its hunger programs with results to be shared at the 2010 Synod Assembly as our community networks and celebrates together; and finally,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Oregon Synod will generously support the hungry of the United States and the world, each congregation will make a faithful effort to “double” its ELCA World Hunger Appeal giving to $10 or more per baptized member in 2010.