Manna Grant Awarded to LAMA

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) is the proud and grateful recipient of a Manna grant in the amount of $3,000, courtesy of Ascension Lutheran Church using a legacy gift from longtime member Orpha Hoganson. Grantees are expected to use the funds to address the root causes of hunger in Arizona. LAMA plans to use this generous gift to advocate for legislation that supports and defends our brothers and sisters experiencing hunger at the Arizona state legislature.

About the Manna Grant

Manna Grants are intended to support new and continuing projects in the Grand Canyon Synod that work to alleviate hunger and address the root causes of hunger, and which demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion in leadership and decision-making. All organized congregations, New Starts, Synodically Authorized Worshipping Communities (SAWCs), and Special Ministries of the Grand Canyon Synod are eligible to apply.

The funding for the Manna Grant came from Ascension Lutheran Church in Paradise Valley, honoring the legacy of member Orpha Hoganson. The church will provide an additional $90,000 towards hunger later in the year.

Orpha was a librarian in the public schools and enjoyed reading to children attending Sunday School. While she did not have a family, many called her “Grandma.”

As a younger woman, she enjoyed the summers off from the school by traveling. She would take a room on a commercial freighter and see the world, often not knowing exactly where the ship would end up. Here she saw poverty and hunger in ways that created her desire to help. Serving in public schools also exposed her to the need for hunger relief in the community.

She decided in her later years she could make a difference. First, she gave money to church members who could go to India to open a clinic where the need for health care was great.

Upon Orpah’s death, her estate gave $180,000 to Ascension Lutheran to be used for local hunger and world hunger. This was managed by the church for twenty years and it was decided it was time to use this in a dynamic way with these Manna Grants.

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