World Hunger Leadership Gathering Recap
The ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering hosted in Columbus, OH from September 18-21 was an inspiring event, where hunger leaders, young and old, from all over the world, gathered to give thanks, worship together, and learn. We learned about ELCA World Hunger’s work, practiced our new Rallyhood platform for enhanced communication among hunger leaders, engaged in experiential learning opportunities in the Columbus area, and viewed the premier of Intersections, the new ELCA World Hunger short documentary.
Goals for the gathering were to:
Strengthen relationships across networks and explore opportunities for partnership and collaboration beyond the gathering.
Equip one another to engage future generations in our community for the church’s shared work toward a just world.
Empower one another to plan and carry out courageous goals that allow us to do justice, love kindness, and move humbly toward our God and a world without hunger.
Identify connection points between our hunger work and issues of climate justice and creation care, housing, advocacy, racism, gender, migration, disaster preparedness and equity, to enhance our vision of and practical strategies for intersectional work in our communities.
Attending on behalf of the Grand Canyon Synod were:
Kristine Bartanen, New Journey (Fountain Hills, AZ), Northeast Valley Consortium
Adrienne Kaye, Mount of Olives (Phoenix, AZ), Olive Branch Community of Hope
Rev. Greg Mannel, Tanque Verde (Tucson, AZ)
Melanie Hobden, Desert Cross (Tempe, AZ), co-chair GCS Hunger Leaders Network
Solveig Muus, Grace (Phoenix, AZ), co-chair GCS Hunger Leaders Network, LAMA
Vicar Wanda Frenchman, Native American Urban Ministry (Phoenix, AZ), special guest of ELCA-WH
The Blanket Exercise with Vance Blackfox
On Thursday, we began with The Blanket Exercise, a powerful experiential learning tool that leads a group of participants through 500+ years of Indigenous history, highlighting the relationship between the tribal nations and the European explorers, colonial setters, and U.S. federal and state governments. Led by Vance Blackfox, ELCA director for Indigenous Ministries & Tribal Relations. Dinner followed the Blanket Exercise, and opening worship with a sermon by the Rev. Suzanne Darcy Dillahunt, Bishop, Southern Ohio Synod and welcome remarks by ELCA churchwide leaders, including Rev. Khader El-Yateem, Executive Director, Service and Justice, Susannah Cunningham, Senior Director, Building Resilient Communities and more.
Friday was our day of experiential learning. We started at Mid-Ohio Farm, where we explored concepts of sustainability in local food systems. Beginning as a concept in 2013, Mid-Ohio Farm has grown into a research, farming and educational outreach program for the regional community and neighbors. The farm is the urban farming asset of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, aiming to increase access to produce for communities facing food insecurity. After lunch there, we split into three groups, one visiting Church for All People on the Near East Side (Theme: “Food Security and Housing Justice”); one visiting Mid-Ohio Fresh Market (Theme: “Food Security and Community Building: Serving With Dignity”) and the third visiting Shepherds Corner (Theme: “The Intersection of Ecology and Food Justice”), a farm run by the Dominican Sisters of Peace. We capped off the day with dinner and learning at St. Philip Evangelical Lutheran Church, a local congregation and Domestic Hunger Grant partner whose work is part of a regional and statewide food justice and hunger relief initiative.
Kris Bartanen, New Journey Fountain Hills, and Melanie Hobden, Desert Cross Tempe (and co-chair of the GCS Hunger Leaders Network
On Saturday following a Taizé-style worship, we enjoyed a series of mini learning sessions, including, “Uncovering Our Rural/Urban Assumptions”; “How to Level Up Your Hunger Ministry”; “Domestic Hunger Grants and the Power of Stories”; “BIPOC Inclusion Wins and Opportunities for MERGE Hunger Justice”; “Witness in Society: Advocacy 101”; and “How to Use the Latest ELCA World Hunger Resources for Greater Engagement”. In the evening we enjoyed a festive dinner spotlighting the Wennes Foundation Endowment and ELCA World Hunger International, and we heard from Rev. Dr. Haemin Lee, Director of World Hunger, Ashlyn Rhyne of LHCO Cambodia, and Rev. Khader El-Yateem on Accompaniment, as well as the premier of a new Global Mission video.
Other highlights included a panel discussion on including diversity in our networks, a mini ministry fair, and plenty of time for working with our regions — Region 2 is planning another 40-40-40 Lenten Challenge for 2026, stay tuned for details. Our last morning together was spent in reflection and worship.
Special thanks to Rev. Dr. Evie Landrau, Director of Networking and Engagement for ELCA World Hunger and her whole planning team!
For more pictures, check out our album here!