October 19, 2009

CHICAGO – The 2009 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) may have ended July 26 in New Orleans, but the spirit and the music live on. Several artists who entertained and inspired the 37,000 Lutheran gathered in the Louisiana Superdome went on tour after the Gathering to continue raising money for ELCA World Hunger.

As part of the "Change the World: 2009 Lutheran Youth Challenge" to raise $1 million for ELCA World Hunger, high-school-age Lutherans contributed $154,488 at the gathering. The gathering theme was "Jesus Justice Jazz."

The "JJJ Music Tour" is an extension of the challenge. It features the hip-hop sound of "Agape" (David Scherer), the singing voice of Rachel Kurtz, and "Lost and Found" – the musical comedy experience of George Baum and Michael Bridges.

Seven of 16 stops along the tour reported raising an estimated $20,357, with a total goal of $50,000. Sites also reported a variety of other projects completed to alleviate hunger and poverty.

ELCA World Hunger is a comprehensive program of the church. It uses relief, development, education and advocacy to address the root causes of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. The ELCA World Hunger Appeal has an income goal of $18.7 million for 2010.

Those who attend the concerts are challenged to raise $20 each. Lutheran congregations, colleges, universities and seminaries are underwriting many of the expenses of the events, so "the money raised can go directly to ELCA World Hunger," according to the tour's Web site: http://www.ELCA.org/jjjtour

At Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, Sept. 12, the JJJ Music Tour raised $2,130 for ELCA World Hunger. Participants collected toiletry items for Northeast Iowa Food Bank – an organization that distributes food and offers hunger education programs – and knitted and crocheted "scrubbie" pads for Self-Help – an international nonprofit that helps people grow their own food.

The Sept. 13 stop at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, raised $2,500. Participants created a "26,000 children" banner for the number of children who die of starvation every day, wrote letters to members of Congress urging them to support hunger relief and made sandwiches for a low-income after-school program.

At Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., Sept. 26, participants raised $3,000. They also collected 607 pounds of food for Second Harvest – a hunger-relief organization that distributes food to millions of hungry people across the United States through a network of food banks and food- rescue organizations.

The Oct. 4 event at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LSTG), Gettysburg, Pa., raised $4,000 for ELCA World Hunger. It was hosted also by the ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod Office for Youth Ministry and Theological Education with Youth – a joint initiative of LSTG and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia to help high school youth to explore vocations theologically.

The concert at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lansing, Mich., Oct. 9, was sponsored in part by the ELCA North/West Lower Michigan and Southeast Michigan Synods. It raised $2,556, and participants wrote letters on paper plates to encourage Michigan's U.S. Senators to support the Childhood Nutrition Act.

The 402 people who attended the Oct. 10 event at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., raised $2,670 and collected about 110 pounds of food for Shalom Center – a local food bank, shelter and assistance center.

At Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, Oct. 11, the tour raised $3,501. A related kickball tournament brought in about 500 pounds of food.

It also stopped Oct. 5 at Luther Place, Washington, D.C., and Oct. 17 at Dana College, Blair, Neb.

Remaining stops for the JJJ Music Tour:

+ Oct. 24 – Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas

+ Oct. 25 – Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, N.C.

+ Nov. 7 – Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn.

+ Nov. 8 – Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

+ Nov. 14 – Trinity Lutheran College, Everett, Wash.

+ Dec. 5 – St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Lexington, S.C.

+ Feb. 13-14 – Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Trinity Lutheran College, Everett, Wash., is an independent school. Other congregations, colleges, universities and seminaries are ELCA institutions.

ELCA News Service