Lutherans Value Teamwork On 'Souper Bowl Sunday'

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Like the NFL's New England Patriots on "Super Bowl Sunday" Feb. 6, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have found that effective teamwork can yield winning results in a challenge of a different kind.
For the last 16 years, the ELCA and other faith groups joined together on the day of the Super Bowl for the "Souper Bowl of Caring" -- a national effort aimed at raising millions of dollars for hunger-fighting organizations across the country.
"The idea is simple," said Sue Edison-Swift, associate director for interpretation, ELCA Department for Communication. "Youth are encouraged to lead their congregation's participation in the Souper Bowl of Caring. Youth collect one dollar or one can of soup in soup kettles from parishioners as they leave church on the Sunday of the Super Bowl," she said.
"All those dollars add up. Thousands of Lutheran congregations participated last year and reported raising more than half-a-million dollars. Collectively, this youth-led, ecumenical and grassroots movement raised $4.25 million last year in the fight against hunger," said Edison-Swift.
Congregations began reporting their results on the day of the Super Bowl. As of Feb. 11, about 7,726 organizations across the country raised more than $2.65 million. Totals are posted on http://www.souperbowl.org -- the Souper Bowl of Caring's Web site.
Some congregations of the ELCA contributed their donations to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, local food pantries and homeless shelters.
The junior high confirmation class at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Amherst, Mass., raised $358 and collected food items for the Amherst Survival Shelter. In addition to collecting funds and food, confirmation students "discussed various places in the Bible where [people are] helping others in need," said Julie Brigham-Grette, a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church.
"The students also discussed some statistics on homelessness, disease and hunger in the United States and in the world. This conversation also involved thinking about the fact that every 30 seconds of commercial airtime during the Super Bowl game sold for $2.4 million, and just how many people could be fed for only one minute of airtime," she said.
The confirmation class also assisted with coffee hour at the church on Sunday morning and performed a skit during the church service, said Brigham-Grette. The skit was "aimed at highlighting the needs of the hungry to the congregation," she said.
Members at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Springfield, Pa., participated in the Souper Bowl of Caring for the first time this year, said the Rev. Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen, pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church.
It joined with Presbyterian, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Assemblies of God and other Lutheran churches and a middle school in Springfield to coordinate a community-wide effort to collect cans and money for the Souper Bowl of Caring, said Phelps Ollikainen. Led by church youth groups, more than $3,100 and 3810 cans of food "were collected en masse and delivered to the Interfaith hunger charity of choice," she said.
"Overall the Souper Bowl of Caring has been a fantastic way for the youth of Springfield to celebrate our common Christian mission through service. It has made an incredible impact on the sense of community for our youth and offered the opportunity for our youth to be role models for the community. Plans are already in the works for next year," said Phelps Ollikainen.
In large soup bowls, Cub Scouts at Word of Peace Lutheran Church, Rogers, Minn., collected than $1,290 for the ELCA International Disaster Response to support tsunami relief operations of the ELCA. The Sunday school youth group at St. John's Lutheran Church, Piqua, Ohio, collected $160 to support the tsunami disaster response efforts of Lutheran World Relief, the overseas relief and development organization of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
The senior high youth group at Northridge Lutheran Church, Kalispell, Mont., collected $240 for the Flathead Food Bank, Kalispell. Members of Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church, Helena, Mont., collected $250 for Feed My Starving Children, Helena.
Youth at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Greenville, Ohio, collected $137 for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. The youth and special-needs adult class prepared and served meals for the clients of St. Paul's soup kitchen on Souper Bowl Sunday. At Salem Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill., members collected $128 for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.
To prepare for the Souper Bowl, each of the 10,721 congregations of the ELCA received a packet containing resources and ideas for youth groups and others to plan for the event. The packet was produced by the ELCA World Hunger Appeal and the Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO). Housed in the ELCA's Division for Congregational Ministries, LYO represents more than 500,000 high-school age members of ELCA congregations across the United States and Caribbean.
The packet included a poster and bulletin inserts designed to invite members of the church to give one dollar or more.
Souper Bowl of Caring began when the Rev. Brad Smith, Spring Valley Presbyterian Church, Columbia, S.C., made reference to the National Football League's Super Bowl Sunday as "Souper Bowl" Sunday in a prayer. The senior youth fellowship of the congregation took the pun in earnest, and a national effort to fight hunger was born. Smith now serves full-time as executive director of Souper Bowl of Caring.
The partnership has grown from 22 churches in 1990 to more than 12,500 churches in Canada and in every U.S. state.
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Editors: Contributions to the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal can be sent to: ELCA WHA P.O. Box 71764 Chicago, IL 60694-1764.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
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