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Stories from around the synod 30 HOUR FAMINE - Five St. Louis Church Youth Groups in St. Louis, MO Region Team Up to Raise $6,000 to Fight Global Hunger during 30 Hour Famine International Youth Movement In October, five youth groups from the ELCA Metro St. Louis Coalition of the Central States Synod joined for the first time to observe the 30 Hour Famine. 30 Hour Famine is an international youth movement to fight hunger. The youth from Good Shepherd – Manchester, Holy Trinity – St. Louis, Hope – St. Charles, Trinity – Kirkwood, and Atonement – Florissant joined together to raise $6,000 for global hunger in the weeks prior to observing the famine. Donations were gathered from school friends, family members, and special congregational offerings. In some cases the youth positioned themselves next to the snack machines at school and made presentations in each of their classes inspiring others to collect donations from their own churches. The total amount collected will be matched 8 times by World Vision through a special US Government Food and Agriculture Grant. It takes roughly $30 a month to feed a child. The participants began fasting at noon on Friday, October 13 and consumed only water and fruit juice until breaking their fast at 6 pm Sat with communion during a worship service at Good Shepherd. During the fast the youth learned about poverty around the world, made a paper chain representing ¼ of the 29,000 children that die from health related issues every day, wrote letters to their congressmen concerning the need for hunger assistance, packaged food for Kids Against Hunger, loaded a shipment for “Bundles of Love” - St. Louis, a Lutheran World Relief Project, went grocery gleaning at a local Schnucks to gather food for Otis Woodard’s ministry in North St. Louis and cleaned the kitchen and fellowship hall at Immanuel Lutheran Church – St. Louis, where they serve breakfast to the homeless every Sunday morning. Janet Smith |