ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 1, 2006
Lutherans to Take Part in 'Souper Bowl of Caring'
06-016-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- This weekend while the Pittsburgh Steelers
and Seattle Seahawks meet on the field in Detroit to determine
the 2006 Super Bowl champion, Lutherans will join with other
churches and organizations throughout the United States and
Canada to raise funds, collect canned goods and donate service
hours to benefit hunger-fighting agencies and ministries.
They will be participating in the "Souper Bowl of Caring,"
an annual event through which people attending churches, schools,
retail outlets and Super Bowl parties can easily contribute money
to help people in need.
In many churches on Feb. 5, including those of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), youth groups will
collect $1 bills in giant soup pots.
The ELCA World Hunger Appeal, in conjunction with the
Lutheran Youth Organization, is urging congregational youth
groups to organize local Souper Bowl collections and report
results to the Souper Bowl organization. Several resources about
Souper Bowl were sent in advance by the ELCA World Hunger program
to ELCA congregations.
"Each year during the Souper Bowl of Caring, youth groups
across the ELCA creatively and enthusiastically lead their
congregations to respond to Jesus' call to 'go and do likewise,'"
said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop. "I thank
God for these servant leaders and ask for God's blessings on all
who give and receive through the Souper Bowl of Caring."
"The Souper Bowl of Caring is one more way in which our
church comes together in ministry on behalf of those who are
hungry around the world and close to home," said Kathryn Sime,
director, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal. "The youth of
our church already have a great heart for hunger ministry, and
I'm grateful for their leadership in bringing the Souper Bowl
home to congregations across the ELCA. At this time when ending
hunger around the world is truly possible, the work of these
'super heroes' for hunger has never been more important," she
said.
This year the Souper Bowl is an officially sanctioned event
of the 2006 Detroit Super Bowl XL Host Committee, and is endorsed
by owners of National Football League teams and former U.S.
Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. To bring attention
to the Souper Bowl cause, a tour called "Blitzathon 2006,"
featuring a Souper Bowl bus, began a 15-city tour in Miami -- the
site of the 2007 Super Bowl -- with a final stop in the Super
Bowl XL host city of Detroit.
Last year some 1,955 Lutheran congregations joined nearly
11,000 congregations representing several denominations in the
Souper Bowl effort, wrote the Rev. Brad Smith, Souper Bowl of
Caring founder and executive director, in a letter to Hanson.
Some $4 million was raised in 2005, with Lutherans collecting
more than $600,000.
"This will be an especially poignant year for Souper Bowl of
Caring," Smith wrote. "We are celebrating a significant
organizational milestone --15 years and $28 million for local
charities -- and the Super Bowl is in Detroit, which was recently
identified as America's poorest big city. It is a very
appropriate location to draw attention to the needs of our
nation's hungry and hurting and demonstrate how small efforts can
make a huge difference."
Groups that collect Souper Bowl funds can report their
totals via the Souper Bowl of Caring Web site or call center,
which some 200 youth volunteers will staff on Feb. 5. In
addition, the ELCA World Hunger Appeal is asking ELCA groups to
report results and stories of their efforts through the appeal's
Web site.
Smith is credited with developing the Souper Bowl idea when
he was associate pastor at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church,
Columbia, S.C. The first Souper Bowl Sunday was in 1990, when
youth from the congregation contacted 22 local congregations that
contributed to benefit local charities.
---
Information about the Souper Bowl of Caring is at
http://www.ELCA.org/hunger/resources/souperbowl.html
on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
