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 news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog