Climate change is causing widespread and dangerous threats to nature and billions of people around the planet, but especially those least able to cope, according to a report released this week by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which warns that humankind has a narrowing window for action. “This report is a dire warning...
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Student participation in school breakfast and lunch dropped dramatically across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, and child hunger would have spiked even more dramatically without waivers that allowed schools and community organizations to creatively adapt to keep feeding programs going, according to a new report by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). LAMPa advocates...
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In late April this year LAMPa joined with United Lutheran Seminary in the celebration of rogation. ULS’s spring convocation around the theme “The Theology of Gathering” helped Lutherans across Pennsylvania think about the ways in which we are connected, even as we distanced ourselves due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognizing this theme, and seeking to honor creation as spring bloomed, LAMPa staff facilitated the gathering of...
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As the General Assembly passed an on-time budget before recessing in late June, LAMPa celebrated a 15 percent increase in the state’s major anti-hunger programs and an extra $300 million in basic education funding, $100 million of which is targeted to the poorest schools. “Our hunger advocates did a tremendous job in sharing stories of...
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A newly released report shows that homelessness among children and youth is increasing dramatically in Pennsylvania while rising unevenly in other states during the 2018-19 school year (SY). PEC reviewed the report from the National Center for Homeless Education called Federal Data Summary School Years 2017 – 2019, and summarized key data points for the...
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UPDATE: “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on June 2 that it would continue to stay a lower court ruling seeking to overturn the CDC eviction moratorium. This latest ruling leaves the moratorium in-place, so that millions of households behind on their rent continue to receive eviction protections. Moreover, the...
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Following the settlement in the Gilliam vs. USDA case, SNAP recipients will now start receiving additional aid in the form of “emergency allotments.” Read more about the settlement here. Anyone who receives SNAP benefits, even the maximum amount, will receive these emergency allotments. People will not receive notifications, so spreading the word throughout advocacy networks...
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Just as congregations innovated with worship, learning and service in response to COVID, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod’s Green Team is encouraging innovation in creation care as we emerge transformed from the pandemic. The Good Hope/Zion Lutheran congregations of Oil City are leading by example. A Thrivent Action Team grant allowed them to try eco-friendly green ware...
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Settlement in a case between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and food stamp recipients in Pennsylvania regarding COVID relief will mean $712 million in back payments of additional nutrition benefits for more than 650,000 of the lowest-income Pennsylvania households. Community Legal Services won an injunction in September on the behalf of Latoya Gilliam and Kayle...
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Luke 8: 15 : 15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance. The health of the soil is a central theme in the Gospel, especially reflected in Jesus’s parables. These land-oriented passages convey their...
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