More than 200 youth and leaders at Lower Susquehanna Synod’s annual winter retreat heard from recent LAMPa racial justice fellow Anna Oslikova about the transformative power of advocacy and then took first steps themselves — writing postcards to policymakers after packing more than 30,000 meals for hungry neighbors.

Oslikova, who completed an Isaiah 58:12 racial justice fellowship this spring, shared her experience getting to know immigrant farmworkers in her region. In a conversation on the main stage with Charlie Roberts, synod director of faith formation and youth minstry, she described engaging her congregation, Evangelical Lutheran in Waybnesboro, to help fill some of their neighbors basic needs by making quilts and raising money for warm clothes. To cap the fellowship, Oslikova, who has since become a LAMPa policy council member, met with her state representative to urge him to pursue policies that reflect human dignity and to speak out against false and dehumanizing rhetoric targeting immigrants.

“The lasting impact for me was the fact that advocacy takes courage, and stepping out of my comfort zone inspired me in ways like showing me my capabilities that I never thought I would have been able to have,” said Oslikova, who has continued to grow relationships of understanding across borders and other barriers by serving and studying in Guatemala, partially funded by the scholarship she received through the fellowship. “Sometimes it’s just about the seeds you plant in yourself and others that create the lasting impact.”

Learn more and apply for an Isaiah 58:12 fellowship here. (Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.)

During the retreat, attendees also packed more than 30,000 meals for hungry neighbors. LAMPa Director Tracey DePasquale thanked them for their service, explaining that 1 in 8 Pennsylvanians, about 1.8 million people (including about a half million children), were reported as food insecure at the start of 2025. Nearly half of all Pennsylvanians report living paycheck to paycheck – just one surprise medical bill or other emergency away from tough choices between food, health care and housing, according to Feeding Pennsylvania.

“We know those figures are likely increasing,” DePasquale said, “because our ministries were witnessing need grow by a third or even doubling over last year as we approached the holidays.”

With cuts in federal programs taking effect in 2026, the need will be even greater, she said, inviting attendees to write postcards to Gov. Josh Shapiro and their state legislators, urging them to remember the hungry as they prepare the 2026 budget. LAMPa staff and volunteers will deliver the postcards in the coming week.

“We’re grateful for the relationships with synod staff and the strong support of LAMPa policy council members that makes this collaboration possible,” DePasquale said. “The theme for Winterfest was ‘Better Together.’ At LAMPa, we’re always striving to be church together for the sake of the world God loves. It’s a perfect fit. When the youth were singing about having a voice and about the power of discovering you are not alone, but can be part of a chorus for change, I was so glad to be there to share that LAMPa exists to accompany them in that very thing!”