Lutheran Bishop’s First Convocation Addresses Global Poverty

Lancaster, PA – Today, Bishop Hoover delivered his first convocation, calling on the congregational leaders present to get more involved in ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. Bishop B. Penrose Hoover met with ONE Member Brian Sweeney to discuss ONE’s mission and goals, leading to Bishop Hoover’s decision to choose global extreme poverty as the topic of his first convocation. At the convocation, Bishop B. Penrose Hoover and those present from the Lower Susquehanna Synod reaffirmed their mutual commitment to end hunger and preventable disease in the world’s poorest countries.

Bishop B. Penrose Hoover said in his first convocation that, “the idea is to spread the concept of grace by doing advocacy and to give voice to the powerless. This starts with the ONE Campaign, and it starts with each one of you. We need to push out the walls of our congregation to expand grace as ONE.”

ONE partner organization, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sent two representatives to speak at the 2007 Bishop’s Convocation: ONE in the Spirit. Director for International Public Policy at ELCA Kimberly C. Stietz and Director for Advocacy at ELCA Andrew Genszler joined Reverend Neal Harrison, the Executive Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa). Pennsylvania is home to more than 95,000 ONE members who are working to save lives around the world.

ONE is powered by millions of Americans from all 50 states and has partnered with over 150 of the nation’s leading charitable organizations, including the Evangelical Lutheran  Church in America (ELCA). Through ONE.org and work on the ground in local communities, colleges and churches, ONE members are reaching across political aisles to ask elected officials and candidates to work harder to promote healthcare, reduce hunger and educate children in Africa and the world’s poorest countries. If achieved, ONE’s actions could help save 15,000 lives a day, prevent the deaths of 5.4 million children, provide free access to basic education for out-of-school children and deliver access to clean water for 450 million people around the world.

ONE Member and Jonestown resident Brian Sweeney who asked the Bishop to address ONE during his convocation explained, “I became an active member of ONE because I felt compelled through my belief in the Lord that there is a need to help those who are hungry and sick around the world. It is my duty, as a Christian, to make sure we don’t turn our backs on those people.”

Sweeney continued, “Proverbs 31:8 says that we should speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. ONE gives people like me the chance to use my voice to help the poorest of the poor. I’ve already done several things already. I’ve asked my church to address these issues and I’ve asked my Mayor to make my hometown a ONE City. There are still many more ways I can spread the word and get these issues out.”

Last month, Sweeney spearheaded an event that led to Jonestown giving Pennsylvania its first ONE City when Jonestown Mayor George Kaufman issued a proclamation to support ONE and encouraged others to join ONE’s campaign to end poverty and preventable disease. At the community event, ONE Member and State Representative RoseMarie Swanger presented a Certificate of Recognition from the Pennsylvania State House, stressing the importance of local activity in the fight against extreme global poverty.

State Representative RoseMarie Swanger said, “When we come together for a common cause, great things happen. There are more than 95,000 ONE members in Pennsylvania right now. Together, we are working as ONE to rid the world of illiteracy, disease and poverty.”