Widely recognized professor and author Dr. Kathryn Edin will be a keynote speaker at the 2016 LSA Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN in April. Dr. Edin will address the vital role that steady jobs, safe places to live, community ties and dignity play in lifting people out of poverty and addressing challenges facing the working poor.
As a new LSA intern and a first-time visitor to Washington, D.C. I was excited to attend my first Capitol Hill forum on January 29. The forum, one of many that occur in our nation's capital weekly brought together prominent thought leaders and experts to discuss the future of tax credits for low-wage workers. The main topic of discussion was childless workers, low-income families, and improving education and opportunity for children living in low income families that might otherwise not have many opportunities.
It is funny to think that a couple of weeks ago, I was at school in Moorhead, Minnesota anxiously awaiting the beginning of my adventure to Washington DC. Coming from a small town in the Midwest, DC seemed like an entirely different world, but luckily Mother Nature delivered an abundance of snow in my first week making me feel right at home! Although I was initially overwhelmed by the idea of starting a new semester here, as soon as I completed my orientation with Lutheran Services in America I instantly felt at ease.
I am not sure that it has hit me yet that this is my last week interning at Lutheran Services in America. Next Monday, I will not put on my badge; I will not get on the Metro. I will not get to walk past the Capitol Building, Library of Congress or the Supreme Court. It will no longer matter that I can give someone directions to the Dirksen Senate Office Building or tell them where the best food trucks are. My desk will belong to a different intern and I will be back in the Midwest finishing up my degree at Valparaiso University.
As I come to the end of my first year working for Lutheran Services in America I continue to discover new and wonderful ways that LSA members are making a difference in the communities they serve. The uniqueness of each organization combined with a shared Lutheran heritage makes the LSA network both diverse and united in a common mission. I discovered the same dynamic holds true for the more than 100 organizations that belong to Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (LOM) when I attended their annual conference in early November. Lutheran Outdoor Ministries is a professional organization for camp and retreat center leaders. Camps and retreat centers encourage spiritual growth for the whole person through intentional Christian community.
