Friday, January 6, 2012

Witnesses to God’s true Light - a message from Linda Valentine


Greetings to members of the General Assembly Mission Council, mid council executives and friends,
 
This prayer for Epiphany – provided by the GAMC’s Office of Theology and Worship – is a fitting way for us to mark the celebration of this holy day:
Shepherd of Israel,
you sent a star to enlighten the wise
and a child to topple the tyrant.
Make us wise enough to seek you
among the least of your children,
wise enough to trade our treasure
for the gift of overwhelming joy.
As we we celebrate the revelation of God’s promise and purpose to the nations of the world, let us also begin this New Year with a renewed commitment to seeking God’s face among the least of God’s children and to working together for justice, freedom, and peace.
In his Advent 2011 Letter, PC(USA) mission co-worker Mark Adams – co-coordinator for Frontera de Cristo, the Presbyterian Border Ministry in Agua Prieta, Mexico – is bold to cite the prophet Isaiah, “the prophet who spoke (and continues to speak) of a great light to a people walking in darkness.”
“In a world where the income gap between the ‘haves, the have lesses and the have nots’ is reflected not only in economic separation but also in social, cultural and political separations, a ministry in which rich, middle class and poor come together to seek to build relationships and understanding across borders is unusual,” Mark writes.
It is my prayer that the light of Jesus Christ will continue to guide and illumine Mark, his wife Miriam Maldonado Escobar, also a mission co-worker with Frontera de Cristo, and all of our faithful mission personnel as they seek to show and tell of Christ as God’s gift of grace and salvation for all persons. And may we all respond anew to God’s call to be witnesses to God’s true Light.
Faithfully yours,

Monday, November 16, 2009

Our Blog Has Moved

We have a new blog website for our Hunger Action and Advocacy partnership with New Brunswick Presbytery. There is still good info on this blog but the latest info is at the new site - hope to see you there!

November 2009 - Welcome to New Jersey Presbyterian Hunger Action and Advocacy, a ministry of Monmouth and New Brunswick Presbyteries. We share the goal of the Presbyterian Hunger Program: to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes. We are here to help congregations engage in a range of creative ministries to help hungry and poor people.

In the Spotlight:

Check out our “Congregations” pages to learn more about what congregations are doing and find ideas of what you can do. Hunger Action Enabler/ Advocates, Rev. Marcia MacKillop and Rev. Phyllis Zoon, serve as educators and motivators–we are here to help.

Our website/blog is a “work in progress” that we hope will be informative, useful and fun. All comments welcome!


October 18 (or a Sunday of your choice): Bread for the World Sunday

Friday, June 26, 2009

When did we see you hungry and not give you food?



Then the righteous will say to him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food?” -- Matthew 25:37

The headline read, “World hunger reaches 1 billion mark” - and I never got any further in praying for the news this week.

Lord, when did we see you hungry, and not give you food?

The global financial meltdown has pushed the ranks of the world’s hungry to a record 1 billion, an increase of 100 million over last year. One billion. That’s one out of six people in the world.

Lord, when did we see you hungry, and not give you food?

Pray the rest of this prayer (you will need a Yahoo Id

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Good (no, great ) Coffee, Good (no, great) Cause

1. Would you like to reach out to neighbors overseas not only with prayers and offerings but also by the products you purchase?

2. Would you like to know for sure that more of the money you spend on coffee goes to the hardworking farmers who grow it?

3. Would you like to know that the coffee you drink has been grown with care for the stewardship of the natural environment?

4. Would you like to save some money on your purchase of fair trade organic coffee (compared to prices in most supermarkets)?

5. Would you like to know that your coffee purchase will help guarantee that farmers will earn the income they need to feed their families, educate their children, and improve their communities?

6. Do you have a pulse?

If you can answer “yes” to at least one of these questions, check out the Presbyterian Coffee Project. Try a package from the presbytery —better yet, organize a project at your church! More info at www.pcusa.org/coffee

Friday, June 19, 2009

Food Crisis, Agribusiness Accountability & Pigs

Whether or not you are taking part in the PC(USA) churchwide fast, July's fast materials are right on target for helping to understand issues related to food here in the U.S.

The fast materials explore the role of agribusiness in the food system and its relation to the food crisis. Pigs will be the teachers as we reflect how they are produced. By the end of this minicurriculum,
prayer, and discussion, you should be able to answer questions such as:

• Does agribusiness (large companies which increasingly control more and more of the
industry) produce them sustainably and humanely?

• Are there other models of production? And what are the positives and negatives?

• How do we engage to make our food system better?

Saturday, May 16, 2009