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

Ecumenical Advocacy Days - March 13-16 in Washingston DC

1. Would you like to know more about the connections between climate change, migration, and poverty here in the U.S. and around the world?
2. Would you like the opportunity to come together with faith-based advocates and activists from other Christian communities?
3. Would you like to meet and talk with other Presbyterians from all over the country who are concerned about these issues?
   
4. Would you like to learn more about the abundance of our world and how it can be allocated in a way that's fair and just for all creation?
5. Would you like to talk personally about your concerns with your representative and senators (or their staff members)?
6. Do you have a pulse?
   

If you can answer "yes" to at least one of the above and if your schedule is open, Ecumenical Advocacy Days is for you! Scholarship assistance of $500 is available from the Synod of the Northeast for use by Ministers and for Members of churches with membership greater than 150. Student scholarships are also available from Ecumenical Advocacy Days (applications due by February 6).

Registration Information

• Conference fee: $160 including two lunches and Sunday reception.
• Registration after February 13th will be $175. Register early!
• Student scholarships are available, visit the young adult page or email scholarships@advocacydays.org.
• Consider making a donation to help students attend the conference.

Click here to Register Now!

Bread for the World Sunday - October 19 and other Sundays this fall

Note: the following info is from Bread for the World's website.

Bread for the World Sunday is an opportunity for churches to renew their commitment to overcoming hunger and poverty in God's world. On October 19 and other Sundays this fall, worshipping communities across the country will join together in lifting up their voices on behalf of hungry people. Order your free worship resources below.

This year's observance of Bread for the World Sunday takes place at a time when soaring prices for food and fuel have created an urgent hunger crisis – both in our own country and overseas. An additional 100 million people have fallen into poverty and are at risk of hunger and starvation.

In the midst of this global hunger crisis, our nation is electing a new president and new Congress. Living in God's grace in Jesus Christ, we have received a great inheritance: the gift of citizenship – a resource to use on behalf of those in need. As citizens, we have the privilege to elect our nation's leaders as well as the responsibility to use our country's abundant resources to make sure people have enough to eat – and the opportunity to make a living and feed their families.

The Bible study by Pastor Heidi Neumark found in this year's Reflection Resource offers insights that will be useful for both sermons and adult education forums. The Parable of the Prodigal Son calls us to repent of our own squandering of our inheritance of God's grace – and invites us to return to our gracious Father and place our faith in the Faithful Son who creates an abundant feast for all in need. These themes of repentance and return, faith and abundance can be found in many of the different Gospel readings used throughout the fall worship season.

Join with churches and worshipping communities across the country as we rededicate ourselves to ending hunger in God's world.

Read ideas on how to celebrate Bread for the World Sunday at your church.

Then a Miracle Occurs

Do you believe in miracles? And did you ever wonder exactly when does a miracle occur? Something happened late last week. It was the culmination of years of work by many people. What was the miracle? Were there more than one? When did it happen? I'd like to hear what you think!

There is a cartoon called "Then a miracle occurs" in which a "rubber meets the sky" type of person has drawn a flowchart with a box that says "then a miracle occurs" to make his vision happen. [if you want to see this, you have to google it] Next to him is a "rubber meets the road" guy who says, "I think you should be more explicit here in step 2." Having been a "rubber meets the road" type who works for a vision of something better, I always appreciate when miracles occur. A miracle happened last week when the Coalition of Imokalee Workers signed an agreement with Burger King to improve farmworkers' wages and enforce human rights standards in the fields.

And I think it's worth celebrating that Monmouth Presbytery helped to make it happen. About 50 people who attended meetings at the Presbytery Center added their signatures to a petition that was delivered to Burger King headquarters last month. Plus there were all those students at Rutgers University who signed up at a table I had at their Tent State University. And, of course, PC(USA) leaders like Clifton Kirkpatrick and Linda Valentine. We are part of that miracle!

May 23, 2006 – Today, the CIW and Burger King Corporation signed an agreement to improve farmworkers’ wages and enforce human rights standards in the fields!

A signing ceremony and press conference took place in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Capitol, hosted by Senator Bernie Sanders.

Your prayers, your participation in marches, the incredible number of signatures you garnered in the petition campaign, and your ongoing letters and emails to Burger King made this victory possible.

We read in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Through faith we know that this agreement is a harbinger of that soon-coming day, when the entire fast-food and grocery industry will embrace these human rights standards, and farmworkers will enjoy a fair wage and humane working conditions. As we celebrate this human rights victory, let us also renew our comittment to keep walking together with the CIW until we see that day dawns.

• Read a related story by the Presbyterian News Service: Burger King and CIW strike deal – PC(USA)-backed farmworkers will receive higher wages, improved work conditions

Food for Thought: "The Eyes of All . . . "

The food crisis is very much in the news these days. An article on the Presbyterian Hunger Program website begins with this: “The food crisis has reached violent extremes. Yet food riots are like flare-ups from the hot coals of widespread, preventable hunger.” With rising food prices, in addition to the approximately 854 million people in the world who go hungry, another 100 million people are at risk of starvation, while a billion of us are overfed. Denial, helplessness, and fear of not being able to do anything are common reactions to such numbers—but we are called to something better.

Each year on Pentecost we read Psalm 104:24-34, 35b. It tells us that God’s wisdom abounds in all of nature and that all creatures are made by God and all belong to God. But verse 27 gets at the crux of the matter: “The eyes of all look to you to give them their food in due season.” Which seems to imply that when people are not fed, when 1 child dies every 5 seconds, God is somehow absent—or seems to be absent, perhaps in an especially heartbreaking way to women who already suffer disproportionately from hunger (70% of hungry people are women and girls). It also gives us a warning, in the first part of verse 35 (now why is this cut out of the official lectionary reading??): “Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.” We are accountable.

Recently I visited three locations with Derrick Boykin, the Northeast Regional Organizer for Bread for the World. We wanted to talk with people and see if there was interest in starting a Bread for the World chapter in central and southern New Jersey. Derrick gave a persuasive presentation on hunger, mentioning many of the statistics we are so familiar with. Then he drew a chart with two columns.

On one side was a list of all the things churches do to fight hunger. We named the usual: food pantries and soup kitchens and fund raising. Churches do these things really well. On the other side we listed the causes of hunger. We came up with things like poverty, natural disasters, war, agricultural policies, food policies, and environmental degradation. He didn’t need to say any more; the message was clear: much of what we do is necessary and we must do it—but it is only a Band-Aid that alleviates hunger, when what we really need is to eliminate its causes.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) works to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes. Direct Food Relief is just one of five program areas; others are Development Assistance, Lifestyle Integrity, Education and Interpretation, and Influencing Public Policy (we do a lot in partnership with Bread for the World).

On Pentecost, the church was born when the Holy Spirit came and breathed new life into everyone and gave everyone the gift of bold speech. In this season after Pentecost, please add your voice to the chorus of those who speak out and seek justice for the world’s hungry people. Learn about the issues; hold an Offering of Letters; send e-mails, make phone calls; meet with your senators and representatives—they need our encouragement, they need to know we’re there. It’s a good time to claim the gifts of the Holy Spirit for ourselves to move from fear and helplessness and denial to a life that is truly abundant—for everyone. Perhaps God’s eyes are waiting on us!

Wishing you traveling mercies and many glimpses of redemption on your journey with Jesus

Hungry people need our help right now--we have the power to make a difference!

Following is a message from Bread for the World about the current crisis. It's easy to feel helpless when you watch people around the world suffering for lack of food. Please sign up for the Recipe of Hope campaign and be part of the solution.

It's in the news nearly every day: Food prices are soaring worldwide and hunger is rising. More low-income people in the United States are making trips to food banks, where stocks are quickly depleting. For the world's poorest people in developing countries—who spend up to 80 percent of their income to buy food—the situation is even more devastating.

But you have the power to make a difference in this global hunger crisis. Bread for the World is launching an emergency Recipe for Hope campaign which will run from Mother's Day, May 11, through Father's Day. We will help hunger activists raise awareness and take action. Each week, an email from Bread will offer the ingredients for a:

• Recipe for Despair—more information on the causes of this crisis
  
• Recipe for Hope—specific actions you can take to help end it

It’s easy to feel helpless when you watch people around the world suffering for lack of food. Join Bread for the World's Recipe for Hope and be part of the solution.

Mother's Day Recipe: Ingredient for Despair: Rising Fuel Prices You've likely felt the impact of rising fuel prices at the gas station. The cost of a barrel of crude oil has doubled in a year, reaching a new record. Higher oil and energy prices affect the entire chain of food production, from fertilizer to harvesting to storage and delivery. People in the United States are seeing these increases in their grocery bills. Poor people in developing countries are hit even harder, since these countries must import food to feed their citizens. The Washington Post put it well in a recent special series, "As prices skyrocket, those who can least afford it are squeezed the most as the world confronts the worst bout of food inflation since the Soviet grain crisis of the 1970s." Read Rising Food Prices: Impact on the Hungry by the World Food Program. Ingredients for Hope: Join the campaign and sign up to receive weekly emails and tell-a-friend.

Thank you for your efforts,

David Beckmann
President
Bread for the World

Growing Food Crisis - Prayers for those who suffer, Prayers for Guidance

I received the following message from Andrew Kang Bartlett of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Please pray for those who suffer and for guidance on what we can do to respond. For starters on a response, I highly recommend the Bread for the World meetings we are holding on April 30.

"I'm sure you've been hearing about the growing food crisis (as if 25,000 people dying daily from hunger and hunger-related disease was not already a crisis of epic proportions!) due to increases in food prices. The short piece from the Globe and Mail gives a stark glimpse of this.

"I believe that we need to think, pray and work together to come up with the best strategies (that we can connect to and/or devise ourselves) for dealing with this. As the article mentions, higher prices could be with us for a long time - and it is estimated that for every 1% rise in food prices, worldwide 16 million more people become hungry.

"Please pray for those who are suffering. And let us pray for guidance about what our responses should be. Please share your thoughts and ideas!"

Bread for the World Meetings - April 30 - Cranbury, Tennent, and Bayville

The Presbytery of Monmouth and Bread for the World

invite you to a meeting to learn about

Special Guest: Bread for the World Organizer for the Northeast Region, Derrick Boykin

We will explore the possibility of forming a new Bread for the World chapter in central and/or southern NJ

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Choose from three times and locations:

10-11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 22 South Main St., Cranbury, NJ

12-1 p.m. at the Presbytery Center, 446 Tennent Road, Tennent, NJ

4-5 p.m. at Morning Star Presbyterian Church,1 Morning Star Way, Bayville, NJ

Because:

• More than 854 million people in the world go hungry.
• In developing countries nearly 16 million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Sixty percent of these deaths are from hunger and malnutrition.
• In the United States, 11.7 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.

* Bread for the World is a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world’s hungry people by lobbying our nation’s decision-makers.

Bread for the World Chapters: meet on a regular basis and study issues concerning hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the world; create action plans to reach out to local, state, and national elected officials; create programs to reach out to other churches, community groups and campuses to become involved in the movement to end hunger.

For more info or to R.S.V.P. contact Rev. Phyllis Zoon

e-mail phylliszoon@gmail.com, phone 201-910-7047

Reflections on Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2008

I was one of over 700 people (109 of them Presbyterians) gathered in Washington, DC in early March for the sixth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) Conference. It was a wonderful opportunity to explore new visions of security in our homes, neighborhoods, nation, and world. Having attended EAD in 2006, I felt a little bit like an “old hand”. I knew we would learn a lot about the issues; I knew the speakers would motivate and inspire us; I expected to greet old associates and make some new ones; I looked forward to the opportunity to learn and practice my skills in advocacy on Capital Hill.

And all of that was true—and there were some surprises.

When I arrived at the registration table, I learned that we had appointments with NJ Senator Robert Menendez and Representative Donald Payne but no one had been able to confirm an appointment with Senator Lautenberg. I offered to call and (after getting an idea of what to say and making two calls) was rewarded with an appointment!

At dinner time I scanned the room for other Hunger Action Enablers and found some. (Advocacy is one of the five program areas of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and HAEs can be counted on to turn out for these events.) And I was so pleased to see Clint McCoy (what a great example!) and some other folks from the Synod of the Northeast who had been at the Stony Point conference on “Doing Theology and Ethics in the Context of Globalization, Migration, and Sustainability,”

The Reverend Dr. Mark Lomax, Pastor of the First African Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, was the preacher for the opening worship. He inspired us (and proved that not all Presbyterians are frozen chosen) by connecting the story from Daniel 3 to the current political situation. (In the story King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a statue and insists that everyone bow down—which they all do except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who stand up and survive the fiery furnace.)

After workshops in the various tracks on Saturday, on Sunday we turned to the practical issues of how to advocate and broke up into our state groups to get ready for our trip to Capital Hill on Monday. The best surprise was meeting the Reverend Keith Rae, a United Methodist minister who works on Africa for the National Council of Churches. I knew him from my seminary fieldwork in East Orange. We decided to focus on issues in Africa when we went on our visits. Not only was legislation going to markup on Wednesday; but both of our Senators were on the committee where this would happen and Representative Payne chairs the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health on the Committee for Foreign Affairs.

For all of the interesting workshops, inspiring speakers, and visits to Capital Hill, there is one thing that stands out: a conversation I had with one of the men as we talked on the train going back to Newark. He remarked that there weren’t many “people like him”—lay persons who were not there because of their jobs in the church or other organizations. As soon as he said it, I realized it was true and decided to make it a priority to personally recruit folks for next year’s conference. Our pews are filled with wonderful, faithful, dedicated people. They need to be there—you need to be there.

Mark your calendar now: March 13-16, 2009.

For more inspiration, read the reflections of Elaine Newby--one of the people like my friend on the train.