76 posts categorized "Bible on Hunger"

Members of Templo Calvario (Assembly of God church) in Santa Ana, CA, participated in Bread for the World's Offering of Letters and wrote letters to their members of Congress on Sunday, October 16, 2011. Photography and video by Laura Elizabeth Pohl.

"I think God is calling us, people who know the love of God through Jesus Christ, to provide leadership in making justice for poor people a national priority. I urge you to think ambitiously, take a stance, and protect programs that support those in need."

-David Beckmann, from his column "Finding Our Political Will to End Hunger"

[Editors' note: This post originally appeared on The Huffington Post]

In recent weeks, President Barack Obama, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all talked about poverty -- which was very unusual, as political leaders of both parties generally avoid talking about poor people.

At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama explained how his Christian faith inspires his commitment to fairness and to opportunity for poor people in our country and around the world. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, he was right about the connection between Christian faith and justice for poor people.

Governor Romney says he misspoke when he said he's not concerned about the very poor -- but I think he was right about one point. The social safety net in this country is helping many hungry and poor people make ends meet in this terrible economy.

Programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) expand automatically when poverty increases. In 2009 and 2010, Congress and the president strengthened SNAP, child nutrition programs, and tax credits for working poor people. Bread for the World churches and members across the country helped achieve those changes.

Speaker Gingrich also spoke about poverty in the last two weeks. He said we shouldn't be satisfied with a safety net for poor people -- that what they need is a trampoline to help them get out of poverty. While Gingrich doesn't say much about how he would help people get out of poverty, he's right that we should aim to overcome hunger and poverty.

Last year conservatives in the House of Representatives pushed for deep cuts to all programs focused on poor people in our country and around the world. Their budget proposed to cut $4.5 trillion in government spending over 10 years, with two-thirds of those cuts directed to poverty-focused programs (mainly Medicaid and SNAP).

In their first appropriations bill, the House voted to cut 700,000 people from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and to end food aid rations for about 14 million of the world's poorest people. No Republican in the House or Senate dissented from those decisions, and Democrats were talking mainly about protecting the middle class.

This led Bread for the World and other faith-based groups to urge Congress and the administration to form a circle of protection around poverty-focused programs -- domestic and international. People of faith across the country joined suit by contacting their members of Congress. Remarkably, we made it through 2011 without any major cuts to programs focused on hungry and poor people. We maintained the safety net in this country, and it is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Census data show that hunger and food insecurity surged in 2008, but it did not increase further in 2009 and 2010 even though unemployment and poverty continued to increase. This is because programs such as SNAP and WIC have expanded to meet the increased need. We also maintained U.S. assistance to poor countries. World hunger also surged in 2008, and although it is still unconscionably high, it stabilized somewhat in 2009 and 2010 -- largely because of international assistance.

Ironically, we have not had a president since Lyndon B. Johnson who made reducing poverty one of his top five priorities. We have never had a president who made reducing poverty in the world one of his top 20 priorities. One-fourth of all Americans are in religious services every week, but we don't insist that our presidents make opportunity for poor people a priority.

Many churches across the country collect food for hungry people, but all the food churches and food banks provide is equivalent to just 6 percent of the food federal nutrition programs provide--mainly through SNAP, WIC, and school meals. It is not enough to be personally charitable. We also need to be advocates for laws that respond to God's requirement of justice for poor people.

I think God is calling us, people who know the love of God through Jesus Christ, to provide leadership in making justice for poor people a national priority. I urge you to think ambitiously, take a stance, and protect programs that support those in need.

David Beckmann is president of Bread for the World.

Photo caption: Heather Rude-Turner reads to her son Isaac in their northern Virginia home. Heather depends on EITC (earned income tax credit) to help support her family: Mark Diamond, 32; Naomi, 5; and Isaac, 3. Photograph by Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World.

Image from Ecumenical Advocacy Days

For the past 10 years, Christians from all denominations have gathered in Washington, DC, to share their traditions of justice, peace, and advocacy with one another during the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days gathering. This year’s gathering — called “Is This the Fast I seek?” — will be held from March 23 to 26. Christians will gather to discuss the economy, our livelihoods, and our national priorities through the lens of Isaiah 58.

Bread for the World is particularly excited because David Beckmann will be delivering the keynote address at the tenth anniversary dinner and we will also be hosting several workshops teaching folks how to conduct an Offering of Letters for each of our domestic nutrition campaigns, as well as for each of our international issues.

The Ecumenical Advocacy Days will culminate in lobby visits on Capitol Hill. If you have always wanted to merge your faith with your heart for justice, consider joining us at Ecumenical Advocacy Days this year.

Learn more at AdvocacyDays.org.

The pulpit is a familiar place for pastors, ministers, and clergy alike. It is, symbolically, a central piece to worship.  From this dais, we hear the “good news” of the gospel -- the direction and guidance on how to order our steps, thoughts, and actions as we leave church and continue our lives in public. We hear in the gospel of Luke that, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”  Those words spoken and preached from the pulpit have the ability to inspire, move and challenge the congregation towards a fuller life in Christ. True worship and Christian living happens outside the four walls of the church in the application of the gospel message as we preach the good news -- particularly to poor and hungry people -- through our words and actions. 

We live in the world's wealthiest nation, yet 15.1 percent of people living in the United States live in poverty. More than one in five children live in households that struggle to put food on the table. The world is facing a hunger crisis unlike anything it has seen in more than 50 years. Every day, almost 16,000 children around the world die from hunger-related causes. That's one child every five seconds. 

We can end hunger in our time. By making our voices heard in Congress, we can  make our laws more fair and compassionate to people in need.  In Proverbs 31:8-9 , we hear the call to “Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”  It is time for the next generation of young pastors, ministers, and clergy to be powerful advocates for poor and hungry people and to move from the pulpit to the public square and organize our communities and churches to end hunger.

Bread for the World invites young pastors, ministers, and clergy (35 years old and younger) to apply for the 2012 Hunger Justice Leaders Training from June 9 to 12, 2012 here in Washington, DC. Bread for the World will gather 75 young ministers to partner and learn how they can be powerful advocates and effective leaders in their communities to end hunger here in the states and abroad. This exciting four-day training will include powerful and inspiring speakers, informative workshops, opportunities to network with other like-minded pastors, and an opportunity to advocate and lobby their members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

Click here to apply to be a Hunger Justice Leader.

If you have any questions, please email hjl2012@bread.

Jon Gromek is north central field organizer at Bread for the World.

Photo by Flickr user PortableChurch

In his Jan. 30 opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, “The Myth of Starving Americans,” Warren Kozak fails to get his facts straight. In doing so, he does a great disservice to the millions of low-income people who honestly rely on school meals and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) to feed their families.

Nearly 49 million Americans currently struggle to put food on the table. These families don’t know where their next meals may come from, and on occasion they must skip meals or rely on food that is not sufficiently nutritious. Our federal nutrition programs, combined with the charitable response of food banks and food pantries, keep these families from going hungry.

The number of families struggling to put food on the table increased in 2008 with the start of the recession. But despite increased poverty and unemployment since then, that number has not changed due in large part to increased participation in nutrition programs. SNAP, school feeding programs, and food banks saw increased participation and demand during this same time period. Clearly these programs are meeting a real need.

The school meal information provided by Mr. Kozak was extremely misguided. The data he cited actually shows the number of both free and reduced-price meals, not just free lunches. Additionally, all school lunches — whether free, reduced-price, or full price — are reimbursed in some way by the federal government. School meals are at times the only healthy meal some kids receive in a day.

SNAP fraud rates are at an all-time low, despite all-time high participation. In addition, SNAP already has work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. These participants are limited to three months of SNAP benefits in a three-year period. All SNAP participants must go through a time-intensive and invasive enrollment process, as well as biannual evaluations to ensure their incomes or living situations have not changed.

Federal nutrition programs target the neediest in our country and are clearly keeping Americans from going hungry. The vast majority of recipients are not trying to cheat the system but to honestly put food on the table while they regain their economic footing. As Christians called to protect and serve the most vulnerable people among us, we must ensure we get the facts straight and protect programs—such as school meals and SNAP — that help struggling families.

David Beckmann is president of Bread for the World.

+Learn more about poverty in the United States and how you can take action.

Photo by Flickr user   tnarik 

It’s my pleasure to announce the winners of our Haiku writing contest. We had some excellent submissions and you’ll be able to read them all at the end of this blog post, but our winners are:

 First place – Holly Morrison

                Pen touches paper

                Words move mountains, seed meets earth:

                We all rise – like bread

Second place – Scott

                Saying grace tonight

                Forces me to think about

                Those who have no food

Third place – a tie between Judy and Jill Klein

                Circle and Protect

                Defend the Cause of the Poor

                Speak by Mail Today

                -Judy

                Fill the in-boxes

                Of Congress, until members

                Feel hunger to change

                -Jill Klein

Thanks to everyone for their submissions. To the winners, please contact Jeannie Choi, associate editor at Bread for the World by email at jchoi(@)bread(dot)org with your full name and mailing address so we can get your prizes mailed to you.

To everyone else, I encourage you to read through all of the excellent entries and to learn the stories that inspired these haikus at www.bread.org/ol.

The Campaign is On/Let Us Offer our Letters/To God. It Matters. --Adlai Amor

All Entries to Bread’s Haiku Contest:

Words can't be eaten/Ideas won't fill a stomach/But love can do both.  --Bill Beechler

The welcome table / invites all who are hungry/ to a feast of Love.  --Malinda Dunlap Fillingim

Hunger Growls Resound/Hunger for Advocacy/Echoes in D.C. -- Robin Stephenson

Write to Congress Now/Urge Circle of Protection/Advocate for Poor. -- Shayla Price

Fist full of pennies/Heart holds dreams not yet made flesh/Your help my ladder. -- K Annie Powell

longitude is passed / synchronized earth lights left on / pittance for the starved. --Leslie

No justice, no peace/Until all hungry are fed/Bread members act now. --Martha Ward

Offering letters/Circling the poor in love/Faithfully we write. --Pepper Lambie Bauer

Can you hear Hope cry?/Stomachs empty; hearts broken/ God waits for us all. --Cindy Caporaso

Their plates are empty/They have not yet seen His truth/Bread brings love and hope! --Cindy Caporaso

Circle and Protect/Defend the Cause of the Poor/ Speak by Mail Today. –Judy

Power hears Hunger's pleas/Through letters from home and church/Faith linked to action.

Listen to our voices/Faithfully captured in ink/ Share is all we ask. –Regina

Fist full of pennies/Heart holds dreams not yet made flesh/ Your help my ladder. --Karen Powell

Hunger/Cries alone in fear/World shattered by poverty/Letters inspire hope. --Kathy Hunt

I could go all day/But only if i had to/Many have no choice/Must do more than hope/To change life for the better/Give, help, teach, feed. Please. --Joe A

Life can be turned into whatever you imagine/You can be a singer or an actor/You have the desire to make something out of it/You have the implements to do anything with your life/But it depends on how you use that device/You can do demiurgic things with your life/You can make your life beneficial for yourself/You have high anticipations that you never thought you can grasp /Time is alternating/It never hinders/It’s not worth being known /Live for the moment/Life can be a masterpiece /Take a new look at life/And think about it/Is the life you are making the way you really want to make it?/Never stop living. --Chibunma

The time is today/Sharing is not optional/Let's show them His heart. --Cindy Caporaso

What did He tell us?/Love others as I love you./Bread of life for all. --Cindy Caporaso

Letters can break chains/protecting corporations./Freed hands circle poor. --Jill Klein

Your belly is full/millions are malnourished/Just think about that. –Scott

Saying grace tonight/Forces me to think about/Those who have no food. –Scott

Fill the in-boxes/of Congress, until members/feel hunger to change. --Jill Klein

Pen touches paper/Words move mountains, seed meets earth:/We all rise--like bread. --Holly Morrison

Adlai Amor is director of communications at Bread for the World. He tweets in haiku at @adlaiamor.

I recently listened in on a conference call with David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, and others who are knowledgeable about what is happening in Washington. They said that 2011 was a tumultuous year with many hunger programs in peril of major reductions. Millions of vulnerable people in the U.S. and abroad could have been put in great danger. But then David Beckmann said gratefully, “There have been no substantial cuts in the programs we support,” and expressed his gratitude for grassroots letters and phone calls that have bombarded the offices of members of Congress urging for a circle of protection around programs that help poor and hungry people.

I immediately thought of people I knew who had written some of those letters out of their conviction that cutting deficits and balancing budgets on the backs of poor people is unfair and immoral. I had seen the personal words of those letters, knew they were backed by deep concern and prayer, and now knew those words had been effective! I felt enormous gratitude to have had a small part in that impressive result.

Shortly after that conference call, during a coffee hour at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, I was standing near a young mother whom I had noticed before, when our church conducted our Offering of Letters. I remember she laid down a tiny infant on the table, got a toddler daughter busy doodling on a blank sheet of paper, and sat down to write a letter to Congress. That scene stuck with me, and now I got to talk to her again. She held her little boy, now 8 months old, and her daughter played nearby.

“Oh, hello, you remember us!” she said, and told me that she occasionally visited the Bread for the World website and was especially interested in materials for children. She told me she intended to teach her children about hunger. Then she said almost off-hand, “Oh, and I’ve been writing to Washington and calling, too.” I was stunned. I did not expect that the message had gotten so deep into her soul. I thought about how I’d love to introduce her to David Beckmann and say, “Here’s one very good reason those program cuts didn’t happen.”

David Beckmann and the others who led that conference call made very clear that the battles are far from over. The electoral politics of 2012 will keep poverty-focused foreign assistance and domestic hunger-relief programs in limbo. Sustaining a circle of protection must continue. Bread for the World’s 2012 Offering of Letters calls for four unique emphases during 2012, beginning with the upcoming farm bill, but continuously, in the background, the emphasis will be on the circle of protection.

Some of you reading this blog post may still be considering joining this effort. I assure you it continues to be vitally important—and it’s truly rewarding. I hope you will promote an Offering of Letters at your church or in any caring group you are part of.

+Find out how you can organize an Offering of Letters at your church. Find resources, stories, videos, and more at www.bread.org/OL.

Jim Anderson is a Bread activist in Portland, OR, and retired pastor of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Soon, he will travel to Tanzania to see first-hand the benefits of a circle of protection around poverty-focused development assistance.

Photo caption: A member at Templo Calvario (Assembly of God church) in Santa Ana, CA, writes a letter to Congress as part of Bread for the World's Offering of Letters on Sunday, October 16, 2011. Photograph by Laura Elizabeth Pohl

Young activists like LaToya Brown of New Haven, CT, gathered on the opening day of Bread for the World's 2011 National Gathering on Saturday, June 11, 2011, to advocate on Capitol Hill for poor and hungry people. Photo by Laura Elizabeth Pohl.

It may catch leaders in Washington off guard, but there is a wave of young activists ready to leave their imprint on a broken world.  Many believe that young Christians are too busy living within their own protective bubbles to notice the problems of the world around them.  While this may be true for some, the vast majority of college-aged Christians I’ve met and formed friendships with are on fire with a passion unlike any I’ve ever experienced before.

As a 21-year-old intern at Bread for the World, graduating in May, my possibilities seem endless.  I am idealistic, headstrong, and ready to devote my life to a cause that I believe in – and right now that cause is ending global hunger. This same passion lives in many of my friends, who fight for causes ranging from stopping sex trafficking, to ending the use of child soldiers, to volunteering in local nursing homes and homeless shelters. Lawmakers may think that the youth of this nation are apathetic, lazy kids who really don’t care about anything other than the newest video game, but they are wrong.  We want to make a difference – more than anything we yearn to show Christ’s love to the world. 

These issues keep us awake at night, and inspire us to make a difference. I am haunted by the thought of children going to bed hungry; of families working multiple jobs while struggling to make ends meet; of children facing stunting and challenges to physical development due to malnutrition; and of whole communities ravaged by drought and famine.  

Young Christians are banding together to make their voices heard – to proclaim the good news of Christ’s love but to also put it into action.  In a Reuters article, author Shane Claiborne explains that this new movement is comprised of young Christians seeking a more authentic expression of faith: "'I see an entire generation of young people who want a Christianity they can wrap their hands around.  They don’t just want to believe stuff. They’re saying if you want to know what I believe, then watch how I live.'"

I have found an authentic expression of my faith at Bread for the World where I work to advocate for poor and hungry people in near and distant places.

To my fellow young Christians, I want to challenge you to ask yourself, what is the one cause that makes you impassioned for someone other than yourself? If you haven’t found one yet, I would recommend getting involved with Bread for the World to make a lasting impact on turning the tide of hunger and poverty in America and abroad.  Participating in Bread's Offering of letters is a great way to start advocating on behalf of those less fortunate.  Everyone is called to make a difference.  Find a way to make yours.

Jael Kimball is media relations intern at Bread for the World.

+Find out how you can organize an Offering of Letters at your church. Find resources, stories, videos, and more at www.bread.org/OL.

Photo by Flickr user EmsiProduction

"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it."

-Harry Emerson Fosdick

We will be holding our first-ever 2012 Offering of Letters haiku contest in celebration of our 2012 Offering of Letters campaign! If you have a penchant for writing pithy haikus about ending hunger, then you may have a chance to win. (Don't know how to write a haiku? Here are some simple instructions.)

Here are the rules of the game:

1. Your haiku must be based on the stories and other materials for the 2012 Offering of Letters: www.bread.org/ol. Use any of the stories, campaigns, resources, videos, and more to inspire your haiku submission!

2. Your haiku must follow the English adaptation of a Japanese haiku: 5 syllables/7 syllable/5 syllables

3. Words may or may not rhyme.

4. A kigo, or a season word, is not necessary for a haiku in this contest.

5. Submit your haiku as a comment on this blog post, or on our Facebook page.

6. This 2012 Offering of Letters haiku contest ends on Jan. 31, 2012. All submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on Jan. 31, 2012.

7. By participating in this contest, the author grants Bread for the World and its affiliates the right to use the haikus in whatever platform for an unlimited period.

8. The prizes are: First place: a Bread tote bag; Second place: a Bread T-shirt; Third place: one dozen Bread pens.

9. The contest will be judged by Adlai Amor, Bread’s director of communications, who has been called by his literary friends as the “modern Basho” for tweeting (@adlaiamor) and Facebooking in haiku form. He says: “But whenever I post a haiku on Twitter, other friends complain that, at 60-70 characters, it is too short – and they have to think about it.”

Best of luck to all of you! We look forward to reading your submissions.

Have Faith, End Hunger/ Write an Image, Say Something/And Contact Congress. --Adlai Amor