25 posts categorized "Faith"

Did you know that each month the church relations department at Bread for the World produces a resource specifically for pastors? Whether you are searching for inspiration for a sermon you're writing, or just a lectionary enthusiast, Bread for the Preacher is for you.

After reading this introduction, explore this month’s lectionary reflections on the Bread for the Preacher web page, where you can also sign up to have the resource emailed to you each month.

By Rev. Gary Cook

As our Lenten preaching follows Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and eventually the cross, Isaiah reminds us of the God who makes a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43). Faith in that God makes this journey bearable. This "make a way" God turns the journey to the cross into a resurrection journey.

Here in Washington, as our government moves towards a financial catastrophe that many commentators declare "inevitable," we pray that God will provide a way to solve the deficit situation without hurting hungry and poor people. We hope you will join us in that prayer, just as we pray that your flock will grow in their trust of the God who makes a way.

Rev. Gary Cook is director of church relations at Bread for the World.

By Rev. Gary Cook

It may sound a little silly to write a “pastoral” letter to the president and congressional leaders.  Politicians, after all, usually respond to power and money, not the advice of clerics. But right now, as the sequester looms and it is obvious that the political process is stuck— if not broken—it may be time for a little pastoral counseling.

Today nearly 100 Christian leaders from across the wide spectrum of the church spoke with one voice to our nation’s leaders. National leaders of Catholic, protestant, Orthodox, Pentecostal, and evangelical churches—leaders representing broad racial and ethnic diversity—offered encouragement and wise counsel in the form of a joint letter. We thanked them for their efforts and told them that we're praying for them. We urged them to skip the brinksmanship and compromise on spending cuts and revenues. We asked them to remember that the Bible tells us that the government has responsibilities concerning poor people. We told them to be clear about the moral choices they are making. 

Our leaders would be wise to listen to such advice.  But it is the paragraph that begins with “Finally” that is most exciting to me:

Finally, we ask both parties to work together toward ending hunger and poverty. The Circle of Protection continues to be committed to protecting vital programs for people in or near poverty in our country and around the world, but that is not enough. Help us reduce hunger and poverty by expanding opportunity and justice, promoting economic growth and good paying jobs, stabilizing family life, and protecting the well-being of children. We celebrate the progress the world is making against hunger, poverty, and disease, and we are encouraged by the possibility of ending extreme hunger and poverty globally. Dramatic progress against hunger and poverty in our richly blessed country is also possible. Please, protect the poor and help create the opportunities that make them poor no more.

After two years of being in the defensive “please don’t cut” mode, Christian leaders are asking Congress and the president to look beyond their current squabbles toward a goal of actually ending hunger and poverty. That’s good pastoral advice.

Read the Circle of Protection letter here or below. Pastors, please click here to add your name to the letter.

Photo: 

By Adlai Amor

Musician and pastor Bryan McFarland, a hunger advocate for the Presbyterian Church (USA), never leaves his North Carolina home without 24 paper grocery bags in his car. No, he does not shop that much: Rev. McFarland uses them as props to illustrate a Bread for the World graphic (above) that first appeared in the 2013 Hunger Report, Within Reach: Global Development Goals.

McFarland recently used his 24 bags while preaching two sermons based on the infographic. He lined up the sacks in front of the congregation—in the chancel, on the communion table, and anywhere else there was space. He then asked the worshippers to guess how many of the bags, which represented the amount of food used to feed hungry people in the United States, came from food banks and private charities.

More often than not, congregants answered, "All of them." The truth is that only one in 24 bags of food assistance comes from a charitable organization. Federal nutrition programs provide the rest.

“When I tell them that, you can feel the hush that falls and their minds open,” McFarland said in a recent conversation. After allowing congregants to absorb that information for a moment, McFarland uses the opportunity to tell them why it is so important that Christians be politically active—not partisan—and advocate for hungry and poor people.

“To realize this, especially in North Carolina, is huge,” McFarland said. That is why he now travels with 24 grocery bags and will continue to do so until the message hits home and hunger has been eradicated.

Adlai Amor is Bread for the World's director of communications.

Resource: Educate others about the vital food assistance that nutrition programs provide by performing your own 24-bag exercise.

Did you know that each month the church relations department at Bread for the World produces a resource specifically for pastors? Whether you are searching for inspiration for a sermon you're writing, or just a lectionary enthusiast, Bread for the Preacher is for you.

After reading this introduction, explore this month’s readings on the Bread for the Preacher web page, where you can also sign up to have the resource emailed to you each month.

By Rev. Gary Cook

What happened to ordinary time? Moving from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday in five weeks leaves us just two February Sundays before we begin following Jesus on his journey toward the cross. The texts for these Sundays offer rich opportunities to explore themes of compassion and justice. And they help frame decisions being made in the nation’s capital during the current fiscal debates: Will there be good or bad news for the poor? What is our responsibility to the "aliens" among us?

As you move from one busy season to another, I pray that you will find the words to biblically frame these pressing issues for your congregation. Encourage them to pray for both Congress and the president, that they will make wise and just decisions and "defend the cause of the poor of the people." (Psalm 72:4)

Rev. Gary Cook is director of church relations at Bread for the World.

Ivone Guillen, in a still from Bread for the World's "Are You Called?" video.

By Keaton Andreas

Are you called?  It’s a question that rattles around in my head and reverberates within my soul.  Growing up, it was this question that served as my guiding light. It has always begged me to consider the larger plan that God has for my life and if I am willing to surrender to that plan. It is a question asked forcefully in churches by the visiting missionary, compelling his or her audience to consider it. It is an honest inquiry that simultaneously serves to challenge a person on how their life is being lived and whether or not they are willing to let God use their life for a higher purpose.

When I entered discussions at Bread for the World about our involvement in this year’s Justice Conference, I could think of no better question to ask.  Our organization is one with a vision to end hunger. Through direct advocacy campaigns we urge our nation’s leaders to consider, first and foremost, those who would go hungry without help. It is a grand vision and one that fills the prophetic tradition of the Bible.

One day last year, as I was flying back from a work trip in Houston, I channeled all of these thoughts into the script for the “Are You Called?” video. It takes the language of calling as I have described it and focuses it around Bread for the World’s mission. In this manner the script seeks to root Bread for the World in both our advocacy work and our place within God’s mission while, at the same time, asking an honest and challenging question to the person watching.

Bread for the World will present “Are You Called?” at the 2013 Justice Conference on February 22 and 23 held in Philadelphia. There is still time to register.  Also join us at the Justice Conference for the pre-conference workshop "Transformational Advocacy: A Faithful Witness to the Reign of God." And stop by our exhibit table and let us know if YOU are called.

 Keaton Andreas is a southern hub regional organizer with Bread for the World.

By Robin Stephenson

Now that we have made it past the fiscal cliff and the new 113^th Congress has been installed, it is time to think about the presidential inauguration taking place on Jan. 21.  During the 2012 presidential campaign, people of faith asked the candidates to vocalize their plans to address hunger if elected to office. It is time to remind President Obama of his promise to maintain a circle of protection around programs that are vital to hungry and poor people and to work for a better future for all Americans. We pray that the president and Congress will find common ground and work together to carry out this commitment.  Consider using this prayer and sharing it with your faith community in the weeks leading up to inauguration.

Psalm 72 (Selected verses)

 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.

May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.

May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth.

Amen and Amen.

Psalm 72:1-7; 12-19 NRSV

You can turn your faith into action by signing this petition to President Obama.  Learn more by visiting the “Make It Happen” website.  And please let us know if you and your faith community are praying.

To spread the word using social media, copy and paste the sample tweet below:

Pres @BarackObama remember your promise to maintain a #circleofprotection around programs vital to hungry & poor people http://ow.ly/gw55y

Robin Stephenson is Bread for the World's national social media lead/senior regional organizer, western hub.

Photo: A woman prays during the second day of Bread for the World's 2011 Gathering at American University in Washington, D.C. (Laura Elizabeth Pohl)

By Larry Hollar

Looking back at the past year and forward to the year ahead, I’m reminded that the prayers and spiritual support Bread for the World receives are vital to our perseverance and strength.

As a Bread organizer, I am privileged to work with churches, campuses, and allies of all types in the Northeast.  My role is to offer tools, encouragement, and up-to-date information and advice so our grassroots activists feel prepared to invite others to advocate to our nation’s leader on hunger issues.

It’s joyous work—and exhausting. Weariness comes not just because I have a large territory to cover, but because the political process these days is challenging and the issues we work on are often complicated. Sometimes I need to hear good news again and find a spiritual center to sustain me, so I can keep serving our members and leaders well.

That’s why getting this heartening letter recently from one of our most active Bread churches in the Philadelphia area meant so much to me:

Greetings from the Wayne Presbyterian Church! Each week during our Sunday services we select particular mission partners and pray for you and the work you do. The persons who sign this letter want to offer a word of encouragement and thank you for your dedication to the cause of Jesus Christ and the work of God’s kingdom and to let you know that we are also praying for your health and safety.

Our love and prayers are with you in a special way this day. We also offer a word of blessing from the Book of Jude: "To those who have been called by God, who live in the love of God the Father and the protection of Jesus Christ; may mercy, peace, and love be yours in full measure."

The letter, dated Dec.16, 2012, was then personally signed by more than 100 parishioners at Wayne Presbyterian. It reminded me that I am not alone—that I’m buoyed in my work by those who write their letters to Congress, give generously to help Bread financially, and also take time to pray for all of us in the Bread movement, including staff members like me.

Thank you, brothers and sisters at Wayne, for lifting my spirits and giving me heart today.

• Action: As 2012 comes to a close, we value your prayers for the Bread for the World and your generous financial support to continue our efforts to end hunger. A generous donor has committed to matching any other donation that comes in before the end of the year. Your gift today will go that much farther. 

Thank you for your spiritual and financial support.

Larry Hollar is a senior regional organizer for Bread, working from Dayton, Ohio, and serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and New York as well as assisting in New England.

By David Beckmann

This weekend, as faithful congregants across our nation gather for their final service of 2012, we are mindful of the great significance of the budget discussions taking place among our political leaders. Whatever the outcome of these discussions—whether that means striking a deal or going over the fiscal cliff—hungry people in the United States and around the world will feel the effects the most.

We urge Bread members, Bread churches, and every concerned citizen to pray that our leaders choose a wise and just course. Please pass this prayer along or compose your own:

"Almighty and loving God, we pray for our nation. We are divided by ideology and interest groups.  Our leaders find it difficult to make decisions together.  We face pressing problems. Our economy is still fragile.  But urgent questions go unresolved.

"We pray for the president and Congress as they continue to negotiate taxes and government spending.  Give them wisdom, a spirit of concord, and a shared sense of responsibility for hungry and poor people.  Open doors to a solution that will serve the common good. Amen."

Sister Simone Campbell leading evening worship at Bread for the World's Hunger Justice Leaders Program in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, June 10, 2012. Sister Simone participated in conference call on faith and the fiscall cliff earlier this month. (Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World)

By Kyle Dechant

Earlier this month, the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs (DHN) hosted a conference call on faithful advocacy and the fiscal cliff.

Amelia Kegan, senior policy analyst at Bread for the World, started off the call with an update on the latest fiscal cliff negotiations. Rabbi Steve Gutow, president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, then moderated a conversation with Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK and lead organizer of Nuns on the Bus, and Ambassador Tony Hall, executive director of the Alliance to End Hunger.

Sister Simone Campbell spoke to her vision of an America that truly cares for those most vulnerable in society; Ambassador Hall gave insights from his experience as a congressman and U.S. ambassador; and they both testified to the importance of faithful advocacy in the fiscal cliff negotiations.

Rabbi Gutow closed out the call by taking listener questions from some of the 100-plus participants from across the country and urging people of faith to take action.

Kyle Dechant is a fellow in Bread for the World's government relations department.

Bread for the World's Hunger for the Word series is a three-volume set of lectionary reflections authored by pastors, professors, and other hunger advocates who are part of the Bread movement.

The books include weekly sermon/homily reflections, suggestions for worship music, and ideas for children’s sermons to help spread God’s word of activism, compassion, and integrity. The volumes, available both in print and online, were first published between 2004 and 2006 and continue to be among Bread's most popular, beloved resources.

Bread senior regional organizer Larry Hollar, who edited and compiled the series, offers these words on its creation.

Ten years ago this fall I was at Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C., on my four-month time away from Bread for the World, editing the Hunger for the Word trilogy. Sometimes I’m reminded why I did that and what a blessing it has been.

Recently, Rev. Alan Brown, senior pastor of Hayes Memorial United Methodist Church in Fremont, Ohio, wrote to me on Facebook:

“Thank you for your work in Hunger for the Word (Year C). Your sharing of [contributor] Noelle Damico's thoughts in relationship to Luke 1:39-45 [….]will be extremely useful as I guide my parishioners to a deeper place of understanding and insight as we partner with our local family homeless shelter during the seasons of this Advent and Christmas this year.”

Alan was my student in a Mission and Evangelism class that I taught at United Theological Seminary in Dayton about six years ago. Needless to say, he came by his copy of HFTW because I assigned it in class, but more significant to me is that he still uses it. And I hear from others as well that the stories and insights the nearly four dozen writers shared in HFTW still resonate profoundly today. How amazing what the Spirit can do!

I’m truly grateful to [former Bread director of organizing] Kathy Pomroy and [former Bread managing director] Jim McDonald for giving me the encouragement and time over a decade ago to conceive and create these books; to the great writers, and to all of you for continuing to make these Spirited writings available to a world hungering for a word of hope, joy, love, and peace.