Dear Friends in Christ,
Happy belated Easter. As we approach the summer, may we continue to practice resurrection!
Since I last wrote you in mid-January, eleven churches have joined as Hunger Action Congregations. With the great support from Rev. Meg Overstreet in Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery, Missouri has generated many new HACs! And we have our first Pacific Northwest congregation. Welcome First Pres Cottage Grove in Oregon!
Are there sister churches you could reach out to and invite to join the network? Just send them to php@pcusa.org or straight to the Hunger Action Congregations webpage.
New HACs since January
- First Presbyterian Church of Park Hills, Park Hills, MO
- First Presbyterian Church, Cottage Grove, OR
- Pacific Presbyterian Church, Pacific, MO
- Whitewater Presbyterian Church, Sedgewickville, MO
- John Calvin PCUSA, Apache Junction, AZ
- Steelville Presbyterian Church, Steelville, MO
- Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, Williamsburg, VA
- Florissant Presbyterian Church, Florissant, MO
- First Presbyterian Church of Verona, Verona, NJ
- Grace Presbyterian Church, Crystal City, MO
- First Presbyterian Church of Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
As I mentioned in the January update, famine, the climate crisis, and deep poverty in the U.S. are our special priorities this year. Your ministries and many of the superb grantee partners we support through your gifts to PHP are working to address deep poverty in the U.S. Today, we’ll take a look at PHP’s special famine response. And later in the summer, we’ll be launching an exciting Climate Care Challenge. Stay tuned!
Resurgence of FAMINE and PHP response
Famine and extreme hunger are devastating the lives of our brothers and sisters in Yemen and three African nations.
The Presbyterian Hunger Program has identified effective partners working to address this suffering. Despite the progress the world has made in the past decades, people are suffering from famine in four countries: Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan and Somalia.
The situation is critical and we are asking for your help. You can use the resources on the webpage to help you share this urgent need with your congregation.
Hot off the press PHP Impact Report
The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) works to alleviate hunger and eliminate root causes. We address hunger by working for:
- More and better food
- Solidarity
- A more livable environment
Read the 2018 Impact Report to learn more!
Food Week of Action & World Food Day
October 13 – 20, 2019
The global Churches Food Week of Action is the time to highlight hunger issues and celebrate efforts to bring more justice and democracy to the food-farm system! Food Week of Action includes World Food Day (Oct. 16), International Day for Rural Women (Oct. 15), and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (Oct. 17). Food Week is celebrated each year during the week surrounding World Food Day (October 16, 2019) and encompasses the Sundays before and after.
The 2019 Food Week of Action/World Food Day is focused on (1) CLIMATE JUSTICE, (2) FAMINE, and (3) FOOD SOVEREIGNTY. The goal is to share and amplify the various strategies communities and groups are implementing to address the crises we face in our food-farm system and our climate, and the resurgence of famine. Together with interfaith and civil society group cosponsors, we envision a world where everyone has enough affordable, healthy and culturally appropriate food – where no one is hungry, and all who work in the food chain are fairly compensated, respected and celebrated!
pcusa.org/foodweek is the Food Week of Action home – which includes a bulletin insert, educational materials, and action ideas – from last year. These will be updated for 2019. And you can join the Food Week facebook event, which everyone can join.
Join other Hunger Action Congregations and groups around the country in cosponsoring the Food Week of Action! Send an email to Andrew to let him know if your congregation or community group wishes to cosponsor. Cosponsoring is free and indicates your intention to participate in some way.
A new resource for you
Hunger Relief Activities One-pager!
Congregations often ask us how they can respond to the needs around them – both locally and globally. We created this flyer to give some tips. Some will be familiar to you; some may be new. In any case, we hope it is helpful. You can download the higher resolution file here. Please share it with others, too. Thank you!
May your gardens grow abundantly!
Blessings,
andrew and the PHP team
P.S. Let us know what your congregation is up to as you approach the summer. Nothing formal, just send a note to php@pcusa.org. We’d love to hear from you!