Presented by the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Rev. Dr. Patricia Tull, an environmental theologian and author of “Inhabiting Eden: Christians, the Bible, and the Ecological Crisis,” led more than 50 participants through an online presentation highlighting her and her family’s journey toward building a zero energy home located in Henryville, Indiana.
The Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, believes God has intricately woven our lives together at this time in history so we may be part of the healing work of God’s creation.
Twenty-seven years of Saturdays, approximately 1,400 consecutive weekends of serving the “best meal in town,” is a pretty good track record of commitment. That’s how long Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, has been running its dining room ministry, a hot meal program that started in 1991 and serves approximately 80 people each week. But that’s not enough for this 1,200-member congregation in north central New York. Their emergency food program has been similarly active for more than 20 years, and another hunger initiative, the East Avenue Grocery Run, a mere child at 9 years old, might be the most impactful program of all three.
Many churches preach about poverty and hunger a few times a year, but Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee lives out its ministries with the poor 365 days a year.
Nearly three-quarters of Haitians live on less than two dollars a day; hunger and poverty are daily challenges, as are political turmoil and violence. Despite these obstacles, Fabienne Jean, coordinator of the Hands Together Foundation of Haiti (FONDAMA), works diligently every day to fight for the most vulnerable of those living in her homeland.
For members of Pleasantville Presbyterian Church in New York state, helping people in need is what they do. It has become a part of their DNA. Certified as a Hunger Action Congregation by the Presbyterian Hunger Program in 2017, the church has taken numerous steps over the years to reach out to a community that struggles to find enough food.
It’s one thing to see or read about the struggles of people living in poverty, stretching every nickel or dime. It’s another to get a true sense of what the daily struggle is like. The First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas will be giving young people a small dose of what many low-income residents in their community deal with when it hosts a camp later this month for students in fourth through eighth grades.
There is a farm in New York state with a goal to feed people living in “Food Apartheid” neighborhoods, a term they use to describe areas with little or no access to fresh, healthy food. Soul Fire Farm was started in 2011 thanks to a group of committed individuals who believe everyone, regardless of race or background, should eat healthily.
Presbyterians do mission in partnership. For the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program, now celebrating its 25th recruitment season, partners are at the heart of the program’s success.
In recognition of World Food Day, the Presbyterian Hunger Program has announced that more than 70 Presbyterian churches have become Hunger Action Congregations since the initiative was announced last summer.
