October 2-4, 2009 fast materials
The Right to Food
Cameroon
Download and print everything you need for the October fast. 
Fasting from food should be avoided by those with health-related conditions, such as diabetes, heart problems and pregnancy. Anyone with questions about their health condition should consult with their doctor before beginning. Those fasting should read the guidelines in “Fasting 101.”
Fasting options
The typical fast would begin after a simple meal Friday evening, refrain from food Saturday, and break the fast with Communion or a communal meal on Sunday.
For those who are not fasting from food, one can choose to eat simple meals, skip a meal or design a fast that fits your circumstances.
If your congregation doesn’t celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of the month, you could break the fast with a simple meal before or after worship. Alternately, another time of the month can be chosen to do the fast.
Glossary
Learn more about words and phrases that relate to the Global Food Crisis.
Friday evening: preparing and focusing
Reflection on Spiritual Disciplines
Fasting and Christian Tradition – Part I
By David Gambrell
Associate for Worship, PC(USA)
Fasting not only during Lent
In Christian tradition, fasting has long been associated with the season of Lent. The practice of fasting in Lent folds together all of these biblical themes of fasting: repentance and mourning for our brokenness and sin, seeking the will of God, preparation for baptism (in the case of the catechumens) and preparing to receive God’s Word made flesh in the paschal mystery of Easter. As the Ash Wednesday liturgy in the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship says:
I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ,
to observe a holy Lent
by self-examination and penitence,
by prayer and fasting,
by works of love,
and by reading and meditating on the Word of God.
For Christians, the practice of fasting is not only confined to Lent, however. There are other seasons and events in human life that call for times of intentional prayer, penitence, self-examination, sobriety and focused attention of the Word of God. Just as the people of ancient Israel fasted to discern God’s will and express their grief in times of war, famine or natural disaster, we may observe special times of prayer and fasting in times of trouble and pain. And the global food crisis certainly qualifies as one of those times.
Distinguishing between spiritual fasting and a hunger strike
It is important to make a distinction between the spiritual discipline of fasting and the political action of a hunger strike. The objective of a hunger strike is to call attention to injustice or oppression through an act of self-sacrifice, a nonviolent act of resistance. Gandhi used this approach quite effectively. The goal of fasting, as a spiritual discipline, is to seek the purpose, presence and power of God.
Fasting, hunger and the Eucharist
There is also a profound relationship between feeding the hungry and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist. If you look at the various accounts of Jesus sharing meals with his disciples, including the feeding of the multitude and the Passover meal, there are four Greek verbs that show up over and over again: take, bless, break and give. Following the example that Jesus set for us in the sacrament of the Eucharist, we are called to take the gifts of the earth, to give thanks to God, and then to divide them equally and share them with everyone, especially those who are hungry and poor. This, I believe, is the heart of what Jesus meant when he taught us to love one another as he loves us.
The early church understood this. We can see that from the second chapter of Acts: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ... All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2). Another writing from the early church, Justin Martyr’s First Apology, indicates that the earliest Christian communities gathered each Sunday to hear the gospel, to pray, to share the Eucharist and to take up a collection for the poor (67).
The Eucharistic liturgy itself will not let us forget the vital connection between our spiritual practices and the physical hunger of the world. There are reminders all over the place: in the approach to the table we bring our tithes and offerings, pledging our time and treasure for those in need; at the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer, we bless God for the gifts of creation, which sustain human life; in the Great Thanksgiving, we recall that Jesus “fed the hungry ... broke bread with outcasts and sinners, and proclaimed the good news ... to the poor and needy”; at the conclusion of the prayer, we anticipate the feast of justice and plenty for all “in the joy of [God’s] eternal realm”; we ask for “daily bread” in the prayer that Jesus taught; and when we invite people to the table, we promise that “Jesus said: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”
Learn More
Cameroon: Building local and regional food self-sufficiency
Through the Joining Hands initiative, Presbyterian Hunger Program partners with RELUFA, a network of grassroots organizations in Cameroon working together on root causes of hunger and poverty. One of their simple, but incredible programs is in "food sovereignty" through locally run grain reserves. Christi Boyd is the PC(USA) mission co-worker assigned to this organization.
 Trade Justice: Fair Fruit.
Watch the two-minute video from Cameroon about how trade agreements affect farmers there, and how fair trade in fruit holds the promise of community prosperity.- Community Grain Banks: A food sovereignty program in Cameroon.
Watch the six-minute video from Cameroon. Villagers are building community cereal banks to achieve greater self-reliance through grain storage capacity.
- Read “World hunger: not a matter of fate” by Mr. Samuel Nguiffo, Center for the Environment and Development (CED), a member organization of PC(USA) Joining Hand’s Program/RELUFA Network in Cameroon .
- Read the Letter from Denis Kumbo, project officer of the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon.
Friday evening prayer
Arrancaron nuestras frutas
They have snatched our fruit
Cortaron nuestras ramas
They have cut off our branches
Quemaron nuestro tronco
They have burned our trunk
Pero no pudieron matar nuestras raices
But they have not killed our roots.
— From Educación Popular en Salud (EPES) in Santiago, Chile
Saturday: fasting and integrating
Consider spending time in prayerful contemplation and journaling on the following discernment question from God of the still small voices: Whose voices are not well heard? What might we do to better hear them?
There is no such thing as "my" bread. All bread is ours and is given to me, to others through me, and to me through others. For not only bread, but all things necessary for sustenance in this life are given on loan to us with others, and because of others and for others and to others through us. Bread of Life, sustain your people.
— Adapted from Meister Eckhart, one of the most influential 14th c. Christian theologians
Open my eyes that they may see the deepest needs of men and women;
Move my hands that they may feed the hungry.
Touch my heart that it may bring warmth to the despairing;
Teach me the generosity that welcomes strangers;
Let me share my possessions to clothe the naked;
Give me the care that strengthens the sick;
Make me share in the quest to set the prisoners free;
In sharing our anxiety and our love, our poverty and our prosperity, we partake of your divine presence. Amen
—"Prayer of Commitment" by Canaan Banana, Zimbabwe from On Frequent Journeys
We pray for all who grew our food; May they eat well tonight. Protect them from unfairness, and keep them in your sight. Amen.
— Jennifer Halteman Schrock from Goshen, Indiana
Consider spending time in prayerful contemplation and journaling on the following discernment question — Emmanuel, God with us: Where do I see you present in this crisis? Where do I long to see you?
Biblical reflection
Grain reserves worldwide are at their lowest levels in recent history. Now countries instead rely on international trade for their food supply. Fuel shortages and higher costs for fuel and food can disrupt this system, as we saw in the worldwide food riots last April. W. Eugene March reflects on the Joseph Stories and the unforeseen results of our actions. Mr. March was a Professor of Old Testament at Austin Seminary and a Rhodes Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Good Intentions, Unanticipated Consequences
Reflection on Genesis 47:13-26
by W. Eugene March
The Joseph Stories (Genesis 37-50) are among the best-known and loved stories in the Old Testament. They serve particularly well in teaching children about sibling rivalry and devotion to family. And how many versions of the “coat of many colors” have been on display at church school presentations of Genesis 37 (verse 3, 23, 32)! Of course we now know that the Hebrew term long-translated “coat of many colors” actually referred to “a long robe with sleeves” (so the New Revised Standard Version) that was worn by Egyptians who exercised authority over others.
To recap the story briefly: Joseph’s older brothers allowed Joseph to be taken to Egypt as a slave (Genesis 37:12-37); Joseph miraculously rose to power in Pharaoh’s court (Genesis 41:37-57); and, eventually, Joseph was able to protect his family in a time of crisis (Genesis 47:13-26). The narrative culminates when Joseph, having forgiven the treachery of his brothers, announced, “Even though you intended harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today (Genesis 50:20). Clearly a noble story!
But there is something more to consider. How did God, through Joseph, “preserve a numerous people?” Joseph, with Pharaoh’s blessing, stockpiled grain during a time of plenty in anticipation of a famine. (Genesis 41:34-36). When the famine came, Joseph opened the storehouses and began selling grain to the hungry Egyptians as well as to his own family who had moved into Egypt (Genesis 47:1-13). Certainly Joseph did so with the best of intentions.
The outcomes, however, were mixed at best. Yes, the people, including Joseph’s family, survived the famine (Genesis 47:14-17). But people who had started with money, livestock, and land lost all that they had and were enslaved by debt to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:18-19, 25). From that day on the people owed twenty percent of their annual production as their rent for using Pharaoh’s land (Genesis 47:20-21, 23-24). Only the land of the priests was not taken by Joseph for Pharaoh (Genesis 47:22, 26). So long as Joseph lived, he was able to protect his people from hard service as slaves and they prospered (Genesis 47:27). Nonetheless, they were Pharaoh’s slaves. And after Joseph’s death and the enthronement of a new Pharaoh who “did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8), things turned bad (Exodus 1:11-14).
This account suggests, among other things, that good intentions do not always produce good results. Joseph certainly did not mean to harm his family, but his solution for a pressing problem did, unintentionally, push them and many others into slavery. As we consider ways to help the hungry of the world, we need to consider the possible outcomes carefully. Trade policies require special scrutiny.
- What might have happened if the stockpiled grain was not available?
- To ensure enough food for yourself and your family, would you accept enslavement?
- What options might there have been for Joseph’s family and the Egyptians?
Learn More
The Trade Week of Action on the Right to Food publication offers biblical teachings related to trade and food and tells the stories of real people affected by free trade policies. The guide explores the interactions between trade, agriculture, food and human rights. The guide offers action ideas, liturgy and other worship resources. Download the 10-page booklet now.
The four pages that follow from the publication tell the stories of four people in Ghana, Jamaica, Honduras and India, and give you a summary of the Global Food Crisis and possible solutions. Longer stories and bulletin inserts on each of the countries are available on the Trade Week of Action Web site.
Issahden Muhammed Alhassan — Prescribed starvation diet: IMF prevents protection of rice farmers in Ghana. Download the bulletin insert.
María Marcos Rivera and Eduardo Benitez — "We grew hungry so that others could get rich" (the rice crisis in Honduras). Download the bulletin insert.
Ines Fuentes and Luis Aguilar — Free trade means growing rice is almost mission impossible in Honduras.
Bujjamma Reddy — Debt led to her husband's suicide. Download the bulletin insert.
Leissa Carey — "We'd go to bed eating salt and water." Download the bulletin insert.
Download a collection of stories and solutions for the Global Food Crisis.
Bringing it home
Do you eat every day? • Do you get enough? • Is it healthy?
If you say yes to all three of these questions, you’re one of the lucky ones. If your answer to any of them is no, then you’re one of the 854 million people in the world today who are hungry. This is more than one in ten people. In the developing world as a whole, that proportion rises to one in six, and in sub-Saharan Africa, to one in three. This situation is getting worse, not better.
Yet there is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone. One-tenth of the world is hungry not because the planet cannot sustain us all, but because of the systems and structures we have created around the way we produce, sell, buy and share food.
The good news is that these are things we can change. Trade is one of the key elements in the complex web of structures that determine whether or not a person has enough to eat. All people have an internationally accepted Right to Food, a right that is being violated for millions of people. This is an outrageous reality of our time, but if we act together we can transform our world.
As Presbyterians, we are compelled to action by both the Old and New Testament understanding of justice as taking the side of the poor and oppressed. We are inspired to strive for justice, each in our own place and according to our separate gifts. We are called to the struggle to make trade a means to share the bounty of the earth and the fruits of human labor, and to ensure that people’s right to food is fully respected.
One night this month, plan your evening meal on less than $5.00 total, not per person. Take a moment to pray or reflect over the meal that while this may be an unusually humble meal for your family there are those who survive like this daily.
Adapted from the Trade Week of Action: Right to Food publication. This section was written by Miriam Reidy-Prost, Jean Blaylock and Sara Speicher. Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, 2007.
Sunday: breaking the fast and responding
It's important to break a fast carefully. Eating too much too soon will overload your digestive system, causing uncomfortable and disruptive reactions.
You have come from afar and have waited long and are wearied:
Let us sit side by side sharing the same bread drawn from the same source to quiet the same hunger that makes us weak.
Then let us stand together let us share the same spirit, the same thoughts that once again draw us together in friendship, unity and peace.
— Prières d'Ozawarnick, Canadian Indian Liturgy
I saw a child today, Lord, who will not die tonight, harried into hunger’s grave. She was bright and full of life because her parents have a job and feed her, but somewhere, everywhere, 10,000 life-lamps will go out, and not be lit again tomorrow. O God, teach us the way. Amen.
— Prayer of an African
Invite your worshiping community to hold you in prayer, along with others who are participating in the fast. Encourage your congregation to highlight prayers for people in the United States and around the globe who are suffering from the global food crisis.
Break the Fast with Holy Communion
A majority of Presbyterian congregations have communion on the first Sunday of each month, but some do not. If your congregation doesn’t celebrate the Eucharist on the first weekend of the month, you could break the fast with a breakfast or a lunch before or after worship. Alternately, another time of the month can be chosen to do the fast.
Worship Materials for the October 2008 Fast
If you’d like to include worship materials for the fast on World Communion Sunday, other Sundays this month or in the future, you can download the worship liturgy.
Or you can use the Communion liturgy for World Communion Sunday related to the global food crisis, prepared by David Gambrell for the fast. Download the Communion liturgy.
Break the Fast with a Meal After or Before Worship Service
Bring local foods (as much as possible), perhaps create a prayerful ritual or simple worship liturgy, and share your fasting experience.
You might wish to begin or end your meal with the Communion or liturgical materials from above.
Discussion Time: Ideas for Your Sharing
Hopefully you will have time to reflect with someone or a group of people. You may wish to discuss the questions from the Biblical Reflection on the Joseph Stories, or the questions below about the current situation. In a desperate situation, Joseph’s family and the Egyptians made compromises to ensure that they could eat. Yet in the long run, things turned sour. Agribusiness and corporate traders have told us that a global food system is how we feed the world. The global food crisis has made us reconsider the importance of local and regional food systems as a more viable way to feed the world.
- In the past, many governments including the United States, kept grain reserves both to ensure farmers a fair price for their crops and as a reserve for emergencies here or abroad. Is this needed now, or can we rely on international trade and the marketplace?
- Are there ways that the current food system is not good for us? For our communities? For the environment?
- What options might there be to create sustainable food supplies and distribution here and abroad?
Responses to the global food crisis
These responses are steps towards solutions; they are ways we can engage in our food system and learn ways of working toward the deeper changes needed. Consider choosing one or two to do during the month as part of your faith practice.
Personal responses
- Join with ecumenical partners globally in the October 12-19 Trade Week of Action: Right to Food. Download the booklet and find resources and action ideas on the Trade Week Web site.
- Give to the Peacemaking Offering — poverty and desperation can sometimes lead to violence (Peacemaking Sunday is October 5).
- Write (and share!) a poem for World Food Day (October 16)
- Interview a local farmer and post the audio file or video on the Facebook page
- Eat an evening meal with three or more people for $5.00 total, not per person.
- Order Fair Fruit through Partners for Just Trade
- Shift to the right on the Food Shopping Continuum: Megastore > Supermarket > “Natural” Marketplaces > Buying Club / Food Co-op > Non-Chain Grocery Store > Local Co-op > Farmers Market > Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) > Community or Home Garden
Communal responses
- Bring locally grown foods to a food pantry or homeless shelter.
- Buy Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares for a feeding program in your community.
- Support grain bank development in Cameroon by giving to the Global Food Crisis Fund.
- Lift up a church mission project that impacts people most vulnerable to food shortages.
- Oppose the U.S.-Colombia, U.S.-Panama and U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreements that fail to protect family farmers (to come before Congress in 2009).
- Participate in the Trade Week of Action.
 Share on Facebook
Once you have shared with each other, share with other Presbyterians on Facebook, and learn what others are saying and doing.
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