Common Affirmation on Global Hunger

We, the 199th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), faced with the reality of increasing hunger both in this country and around the world, reaffirm the commitments of previous General Assemblies to make response to this tragedy a priority in the life and mission of the church.

We rejoice that work begun separately in the former denominations was united in the Presbyterian Hunger Program in 1981 and the reunion of the denomination in 1983 further strengthened our common commitment to respond to the needs of the poor and oppressed.

We give thanks that in the past two decades the concern and response of Presbyterians has not flagged and that significant progress has been made in understanding the causes of hunger and our role in alleviating it.

Yet, even as we have been working during these years, we recognize that

• the crisis of world hunger is of such proportions that it will be with us for decades to come;
• the gap is widening, not only between the rich and poor countries, but also between the rich and poor within both developed and developing nations;
• world hunger is one of the key issues with which humankind must deal for global survival in the last decade of the twentieth century.

Therefore, in the face of the global crisis of hunger, and compelled by the Holy Spirit and by our faith in Jesus Christ, we now together reaffirm our commitment to this agenda for hunger action in the closing years of the twentieth century.

We affirm that such a program priority is more than simply a response to the crisis itself, ominous as that may be. Rather, it is rooted in and grows out of our biblical faith:

• That God our Creator has made the world for everyone, and desires that all shall have daily bread.
• That God has been at work through history, even as evidenced in those mighty acts on behalf of the people of Israel to liberate the poor and oppressed that they may serve and glorify their Maker with their whole life.
• That God's prophets through the ages have pronounced judgment upon those who exploit and neglect the poor and the hungry.
• That Jesus Christ our Savior identified with the world's poor and came to announce good news to them.
• That the Holy Spirit is at work in the church, calling us to embody our Savior's compassion and struggle for justice on the earth.
• That God seeks the reconciliation of peoples and nations whereby the cries of the hungry and oppressed shall be answered.

1. Direct Food Relief - We shall provide food relief to hungry people, both in this nation and throughout the world, insofar as it is immediately and critically needed and to the extent of our capabilities. We shall, when possible, work through well-planned food assistance programs of ecumenical agencies, most often supplementing those food resources available through government and international agencies, but initiating food relief programs when necessary.

2. Development Assistance - We shall increase our support of hunger-related development assistance programs and projects within the Christian mission and service program of our church and the church at large. We shall encourage those programs that combat hunger through integrated development and empowerment of people, both in this country and throughout the world, in such areas as agricultural training, community organization, economic development, nutrition education, public health, and family planning.

3. Influencing Public Policy - As Christians, we shall be advocates in the centers of political and economic power, supporting policy changes that will provide food for poor and hungry people at home and abroad, that empower their self-development, and that enable them and us by just and peaceful means to be free from oppressive and unjust systems that fail to meet basic needs.

4. Life-style Integrity - We shall foster the equitable sharing of God's gifts of creation and the building of community in order to help meet the critical needs of the majority of the human family that is poor and oppressed. We shall assist our members to move toward sustainable personal and corporate lifestyles that will restore and protect all of God's creation. [As amended by the 203rd General Assembly, 1991]

5. Education and Interpretation - We shall seek to sensitize the church and the public at large to a biblical and theological understanding of hunger issues and to the dimensions of the world hunger crisis. We shall develop specific ways in which we can respond, and encourage growth in understanding by providing educational resources and training strategies that lead our members to active participation.

In carrying out this program, we affirm:

• that we shall seek to be fully sensitive to the insights of our oppressed sisters and brothers, both here and overseas;
• that we shall continue to plan and act through ecumenical Christian agencies and coalitions, and to cooperate with secular organizations that share our objectives;
• that we shall encourage the participation of congregations, presbyteries, and synods in both the planning and the implementation of the program;
• that we shall challenge our members to provide the resources needed for this program, both through the annual One Great Hour of Sharing and through year-round, sacrificial giving.