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June 3, 2008
Playing in the band
PC(USA) anti-hunger partner hopes partnership with Christian band will get more young people to join fight against poverty
LOUISVILLE — Hoping to get more young people to join the fight against hunger, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partner Bread for the World announced a new partnership today (June 3) with the Christian worship band, Evensong Rising.
PC(USA)-partner Bread for the World has formed a partnership with worship band Evensong Rising in an effort to attract a new generation of anti-hunger advocates. Photo courtesy of Bread for the World This is the first such partnership for Bread for the World with a Christian band and for Evensong Rising with an advocacy organization.
With a deep and abiding respect for the heritage of the early church, Evensong Rising fuses the energy and passion of diverse contemporary influences with revered, time-honored hymns of the historic church. Their music is a melting pot of sounds from rock to bluegrass to reggae to jazz to soul.
“With lyrics that reach back in Christian tradition and music that makes them relevant to young people today, Evensong Rising’s music matches our movement,” said the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “This partnership will help Christians deepen their discipleship by advocating for hungry and poor people.”
In September 2008, Evensong Rising will release a new album and begin a national tour in churches and colleges across the country. During the tour the band will introduce advocacy by reaching out to members of Congress and other decision-makers.
“We are tremendously honored to work with Bread for the World,” said the Rev. Chris Sorensen, lead singer for Evensong Rising. “For decades, Bread members have fought relentlessly on behalf of poor and hungry people here at home and around the globe. By changing the policies that keep people in poverty, they are providing help and opportunity to hungry people all over the world.
Evensong Rising is affiliated with The Rising Group, an ecumenical Christian organization that aims to bring spiritual awakening and humanitarian activism into the lives of students. The band was established in 2001 to lead worship at 275-year-old Stanwich Church, in Greenwich, CT. In 2003, the Rising Group was founded and Evensong Rising began touring.
“Our music challenges people to be the hands and feet of Christ, and this partnership with Bread for the World will provide our listeners with concrete opportunities to express this passion,” Sorensen said.
The focus of the partnership’s advocacy efforts is Bread for the World’s annual year-long Offering of Letters, where church members across the country write personal letters and emails to members of Congress on issues affecting hungry and poor people. The 2008 Bread for the World Offering of Letters is focused on urging Congress to pass the Global Poverty Act and to increase federal funding for poverty-fighting efforts by at least $5 billion annually.
“We have a remarkable record of success in Congress through these annual Offerings of Letters,” Beckmann said. “Since 2000, the United States has more than doubled funding for effective programs that help developing countries in Africa and other poor parts of the world and strengthened national nutrition programs like the school lunch initiative. This would not have happened without the persistent advocacy of Bread for the World members. We’re glad Evensong Rising is joining with us.”
Bread for the World is a Christian anti-hunger advocacy group based in Washington, DC. The 58,000-member non-partisan organization is supported by 2,300 churches and more than 45 denominations and church agencies, including the PC(USA) and the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP). The group urges Congress and the administration for public-policy changes to address the root causes of hunger and poverty in the United States and abroad.
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