Eco-Justice sermon nationally published and broadcast

Food and Faith helps us explore the production and eating of food — those most essential, life-giving acts. Along with air and water, food is an immediate link between human activity and God's creation. The latest issue of "Reflections," the twice yearly theological magazine of Yale Divinity School, includes "From Apocalypse to Genesis," the title of the sermon submitted by the Rev. Dr. Janet Parker, pastor for parish life at Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ, Arlington, Va. This sermon addresses the sanctity of our connection to the Earth and the need for a deeper, conscious bond.

"The good news is that we do have it within our faith to give us hope for the future and power to act and to change," wrote Parker. "We have the opportunity to be born anew, not only as children of God but as children of the Earth," she wrote, "as the new Adam and the new Eve who are committed to restoring creation, who are committed to serving the creation with nurturing love." [Read or listen to the sermon]

PHP grants for 26 food security projects share nearly $200,000

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) has awarded grants totaling $196,300 to 26 organizations around the country working to alleviate hunger by creating a more just and healthier food system. The grants will help support projects that focus on such issues as food accessibility for low-income families, justice for farm workers, strengthening local food economies, sustainable development, community organizing, and education and advocacy around food issues.

“Ultimately, the test of any food system and the policies that shape it is a moral one,” said Andrew Kang Bartlett, the PHP’s Associate for National Hunger Concerns. “We can ask ourselves: Do our consumer choices, our actions in church and in our workplace, and our public policies put the needs of people above fear-based concerns and profits? Do they recognize and protect the dignity of humankind and the integrity of God’s creation?” [Read more]