PC(USA) joins ecumenical voices seeking to end hunger
Presbyterians endorse statement from Church World Service on need to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ to feed those who are suffering
LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has endorsed a statement from Church World Service — and 16 CWS partners — calling for a renewed effort to fight hunger.
The ecumenical statement, which has more than 60 organizational signatories and more than 800 individual signatories, is a display of faith and an answer to the call in Mark 12:31 to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“As people of faith, our vision is a world where everyone has access to enough nutritious food to thrive,” the statement reads. “We believe that, by standing shoulder to shoulder, our vision can become reality, around the corner and around the world.”
The statement refers to hunger as “an affront to justice” and notes that hunger is surging despite an abundance of food in the United States and other parts of the world.
Hunger is sometimes fueled by conflict, such as the Israel-Hamas war that has led to famine in Gaza, and systematic issues, such as racism, as well as economic policy decisions that undermine people struggling to make ends meet.
The ecumenical statement notes that hunger robs health and opportunity from millions of people, especially those without access to clean water and safe sanitation, and disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, such as people who are homeless, those who are immigrants or refugees, and those affected by disasters.
“By bringing together our skills, experience and passion to this vital shared mission,” the statement notes, “we can heed God’s call ‘to loose the bonds of injustice … to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke and to share your bread with the hungry.’” (Isaiah 58:6-7)
The statement comes as Presbyterians are preparing to enter a season that highlights the Christian responsibility to care for the hungry. Observances include World Food Day on Oct. 16, Hunger and Homelessness Sunday on Nov. 16, and Eradicating Systemic Poverty Sunday, which falls on Nov. 23, just a few days before Thanksgiving.
“This fall is an especially poignant and important time for Presbyterians to stand up for what we believe in, that it is our call to share our resources with those in need and to follow Jesus’ instruction to feed the hungry and tend those who are suffering,” said the Rev. Rebecca Barnes, who manages the Presbyterian Hunger Program.
The help of individuals and churches will be particularly important in the coming months as people begin feeling the effects of federal policy decisions that could make life tougher for people in need of food assistance.
“In this year alone, major federal policies passed will drastically cut federal funds being provided to state food assistance programs, children’s feeding programs, and small local and family farmers,” Barnes said. “Most experts expect hunger to surge greatly as a result of these policy changes. Churches and charities cannot address the overwhelming need, regardless of the immense generosity and donations of well-meaning individuals. We need structural, systemic and policy change in our food and farm systems in order to ensure root causes of hunger are addressed in our communities.”
That makes advocacy all the more important. “We aren’t sure yet if there will be a ‘skinny’ Farm Bill (since so much of the food aid was already cut in earlier legislation) or an extension of the current Farm Bill,” Barnes said. However, “people of faith can lift up our voices to continue to demand that we reverse some of the worst impacts of cuts to USAID, SNAP, and other food and farm policies.”
Rick Santos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Church World Service, said addressing hunger is critical not just for the people of today but also the future.
“Ultimately, hunger justice efforts cannot only aim to fix the social safety nets of today but must seek to safeguard those of tomorrow,” Santos said in a news release. “This generation needs to be the last to know the pain, suffering and indignity of watching their children fall prey to hunger in a world where food is abundant.”
To read the ecumenical statement on hunger or for more information, go here.
Photo credit: Bread photo by Manfred Richter via Pixabay
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