I was hungry....

Boulder County CROP Hunger walk

2011-10-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have the honor of coordinating this walk with Dennis Hurianek from Niwot. Neither of us had done this before, so we had a lot to learn! We were pleased to host 100's of walkers from all over the county participated in the 10K walk to raise money for Church World Service, Community Food Share and Bread for the World.

Numbers are not quite ready to publish, but we are very grateful for all the walkers and feel strongly that our first walk was a success...much like these walkers from Longs Peak Methodist Church in Longmont.

Offering of Letters update!

2011-08-21T19:55:00.002-07:00

Thank you for writing letters to your members of congress at the beginning of summer! I am proud to say that we collected almost 100 letters from members from Central and Loveland Presbyterian Churches and had successful meetings with each office.

The letters you wrote on behalf of hungry people had a tremendous impact on our leaders. Because of the debt ceiling debate our request changed a bit to ask for protection for the programs that help hungry people. All members were receptive to our requests but as many of you know, wrestled with the budget ceiling debates late into July. Your letters, personal emails, phone calls made a huge difference for the hungry.

While many programs were saved in the initial round of cuts, the bipartisan “super committee” must consider all parts of the budget which might include cuts to some programs essential to the hungry. Much is still at risk, and we will need your help to protect these important programs during the next stage of this process. We must ensure that long-term reforms are balanced and spending cuts are fair, so that the burden of deficit reduction doesn’t fall on the most vulnerable people.

If you would like to continue to be involved as a voice speaking on behalf of the hungry- please contact Phil Goerner (pgoerner@gmail.com) for more information.

Thank you for the role you play in helping hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world!

Are you curious about the churches in the Synod of Zambia?

2011-08-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

While Chawama Central Church is similar to our church by tracing its origin roots from Scotland, they have a different organizational structure than in the US. It is quite interesting and may be the reason why churches are growing so rapidly in Zambia!

As some of you may know, here in the US, the Presbyterian Church, USA, is organized in a democratic/representative manner. There are over 11,000 congregations which are organized into 173 Presbyteries (district governing bodies). Our church is one of 41 churches in northern Colorado and Nebraska that sends representatives to the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks, which meets quarterly. Our Presbytery sends representatives to the Synod of the Rocky Mountains and then to the national governing body, the General Assembly.

The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) has only one Synod in Zambia, with 10 Presbyteries and around 60 congregations. Then, the structure gets interesting.

Each congregation is responsible for sharing their faith and fellowship with the surrounding communities. So, each church begins to plant “prayer houses” which are groups of people meeting together in a home, classroom or other available space. These prayer houses have both members and elders from the home church who help run the service, preach and organize.

There is greater need for prayer houses because transportation is often an issue (most folks walk to church). So, a 3rd level of outreach is established in areas called “preaching points”. The purpose of the preaching points are to send elders and members to areas where a prayer house may be welcome.

Once a year or more, all the prayer houses meet at the host church. Easter is an example a time when all prayer houses meet at the host church to share a 2-3 day festival and communion. Krista and I were a part of such a celebration last November with the induction of the new minister at Chawama, Abusa (Reverend) Daniel Tembo.

The prayer houses have many of the same responsibilities as the church. Elders are ordained, offering taken (of course!) and Sunday School is offered. These prayer houses often grow quickly and can request to the Presbytery to form their own Church.

When Central Presbyterian first started their relationship with Chawama Central in 2008, there were 5 prayer houses and 2 preaching points.

Chawama (Means “It is good”)
Lilayi (rural area, meets in school on police compound/training grounds)
Kamwala (means “good hope)
Kabwata
Kafuela

About a year ago, Kamwata and Kafuela prayer houses were growing so quickly that they began plans to make their own church which they planned to call St Peters. They made a formal request to the Chawama Session to begin this process. It was approved, but the project (like a new church development project here) needed to have representatives, elders and families to help “grow” the church. They had several requirements such as regular services with substantial attendees and good offering receipts to show their sustainability. All these steps were approved so they were able to call a minister in December of 2011 and he was inducted in January 2012.

The Presbyterian Church in Zambia is growing rapidly. Our partnership with Lusaka Central Presbyterian Church is flourishing and needs regular communication and commitment to remain strong. The new St. Peters congregation, which contains many original members from Lusaka Central, will also grow and reach out to welcome new members. They, too, will seek a sister church. These partnerships benefit both congregations, expanding awareness and compassion for each other’s lives and challenges through faith and the love of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Presbytery 8/13

2011-08-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

6am -

Report:
Hunger Action Advocate report
Update on Offering of Letters: Many thanks to all the folks that wrote letters and emails to their members of congress urging them to put a circle of protection around the poor and programs that protect them such as WIC, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program etc. Thankfully these programs were not cut during the recent budget ceiling proposal.

Crop Walks in our Presbytery
Take advantage of this opportunity to raise funds for hungry people. Funds raised are split with Church World Service and local hunger needs. Join a walk in your area!

· Boulder County CROP Hunger Walk 2011 October 23, 2011

· Estes Park CROP Hunger Walk 2011 September 11, 2011

· Fort Collins CROP Hunger Walk 2011 October 2, 2011

· LaSalle CROP Hunger Walk 2011 October 8, 2011

· Loveland CROP Hunger Walk 2011 October 1, 2011

· Northeast Colorado CROP Hunger Walk 2011 September 11, 2011

· Windsor CROP Hunger Walk 2011 October 2, 2011

Disaster relief in Horn of Africa

Huge drought conditions have resulted in famine and now disaster. CARE has identified 29,000 children under 5 have died from starvation, 600,000 Somalians are fleeing (PCUSA) and 12.4 million people are at risk for starvation in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti according to the UN. The need is great- and scientists predict that conditions will continue until December.

If you have members that would like to contribute to disaster relief please use PCUSA disaster relief number DR999999. This will guarantee that 100% of all donations go directly to the affected area.

East Africa drought

2011-07-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Need an update on the incredible famine in the Horn of Africa? Here are some resources
From the PCUSA-Christian agencies warn that 10 million people face famine in Horn of Africa -

Ten ways to help...including texting gifts! http://bit.ly/r4sC0O

Church World Service explains the situation, some responses and then specific areas of concern. East Africa Drought. Great article!

Offering of letters

2011-06-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Megan Marsh, Phil Goerner, Jed and Crystal Foust

It is the eve of Lobby Day and I find myself as the humble servant delivering letters on behalf of congregations in north eastern Colorado. My fellow Colorado Bread for the World members and I will be visiting Senators Bennet and Udall and Representative Gardner's office.

We are excited and prepared to ask them to consider poor and hungry people as they make budget decisions and to reform foreign aid that more directly benefits the hungry.

We have about 100 letters we brought with us to share with the congressmen. These letters are beautifully hand written with many personal stories sharing faith and hope that our leaders show compassion to the hungry. For security reasons, all letters need to be taken out of envelopes so tonight as I was doing this a friend found this letter written by a 12 year old:

What a dynamic statement for all of us going tomorrow on your behalf. We know that poor people do not use a disproportionate amount of resources. We know that we should share the burden of the deficit fairly. On your behalf we'll be telling congress that tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Key points to consider for offering of letters

2011-04-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

In the next few weeks, I'll be presenting information to churches about how to become advocates for hungry people. Each year, hunger activists write to their members of Congress, advocating for policies that help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.

This year Bread for the World members are focusing on the issues surrounding Global Assistance reform.

We are hoping to bring light to four areas:

A stronger U.S. government focus on reducing poverty.
Clearer accountability for how U.S. aid dollars are spent and their results.
A transformed U.S. development agency.
U.S. aid that meets the needs and wants of local people.

Is your church considering hosting an offering of letters? Please prayerfully study the issues for this year's Bread for the World offering of letters, think about the biblical basis for advocacy for hunger or contact more information!

Great story about this year's offering of letters

2011-04-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hunger Fast- Budget cuts can be a hardship for the poor!

2011-03-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ambassador Tony Hall

Monday I had the opportunity to take part in a Washington DC prayer vigil that marked the start of a 7 day fast by world hunger leaders. The #hungerfast was idea of the Ambassador Tony Hall who writes about Why I'm Fasting.

The fast is a way of protesting and bringing light to the US budget cuts that are disproportionately affecting those suffering from poverty and hunger. This is a crucial time as congress debates the shortfall and budget balancing. It is important to contact your member of congress to urge them to not balance the budget on the backs of the poor.

BFW Pres David Beckmann

Hall was joined by Sojourners President Jim Wallis, Ritu Sharma, president and co-founder of Women Thrive Worldwide, and Bread for the World President Rev. David Beckmann. Beckmann feels strongly saying "We hope our fast will help draw public attention to threatened cuts to programs that help hungry and poor people,”

Joining the fast are several other hunger leaders, students and even members of the media. Take a minute to read why AJWS President Ruth Messinger is fasting or New York Times food critic Mark Bittman is fasti ng.

This is an important time. Please consider following those who are fasting on facebook, twitter and more importantly share their stories and the stories of the poor with others. We need your help to urge congress to seek justice for the poor.

Twitter: @tony_p_hall @davidbeckmann, @jimwallis @ruth_messinger @bittman @journeyscript and more!

SOUPER Bowl was Super!

2011-02-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you churches that collected and reported your hunger offering for Souper Bowl Sunday! Thanks to the help from all the churches in our Presbytery, the SOUPERBOWL currently has raised over $6.7 million dollars for hungry people! Groups just like the above from Longmont Central Presbyterian Church worked really hard for this! Nice Job!

It was just overnight....

2010-08-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

Working in my building this week with educators supporting the new teachers in our district. We have some very talented, bright folks here who really know their stuff!

I'm working tech support and liaison for our building and was asking the presenter for the plenary what equipment she needed for the next day. She said all she needed was an overhead in the auditorium for the 150 folks. I asked if she was joking. She was very good natured about it, saying that she knew she needed to step up. I encouraged her to think about content rather than be overwhelmed about the technology.

We chatted for a while and she felt pretty confident that she and her husband could work that evening and get her preso changed to Keynote. Next morning came- and she was incredibly confident and proud saying that she got it! (finished about 2am!:)

You might have guessed that not only was her presentation relevant and meaningful, but it was so well done that folks really got what they needed out of it. Not only that- she ran the whole presentation from a new app she downloaded from her iPhone! VERY COOL! :)

So- I guess I learned that sometimes we can be the people that gently nudge others to do great and important work. Sometimes change takes place overnight!

Water Research

2010-04-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

In looking for resources for a presentation I'm doing at Fort Collins 1st Presbyterian, I ran across this video from Think Outside the Bottle campaign.

There are lots of PCUSA resources too! Visit:
http://www.pcusa.org/trade/thirst.htm

We pray for Haiti

2010-01-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

PCUSA.org has already posted a way to respond to the crisis in Haiti. Prayer and our energies and resources could all go a long way.

Funds from One Great Hour of Sharing are already helping with the initial response to the crisis, but you can contribute to the ongoing relief through PDA account number DR000064.

Two PC(USA) mission workers Sharyn Babe and Mark Hare have been located and are safe. Read more about the situation and future response by clicking here.

Haiti Earthquake- HELP NEEDED!

2010-01-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

From Church World Service:
A 7.0-magnitude quake struck Haiti Tuesday, shattering buildings and forever changing lives. While authorities still don’t know the extent of the damage, it is estimated that 3 million people may be affected by Haiti’s worst earthquake in 200 years. One survivor reports there are thousands of people roaming the streets, looking for shelter.
Haiti is already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 8 out of 10 people living in extreme poverty. It’s a place where many in the world have turned their backs. But not Church World Service. (CNN story)

Now, a massive earthquake has hit this already vulnerable island nation, and the needs there are greater than ever before.

Presbyterian Disaster Relief has already set up a donation line for help. They are also gathering information about the safety of mission partners. We pray for Haiti

Contributions may be directed to PDA account number DR000064.

Plains and Peaks offering to Hunger Fund

2009-08-09T19:11:00.001-07:00

At the August meeting of Plains and Peaks Presbytery, it was voted that the offering collected go to the Presbyterian Church USA, General Hunger fund #H999999

This is tremendous support for Hunger work! The fund helps support five major areas:

Direct Food Relief
Development Assistance
Influencing Public Policy
Lifestyle Integrity
Education

For more information visit: Hunger Fund! at http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/give.htm

HR 2139 has 100!

2009-08-01T02:10:00.000-07:00

Bread for the World President David Beckman just sent this email message of good news:

Hallelujah! As of today, we have just reached 100 cosponsors for H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009! Thank you. This would not have happened without your phone calls, visits, personal letters, and emails.

Reform of U.S. foreign aid is getting the momentum and traction it needs!

If you would like to see if your Representative is co-sponsoring this bill, please go here and click on SHOW COSPONSORS
You will find a complete list of current co-sponsors. To date, our regions only cosponsor is Rep. Diana DeGette [D-CO1]. Please continue to contact your representative and urge them to co-sponsor.

Also- during the fall recess, Bread for the World is encouraging home state visits to both your representative's office and senator. Please check back to this blog for further information as these meetings are set up. Or- contact me directly!

Central's Zambia team ready to go!

2009-07-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

Longmont's Central Presbyterian Church is sending a short term mission team to Chawama, Zambia July 16-29th. Chawama is a compound just outside of the capital city Lusaka.
The team will work with the Presbyterian Church of Chawama, their school and AIDs volunteers as they move towards the possibility of a long term partnership.

This mission team is just one of the ongoing African missions supported by the churches of this Presbytery. Fort Collins First Presbyterian, Yuma 1st Presbyterian and others also are working to help those in poverty or that are hungry. If you know of a mission, and would like to report it here...please contact me or place a comment on this blog post!

Letters make a difference!

2009-07-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to folks who wrote letters advocating for Foreign Assistance reform! Our Colorado delegation was able to meet with Congressman Pollis and Congresswoman Markey. We had good meetings with aides for Bennett, Perlmutter and Udall. We even stopped by DeGette's office. Thanks to your letters we were able to make a huge impact!

Because folks like you took the time to write, we were able emphasize to our members of congress the importance of this bill.

At the time of this posting, there are 60 Co-Sponsors of HR 2139 including Colorado Representative Diana DeGette For a complete list of cosponsors, click here.

15 minutes of fame!

2009-07-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Bread for the World has a great monthly podcast that contains great articles and interviews that explain and support advocacy work. While we were in Washington I had the opportunity to meet Monica Mills and thank her for her Legislative Updates. I would encourage you to listen to these fine pieces because they really help explain not only the bills we are working on, but also the other pieces we need to know to be more effective in our efforts.

As I was listening to this months Breadcast I heard Monica mention my name! I'm famous now! The best part of that, is that there were over 300 folks just like me in Washington DC lobbying leading to great success. Thanks to all of you who raised your voices on behalf of those who are hungry.

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and listen every month!

Offering of Letters

2009-05-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

* just posted this to my local church Newsletter

Every spring members of our congregation faithfully write personal letters to their representatives in Congress urging our leaders to find ways to help hungry people and those suffering from poverty. It is truly an “offering” because we prayerfully offer them to God before sending them to Congress. This outpouring of concern sends a powerful message to our political leaders and helps us move closer to our goal of ending hunger.

On or before June 7^th we are hoping that many of you will participate in this campaign by writing letters regarding Foreign Assistance reform. This issue is of great interest to our congregation because of the implications it can have for our brothers and sisters in Zambia. An example of how this foreign assistance is working is the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. A big element of this program is the provision of antiretrovirals for people with the HIV virus. If it not for this program over 2 million people would not be alive today.

Please use the links below to educate yourself and write Congress to urge them to continue to reform and strengthen Foreign Assistance by:

Making poverty reduction a primary goal of U.S. foreign assistance.
Make foreign assistance more efficient and effective so that it will have a greater impact on poor and hungry people around the world.
Have the institutional capacity and organizational structure that has the ability to implement the types of foreign assistance that is needed.

Letters need to be written on or by June 7^th where they will be offered from our congregation to congress. Phil and Alex Goerner will gather all available letters and hand deliver them our congress people when they visit them June 16^th.

More information and updates will be available in during the coffee hour from now until June 7^th. Recently the House has introduced a reform bill, H.R. 2139 and we are asking members (Rep Betsy Markey, Rep Jared Polis) to co-sponsor that bill.

Important links:

Foreign Assistance background info and principles:

http://www.offeringofletters.org/our-goals.html

Urgent message from Bread for the World President, David Beckman

http://www.offeringofletters.org/component/content/article/88.html

Great background information can be found on the podcast: Breadcast http://www.bread.org/get-involved/on-the-web/breadcast.html

Or- contact Phil Goerner (pgoerner@gmail.com). Thank you for your help!

Foreign Assistance Bill ACTION!

2009-05-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Now is the time to act with in support of foreign assistance reform. There is now a House Resolution submitted by Rep Howar Berman (D-CA-28) and Rep Mark Kirk (R-IL-10). On April 28th introduced H.R. 2139, the “Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009,” to direct the president to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy to further the U.S. foreign policy objective of promoting global development, and for other purposes. For more information.

Your calls and letters are already making a difference. Now, we urgently need your help to win passage of this truly historic legislation:

Call or write a letter to your representative in Congress and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 2139

David Beckman, President of Bread for the World urges us to write. He states "U.S. foreign assistance is helping save millions of lives, improving agricultural productivity and increasing school enrollment. But more lives can be saved and more can be done if we improve how we deliver foreign aid."

Please take action today!

Interface Boulder - Hunger Summit 09 part 2

2009-04-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Final presenter was Amy Telligman is working on her Doctorate, but also works with the campus Environmental Center as the Sustainable Foods Coordinator and has worked to bring sustainable foods to campus.

Amy presented 5 ways to make eating a more spiritual experience. Try these:

Remember importance of fellowship and community. (dinner club, don’t stand up to eat)

Show gratitude. (giving thanks, reflection what we have and others don’t)

Be a citizen first, not a consumer first. (think beyond daily necessities – ask how is this food that I’m buying nourishing the rest of the world?)

Think of eating as an agricultural act. (participate in food production, prepare your own food, find out where your food is produced and waste taken care of)

Fasting. (time of reflection, prayer and repentance) (unique fasting – coffee, blackberry, tv, internet)

Interface Boulder - Hunger Summit 09 part 1

2009-04-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Dave Wann, author of Simple Prosperity spoke briefly about things we can do to create a more sustainable relationship with the land and our food.

Kipp Nash has turned numerous former lawns into productive gardens and farms, encouraging homeowners to replace decorative grass and shrubs with food-producing gardens, and transforming blocks and neighborhoods all over Boulder. He has a really neat idea for Urban Gardens.

Colorado Food Stamp Update

2009-03-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Colorado Public radio reports on March 12th that the number of people applying for food stamps in Colorado increased by 20 percent since last year.

Almost harder to bear is the fact that those needing assistance have had to wait longer than the 30 days set up...sometimes waiting twice that for their services. According to KCFR's Megan Verlee this fiolates federal rules. Listen to the podcast to see what you can do!.

News Feature: In Times Like These - Colorado's Food Stamp Backlog

Eco Palms by March 9th!

2009-02-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

There is still time to order eco-friendly palms to have them in time for Palm Sunday! Offer your congregations the option of purchasing responsibly harvested eco-palm branches for Palm Sunday services. Take advantage of this opportunity to order palms because It is an easy, hands-on project that your church can do to make a big difference!

2009 Eco-Palm pricing with check by March 2, credit card by March 9th

Small Case (180-200 Stems) $49.00 palms + $12 shipping per case (Approx. $.32/palm with shipping)
Medium Case (270-300 Stems) $71.25 palms + $17 shipping per case (Approx. $.30/palm with shipping)
Large Case (540-600 Stems) $138.00 palms + $22 shipping per case (Approx. $.27/palm with shipping)
Bunches (18-20 Stems) $6.00/bunch + $10 shipping* (Approx. $.84/palm with shipping)

Here is the PCUSA site:
http://www.pcusa.org/palms/

call or write:
Email Josh Gamble at or call (612) 624-7418

Order online:
http://www.ecopalms.org/

For more information:
Why order Eco-Palms
http://www.pcusa.org/palms/why.htm
Eco Palms and your church
http://www.pcusa.org/palms/church.htm

PCUSA News service story...
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07024.h

Hungry experience worst year ever?

2009-01-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

The US Conference on Mayors released their Hunger study a few weeks ago and it looks bleak. Emergency food assistance increased an average of 18 percent in the cities surveyed, with a record number of first time requests. Those of you working in hunger already know- this is going to be a rough year! Pass the word, pass the hat and help out today! Take a look at the Food Research and Action Center's (FRAC) overview of the hunger report.

Coach of the Denver Broncos, Mike Shanahan, promotes the CROP Hunger Walk

2008-09-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Coach Mike Shanahan recently made a Public Service Announcement encouraging people to get involved with CROP Walk. He is offering an autographed CROP t-shirt to the person who raises the most money for world hunger in Colorado!! Take a look...

Call your senator right now!

2008-07-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Bread for the World's letter writing campaign this year is for the Global Poverty act. Congress is considering their action RIGHT NOW! Here is a great video about how to easily make a call to your Senator.

Global Poverty Act from Matthew McAllister on Vimeo.

Make your call today- we need them to co-sponsor this bill. For more information click here!
http://www.bread.org/take-action/call-congress-today.html

Zambia and Central Presbyterian

2008-05-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

How lucky we are! Churches in our Presbytery have had several trips to Africa planed. Yuma Presbyterian sent folks to Milawe, 1st Presbyterian Ft Collins will be sending folks soon...and perhaps others that I don't know about.

I am privileged to be part of the team going to Zambia this week, and I look forward to working with the Chawama Church whose members are very active in caring for AIDs orphans. In the country of Zamiba it is estimated that one out of every six people is living with HIV/AIDS. In 2005 98,000 people died of AIDs; in that same year it was estimated that there were 710,000 AIDs orphans in the country.

Saturday the team of Cindy Garcia, Glenn Perica, Ken White, Diane Kirkpatrick and myself met to sort and pack the generous supplies donated for the AIDs oprhans and their school. The next step is packing our own gear and departure this Thursday May 8th. Please follow along with us on our trip. We'll plan to share stories and pictures here on this site (as technology permits).

Karamu Ringera- International Peace Initiatives

2008-04-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Dr. Karamu Ringera, Kenya, founder of the International Peace Initiatives spoke to students at Silver Creek High School 4/21/08. Here are some notes:

Free Rice- It really works!

2008-04-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

Most of you have seen the Internet phenomenon "free rice" by now. Not only does it teach new vocabulary, but it actually donating rice to needy countries.

By learning new vocabulary, users earn grains of rice as points. When you get the correct answer, you get the sponsors of the Free Rice site donate 20 grains of rice

John Breen, game inventor, set it up so that the rice is distributed through the UN’s World Food

Program. As of April 14th 2008 almost 26.5 TRILLION grains of rice were donated to needy countries. Click here to see a short video how free rice reaches Bangladesh.

Now don't think this is all easy stuff- the vocabulary is set up with 45 levels of difficulty and new words are being added all the time in order to make it challenging or easier. The site states that they are on the hunt to find the hairiest and most difficult words in the English language! They are also looking to add easy words, medium words and all the other words you might ever want to know. In short, they do not want you to run out of vocabulary to learn anytime soon... :)

So- play on! Enjoy the game. You can always click on the new FREE RICE picture on the left side!

Peacemaking Conference

2008-04-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Registration is now open online for

2008 Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference

Sowing Mustard Seeds: Working for God’s Justice — Confronting Poverty

This is a terrific opportunity for you and your family to explore and participate in unwinding the multiple issues that perpetuate poverty in our communities and the world.

Check out this conference July 15-19th at Chapman University. Click here for more information!

ECO Palms!

2008-04-02T18:06:00.001-07:00

Did you know:
* Approximately 300 million palm fronds are consumed in the United States annually.
* A congregation of 1,250 members orders approximately 700 fronds for Palm Sunday services.
*Eco-palms are purchased directly from harvesters at 5 to 6 times the normal payment per frond.
*Your purchase of eco-palms helps improve standards of living and protect forests.

Several churches in our Presbytery used Eco Palms for their celebration of Palm Sunday this year. What a great way to show your purchasing practices to support the world community!

For more information visit: ECO PALMS

Want to be part of the solution? Or....

2008-02-13T19:02:00.000-08:00

Take a look- there simple things we can do to help hungry people! A bit tongue in cheek, but I would be curious what you think! Please let a comment!

Souper Bowl!

2008-01-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl is almost here...and now is the time to begin planning for your own "celebrations" to help hungry people on or around February 3rd.

Your church can participate in two ways:
#1. On or near NFL Super Bowl Sunday, students of Presbyterian churches join others in their communities in asking their members to donate money or food to those in need.

#2. Sometime before the big game- your students can participate in a Service Blitz, doing volunteer work at your choice of charities. An hour or an afternoon- doing just about any project that can help hungry people. Most importantly- it helps teach your students the importance of reaching out to help others in your community!

For more information go to Souper Bowl of Caring website, or contact me!

Farm Bill is here...

2007-12-16T05:30:00.001-08:00

Thanks go out to so many of you who studied the farm bill and contacted your congressman about this important piece of legislation. As many of you know, all reform amendments were defeated late last week, including the Grassley/Dorgan amendment.

So, Holly H from Bread Blog asks...Where do we go from here? She has a couple of suggestions that are worth pursuing:

1) Learn more about how your member of congress voted and why.

2) Take Action. Get Fired Up!
Send your senators holiday cards, either expressing your gratitude for their support of a fair farm bill or expressing your disappointment that they blocked much-needed reforms that would have benefited hungry people. (Here is a release from David Beckman- is your senator on the list?)

Farm Bill mark up

2007-10-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here is some information from Matt Newell-Ching, Western Regional Organizer from Bread for the World.

...there’s a good likelihood that a farm bill committee markup will take place next Wednesday, 10/23. Our analysts in DC are working hard to figure out the specifics of the plan and what kinds of recommendations we would like to see, and what kind of pressure we’ll need to put on Senators Salazar, Baucus, and Crapo (and other Ag Committee Members). So for now, ...feel free to keep making phone calls with message of reform, and expect to hear soon about what specific proposals we may be calling about. The 800 number is still active: 800-826-3688.

SO- Ask Senators Salazar and Nelson to reform the farm bill in the committee to:

provide a safety net for all farmers-not just those who grow program crops,
adequately fund vital needs in nutrition programs, rural development and conservation.

Look for more information at the upcoming Presbytery meeting!

CROP Walk successes!

2007-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

The front range and Nebraska have completed several CROP walks in recent weeks. My son Alex and I were able to attend the BOULDER crop walk with some folks from Longmont Central Presbyterian Church. The walk raised over $43,000 with only 270 walkers this year. Would love to hear how the other walks did- please leave me a comment so we can all find out! I hope you were amazingly successful!

More CROP info...

2007-09-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

The 22nd Annual Boulder CROP Walk will be held October 14th with a 1:15 registration and 2pm start.

This year's goal is to to exceed 450 walkers and $50,000.

Benefits will go to Community Food Share, Church World Service and Bread for the World.

For more information on signing up to walk, contact Suzanne Dysard, 303-530-0411, cropwalksuz@att.net

If you have more information about any of the other front range walks- please contact Phil Goerner so he can post here! Thanks!

CROP Walks- Fall is here!

2007-08-29T05:04:00.000-07:00

Our churches all have a tremendous opportunity to participate in CROP WALKS to help the hungry! Check it out-

Boulder October 14
Broomfield September 29
Estes Park September 29
Fort Collins October 7
Greeley October 6
LaSalle October 6
Alliance third week in October
Loveland April 1
Windsor October 7

One of the most effective ways for us to help hungry people is to participate in a Crop Walk. This is a fund-raising effort that supports hunger locally, and the relief and development effort of Church World Service nationally and worldwide. Church World Service has long been a first responder to worldwide disasters, pouring immediate aid and relief to victims and those suffering. Additionally, Church World Service remains in disaster stricken areas for years helping to rebuild and lend emotional and financial support to victims. Church World Service is also involved in in other programs too. Please read more about it Church World Service. Also- here are some frequently asked questions.

For more information about how to sign up to participate about these CROP Hunger walks, please contact the Rocky Mountain Church World Service office at 1-888-297-2767.

2007-08-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

The farm bill passed the House in late July, and now moves on to the Senate.

Your letters provided insight and (possibly) pressure to force congressional leaders to add provisions to the bill that increase funding for nutrition and conservation programs that will help hungry people and promote environmental stewardship.

Now we have a great opportunity to contact our senators to encourage them to strengthen the bill. There are still many steps in the process of finalizing this legislation. Major farm bill decisions remain to be made in the Senate.

A number of good things have happened-Including the call from the PCUSA Stated Clerk (Clifton Kirkpatrick) joining in a call for farm bill reform.

But we still need your help. Contact your Senator and urge them to take a crucial step in ending hunger over and above what the House bill did.

Please contact me for more information.

Without our voice, Congress would not have given serious consideration to the need for reforms in the farm bill.

Seeds for Change...

2007-06-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wow- the boys and I are here at the Bread for the World Seeds gathering! Pretty inspiring so far. There are almost a dozen folks here from Colorado- Ft Collines, Durango, Littleton, Longmont, Mead and more! Some great stories - that are being told on the Bread for the World Blog (campus bread) and pictures can be found on Flickr!

My favorite of the day was the afternoon session with SN Hagel (NE) and Harold E Ford Jr. What great gentlemen they are- strong public servants who are advocates for those suffering from poverty and hunger. I'll write more later too!

National Cathedral tomorrow- for the Interfaith Convocation on Hunger. What a conference!

Umuntu Ngamuntu Ngabantu !

2007-05-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

The importance of Mothers...
I was preparing for a children's sermon at my home church and the scripture chosen for Mother's day was 2 Timothy 1:4-12. I was rereading vr 5- "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you."
While researching, I ran across an article by Lamin Sanneh, professor of missions and world Christianity and history at Yale Divinity School. In his paper Naming and the Act of Faith he talks about the critical way our faith is passed from others to us, and connects us as people.
He describes a Bantu proverb Umuntu, ngamuntu, ngabanu - a person is a person because of other persons. "Faith connects us with others" Sanneh says. So when we work with hunger we are profoundly impacting our fellow Christians.
In my work with hunger, I have seen a lot of actions of faith. Speaking truth to power, caring for those suffering injustice and feeding the hungry. If we were Timothy's family, what types of examples of faith would we be showing our grandchildren's children?

Farm Bill update

2007-04-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

This year's emphasis for our Public Policy work is to urge our senators and representatives to improve our nation's farm policy so that it better serves hungry people.

Already, our letters and phone calls are working. Bread For the World Regional Organizer Matt Newell-Ching reports that:

Thanks to our communication with our leaders, an Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Smith (R-OR) proposed an amendment to increase the International Affairs budget which would increase the amount of resources available for poverty-focused assistance. This added amendment is a critical one and was supported by over 1,000 phone calls from folks working hard for the hungry.

Let's keep it up! ~HAE

Souper Bowl of Caring update...

2007-04-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Many churches were able to participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring this year. This is an opportunity to collect funds for hungry people and support local mission. A complete report will be presented at Presbytery. But here is a list of participating churches this year. (almost double from last year!)

Central Presbyterian
Milliken Presbyterian
1^st Presbyterian Berthoud
1^st United Loveland
Mountain View Presbyterian Church
Community Church of the Rockies
United Presbyterian Church of the Apostles
1^st Presbyterian Boulder
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Family of Christ Presbyterian Church
Weldon Valley Presbyterian Church
1^st Presbyterian Church Sterling
1^st Presbyterian Church Akron
United Church of Broomfield
1^st Presbyterian Boulder (Children’s ministry)
St Andrews Presbyterian Church
Nederland Community Presbyterian Church

If your church participated, but is not listed- please post your results on the Souper Bowl of Caring website. You can also contact your Hunger Action Enabler. Thanks for all your efforts!

Seeds of Change

2007-03-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

Advocacy? You Bet!

Many of you know that contacting your legislative leaders is an extremely effective way to advocate for hungry people.

Working with Bread for the World (a christian citizens lobbying group) is an great way to join other committed people of faith on specific issues. Many of you know that this year the Farm Bill is up for reauthorization. In it are several pieces that will affect hungry people.

Please consider holding an Offering of Letters at your church this spring. Make it a part of worship, or a meeting or even fellowship time. Plains and Peaks Presbytery will be holding theirs as a part of the May 18-19.

Please go to Seeds of Change for more information, or feel free to contact me!

Presbytery follow up!

2007-03-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that at each meeting of the Plains and Peaks Presbytery we collect pennies for hunger during our meal times. Even though we only collect a little time, we pray that each gift may help the work that people are doing to make such a difference for hungry in this world. This past meeting our donations went to support the work of Jean Rankin of Sydney NE. She works with students trying to get their GED certificate. While doing so, she often feeds them or provides them with things that they need in order for them to be successful. Out of prayerful gratitude for her work, we donated the proceeds from our most recent Cents-Ability offering to Jean Rankin.

If you have an idea of who might benefit from the Cents-ability offering at St Andrews in Boulder- please contact me!

One Great Hour of Sharing!

2007-03-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

By now, most of you are making your way through the promotion and interpretation of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. There are many nice pieces in the kit this year, but if you need help try the Presbyterian Hunger Program web site. Once there you can click on new resources to order, art to download for your newsletters and bulletins and lots lots more! Please contact me if you need any help!

Christians in Baghdad...

2007-01-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

On the video blog Alive in Baghdad, the most current piece is part of an interview with Father Hani Essa, a Christian priest. It is an extremley thoughtful piece that is really worth viewing. I found it interesting...you can hear the gunshots outside of his church as the interview progresses!

He begins by saying that his society has become very complicated "…now things are so mingled, you cannot distinguish between your enemies and your friends. This affects the whole society, whether Muslims or Christians."

I would love to hear what you think of his final comments about the strife within Iraq, and the forces from outside - "In a garden, you can see a lot of flowers, with different colors, and the more colors in the garden the more beautiful it is. Our nation has many colors and beautiful flowers. But I don’t think flowers fight one another saying, “I am better and more beautiful than you.”

Souper Bowl Time!

2007-01-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

Brace yourselves sports fans....the SOUPER BOWL is almost upon us.

Yes the Souper Bowl of Caring! It is a youth-led, grassroots movement of caring, often young people joining together to fight hunger and poverty in their communities. It is an ideal way to engage communities of all faiths in the fight against hunger and poverty.

Each year, on or near NFL Super Bowl Sunday, Presbyterian churches join others in their communities asking their members to donate money or cans of food to those in need. That’s not all- on the Saturday before the big game- your students can participate in a Service Blitz, doing volunteer work within your communities.

Since 1990, $33 million has been raised for charities across the country. Last year in the Plains and Peaks Presbytery the youth in 10 churches collected over $1600, collected 600+ and had over 120 service blitz hours.

If you need more information- please contact me!

State of the Hunger Action Advocate...

2006-12-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

Here is is the end of the year, and I am very grateful for the work that we have done together for hungry people. As people of faith, it is imperative that we work together to battle injustices and advocate for the poor.

Here are a few of the things we have done this fall...

Many churches celebrated Hunger Sunday in October.

October also hosted at least 6 CROP Walks for hungry people held in the communities of Boulder, Broomfield, Estes Park, Ft Collins, Greeley, LaSalle and Windsor. St Andrew's Presbyterian and Apostles drew many members as they participated in the Boulder walk which benefited Community Food Share, Church World Service and Bread for the World.

At our Presbytery meeting in late October, attendees participated in Centsability (meal offerings for hungry people ) where almost $30 in pennies was raised and donated to Our Center in Longmont. Packets to starting Centsability were awarded to congregations too.

Just Eating: Practicing Faith at the Table curriculums were also given to some congregations, and leadership training was scheduled.

The Souper Bowl of Caring celebrations are coming soon- and youth leaders of churches should be receiving a mailing very soon. The mailing will explain that in addition to collecting the dollar donations, youth are encouraged to serve hands-on at the charity of their choice the Saturday before the big game. We're hoping to have over 300 Presbyterian youth involved in the service BLITZ this year.

If you have any questions about these or other activities of your Hunger Action Advocate, please contact me!

Hunger Free Communities...

2006-12-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

A year ago in June, my boys and I went to Washington to join other Colorado Bread for the World members Coloradoans to lobby congress to reaffirm the goal of ending hunger in the United States. Our goals were to get a report on progress made towards these goals, and continue to adequately fund food stamps and other national nutrition programs. Additionally, there was a grant component that would increase federal funding available to community-based anti-hunger organizations.

I'm happy to say that even though it took 2 years, late last week the Hunger Free Communities Act passed in the Senate. We are proud of our Colorado co-sponsors Senator Ken Salzar (Alex gave him a "hunger plate") and Representatives Diana Degette and John Salazar. How wonderful. I would encourage you to write these folks and thank them for their support. If you feel like it- write the other ones that didn't co-sponsor and encourage them to support other hunger work.

Our leaders have gone on holiday recess, without completing the majority of the spending bills for FY 2007, including poverty-focused development assistance. They will take up this business when they reconvene in January...So plan to contact those members after the first of the year.

The 110th Congress will take up the matter when it convenes in January. Now is the time to lay the groundwork--especially with newly elected members. Your congregation can take action by writing letters and participating in the offering of letters. Writing members of congress urging them to fully fund the poverty development assistance ($2 billion was requested by the President).

Keep writing and celebrating successes!

LaSalle Breaks the CROP records

2006-10-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

Elaine Oster, from First Presbyterian Church was the coordinator for the LaSalle CROP walk held last weekend. She shared some wonderful news from the 2006 walk. There were

27 walkers (a little less than last year) but the walkers raised TWICE as much as they have before. They raised $2,056.50. Of that total amount, LaSalle First Presbyterian accounted for (drum roll please) $1,162. WOW!

PRAISE THE LORD!

Thanks for the update Elaine!

Boulder Crop Walk

2006-10-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Success for hungry people! Several CROP walks were held last weekend, and Alex and I were able to attend the one in Boulder. While final numbers are not in...the around 400 walkers were working hard to raise more than $40,000 this year! What a festival- there were lots of nice booths in the finish area, including Virginia's water carrying booth. I was able to carry a gallon of water on my head...but didn't trust myself to add more!

Pictured here is the fabulous group from St Andrew's Presbyterian Church who looked like they were in the running for the traveling trophy for most walkers from one group. Congratulations St Andrew for such a huge turn out!

I would love to hear about other walks in your areas- please leave a comment or give me a call! Foothills walk is this coming weekend and Fort Collins on the 21st. Check 'em out!

Listen to the voices!

2006-09-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Many of you know talented young people who have decided to serve the church. Becca is member of Longmont Central Presbyterian and is now serving with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Mississippi. Becca is currently the manager of the Pearlington PDA village and you can follow her experiences in her blog Becca on the Bayou. Check it out...I think you will learn right along with

Colorado Minimum Wage?

2006-09-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

OK, we all should be concerned with the Colorado Minimum Wage issue coming up on this falls ballot (amendment 42). Here are some things to consider:

A minimum wage worker in Colorado earns just $5.15 an hour...that means if I'm working full time at 40 hours per week, I make just under $11,000 annually. I can't make ends meet...I'm still in poverty. There is no way I could raise my family. I'm not alone.

It is estimated that over 37,000 Coloradoans experience this type of poverty. It just isn't a living wage, and congress hasn't adjusted this since 1997. What we need to struggle with is how can we let this continue? Why can we let our fellow Coloradoans suffer?

Opponents say this will eliminate entry-level jobs and crush small businesses. Why would it have to be that way? Can't we find a way to help those struggling to find skills or become educated WHILE compensating them fairly with living wage? Wouldn't this strengthen our economy, and make us stronger? I encourage you to get to know the issues and the candidates for this fall. There are lots of hungry people that will be affected by your choices!

Update on CROP walks

2006-09-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Less than a month to go for some of our front range CROP walks! Get your family and co-workers to sponsor you. Remember $400,000,000 is raised annually to help stop hunger. You can help too! Call one of these organizers today!

Boulder	Sunday, October 8	Katy Kineavy (720) 261-9695
Broomfield	Saturday, Sept. 30	Connie Siebenrock (303) 431-4920

Foothills	Sunday, October 15	Peter Boddie (303) 979-5837
Fort Collins	Sunday, October 22	Roger Parmenter (970) 419-1219

Greeley	Saturday, October 7	Jack Stringer (970) 339-9924
LaSalle	Saturday, October 7	Elaine Oster (970) 284-6252

There are several in Denver too. If you would like more information on those...check the CROP WALK site!

Sweat Free T-shirts

2006-09-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

College campuses are really something. Tonight on the news I saw where student activists on the Colorado University campus were protesting the sale of university apparel because was constructed in sweat shops. Sure looks like those students have been working on this issue for a while.

PC, USA has been working on it too as a part of their Enough for Everyone campaign. It is a great way to work on lifestyle issues. For example, when you buy clothing from the women's sewing cooperative in Nicaragua you make choices that support the world economy. Please consider using sweat free t-shirts when your fall sports team get together, or you celebrate in your Sunday school or even when you are just having fun with your family. You will be doing a good thing, and it will feel good too!

World Water Week

2006-08-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I was reading the blog Campus Bread this week where author Erin Luchenbill has an excellent article about the 1.2 billion folks that don't have access to fresh drinking water. It got me to thinking about our water here in eastern Colorado, and the depletion of the aquifer. Many farmers already know what may take some of us a long time to figure out...that this precious resource - water - is slowly being depleted. Seems like now would be a great time to talk about it since we just finished celebrating World Water Week. Erin suggested this, and I think it is a great idea...Do you have a story to share about water? Perhaps you have a reflection on a time when you didn't have access to water? Share your stories on my comment section and lets all remember the refreshment and life sustaining qualities of water.

Hunger Action Enablers

2006-08-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

"As iron sharpens iron, so we each sharpen one another."

- Proverbs 27:17

I just have finished a great weekend of planning and hearing the stories of some very dedicated Hunger Action Enablers working with hungry people. The wonderful folks were just like me in different Presbyteries doing fabulous work. You will hear lots from these folks soon, because they all work extremely hard to mobilize congregations to take action for hungry people in the western regions of the United States. Listening to each of our stories reminded me how all of us have unique gifts that help us answer God's call to help hungry people.

Here is a little of what I mean- Pat Plant, San Jose Presbytery, was our convener and she challenged us with this Proverbs passage. Don Shaw from Cascades Presbytery works with a statewide Faith group- the Oregon Faith Roundtable which advocates for justice change in the Oregon legislature. Joanne and Tom Haller serve both Sacremento and Stockton Presbytery as they do Hunger, Peacemaking and other justice work.

Rebecca Barnes Davies coordinates the Restoring Creation enablers as well as serving as the HAE for San Francisco Theological Seminary. Ginny Rose shared a little about her work in Redwoods Presbytery. Linda Blagburn does some fantastic work in San Francisco Presbytery for both hungry people and racial relations. And finally Peter Pizor joined us challenging us helping us to think deeply about our own stories and how to effectively use those in our hunger work.

WOW- what a lot of very wise people to help plan the fall!

Just Eating? Practicing Our Faith at the Table

2006-08-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a terrific resource developed to be used for congregations as they explore the relationship between the way we eat and the way we live.

	the health of our bodies
	the health of the earth that provides our food
	the ways we use food to extend hospitality and enrich relationships
	the challenge of hunger

A guide is available for every congregation in order to study scripture, use prayer and tell stories about your local community as it relates to the global community as we explore key aspects of our relationship with food. Please contact the Hunger Action Enabler for your copy!

Click on the ICON on the right take a closer look!

Time to get ready!

2006-08-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the opportunity to "rededicate ourselves to ending hunger in God's world!" Bread for the World suggests we take a chance to pray for the hungry and "renew our commitment" to share what we have with others. This is a terrific opportunity to add vital components to our worship between World Food Day (October 16) and Thanksgiving (November 23).

If you need ideas, Bread suggests six ways to celebrate this time...check 'em out! Many of our congregations begin our fall food drives around this same time- what a great way to make it
more meaningful for our members! You can also contact Tanory Ateek, Interim Bread for the World Organizer for more informaion.

Feel free to contact me for more information too!
-pg

CROP walks

2006-08-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

It is never to early to plan on attending or volunteering at a CROP walk to help hungry people. Boulder's CROP WALK is scheduled for October 8th and I know there are others too. Let me know if your community has one- I'll post it here!

CROPWALKS are usually held in Church World Service as fundraisers to help hungry people in your local area. For more information about these great events...click CROP WALKS!

Alive in Iraq

2006-08-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

Have you been looking to get a better idea of the people of Iraq? Alive in Iraq is a website that contains blogs and videos with stories of Iraq people and their daily struggles. It is difficult to get the stories to us, but the pieces are insightful. Click on their blogs or videos to read or view some interesting posts!

2006-08-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

Isaiah calls us to: ...offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted..

Because of this plea, we are all urged to help the hungry and those experiencing poverty. This blog will provide you with ideas to think about, challenges to wrestle with and an opportunity for networking with others to help alleviate hunger in your communities.

Good luck and great energy as you work with these endeavors!