Presbytery in Sidney, NE

As most of you know,  at every Presbytery meeting we collect pennies/nickles/dimes (and even the quiet money) for those in our communities that don't have enough to eat. Money is collected at each meal and then is forwarded to a local mission.  During the August 11th meeting of Plains and Peaks Presbytery held at Light Memorial Church, Sidney we collected a "Centsability" offering of $40.14. Presbytery members  were asked to contribute and offering of for hunger and poverty. Even though we only collect a few pennies at a time, we pray that each gift may help the work that folks are doing to make such a difference for those that are hungry in this world. The funds from this meeting went to the Sidney Salvation Army Thrift Store and Food Bank.  Also at this Presbytery meeting, we urged folks to encourage their members to volunteer to help raise funds for local hunger organizations by participating in a fall CROP hunger walk. Here is a list of walks in Plains and Peaks Presbytery. The need for funds at our local pantries is great, so please consider supporting them by walking or sponsoring a walker in one of these walks:

Boulder County CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/14/2012
Broomfield CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/6/2012
Estes Park CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
9/9/2012
Fort Collins CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/7/2012
LaSalle CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/13/2012
Loveland CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/6/2012
Northeast Colorado CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
9/9/2012
Windsor CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/28/2012
Scottsbluff CROP Hunger Walk 2012   
10/14/2012

Lobby Day June 12, 2012

Colorado group in Representative Gardner's Office

A group of six Coloradans delivered nearly 100 letters to our congresspeople Tuesday June 12th as we urged to them to place a circle of protection around programs vital to the hungry and poor people in the U.S. and around the world.

Thanks to contributions from 1st United Presbyterian in Loveland and Longmont Central Presbyterian the  beautifully written and incredibly inspiring letters had a profound impact on our visits. Since the Senate introduced the farm bill this week, much of our conversation centered on full funding for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs- formerly food stamps). Did you know that 400,000 Coloradans benefit from SNAP? The program is incredibly successful to with less than 1% fraud and most folks are only recipients for less than 9 months!

Secondly, we urged them to look at sustaining anti-hunger and anti-poverty program funding. This includes  domestic programs like SNAP and Women Infants & Children but also International Food Assistance and International Poverty Assistance programs. I have seen an example of the results of the Poverty Assistance programs first hand with our Zambian brothers and sisters as the U.S. is able to provide them with antiretroviral drugs for AIDS.

Finally, we asked them to work on the deficit reduction through a lens of diverse viewpoints...looking at lots of options including revenue generation. We urged them not to balance their budget on the backs of the poor and to place a circle of protection around programs vital to the hungry and poor people in the U.S. and around the world.

The meetings were well received in both Bennet's office (where we met with Grant Colvin) and Udall's office (where we met with Sara Kagey and Krysten Joyce). We also met with Jennifer Loraine in Representative Gardner's office who asked us for more information in order to become a stronger supporter of protecting programs that fight hunger.

I can't thank the congregations in the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks enough for the prayers and letters they sent us with. The letters are HUGE and are really influential having a big impact on the staffers and members of congress. Their eyes really light up and some started reading right away! These letters are extremely important and an integral part of our lobby day!  ~Phil G.

Notes from Presbytery May 4-5, 2012

Many of you know that at every Presbytery meeting we collect pennies/nickles/dimes and even the quiet money for those in our communities that don't have enough to eat. Money is collected at each meal and then is forwarded to a local mission.  During the May 4 & 5th meeting of Plains and Peaks Presbytery held at Highlands Camp we collected $76.92 which has been donated to the Crossroads Ministry of Estes Park. Crossroads' main ministry is to exhibit Christian love by providing basic human services to needy residents in the Estes Valley. Also at the Presbytery meeting, we urged folks to do some public policy advocacy in the form of letter writing to help support those who do not have a voice. (Proverbs 31:8) Here are four areas that you should contact your senator or representative about in order to address specific legislative topics before Congress: domestic nutrition assistance Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Women Infants & Children poverty-focused foreign assistance (.6%) 1,000 focus birth-2, medications, immunizations, safe drinking water tax credits for low-income families Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit international food aid emergency humanitarian response to malnutrition, famine & disaster

For more information about the offering of letters campaign, please go to Bread for the World. (bread.org)

Souper Bowl= Super Success!

More than 75% of the churches in Plains and Peaks Presbytery participated in the Souper Bowl collection for hungry people this year helping to get the combined National total to almost $6.5 million dollars!

Many of you know- this offering started when a youth group asked:  Why not use Super Bowl weekend, a time when people come together for football and fun, to also unify the nation for a higher good: collecting dollars and canned food for the needy? That was in '90 and since then over $81 million dollars have been raised for hungry folks in your communities. WOW! 

If you would like to see your church's history in fundraising with this campaign...plug in your zip code at SouperBowl site . You'll be amazed at what your members have accomplished!

Notes from Plains & Peaks Presbytery report Feb 11, '12

The Hunger Action Advocate's role is to work with churches to support their hunger ministries if 5 areas

Direct Feeding/Development Assistance - and example of this would be food drives, feeding programs and offerings to collect money for the hungry. Many churches participated in Souper Bowl Sunday collecting food and money for local hunger needs. We can rejoice because nationwide we raise $6.6 million dollars for the hunger. To see your church's results go to: http://www.souperbowl.org/find_profiles

 Public Policy: On of the ways that we can address the foundational causes of hunger is to address the issue with our members of congress. This Presbytery has been very active in writing letters to support those who receive Women Infant and Children funding, Food Stamps. The current campaign will urge congress to expand the circle of protection around programs that help the hungry and poor people. Contact Phil for more information or visit: http://www.bread.org/ol/2012/

Education: Learning more about the issues surrounding hunger...Phil has Lentin Study guide and many other resources at the chocolate table.

Lifestyle Integrity: Often we have great power with the purchases that we make. Using fair trade roducts like chocolates, coffee and other items can supplemental cooperatives that can directly benefit the grower, farmer or small business. NOW is the time to order sustainably harvested Palm Frons for Palm Sunday. These frons are part of a cooperative that helps native peoples in many positive ways and can be ordered through March 8-14th. For more information http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/enough/eco-palms/

If you would like Phil Goerner to support your hunger ministry, contact him at pgoerner@gmail.com