Presbytery 8/13

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

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Disaster relief in Horn of Africa

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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

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

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

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

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

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 fasting. 

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!

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....

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

* 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!

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

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

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.