October is the month that many people of faith choose to focus special attention on hunger and poverty. It started with World Food Day on October 16, but the list of October observances seems to grow each year. Of course, I hope your congregation will celebrate Bread for the World Sunday on October 18 (please see below), but hunger and poverty are immense problems and we welcome all activities that focus attention on food as a basic need and on the opportunities we have to end hunger in our time. In a biblical context, this time of harvest is also the time for setting aside crops for gleaners, an appropriate image of the kind of sharing of abundance for which we all are working.  In the Sundays ahead, we will all do well to remind our congregations that God's abundant provision is meant to be shared by all. Grace and peace, Rev. Gary R. Cook Director of Church Relations

Lectionary Reflections

From Hunger for the Word, Year B

In this month’s lectionary reflections, Sister Christine Vladimiroff, O.S.B., and Cureton L. Johnson emphasize that it is essential to be involved in the political process and to praise God while doing so.  We are encouraged to constantly work for change in our country and within our churches.  If we are truly open to God’s moving presence in our lives, we can make the world a better place to live.

October 4, 2009 Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

In what way can we fashion a world in which people can live together in peace? What can I change so that every child has enough food to grow strong, enough education to open the mind to a world of wonder, and enough love to fill the soul with the capacity to bond with others? Read more »

October 11, 2009 Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Indeed, God expects us to seek and inquire of him in all aspects of our lives (Prov. 3:5, 6), and especially when we are in the depths of despair. As difficult as this may be, we need to know that the Lord is near, to hear the wisdom that only God can provide. Read more »

October 18, 2009 Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

If Christian disciples want seats of prestige in God’s kingdom, those seats are located wherever people suffer from drug and substance abuse, from domestic violence, from loneliness and hopelessness. This is the Church’s mission: to serve others and show them the good news of liberation in Christ. Read more »

October 25, 2009 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sometimes, like Job, we struggle through a bevy of problems, but God responds. We take a step toward God, and we find that the Creator has been stepping toward us all along! Exalting the Lord’s name often evokes God’s blessings. Read more »

Praying Together

O Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world
-hear me-
I come before you, one of your children.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise, so that I may know the things
you have taught my People.
The lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength not to be superior to my brothers,
but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me ever ready to come to you,
with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades as a fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.

- Traditional Native American Prayer

Resources for Your Ministry

Bread for the World Sunday

Bread for the World Sunday is an opportunity for your congregation to lift up its concern for hungry people and to celebrate your partnership with Bread. Most congregations observe it on October 18, and our planning resource offers lectionary-based resources for that day, but any Sunday before Thanksgiving is appropriate.

Visit Bread.org/sunday for more information, including a scripture and sermon study on Mark 10:35-45 by Dr. John Buchanan, editor and publisher of Christian Century; a new sacred song composed by Marty Haugen; ideas for engaging your congregation; and special prayers for the day by the Rev. Elizabeth Coleman.  Bulletin inserts and offering envelopes are also available.

Stand Up, Speak Out

Looking for a simple but meaningful activity for Bread for the World Sunday? Join millions of people around the world in the September 16-18 "Stand Up, Speak Out," a global expression of a commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Find more information at standagainstpoverty.org.