"It has been a fantastic, spiritually fulfilling experience that went beyond my expectations…. I feel filled and encouraged and recommitted."
This Bread for the World activist, along with more than 2,000 other people of faith and conscience, came to Washington, DC in June for a powerful series of events: the One Table, Many Voices conference, organized by Bread for the World and Call to Renewal; the Interfaith Convocation on Hunger at Washington's National Cathedral; and the annual BFW Lobby Day. We renewed our commitment to ending hunger, celebrated our victories thus far, and gleaned new knowledge and understanding for the work ahead.
One Table, Many Voices included worship, music, policy briefings, exhibits, workshops on anti-hunger strategies, and much more. Among the featured speakers were Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa; Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the U.N. Millennium Project; and Ben Cohen, founder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream (speaking on "Oreo Cookies and the Federal Budget"). Participants also enjoyed a reception at the French Embassy to honor countries that have qualified for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) funding.
On June 6, the Interfaith Convocation on Hunger was held at Washington's National Cathedral. More than 40 of the nation’s top religious leaders – representing Catholics, evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and others – participated. "The best thing was the pulling together of all these groups," said one activist. "It is not easy, but this is the way to go."
The conference and convocation attracted widespread media coverage, including public radio, public television, and three separate articles in the Washington Post.
Lobby Day came at an auspicious time, as both the Senate and the House had recently introduced the legislation for our Offering of Letters, the Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005. The bill numbers are S. 1120 in the Senate and H.R. 2717 in the House. Hundreds of BFW members visited their members of Congress, urging them to cosponsor the legislation and oppose cuts to the Food Stamp Program and other federal nutrition programs. Altogether, constituents visited more than 75 Senate offices and more than 150 House offices. Our Lobby Day efforts began to pay off immediately – several members of Congress agreed on the spot to cosponsor the bill, while many others signed on later the same week.
As of June 28, the Hunger-Free Communities Act had 17 cosponsors in the Senate and 66 in the House. For up-to-date information on cosponsors, please check our Web site at www.bread.org.
Both of the House lead sponsors -- Reps. Tom Osborne (R-NE) and James McGovern (D-MA) -- spoke at events on Lobby Day, emphasizing the need to tell Congress that our country can and should solve its hunger problem. The Hunger-Free Communities Act would recommit the United States to the goal of cutting hunger in half by 2010. It also calls on Congress to protect the funding and the entitlement nature of national nutrition programs, and creates a grant program to help local groups work together to fight hunger in their communities.
"The movement against hunger and poverty in our country and around the world is significantly stronger because of our members' presence in Washington," said BFW President David Beckmann. "These events were spectacularly successful." Thank you to all who participated, and to all those at home who continue to work to end hunger in God's world.
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Among the leaders gathered for the Interfaith Convocation on Hunger were (front row, left to right) Bishop Monroe Saunders, United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic); Rev. David Beckmann, BFW President; Bishop John Bryson Chane, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, DC; Archbishop Ndungane; Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Episcopal Church, USA.
Photo by Rick Reinhard | |
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 In early July, 25 Bread for the World activists and 80 others in the ONE Campaign traveled to Scotland as part of an international mobilization coinciding with the Group of 8 (G-8) summit.
As leaders of the world's wealthiest nations met in Gleneagles - the issue of poverty in Africa high on the agenda - delegates from around the world rallied with their fellow activists in nearby Edinburgh, sharing their experiences in building local community support for ending global poverty.
The 105 ONE Campaign delegates included activists with many years' experience and enthusiastic college students just getting started. "We established a pilgrim community-a group of people brought together by their common passion for justice, " said Holly Hight, ONE Campaign fellow at Bread for the World. "The group was amazing. They were open to dialogue, critical thinking with creative action, positive advocacy and the ministry of presence. This journey instilled in me a sense of hope for the greater movement to end poverty in our world."
The U.S. delegates were accompanied to Scotland by Virgin Airlines owner Sir Richard Branson, who donated their airline travel, and greeted by Sir Bob Geldof, organizer of the Live Aid concerts in 1985 and Live 8 this year. In Edinburgh, the delegates met with two senior White House officials, asking questions and voicing their conviction that the United States should take a leadership role against global poverty
Leaders at the Gleneagles summit pledged to contribute an additional $25 billion annually to Africa by 2010, bringing the total to $50 billion. With this agreement, however, the work is just beginning.
"The next step is for President Bush to come home and work with Congress to make his promises a reality," said BFW President David Beckmann. "More than a fourth of the president's promised doubling of aid to Africa is in his budget request for next year. But the Senate Appropriations Committee has already voted to cut 60 percent of this increase; the House has voted to cut virtually all of it. The president's party controls both houses of Congress, and he needs to insist that they keep the promises the United States has made."
The Bread for the World delegation, along with other BFW members across the country, will be doing their part to make this happen. Together, we can persuade congress to honor the commitments just made in Scotland.
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