Bread for the World Challenges Candidates to Address Poverty in Nashville Debate
Preaching at the Debate ’08 Vesper Service in Nashville, Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and former World Bank economist, challenged presidential candidates to talk about poverty in their next debate here on October 7.
“In the first debate, no one even mentioned poor people,” said Rev. Beckmann. “Our current economic problems have hit poor people very hard, and the presidential candidates have two different responses in mind. But children who are not getting enough to eat are also not getting enough attention in this election.”
With the economic downturn and rising unemployment, American families are resorting to food banks in record numbers. In developing countries, world hunger has increased dramatically.
Rev. Beckmann said that from a religious point of view, the biggest risk in today’s economic crisis is spiritual contraction. “Hunger and poverty are on the increase but we are preoccupied with our own anxieties. We may feel less inclined to help people in need in our own communities, let alone on the other side of the world.”
“The antidote to spiritual contraction is the goodness and mercy of God,” said Rev. Beckmann. “God’s love and care can move us from anxiety to generosity.”
He added that if the government is willing to commit a trillion dollars to save financial institutions, they should “not deny us the pennies we need to reduce hunger and poverty in our country and worldwide.”
“More than 2,000 years ago, the prophet Isaiah said that the path to national healing is to ‘remove ... the yoke of injustice’ and ‘share your bread with the hungry.’ That is the path that America must take, and the candidates for our nation’s highest elected office must lead us there.”
The Vesper Service held at Christ Church Cathedral was sponsored by Belmont University, host site for the second presidential debate between Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) on Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 9:00 p.m. (Central). The debate will focus on the economy.
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Bread for the World (www.bread.org) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.
