A Party for Rev. Barbara Dua

Rev. Barbara Dua is retiring as director of the New Mexico Conference of Churches after many years leading that great ecumenical organization. 

Please join the New Mexico Conference of Churches in a Thanksgiving Reception for Barbara's Ministry on Sunday, November 15, at Monte Vista Christian Church, 3501 Campus Blvd. NE, 3:00-5:00 p.m.

There will be a basket at the reception for you to drop a letter or a card expressing your appreciation to Barbara for her service to our community. And if you cannot attend and still want to honor Barbara, send your card/letter to The New Mexico Conference of Churches, P.O. Box 606, Bernalillo, N.M. 87004-0606.  (By the way, Babara is on Facebook, in case you want to communicate with her that way).

I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the times when Barbara collaborated with Bread for the World.  In particular, I would like to highlight our local celebration of Bread for the World's 30th anniversary. Barbara, Rev. Julian Phillips and the NMCC helped us put together a very successful event, which featured keynote speaker Father Bill Byron ( who collaborated with Art Simon in the founding of Bread for the World) and Rev. Jim McDonald, Bread for the World's vice president of policy and programs.

It was great to hear the national VIPs discuss the history of our organization and our letter writing campaign for that year, which was entitled  Elections Matter: Vote to End Hunger.  

But it was just as good to hear Barbara's reflection on a related campaign promoted by the National Council of Churches and the New Mexico Conference of Churches entitled, Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty: Let Justice Roll. This is the leading national faith, community, labor and business coalition committed to raising the minimum wage to a living wage at the state and federal level.

Barbara has long been an advocate of economic justice. And even though she won't be at the forefront of this effort through the NMCC, I'm sure she will be doing what she can in the background.  

But for now, that goes in the "To Do" basket.  Our task at hand right now is to celebrate with Barbara on Nov. 15.  And please don't bring a gift.  Barbara requests that in lieu of presents that you make a donation to The Storehouse.

The Bag of Food Right By Your Mail Box

Next Saturday is November 14.  Do you know what happens on Nov. 14?  Yup, there are a bunch of college football games on TV and one at University Stadium vs. a Top 25 team (BYU).  Perhaps there is a fall harvest festival somewhere in the Albuquerque metro area.

But as you wander onto the streets, you might notice your mail carrier with an extra load in his or her vehicle.  That's because Saturday is also the annual food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association.

On that day, your friendly postal carrier will not only deliver your mail but will also pick up your donation of food.  (Please ignore the date on the illustration.  It's from another year).  Please be sure to leave a bag with non-perishable goodies by your mail box.  To make it easier for you, look for a special bag enclosed with the Albuquerque Journal on Thursday, Nov. 12.

While you might have extra food in your pantry, please be sure that it's not expired before you put it in the bag. Better yet, I would recommend that you pick up extra non-perishable items like cans of tuna, beans and vegetables, along with peanut butter, when you do your shopping this weekend.  Or perhaps you can make an extra trip to the grocery store and spend about $10 on food to donate.

In Albuquerque, the food will go to Roadrunner Food Bank.  This year, the donations are very important, the food bank said in a newsletter.

Roadrunner Food Bank needs your help as we experience unprecedented demand.  Individuals who been laid off or had their hours reduced are experiencing hunger and are seeking food assistance for the first time. The agencies who serve are reporting 30 to 50 percent increases of individuals who need help with food. This holiday season more and more of our neighbors here in New Mexico need your help.

Roadrunner recently released a touching video featuring some of the clients who receive the food and the people who serve them.

Speaking of Roadrunner Food Bank, the Oct. 23 edition of "In Focus," hosted by Weekly Alibi columnist Gene Grant, had a segment on the organization.  The piece, which ran on KNME, Channel 5, was produced in cooperation with two other PBS stations. 

The segment on the food bank is preceded by an interesting discussion between Mr. Grant and Timothy Krebs, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, about the recently ended special session for the New Mexico State Legislature. Prof. Krebs also talked about the 2010 regular session. "Next year is going to be a really tough in terms of the budget situation." This could possibly mean cuts in programs that help poor and hungry people in our state.

A God of Relationships

 The slogan that used to accompany Bread for the World's old logo portraying the loaves and fishes was "Seek Justice.  End Hunger".  When a new, more modern, logo was created the slogan was changed to "Have Faith. End Hunger."   Since I liked both slogans, I didn't see any reason why we couldn't combine them in our Bread for the World- New Mexico blog.  Hence, our slogan is "Have Faith. Seek Justice.  End Hunger."

Which brings me to the topic of today's blog post.  How exactly does our Christian vocation fit into our anti-hunger and anti-poverty work?  "It's a no-brainer," you say.  If we seek justice (not retribution, but a just way of sharing God's gifts and God's creation), then everything will fall into place.

A Bread for the World member from a community in northwestern New Mexico recently shared with me a disturbing letter to the editor that he saw in the local newspaper.  The writer took issue with the theme of prayer of the faithful in the Catholic Mass.  Often, the prayers ask us to hold in our hearts those who are suffering, and to move us to take actions that will relieve that suffering.  But the letter-writer said,

Praying for voluntary increases in donations to the poor is Christian. Praying for governments to redistribute property in a way it deems to be "fair" is Marxist communism....The U.S., a capitalist nation, is the largest redistributor of wealth in the world and it does so voluntarily. In contrast, most starvation in the world today is politically originated by governments having absolute power over their people; the kind of power required to redistribute private property.

Fortunately, a local Catholic pastor responded with his own letter to the editor, which said:

I didn't get upset by these comments. I simply chuckled and said to myself, "Well, I've been called all sorts of things in my 20 years of priesthood. Now I can finally say I was accused of being a Marxist. Wow!"...Please know...that we as a Church pray that our nation and all nations — and all individuals, for that matter — be mindful of the poor and that we take care of the least among us.

That is nothing radical. That is the Christian vocation.

That Christian vocation is spelled out in one form or another in Jesus' account of the two Greatest Commandments all four Gospels. You can find it in :Matthew 22:36-40   Mark 12:28-31   Luke 10:25-28   John 13:34

We are fortunate to have access to a program of study called JustFaith Ministries, which  looks more closely at this Christian vocation of caring for one another.  The program, in which Bread for the World is a partner, has been successful in many Catholic parishes around the country, and the ecumenical version is beginning to take root in some communities.

Last summer, Dan Driscoll, one of the JustFaith trainers, gave a workshop here in Albuquerque.  As Dan pointed out during the workshop, "it is next to impossible to find a passage in scripture that does not deal with social justice,"

One of the themes that I remember most from Dan's presentation was the concept of social justice begins with the recognition that we need each other  

The Zulu tradition, he said, expresses this in a slogan that says "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" - which means that a person is only a person through their relationship to others..

Archbishop Desmond Tutu summed it up in when he spoke of the related concept of Ubuntu:

One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.

We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.

Opening the Door to Hunger (New Video from Roadrunner Food Bank)

Roadrunner Food Bank's newest video, Opening The Door To Hunger, tells the story of hunger in New Mexico from the point of view of those who are experiencing hunger and those who try to feed the hungry.  Poignant interviews with New Mexicans affected by hunger are featured throughout this film.

See how hunger affects real people in our state and find out what Roadrunner Food Bank is doing about it.

It's God first, then it's people, and then it's yourself, that's where we fall at the bottom of the totem pole.  We got to take care of others first before ourselves.

We have a woman who has been coming  [to Martineztown Mobille Food Pantry Site] since the first one who has a daughter who goes to the little school up there   The daughter gets out a noon, and  so the woman and her daughter are usually in line by 12:30.  And the food starts at 1:30 And this time her husband was with her.  So I said, " It's good to meet your husband."  And she said "Oh he was just laid off today and that's why he's able to attend."  And that broke my heart because he was their only source of income at that time.

They have that thing called the baking powder breakfast which is you lift your finger, stick in baking powder and stick in your mouth...and it makes you feel like you ate something.  So, that's how you combat hunger, but that's not the right way. 

You're stuck between a system that wants to look at what they think you're worth and what you really have. When my husband broke his back, we went from $70,000 a year to $659 a month

We don't put ourselves in a position most of the time where we see need like this. The first month we had 109 families, and at the very end we had the stuff that nobody really wanted.  We had the tripe and all of the ends and pieces  And this girl came flying up and asked Am I too late? And I said, No.  We  have this.  I'm sorry this all we have.  And  she very happily took the tripe and all the ends and pieces and had tears in her eyes. She said thank you very much.  You just don't understand how much this is going to help  That's stuff that most people wouldn't eat, and she's crying over it.

And to me this box is like a blessing.  I feel like a millionaire.  Like I'm in front of a banquet.  It helps.  It helps a lot.

It's the United States? Why do we have hungry people?

Yes, I'm angry because we live in a place where it should be plentiful, but it isn't.

These are just a few examples of the very touching quotes in the video.  I recommend that you view it yourself. Click here to see the video, which is available in low bandwith and high bandwith (higher quality).   You will be able to see via Windows Media Player or a similar media system on your computer.  The high-resolution version might take about 7 minutes to load.

The link will also take you to three other videos that Roadrunner Food Bank made about hunger in New Mexico.  They are entitled Hunger Exists,  The Faces of Hunger in New Mexico, and A Bite of Chocolate

Can You Leave Footprints on the Water? Sure You Can!

All of us have heard about the carbon footprint.  But how about the water footprint?  This is one concept that we do not hear as frequently.  Just like the carbon footprint, the way we live, the consumption decisions we make, can have an effect on the future sustainability of the earth and the type of habitat that we will leave to our children.  Just like the carbon footprint, there is a water footprint calculator.

WFN, an organization that promotes more efficient use of our scarce water resources, describes it this way:

The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.

It is also important to think about the water footprint in terms of the Seventh of the Eight Millennium Development Goals, which deals with Environmental Sustainability. I'm referring specifically to Target 7C, which urges us to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.  

At a broader level, how do we share this valuable resource that is growing increasingly scarce partly due to global climate change?

Conservation should certainly be a the top of all our lists.  But there are other innovative actions that we can take, Amanda Brock, chief executive officer of a company called Water Standard, is promoting desalination as a partial solution.  Not the big expensive desalination plants like those that have been built in some countries in the Middle East.  Ms. Brock, a panelist at the Border Energy Conference in Houston on Oct. 15-16, said her company has come up with an innovative and cost-effective solution.  A mobile desalination unit that can travel anywhere in the world.  Read more about it.

We Need Integrated Development

By Tom Aageson

After reading New Hope for Malnourished Mothers and Children in the September 2009 issue of the the Bread newsletter a couple of times I became concerned that we were falling back into our old "silo" approach to development.  

The background paper focused on good nutritional ideas for very young folks and then exclusively on agricultural development.  What is of concern is that much of the past agricultural development initiatives have focused on heavy use of fertilizers as inputs which have both environmental and economic implications.  

In Guatemala, for example, fertilizers were kept in single room houses on the floor and often pesticides were also kept there.  Spray cans were washed out in the local water stream.  Fertilizers and pesticides often have to be imported into countries which has a very negative impact on the use of local currency and excludes many people from the ag economy because of cost.  

Also, agricultural development often gets into commercial production, often for export.  Once again, US and European markets demand perfection in their veggies and I have seen broccoli, etc thrown away on roads because of imperfections and because it is not a veggie the local community eats. Also, the the background paper omits reference to the other elements of integrated, Sustainability: Economic, Environmental and Cultural.

What we need is people-centered, integrated development.  

To me, Sustainability stands on a four-legged stool:

Environment: Initiatives that are renewable, seeds that are not patented, all initiatives leave the planet in a better place  Economic-enhanced livelihoods improve lives

Social: People can grow their own food and have the incomes to buy what they need in food, shelter, medical care and education
 
Cultural: This never gets considered but we must consider the development of local culture for integrated development, whether it is foods, celebrations, music, artisan work, the built environment (architecture of houses, communities, etc).

I would urge Bread for the World to always have the lens of the four legs of integrated development.

The author is a Bread for the World member in Santa Fe

Set Your VCRS, Tivos and DVRs (Unless You're an Extreme Night Owl)

We just got a note from KRQE-Channel 13 confirming that the station will air the program Religion, Politics and Advocacy on Sunday, October 11.  But there is a catch.  The half-an-hour program will be broadcast at 12:35 A.M.

So be sure to set your recording devices unless you're planning to be up at that time. Or maybe you're going to be up, but plan to keep the program.

I don't know how much impact all our e-mails had on the decision by Channel 13 to run this program (produced by the CBS Religion Unit), which features interviews with Bread for the World folks at the 2009 National Gathering.   

But we're certainly glad they're airing it!

And if for some reason you forget to set your VCR, Tivo or DVR, fear not.  Bread for the World will have copies available in the near future.

Click this ink to view the background information we posted about the program, including a very brief video.

Video: "You Can End Poverty"

Stand Up Against Poverty has a great new video in observance of the various "Stand Up" events around the world on Oct. 16-18. (I am not aware of any in Albuquerque)

Here is the intro to the video.

"You Can End Poverty", launched on YouTube this week, focuses on a powerful truth: We are the first generation with the power to end poverty. Each one of us holds tremendous power to effect real change like never before. Our collective mobilization can send a clear message to world governments that we refuse to be silent in the face of ongoing poverty and inequality. We can achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals and end poverty 2015. Learn how we can do it.

Albuquerque CROP Walk has its own Website

We walk because they walk.  

That has been a common motivation of people around the country who participate in Crop Walks sponsored by Church World Service.  People of faith participate in this annual event in many parts of the country to show solidarity with folks who have to walk for miles to fetch water from a river or a well or obtain other basic necessities of life because they have no transportation other than their two feet.

Churches and people of faith in Albuquerque have sponsored this event here during October for as long as I can remember.  The walk raises money for the CWS efforts related to international relief and development.  A portion of the money stays in local communities to address hunger needs.  In the past, agencies like The Storehouse have received money from the Albuquerque walks.

New This Year

But there are two things that are different about our local walk this year, which will take place on Sunday, October 18, at 1:30 p.m.

First, there is a new host Congregation, St. Stephen's United Methodist Church, in the Northeast Heights.  For years, the event was held at Central United Methodist Church before it was moved to St. Paul Lutheran Church last year. Both of those locations are in the vicinity of the University of New Mexico, so the walk was visible to people who happened to be near UNM on that particular Sunday.  This year, the walk will be up near Juan Tabo and Montgomery. 

Secondly, the event has its own website, thanks to George Huggins, coordinator of this year's walk.  George is a member of New Life Presbyterian Church. The website gives you easy instructions on how to obtain an envelope or participate.  You also have a link to the site that Church World Service created for this walk.  There is also a listing of the members of the organizing committee. And if you're interested, the site gives you some historic information, listing previous walks in Albuquerque.  

There is also a link to other CROP Walks around the country.  By the way, the following communities in New Mexico will also hold or have held a walk this year: Carlsbad (Nov. 7) Farmington (Nov. 7),  Gallup (Oct. 25), Hobbs (Oct. 24), Las Cruces (Nov. 15), Las Vegas (Oct. 17), Los Alamos (Nov. 22), Roosevelt & Curry Counties (Oct. 4), Santa Fe (Oct. 11).

It Takes a (New Mexico) Village

An impressive group of non-governmental organizations, government agencies (local, state and federal) and members of the private sector have come together to address the problem of hunger in New Mexico.  The group has come together under the name The New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger.  There is wide participation from members of the community and even outside the community.  They have developed a three-year plan to end hunger.
 
The advocates in the group say action is needed because one in four children and one in eight seniors in New Mexico do not know where they will get their next meal.  This situation is often known as food insecurity.

The group's director, Nancy Pope, writes her own blog about related issues.

Check out Nancy's blog and our blog for updates and other information about the work of the group.

Desmond Tutu, U2, in 360-"Where the Streets Have No Name"

Amsterdam Performance, July 2009, on YouTube
Thanks to MoniekDH & PeterDutchie2012
Great introduction by Desmond Tutu, followed by U2 performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name"

Filmmaker features Albuquerque in piece about poverty

Michael Woodruff, a film student at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), explores the causes of poverty by interviewing random people around Albuquerque.  His piece is entitled Poverty in America: Why are they Poor?

This film is relevant because the plight of the working poor in our country is going to be the subect of our 2010 Offering of Letters.

Michael tells us how he came to make this film in  2008,

While in Dr. Virginia Hamptons class one day, we talked about what makes people poor. There were many factors discussed and as you can see in my film these were what I thought were key. Anyway, for our end of semester project I decided to do a short documentary. It took me one month to shoot and two weeks to edit. I filmed a total of four hours.

This is a great documentary.  Take a look...

Must See TV on Channel 13?

The CBS Religion Unit sent a film crew behind the scenes at Bread for the World’s Lobby Day in June of this year to experience faith-based advocacy in action. The producer interviewed several Bread members and staff and followed two participants on their congressional office visits.  The interviews were incorporated into a documentary entitled  Religion, Politics, and Advocacy.

CBS will release the documentary on Sunday, Sept. 27, and local affiliates have the option to air the program at their discretion during the next four weeks.  

At this point, we're not sure if Channel 13  in Albuquerque and Channel 4 in El Paso will decide to air this program.  That's why we're asking you to call and ask them to do so.  You an either send an e-mail to Channel 13 by  clicking this link or call the programming department (505) 764-5248

In Las Cruces & southern New Mexico, send an e-mail to KDBC (El Paso), generalmanager@kdbc.com or call (915) 496-4444

Here is a one-minute excerpt from the program that was posted on YouTube.  Bread president David Beckmann appears at the beginning of the excerpt.  California Bread activist and board member Elizabeth Henry is quoted at the end.

And here is a excerpt from the official press release for the program.

Faith groups have always played the role of "activist" in society. Churches, synagogues and mosques run soup kitchens, provide shelter for the homeless, and run disaster relief operations in the United States and abroad…but they also play an important role in shaping legislation.

The program follows "citizen advocates" who participate in the Bread for the World's annual Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. This is a Christian advocacy organization, whose mission is to end hunger and poverty throughout the world. We hear from the group's founder and president emeritus, Arthur Simon, and current president, Rev. David Beckmann, as well.

During lobby day, spiritually minded citizens from all across the United States put faith into action. Through working groups and role playing, participants learn–the finer points of lobbying, everything from how to shape their message, to how to approach their legislators on Capitol Hill. Lobby Day ends with a one-on-one visit with their local Congressman and Senator.

John P. Blessington is the executive producer; Liz Kineke is the producer. This special is produced with the cooperation of the National Council of Churches, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Islamic Society of North America, The Union for Reform Judaism, and the New York Board of Rabbis.

Hide Dollars in Weird Places...Give Flowers to Strangers (Another World is Possible)

Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way Community take us on a jouney through our world of economic extremes, from the poverty of Philly’s inner city to the clamor of Wall Street. Begining in an abandoned house, they drive us through the industrial wasteland of Kensington, and they invite us to the New York Stock Exchange for the infamous Jubliee Money Drop.

This video, an excerpt of Volume II - "Poverty,"  is an inspirational account of how $10,000.00 from the stock market is given to homeless folks from New York City on the steps of Wall Street.  There are two other themes that Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way community have created. Volume I deals with the theme of War and Volume III with the them of Creation. For more information visit the website for Another World is Possible,

(Shane Claiborne was one of the featured speakers in the Emerging Church Conference in Albuquerque in April of 2009)

Our Faith in Ending Global Poverty (ONE Sabbath 2009)

Here is The ONE Campaign's intro to its ONE Sabbath campaign in 2009.  The video brings together voices from many faiths and Christian denominations.   And the web site  has separate but parallel campaigns for people of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu faiths.
Check it out!