A Hunger, Faith and Food Conference in Denver on March 19

The Abrahamic Initiative and St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Denver are hosting the Fourth Annual Hunger, Faith & Food Conference on Thursday, March 19, 12:30-5:00 p.m., at St. John's Cathedral, 1350 Washington St.

The event is part of the goal of the Hunger, Faith and Food coalition to join with community partners to end hunger in Denver and in Colorado.  The ultimate mission of the coalition is to build capacity among those eager to grow, prepare, and share food, offering religious leaders tools for organizing their faith communities to end hunger locally.

Each day, tens of thousands of our neighbors struggle to put nutritious and life-sustaining food on the family table. We hear news of hunger. We see hunger, We are called to act. Leaders of faith institutions, lay and clergy alike, have a special charge. They are able to commandeer great reserves of human talent, vision, and energy in their congregations. Many faith institutions have irrigated lawns that could be planted with food gardens. They have kitchens for teaching and food preparation. They have parking lots. They have pulpits and voices and a duty of care."

But religious professionals rarely have the resources to cook up a hunger-relief ministry from scratch. The good news? The resources are there.

The coalition invites folks in Denver and surrounding areas to join them for for the fourth annual Hunger, Faith & Food conference at Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral,, "A plenary session on Sacred Writ will help us to hear G-d’s still, small voice. Two simple workshops (and a round of ‘speed-dating’ with community partners) will inspire us and give us tools to act," said organizers.

Adrian Miller, Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches and James Beard Award–winning author, will be the keynote speaker, asking “What Is God Calling Us to Do?”

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Cearley, Presbyterian Church, USA, will moderate the plenary session on Sacred Writ, “Feeding the Hungry.” Panelists include

• Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav, who is chaplain, Kavod Senior Life, and director, Wisdom House Denver; 
• Ismail Guder, a 1998 graduate of a theology school in Izmir, Turkey, is executive director of the Multicultural Mosaic Foundation, Denver; 
• Ved Nanda is director of international law at DU, founding president of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of the Rockies, and a member of its Board of Trustees.

The conference begins at 12:30 with a Zero Waste meal highlighting the faith challenges of local hunger and abundance, in Dagwell Hall. It closes at 5 pm. Participants may stay to socialize in Dagwell Hall with locally produced beverages, or join Lenten evening worship services in Saint Martin’s Chapel.