World Food Day 2019 (Part 3): Collaborations, Chants and Blessings

While the emphasis of our World Food Day celebration was on local sourcing and sustainability (see Part 1 and Part 2), we also promoted the ability of our faith communities to collaborate and to work together to address local human needs.

Jessica Corley and Rachel Sternheim, Congregation Albert

Helping Central American Refugees
Jessica Corley of Congregation Albert spoke of the commitment by her congregation and Nahalat Shalom to support asylum seekers from Central America earlier this year.

The two Jewish congregations were part of a broad coalition of faith communities that supported the asylees. Others involved in this work were Catholic Charities, Lutheran Family Services, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church and Albuquerque Interfaith. '

Even though the federal government has shut down the flow of asylum seekers, Jewish Asylum Seekers Initiative continues to support efforts at the border by providing shelters in Juarez, Mexico, with life sustaining food, supplies and financial support.

In addition to the threat of violence from criminal organizations and drug traffickers, many of the asylees were forced to leave their homeland because of the impact of climate change on their ability to survive."Smallscale producers and rural communities remain the most vulnerable to drought, an important socioeconomic phenomenon--given its effects on the loss of livelihoods, decapitalization of household economies, impoverishment and migration to overpopulated urban centres," the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a recent report.

America Burciaga

SNAP, Title I and Support for Public Schools
The formula used by Albuquerque Public Schools for counting Title I eligibility is unfair to schools with a large number of immigrants.

America Burciaga, a student at South Valley Academy, spoke about the appeal she made at an APS School Board meeting. APS uses SNAP eligibility as opposed to school lunch forms.

I am both sad and disappointed that my school is being treated unequally because we have undocumented students.  Title I is a federal program designed to help all students, not just those that were born in the United states.  Most parents at South Valley Academy, just like my own mom and dad, came from different countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and so many others, looking for a better future, for themselves as well as their children.

The reliance on SNAP for the APS forumla could create additional elegibility problems in the future if the federal administration follows through with its threats to remove more people (including legal immigrants) from the SNAP rolls.

"Last spring, [the federal administration] put out a proposal for new time restrictions on food assistance for adults. This summer their proposal took power away from the states and made it harder for hungry families to access the help they need. And now, they’re going after poor people once again, taking $4.5 billion out of SNAP benefits over the next five years," said Food Policy Action. "Congress debated – and rejected – each of these cuts when it passed a bipartisan farm bill in 2018. So they’re going after hungry people through regulations."

A Baha'i-Muslim Outreach
The Lighthouse of New Mexico mosque and the Albuquerque Baha’i community are working together to offer meals for homeless people in Albuquerque. The two communities first became acquainted at the 2018 World Food Day  at La Mesa Presbyterian Church.The joint effort provides 250 to 300 meals each Thursday.

A special byproduct of their collaboration  are the joint prayer gatherings held before the members for the two groups and other in the community go out with food sacks to distribute in Albuquerque's International District (still known by some by its previous name of "the war zone.")

According to Caroline Hess, members of the Albuquerque Baha'i Community meet on Wednesday evenings by preparing sandwiches and other items. Two other volunteers prepare other items, including cookies baked with nutritional ingredients like whey.

The effort, said Hess, has expanded beyond the Baha'i-Muslim community, as other groups like the Bosque Center for Spiritual Living have joined in the collaboration.

We come together as friends, as partners, and it has made a difference in doubling our output of food for homeless people, but also bringing two communities together in friendship with kindness and honor and respect. One of those special parts of our program before we go out into the street is a joint prayer. It's really a special thing.   Imam Abdur Rauf, The Lighthouse of New Mexico

One of the Baha'i community's principles is that service is prayer. It is the greatest prayer to God is to care for his trust. His trust are the poor.  -Caroline Hess, Albuquerque Baha'i Community

Prayers, Reflections, Chants and Blessings
Our World Food Day celebration included two Sikh reflections, prayers and chants and a Cherokee closing blessing.

Dr. G. Dave Singh


Manjeet Kuar


Beverly Wilkins

World Food Day 2019 (Part 2): Resiliency and Use of Local Resources

Achieving Zero Hunger is not only about working to alleviate hunger, but also nourishing people, while nurturing the planet.  World Food Day 2019

Our World Food Day event began outdoors by with a focus on sustainability and the organizations that place importance on local food production, sound environmental practices and resiliency.  We hope you enjoy these stories.

East Valencia Urban Garden Program
Lindsey Diaz related the first story about the communities of Meadow Lake and El Cerro-Monterey Park, which created a food system and community enhancement model in an area that had long been a food desert.

There was consensus that one of the best ways to build a stronger and more resilient community to climate change was for the area to produce its own food locally, and that this would also help the economy. And that these efforts these efforts should be emphasized working with youth and kids.

The Garden's Edge and Qachu Aloom
The Albuquerque-based organization provides resources and training to farmers and community organizations that fight environmental degradation, global climate change, loss of small-scale farms, and the erosion of indigenous cultural knowledge. Qachuu Aloom Mother Earth Association, based in Rabinal, Guatemala, works closely with The Garden's Edge on these same goals. In this video, Sarah Montgomery and Josselin Chun Cojom spoke of the work of the two organizations, offering a presentation on the use of amaranth. 

We've had a lot of success working with amaranth. It's native from Mesoamerica, but it's also grown in New Mexico. It's very weedy. You'll find it a .lot of growing in cracks, and it's probably one of the plants that you pull out of your garden when you're weeding. But it's also super highly nutritious. You can eat the leaves and you can eat the seeds.

The Garden at St. Therese Catholic School 
Principal Donna Illebrun and students Hayden Rodriguez and Willow Luna spoke about the vegetable garden and greenhouse located on the grounds of St. Therese School in Albuquerque. 

When we got here, (the site) was in rubbles--all of this was all asphalt, falling apart. We knew that we needed a safe place for our children to run and play and learn about the many blessings that our Earth has for us. Over 10 years ago, a grant was written, and we got our greenhouse that is very active in the lives (of our students).

Agri-Cultura Network 
Helga Garza spoke about the challenges facing farmers in the South Valley of Albuquerque and also the work of the Agri-Cultura Network, which provides access to local produce to promote nutrition and economic development through traditional and innovative agricultural practices. This presentation took place indoors in the church (so please pardon the echo).

As small farmers, we came together because we were on our last generation of traditional farmers, reaching (the ages) of late 50s to late 70s, and no longer having the strength to keep up their farming.  So in 2008, we sought farm techiques and a new generation of farmers.  In 2010, three of those farmers formed the cooperative. 

World Food Day 2019 (Part 1): A Locally Sourced Path to #Zero Hunger

Sarah Montgomery, The Garden's Edge

This year's global celebration of World Food Day (a Healthy Diets for a #ZeroHunger World) calls for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone. At the same time, it calls on everyone to start thinking about what we eat.

As part of our celebration in Albuquerque, we invited three organizations that promote the cultivation of locally sourced and native plants to help address the food gaps in the Albuquerque area.

The East Valencia Urban Garden Program, The Garden's Edge and its Guatemalan partner Qachuu Aloom, and  the South Valley farmers association Agri-Cultura Network offered examples of how they promote sustainability, availability, and local options for food production. Two students and the principal from St. Therese school also spoke about the vegetable garden and greenhouse present on the school grounds.

A Focus on Human Needs
As a secondary theme, we looked on efforts to address local human needs, including  the five faith communities/organizations that came together during a refugee crisis, the challenges faced by two schools in the Albuquerque South Valley with primarily Latino and immigrant populations, and a collaboration between The Lighthouse of New Mexico mosque and the Albuquerque Baha’i community to offer meals for homeless people in Albuquerque. Videos and/or accounts of all our stories will be featured in subsequent posts.

Manjeet Kuar leads Sikh chant

In between the seven stories that resonated with nearly 70 people who attended the event, we were also fortunate to have two prayer/reflections from the Albuquerque Sikh Gurdwara and a Cherokee closing blessing

As has been our tradition for the past four years, David Poole taught participants the World Food Day chant that he composed (words and music) for our first celebration in 2016. Keri Sutter developed some movements to go along with the chant, which we have used for all four of our annual celebrations. 

Snapshots of World Food Day in #ABQ (Part 4)

Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held  at La Mesa Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018.  Our commemoration featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. Here is Part 4 with a Closing Blessing by Imam Abdur Rauf, a brief comment from Lungile Sinandile and a song from the Matunda Yesu Refugee Choir  (All four parts are consolidated in the World Food Day 2018 page in the IHC blog)

Song: Lungile Sinandile and Matunda Ya Yesu Refugee Youth Choir





World Food Day Chant (Composed by David Poole. Sacred Movement led by Surgite)



Closing blessing: Imam Abdur Rauf

Snapshots of World Food Day in #ABQ (Part 3)

Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held  at La Mesa Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018. Our commemoration featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. Here is Part 3 with two more stories, the World Food Day chant and the prayer of commitment.  (See Part 1 and Part 2)

Fifth Story: Katie Morris, MPH, has worked overseas for Catholic Relief Services in four countries over the past 10 years. Her most recent posting was in Ethiopia, managing an integrated food security program for over 240,000 individuals. She served in the Albuquerque chapter of Amigos de las Americas in several Latin American countries from volunteer, supervisor, Program Director, and Board of Directors from 1998-2007.



Sixth Story: Rachel White Sternheim is education director at Congregation Albert responsible for developing, planning and supporting youth and adult education programs. In addition, she is a local synagogue representative for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and serves on the Interfaith Hunger Coalition steering committee.



Prayer of Commitment: (alternate side beginning with right)

As we pray, Holy One,
we ask you to keep us from using prayer as an escape;
keep us from the temptation of uttering a few words,
in the hope that you will swoop in and do the rest
with no further requirement from us.

May our prayers be a constant,
unending rhythm that drives not just our words,
but our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions;
may we never stop seeking, asking, knocking, pleading for justice, wrestling with the call to love all of creation and humanity.

As we pray for our world,
may we also live lightly on the earth,
aware of the effects of climate change,
may we use only what we need, and live lives so others might live. As we pray for our nation, may we also live as good neighbours,
protecting the weak and vulnerable,
and celebrating goodness and grace wherever we may find it;

As we pray for our community,
may we also live with open arms and hearts,
embracing both familiar companions and unknown strangers,
and welcoming all as you do.

As we pray for our friends and families,
may we also live as those who lay down their lives,
selflessly serving those in our care, and always choosing the sacrificial way of love.

All: And so may our prayers be the catalyst,
that changes us into little incarnations
– ordinary people who manifest a holy life of love in action. Amen

Snapshots of World Food Day in #ABQ (Part 2)

Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held  at La Mesa Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018.  Our commemoration featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. Here is Part 2 with three more stories.  (See Part 1)

Second Story: Abdur Rauf is Imam at The Lighthouse of New Mexico, a Muslim non-profit organization established in Albuquerque in May 2017. Community activities include the Homeless Feeding Program, where members distribute food to the homeless community Thursday, in addition to conducting religious Islamic services.



Third Story: Albino Garcia,is executive director of La Plazita Institute, a non-profit organization engaging New Mexico’s youth, elders and communities in a comprehensive, holistic and cultural approach. One goal is to promote focuses on conversion of weapons of destruction (guns) to tools of construction (gardening implements).



Fourth Story: Caroline Hess, a member of the Albuquerque Baha'i Community, is associated with La Cosecha Community Supported Agriculture, which provides subsidized and sponsored produce for low-income families.

Snapshots of World Food Day in #ABQ (Part 1)

Our Third Annual Albuquerque World Food Day was held  at La Mesa Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 14, 2018, two days before the actual World Food Day. The theme of the global commemoration this year was Greening the Blue. We chose the theme Food Sustains Us All for our local celebration, which was co-sponsored by the Interfaith Hunger Coalition, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, East Central Ministries and La Mesa Presbyterian Church.

Our commemoration featured stories of hope, offered by six inspirational individuals. The stories reached the ears and hearts of about 50 people who attended the event. We planed to start the commemoration outside in  fruit garden/park located between La Mesa Presbyterian Church and La Mesa Elementary School, but moved the event indoors because of inclement weather.

In between each of the stories, the audience chanted a simple but beautiful piece that local musician David Poole wrote for our first commemoration (see words below), and which we have used for each of our three local World Food Day celebrations.

The Matunda Ya Yesu Refugee Youth Choir, led by Lungile Sinandile, helped us celebrate with two songs of joy and commitment at the beginning and at the end of the event. We have a video of  the closing song (in Part 4 of this series).

The videos and images contained in this series of blog posts follow the sequence of the program.

 Opening Song: David Poole started us off with a simple song

Welcome. Rev. Bre Roberts, Lutheran Campus Pastor at the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College, welcomed all participants and offered brief instructions.

Our World Food Day Chant followed (including movement by Surgite, A Sacred Dance Company)

Open our hands that all may be fed 
Open our hearts that all may find refuge
Open our eyes that all may see
The Oneness of earth’s family.

Opening Blessing: Rev. Trey Hammond, La Mesa Presbyterian Church



Song: Matunda Ya Yesu Refugee Youth Choir led by Lungile Sinandile

First Story: John Bulten has lived and worked in the La Mesa neighborhood for 20 years. He is the Executive Director of  East Central Ministries with a passion for cultivating Shalom within our community.

'SNAP Promotes Economic Development, Helps Working Families'

SNAP brought $670 million into our state in 2017. That's all federal benefits. That's money spent at grocery stores, farmers markets, rural communities that is going directly into our economy. Every dollar spent generates $1.70 in economic activity. If you think what's on the table on the federal budget Maybe you've all heard about converting SNAP into a food box. There's lot of reasons why that's a bad idea, and probably not likely to happen...What that would really mean economically for our state is hundreds of millions of dollars lost in economic activity. Sovereign Hager, supervising attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty

Sovereign Hager, supervising attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. was one of three guest speakers at the Bread for the World Offering of Letters in Albuquerque on March 17.

Ms. Hager's 16-minute presentation was packed with information about state policies regarding SNAP and other public benefits, President Trump's plan for SNAP and the possibilities for nutrition programs in the upcoming debate for the 2018 Farm Bill. 

Ms. Hager, whose focus is on protecting and improving the public benefits safety net for struggling families in New Mexico, spoke about the importance of SNAP for families who are working or seeking work.

"Most of the people who are on SNAP that can work, do. The vast majority of people on SNAP, kids, other adults, are in households where someone is working.  This is supporting working families when wages are low, when they can't get full-time hours, which is really common, and it's a critical support to work... SNAP is really there for stability when people are struggling."

We will post videos from our two other speakers in a blog post on Monday.

Giving Our Offering of Letters a New Mexico Focus

Bread for the World's 2018 Offering of Letters, entitled For Such a Time as This, urges people of faith and conscience to raise our collective voices to urge Congress to invest in and protect key programs that help improve the lives of men, women, and children facing hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.

For our Offering of Letters Workshop in Albuquerque on March 17, 2018, we decided to give the event a New Mexico focus. With our high rates of hunger and poverty, what federal program helps low-income families in our state most? That would be the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Sarah Lucero, Jason Riggs, Sovereign Hager

Three guest speakers offered great perspectives on how the program benefits people in our state, Sovereign Hager, supervising attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. presented an overview on the economic and personal benefits of the program. She also spoke of how budget cuts proposed by President Trump, would be very harmful to our state.

Jason Riggs, who manages the SNAP Outreach Program at Roadrunner Food Bank, spoke of why outreach efforts are important to bring as many eligible people

Sara Lucero, program specialist at the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, spoke about the importance of making nutritious items available to SNAP recipients. This is accomplished in New Mexico through the Double Up Food Bucks program.

The information presented at the workshop will help our churches bring the issue more relevant to letter writers in the pews.

Representatives from a dozen congregations attended the workshop, including Albuquerque Mennonite Church,  All Saints Lutheran Church,  Annunciation Catholic Church, Central United Methodist Church, Feeding Santa Fe, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, St. John XXIII Catholic Community, St. Michael and St. Paul Lutheran Church.

Stay tuned for videos of our speakers to be posted in this blog in the next couple of days.

Also, local professional photographer Allan Emord snapped photographs for Bread for the World. Watch for those photos in Bread publications and online in the near future.

Maryknoll Advent Reflection (Week 4): The Light Shines in Darkness

The culture of well-being, that makes us think of ourselves, that makes us insensitive to the cries of others, that makes us live in soap bubbles, that are beautiful but are nothing, are illusions of futility, of the transient, that brings indifference to others, that brings even the globalization of indifference. -Pope Francis (after a visit to visit the tiny island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily to pray for refugees and migrants lost at sea).  

Response: The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns reflection for the fourth Sunday of Advent reflection on the mystery of the Incarnation – how it is that the Messiah came to be with us (Luke 1:26-38) Mary, already full of God’s grace, cooperate d with God’s plan to bring salvation to all humanity through Jesus, who was fully human and also fully divine. In the model of Mary, we pray that we will be people of faith who recognize God’s saving plan for us all and are able respond with obedience.

On the first pastoral visit of his papacy, Pope Francis chose to visit the tiny island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily to pray for refugees and migrants lost at sea. Just days earlier, more than 300 Eritrean and Somali asylum seekers drowned within sight of the island. When their boat caught fire and sank, they had already traveled nearly 3,000 miles from their home countries in Africa.

Pope Francis used his visit to Lampedusa to expose the dark side of globalization that flows from the effects new communication technologies and the growing consumer culture have on our humanity

Questions for Reflection
In what ways are you living in a bubble?
How can you regain your bearings and become more attentive to the world in which you live?

See full Advent Guide

Maryknoll Advent Reflection (Week 3) Light of the World

The birthing of a new consciousness reveals we are persons with an enormous capacity for goodness, creativity, generosity. We can forge a better society, one that shines with beauty, radiates truth and encourages us toward a sustainable future. -Barbara M. Hubbard

Ring the bell that still can ring. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in! Every heart, every heart to love will come like a refugee!  Leonard Cohen from the song Anthem

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns reflection for the Third Sunday of Advent reminds us that the words in Latin are Gaudete in Domino semper, Rejoice in the Lord always, a theme reflected in the rose color of this Sunday.

This antiphon and the subsequent readings remind us that as we go about the work of Advent – to remain watchful for the Messiah’s return and prepar e our hearts to live holy lives – we have a joy in the journey : our salvation is already at hand, thanks to the grace and goodness of God.

In the Gospel reading this Sunday  (John 1:19-28) we hear that John the Baptist was a witness who testified to the light. The light is Jesus , who came to remove darkness from the world. We are like John the Baptist; we are chosen to witness to Jesus, the light of the world.

The salvation we await will liberate both the individual and the community, and its special focus will be the afflicted and marginalized . Maryknoll missioners often meet ordinary people who live extraordinary lives, shining God’s light in out- of-the-way places. See full text in the Advent Guide, which offers reflections, questions, prayers, and actions base d on each week’s Gospel reading and the experience of Maryknoll missioners who have lived and worked with communities affected by forced migration in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Maryknoll Advent Reflection (Week 2): The Message of John the Baptist

Our history as human beings, and even before, has been a history of life on the move. As your sons and daughters, we continue to search for a place to sleep, food to eat, and families and communities to support us.

We are a people on a journey.

We are grateful for the earth that sustains us, but we do not always take time to thank you. Also, we too often lack compassion for our brothers and sisters who have been uprooted by violence, natural disasters and poverty. Help us to remember that we are always on a journey with them and with You, to a new way of life in abundance.

Amen.  -*Father Paul Masson, M.M. 

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent points to the scripture verse in Mark 1 where John the Baptist is “crying out in the wilderness” with the urgent message to repent and reform of our lives and prepare for the Messiah whose time is at hand. We are called to make John’s message our own message, to change the direction of our hearts and bring good news and comfort to those who are oppressed.   

Response: The number of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people around the world is at a record high. Learn what is causing people to flee their homes, from where refugees are coming, the top hosting countries, and much more at the UN High Commission for Refugees website.  Learn about the hundreds of thousands U.S. immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti who may lose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and be come vulnerable to deportation in 2018.

The Advent Guide offers reflections, questions, prayers, and actions base d on each week’s Gospel reading and the experience of Maryknoll missioners who have lived and worked with communities affected by forced migration in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 

* Father Masson served in Ciudad Juárez and Cochabamba, Bolivia, wrote this prayer for JustFaith Ministries’ “Exploring Migration” module in 2017

Maryknoll Advent Reflection (Week 1): All are WE, None are Strangers

(The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns put together a powerful reflection guide for Advent. We will post reflections for each of the four Sundays of Advent.  Here are the excerpts for Week 1. Check out the full guide, entitled A Season to Welcome the Stranger  in PDF format)

 The Hope of Advent
 We begin the Season of Advent with a simple message from the gospel of Mark : “ Stay awake for the Lord! ” Jesus urges an attitude of attentiveness and hope that God will come to set right a world gone awry .

The four watches of night named by Jesus symbolize moving deeper into despair , until an all - consuming fear induce s a "sleep," a loss of one’s sense of purpose .

Not only do we not know when the Messiah will return to judge the living and the dead we also do not know where to expect it. The Advent scriptures focus our attention on these stark realities and remind us that we are called to wait and watch, not passively, but with a hope that comes from faith rooted in a God of love and in the goodness of humanity. For the 11 million undocumented people living the shadows in the United States, and especially fo r the nearly 800,000 young immigrants who lost their protection from deportation when the Trump administration rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, it may be difficult to feel hopeful this Advent. The long night of the watch may resonate more easily.

Questions for Reflection
When have you felt like Emmanuel, vulnerable and powerless ?
In what ways can we be “community” for each other and offer hope?

Prayers for Encounters with Strangers
 “I was a stranger and you welcomed me. ” (MT 25:35)

In earlier times, perhaps we found it easier. The brokenness of our modern world has released an unending tide of humans in migration. By land and by sea they come, from Sudan, Syria, through treacherous waters to Lampedusa, across parched deserts to the Mexican border.

From the rubble of Aleppo a seven-year-old girl tweets, “Can we build a country called Republic of Refugees? It will be the most peaceful country in the world.”

Our brother Francis implores us to open our hearts wide to God and says:

RESPONSE: “Every stranger who knocks on our door brings an opportunity for encounter with Jesus. ”

How to understand? How to welcome, when this migration touches our own exile? We the receivers ; they the strangers. Their lives disrupted and now ours disrupted. But you, O God, call us to be a Eucharistic community in which all are WE and none are strangers.

Help us to remember, O God, that you call us to welcome, protect, promote and integrate. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2) Touch our hearts with courage as you have provided our br others and sisters in Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia and Uganda who have opened their doors widely to your searching and migrating people.

See the Full Reflection in A Season to Welcome the Stranger

A Season to Welcome the Stranger: Maryknoll Advent Reflctions

The 2017 Advent Reflection Guide: A Season to Welcome the Stranger from the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns contains reflections, questions, prayers, and actions based on each week’s Gospel reading and the experience of Maryknoll missioners who have lived and worked with communities affected by forced migration in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

As the number of people fleeing wars, violent conflict, and political persecution reaches new heights, countries around the world are struggling to meet the demands of receiving these vulnerable people. Maryknoll missioners have the unique perspective of having been the stranger who has been welcomed, often by marginalized communities in some of the most isolated parts of the world. What a transformative experience it is! This lived experience of welcome has deepened our faith in the strength of God’s compassion and mercy and challenges us to create a culture of welcome for all migrants and refugees. We believe, as Pope Francis says, “Welcoming others means welcoming God in person!”

We will post excerpts from each of the four weeks of Advent in this space, starting with Week 1 this coming Sunday. 

Small Business Saturday #ABQ: Local & Socially Conscious Gift Ideas

On Small Business Saturday (and ahead of #GivingTuesday), we would like to highlight  a handful of local organizations that serve the community by creating jobs for low-income people or providing space for artistic expressions. You can support some of these organizations with a donation during the holiday season. In some instances, you can make a purchase. We also list a couple of small businesses that offer unique gifts that are produced almost entirely here in Albuquerque.

Supporting Community Arts

from Artful Life website

You can make a donation during the holidays to one of these three organizations. Art Street (a project of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless) and OffCenter Community Arts Project each offer an open studio, a space for anyone and everyone to create various forms of art. Artful Life is a New Mexico-based community organization dedicated to transforming communities through the beauty and power of collaborative art.

• Donate to OffCenter: Our mission is to promote positive self-identity and resilience through art-making by providing a safe environment for creative social interaction with an emphasis to enhance the lives of those most marginalized in our community, "
• Donate to Art Street (via AHCH): Our community-based project and collective open studio space where art is used as the connection for community-building for those without and those with homes. Art therapists also facilitate closed group sessions weekly for sub-sections of AHCH clients.
• Donate to Artful Life. Together, artists and residents of underserved communities work together over months and years to co-envision, co-design and co-create significant works of art. In doing so, they find each other in new ways, discover the power of working in teams, and create.  Their creative work tells the public who they are, where they live, and what they dream. 

Textiles, Creativity and Job Opportunities

from Southwest Creations website

A handful of organizations and businesses in Albuquerque offer low-income women the opportunity to learn about the textile and confection business. Southwest Creations Collaborative was organized as a sewing and handwork poverty alleviation project 13 years ago with a single goal: to provide dignified, living wage employment to women from low-income communities. Tenderlove Community Center teaches skills to women that allow them to enter or re-enter the job market after traumatic circumstances, including survival of domestic violence or incarceration.

• Donate to Southwest Creations Collaborative. Since we opened our doors in 1994 we have provided dignified employment while improving access to education for youth and adults. We have also developed and implemented proven strategies in college readiness, family engagement, early childhood development, employability and leadership.
• Donate to Tenderlove Community Center. Our sewing curriculum gives women a sense of accomplishment while learning marketable skills. Skills learned in sewing classes are transferable to other jobs and situations, making our students employable across the job market. Sewing allows caregivers to adapt their work schedules to accommodate family needs while continuing to help support themselves and their family.
• Kei & Molly Textiles, founded in 2010, opened its retail space in the International District of Albuquerque in April 2017. One of the missions of the company is to help and employ immigrants in the community. "We are committed to creating good jobs in this area, and work with refugee resettlement programs to find many of our employees. We provide on-the-job training, health and education benefits, flexible hours, and, we hope, a great place to work," said the company website. Textiles designed by Kei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi are sold around the county, and the new retail space (located at 4400 Silver Ave. SE) makes the items more accessible locally.  Shop for products online.  See list of other retail locations nationwide that carry items from Kei & Molly Textiles.
• Common Good Thrift and Consigment (2902 Eubank NE) is an upscale thrift store that raises funds to support the  community programs of East Central Ministries while also providing volunteers with vocational development, in the form of skills and experience in retail and customer service. The store accepts donations of clothing and furniture during regular business hours, Tues - Fri 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturdays 10 am - 4 pm. 
• Immigrant and Refugee Village of Albuquerque serves low or no income, vulnerable kids and families who are refugees, immigrants, and locals, without discrimination, including the homeless and almost homeless populations. A principal objective of the organization is to prevent homelessness by creating a sustainable program to train and hire 75 people annually through the manufacture of traditionally inspired garments and accessories for eventual sale online in New Mexico and globally. The organization also promotes education and gardening (including nutrition). Donate to the IRVA (via paypal)

Food and Agriculture
Here are three totally different ways to support local programs or purchase local products.

Three Sisters Kitchen opened in 2017 to fulfill a need and to complement existing food and health programming in Albuquerque. This is a place for people to come together to eat, cook, learn, and build. As a discovery-based test kitchen, community classroom and local foods shop we support the incubation of new ideas and work towards our vision of a food-secure community with a vibrant culture of health and a deep commitment to food and economic justice Donate

 La Cosecha, a community supported agriculture project of Agri‑Cultura Network, feeds more than 300 families every week in Albuquerque. Agri-Cultura Network is comprised of nine local farms committed to using sustainable practices to grown food for our community. "We work to create a healthier food system, build self-sufficiency among local farmers and families, and improve community health by increasing access to healthy, affordable, locally-grown food and community-based nutrition education," said La Cosecha CSA" We offer members the opportunity to invest in local farms and receive weekly bags of locally grown, sustainably produced, fresh fruits & vegetables as the return on your investment." La Cosecha CSA provides subsidized and sponsored produce for qualified low-income families.  Learn More about Joining the Project

Los Poblanos Farm Shop. Located on the historic Los Poblanos Ranch in Albuquerque's North Valley, the shop features artisan lavender products and a broad selection of farm foods, books, seeds, kitchen tools, linens, household items and much more. "We take pride in hand-crafting quality, meaningful products for you and your family."  Shop for Gifts

(Note: This is Part 2 of our ethical trade series for this year.  Part 1 listed organizations that offer Fair Trade products in Albuquerque and Santa Fe)

On 'Golden Friday,' Shop Locally for Fair Trade Presents

Image from Ten Thousand Villages

A search on the internet for the term Golden Friday found two results: the Friday after Pentecost in the Orthodox Christian Church and the practice of some employers to give occasional Fridays off to employees.

A couple of stores in Albuquerque that sell fair trade items are using the term Golden Friday to substitute for Black Friday for a promotion today.

 "Nob Hill Fabrics, HoonArts, and Baskets of Africa will begin the weekend with "Golden Friday," continue on to "Small Business Saturday," and finish up with "Spectacular Sunday." You'll have so much shopping success and fun with us that you'll be able to skip "Cyber Monday" altogether.

In other words, on this day (and every day of the Christmas shopping season), buy presents not only with your loved ones in mind but also in consideration of the small independent artisans and producers in other countries that will benefit from your business.

At one time, there were two principal destinations for people seeking fair trade products in our area: Peacecraft in Albuquerque and Ten Thousand Villages in Santa Fe.  Unfortunately, those two stores were not able to stay in business.  But we still have at least four options to acquire fair trade products from overseas and items produced by local artisans.

Zulu Ilala Palm

Baskets of Africa offers a wide variety of high quality, true Fair Trade, baskets from throughout the African continent. Each of these uniquely handwoven baskets are individually photographed for your shopping convenience.You can choose with confidence, knowing that you will receive the exact basket you see on display ( online). It is always our goal to provide beautiful, functional, and unique African arts and crafts for the home, office, or gifts - while fully implementing Fair Trade principles to further the economic development of the African basket weavers.The retail site (by appointment) is located at 4603 McLeod Rd NE. Call 505-323-2315

Embroidered shoulder bag, Arunicrafts

HoonArts Fair Trade is dedicated to bringing unique, high quality handmade arts and crafts from Tajikistan and other countries along the Great Silk Road to the US market, using Fair Trade principles. "HoonArts" is the fusion of the Tajik word "hoonar" or "hunar," meaning "art" or "craft," and the English word "arts." We hope that HoonArts will serve as the first major handicrafts bridge between Tajikistan and the US, helping to preserve and promote traditional Tajik handicrafts while also promoting economic development for the artisans, many of whom are impoverished women in rural mountain areas. The showroom, called Artisans Nook, shares space with Nob Hill Fabrics, 4401 Cutler NE.

Fiesta Earrings

Lillybead Jewelry offers fairly traded handwoven jewelry supporting young indigenous women from Santa Cruz, a remote rustic village of a few thousand people on the shores of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. The young artisans produce earrings, charms, and a broad array of bracelets. The U.S. operation is based in Santa Fe, but there is no actual retail location. (Project founder Lilly Jacobs lives in Santa Cruz, Guatemala). All transactions for the jewelry, certified by the Fair Trade Federation, are conducted by mail. Order here

Nicaragua Pottery

The Next Best Thing to Being There carries a multitude of unique home goods. The shop is an eclectic mix of modern and antique products; bringing in different cultures from all around the world. The shop carries fair-trade items from Soma Artisans from Turkey and pottery from the residents of San Juan de Oriente, a small village nestled among volcanoes in Nicaragua. The shop is located at 1315 Mountain Rd NW, in the Sawmill District of Albuquerque.

 Other Selected Fair Trade Sites

Colores del Pueblo
"Since 1997 we have been working with artisan cooperatives in Latin America and primarily Guatemala. Through fair trade practices we hope to inspire postive change in the world. Not only does paying a fair wage help families and communites rise above the cycle of poverty, but it gives them an incentive to continue cultural craft traditions like weaving, basket-making, pottery-making, woodworking and more. And by paying a just wage, our customers are ensured a quality hand-made product."  See Full Mission

Partners for Just Trade
"We are committed to a holistic approach to fair trade. For us, it goes beyond ensuring fair wages and healthy, safe work conditions. It includes our long-term partnerships with artisans in Peru, Haiti, and Cambodia to help grow their businesses and strengthen their communities."

There are many retailers around the country that offer fair trade products online or through local businesses. One good way to find other sites is to conduct a search via a Fair Trade Federation Search

(Note: This is the first in a two-part series of local fair-trade shopping. The second part will feature organizations and stores that sell products made by immigrant, homeless and other local artists). 

World Food Day Meal Emphasizes Importance of Local Sourcing

The Action Corps (formerly Oxfam Action Corps) commemorated World Food Day by hosting its annual sustainability and food sovereignty meal. 

The event, held at St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, featured a home cooked meal using locally sourced ingredients. This helps protect the environment and supports local farmers.  Many of the  ingredients for the meal were acquired from the Albuquerque Downtown Growers Market.  Kudos to Kathy Chavez, Amanda Dezan and Russell Brown for this successful event.

The Interfaith Hunger Coalition and New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light supported this meal, which was held on the Saturday before our own One Earth, One Home, One Table commemoration.

Russell Brown and Amanda Dezan helped prepare the meal

Guests enjoyed a hearty meal

Kathy Chavez discusses sustainability and the importance of using local ingredients

Beet salad

World Food Day: An Opportunity for Action

Economic justice, immigration/refugees and climate change were the three central themes of our World Food Day commemoration in Albuquerque on Sunday, October 16. The three issues were reflected in the title of our celebration, "One Earth, One Home, One Table." Organizations representing the three issues set up tables after our celebration to invite participants to get involved. Here are some photographs.(I neglected to take a photo of the table of one of our principal sponsors of our event, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, so I start out with a promo for their big event on Saturday.

New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice

Interfaith Hunger Coalition

Rio Grande Food Project and Roadrunner Food Bank

A Lakota Prayer for the Well-Being of Humanity

Our Interfaith World Food Day service in Albuquerque started with a Lakota prayer led by Matthew Shoulders. He later joined with Michael Abeita of Isleta Pueblo in the singing of a traditional blessing. The Native American prayers preceded a blessing by Rabbi Min Kantrowitz on the first day of Sukkot, the Jewish feast celebrating the harvest. Participants processed to the santuary to experience prayers, reflections and songs from the Sikh, Buddhist-Bahai, Hindu-Protestant, and Catholic-Muslim traditions.

A Responsibility to Establish Good

We recognize that we are but a miniscule part of the divine order, yet within that order, we are exceptionally powerful beings, and have the responsibility to establish good and avert evil in every way we can. We also recognize that –We are but one of the multitude of living beings with whom we share the Earth;We have no right to oppress the rest of creation or cause it harm; Intelligence and conscience behoove us, as our faith commands, to treat all things with care and awe (taqwa) of their Creator, compassion (rahmah) and utmost good (ihsan). -Islamic Declaration on Climate Change

We chose three themes to highlight the World Food Day commemoration in Albuquerque on Sunday afternoon, October 16, 2016.  We observed the occasion with songs, a shared meal and prayers.

Two faith communities prepared prayers around each of the themes of economic justice (Hindu-Protestant), immigration and refugees (Baha'i-Buddhist), and climate change (Roman Catholic-Muslim). The actual prayers do not necessarily have a direct connection with the theme, which is presented at the beginning of each set of reflections. Here is the climate change prayer prepared by Joan Brown, OSF, and led by Rev. Sylvia Miller-Mutia, followed by the second of the three reflections.

Reflection and Prayer upon food/hunger and Climate Change

Leader: Creative and holy Love brought forth this awesome garden of life that we share, and yet, our eyes are blinded to the gifts. Our lifestyles of unconscious overconsumption lead us to be separated from the beauty and wonder around us. Climate Change is changing our world and causing many to suffer. May we come to know the challenging invitation of this moment that calls each of us to have a climate change of heart and soul to inspire profound action for life.

All: Open our eyes, ears, and hands to act in love and justice as we walk in solidarity with those who are hungry and those who hunger for justice.

The part of the service opened with The Cry of the Poor, a song composed by John Foley, a Jesuit. Meg Aschroft, a Norbetine oblate at Santa Maria de la Vid Norbertine Abbey, composed verses appropriate to our theme on World Food Day. Sarah Muhammad from the Islamic Center of New Mexico followed with two readings. Nada Abdel Hack, also from the Islamic Center of New Mexico, followed with a reflection. Finally, Patrick O'Meara from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church read two excerpts from Laudato Si, the encyclical letter on the environment that Pope Francis published in May 2015.

(Note: This video becomes vertical when you click play)


The Cry of the Poor: (led by Meg Ashcroft, O.Praem.Obl.)  
Music and refrain copyright 1978, 1991, John B. Foley, S.J., and OCP. All rights reserved.

Refrain: The Lord hears the cry of the poor, Blessed be the Lord. 

Verses: Will we see the face of God in the plight of the hungry and the poor, threatened by drought and rising tides, hoping to live in peace on Earth. 

When we respect creation as blessed, and see all God made as good, we’ll receive grace to help restore Nature’s beauty and vitality.

As disciples of God’s loving care, and stewards of desert, sea and air, we are called to safeguard God’s gift that all may have enough to live.

Sarah Muhammad

Readings from the Q’uran: Sarah Muhammad, Islamic Center

Surah 9:12-16
And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass?
It is the freeing of a slave
Or feeding on a day of severe hunger
An orphan of near relationship
Or a needy person in misery

Surah 6:99
And it is He who sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby the growth of all things. We produce from it greenery from which We produce grains arranged in layers. And from the palm trees - of its emerging fruit are clusters hanging low. And [We produce] gardens of grapevines and olives and pomegranates, similar yet varied. Look at [each of] its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Reflection on the words of the Prophet 
Nada Abdel Hack Islamic Center

 One day A Bedouin came to the Prophet (Pbuh) and said to him, “O, Messenger of Allah! I’ve come to ask you a few questions about the affairs of this life and the Hereafter.” The Prophet responded “Ask what you wish!”

The Bedouin said, “I’d like to be the most learned of men.”...The Prophet Muhammad answered, “Fear Allah, and you will be the most learned of men.”...The Bedouin said, “I wish to be the richest man in the world.”...The Prophet Muhammad answered, “Be contented, and you will be the richest man in the world.”...The Bedouin said, “I’d like to be the most just man.”...The Prophet Muhammad answered, “Desire for others what you desire for yourself, and you will be the most just of men.”...The Bedouin said, “I want to be the best of men.”...The Prophet Muhammad answered, “Do good to others and you will be the best of men.”   Here is a link to the full text

Quotes from Pope Francis from Laudato Si
Patrick O’Meara, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

Climate change disproportionately affects the poor. Climate change’s worst impact, Pope Francis says, “will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades. Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to (global) warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.” This environmental inequality creates a strange economic phenomenon: Poor countries are often financially indebted to rich countries. The world has what Pope Francis calls a “social debt towards the poor … because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity.”

Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. (Laudato Si, Chapter 6, paragraph 217) Chant sung by all: Open our hearts that all may be fed….