'An Instrument of the Lord's Peace'

Fifteen years ago, Bread for the World  celebrated its 30th birthday. There were commemorations in Washington and also in communities around the country. 

In 2019, as Bread celebrates its 45th birthday, we remember the special event that we put together 15 years ago.

Jesuit Father Bill Byron, who collaborated with Art Simon in forming Bread for the World in 1974, joined our celebration in Albuquerque in September of 2004.

The Albuquerque Journal covered or event, interviewing Rev. Byron.  The full article is pictured in the left.

Here are some excerpts

Albuquerque Journal Reporter Paul Logan: Why does hunger exist in the world? 

Father Bill Byron, S.J.  replies: Because God chooses to work with human hands.

"And humanity's hands, including our own, have not applied themselves effectively to the task of eliminating hunger and balancing the worldwide scales of hunger," 

"Bread for the Word is, I'm convinced, an instrument of the Lord's peace."

In his article, Logan noted the misconceptions among the public that nutrition programs, welfare and foreign aid account for a large portion of the U.S. federal budget. This perception, said Father Byron, creates a challenge and a motivation for people of faith.

"Our legislative adovcacy work will defend against efforts to cut back on nutrition and other programs at home and abroad," said the Jesuit priest.

Celebrating Art Simon on Bread's 45h Birthday

Art and activist Kimball Forrester

Incidentally, on the 45th anniversary of Bread for the World, Art Simon launched his new book Silence Can Kill: Speaking Up to End Hunger and Make Our Economy Work for Everyone.  Bread members feted the book and Art's lifetime achievements with a modest celebration in Washington this summer.

In an interview with Religion News Service this past August, Simon spoke about the challenge before us to attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals established in 2015. The ultimate objective of the 17 goals is to end hunger on the planet by 2030.

"We’ve made tremendous progress in recent decades. But the last few years have actually set us back a little bit. So the goal of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, getting us to the end by 2030 — possible but a very steep hill. It will take some extraordinary efforts to make that happen by 2030."