Local Church Resources

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Isaiah 58, NRSV

 

Poverty kills. It kills 300,000 children every day. It shortens, injures and thwarts the lives of more than 1 billion people struggling to survive on less than $1 U.S. a day. At present 11 children under five die of hunger-related causes every minute, and about 800,000,000 people suffer from chronic or acute hunger. In our prosperous world, more than 1 billion people are denied the right to clean water and 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Over 100,000,000 children worldwide do not have access to education.

 

Fast-a-Meal

Each year, Restore Hope encourages Christians to “Fast-a-Meal” to help the “least of these” members of Jesus’ family. Click here for more information on this program.

 

United Methodist Statements on Poverty:

“The United Methodist Church, as a covenant community to God’s justice, must work toward a just global economy.” (2008 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church, “Economic Justice for a New Millennium,” ¶4052.)

“We call for The United Methodist Church to develop effective public policy strategies and educate the constituency on hunger issues.” (2008 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church, “The United Methodist Church, Justice and World Hunger” ¶4051)

We call “for the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which set targets for 2015 in the areas of basic education, infant and maternal mortality, clean water supplies and poverty reduction throughout the developing nations.” (2008 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church, “The United Methodist Church, Justice and World Hunger,” ¶4051)

“In spite of general affluence in the industrialized nations, the majority of persons in the world live in poverty. In order to provide basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, and other necessities, ways must be found to share more equitably the resources of the world.”; (United Methodist Social Principles, ¶163. E)

 

Online Resources:

  • Crop Walk (Tulsa Area)
    CROP Hunger Walks help children and families worldwide – and right here in the U.S. – to have food for today, while building for a better tomorrow. Our local efforts are making a huge difference… and you are part of it! National Site: crophungerwalk.org
  • Bread for the World
    Bread for the World is a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world’s hungry people by lobbying our nation’s decision makers.
  • Church World Service
    Founded in 1946, Church World Service is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States. Working in partnership with indigenous organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS works worldwide to meet human needs and foster self-reliance for all whose way is hard. This Web site contains curriculum on various social justice issues.
  • Food Research and Action Center
    The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is the leading national nonprofit organization working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States.
  • Jubilee USA Network
    Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 80 religious denominations and faith communities, human rights, environmental, labor, and community groups working for the definitive cancellation of crushing debts to fight poverty and injustice in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
  • National Coalition for the Homeless
    The National Coalition for the Homeless works to bring about the systemic changes necessary to prevent and end homelessness and to protect the rights of people experiencing homelessness by engaging in policy advocacy in the areas of housing justice, health care justice, economic justice, and civil rights.
  • ONE Campaign
    The ONE Campaign is an effort by Americans to rally Americans – one by one – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is students and ministers, punk rockers and NASCAR moms, Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life, united to help make poverty history. The General Board of Church and Society is a member of the ONE Campaign.
  • Oxfam International
    Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working together with more than 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice. With many of the causes of poverty global in nature, the 13 affiliate members of Oxfam International think they can achieve greater impact through their collective efforts.
  • Sojourners
    The organization’s mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world.
  • United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
    UMCOR is the humanitarian relief and development agency of the United Methodist Church. For 65 years UMCOR has responded internationally to natural or human made disasters – those interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own.
  • United Nations Millennium Campaign
    The Millennium Campaign informs, inspires and encourages people’s involvement and action for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. An initiative of the United Nations, the campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their government accountable to the millennium promise.