Volume 7 Number 1 Winter 2005

...a Seeds of Hope publication

World Responds to In This Tsunami Devastation Issue: by Jessica Garza page 2: More on the Tsunami n the morning of December 26, 2004, an begun in 1965 by the US National Oceanic and How to Respond to Oearthquake caused a catastrophic chain Atmospheric Administration, did not detect Tsunami Victims of events in the Indian Ocean. The level 9.0 the oncoming disaster because there were no earthquake set forth a deadly tsunami (a series wave sensors in the area. page 3: of traveling ocean waves generated by Unfortunately, since tsunamis have not Stylianos Kyriakides: geological disturbances) that would claim all been common in Sri Lanka and India, those The Runner living things in its path. two nations were not participants in the Who Brought Hope to The tsunami did not form at the exact international warning system. Moreover, epicenter of the quake. The collision of the though Thailand is a member of the warning page 4: India and Burma plates about 600 miles near system, the country did not have wave sensors CARE Director in mounted correctly in the ocean. Indonesia Iraq Reported In one swift shift of water, simply could not afford the technology. Murdered The areas hardest hit by the tsunami were people were carried out to sea The Story of Margaret almost all bordered along the Indian Ocean— without warning. Entire villages Hassan with Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Seychelles, in Thailand were wiped out. The Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, page 5: initial impact of the tsunami Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia Hunger Resources killed thousands, but there was all being affected. more destruction to come. In one swift shift of water, people were carried out to sea without warning. Entire pages 6-7: the coast of northern Sumatra is to blame for villages in Thailand were wiped out. The initial Number of US Poor the catastrophe. Though it is thought to have impact of the tsunami killed thousands, but Continues to Rise been one geological incident, the plates that there was more destruction to come. caused the tsunami will continue to move in As happens in many natural disasters, the Obesity, Heart the future. first wave was followed by earthquake Disease, and Poverty The tsunami reached the shores of Sri aftershocks. Minutes later, other tsunami-sized Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand waves pounded the already devastated coasts. page 8: around 7:00 am. The early arrival of the huge Scientists estimate that the waves traveled Quotes, Poems & wave gave little opportunity to alert the areas near speeds of 500 miles an hour from ocean Pithy Sayings in its path. An international warning system, continued on page 2 destitute and need to be fed, clothed, comforted, and counseled and moved from polluted areas.” Bangladesh Myanmar Other relief agencies started to India Thailand campaign for monetary aid for the area. Groups from the Hindu Press, India Maldives Sri Lanka Development and Relief Fund, Somalia Malaysia Chinmaya Mission, and Exnora Kenya Indonesia International (based in Chennai) have Seychelles come to the front lines to deliver help. Tanzania The agencies listed above are all based in the countries affected by the tsunami. With so many waiting to donate their services to the disaster area, many of the groups are choosing to specialize to shore. Then, reaching land, the waves bring the death toll up to 700,000 people. in one aspect of the problems like slowed to 100 miles per hour. The intense To minimize the spread of disease, providing shelter, food, or clothing. waves and aftershocks, collectively, many hospitals set up information boards Many other countries around the claimed as many lives as the first. to help in identifying the dead. In most world have pledged incredible amounts Initial reports of death tolls soared cases, families were forced to identify of money to the cause. The estimated to inconceivable numbers. Nearly their deceased by means of Polaroid combined relief fund from foreign 144,000 were reported dead, while photos. governments has now reached almost 147,000 were missing. In the coming Days after the tsunami, the rescue three and a half billion dollars. days, countries kept independent counts effort was not the only urgent need The cost of the disaster toll changes of their missing and their dead. pressing the affected areas. In small daily, but the world is standing in support In Sri Lanka, the death toll has villages and communities, the threat of of Southeast Asia. This does not include reached almost 30,000 with 6,000 homelessness and famine emerged as an funds collected from agencies like the missing. Indonesia reports they have imminent danger. In the next few days, Red Cross and UNICEF. People are lost 98,000 to the tsunami and 133,000 half a million people would be counted donating all they can to help restore and people are yet to be found. India has as homeless. To make matters worse, rebuild a future for those affected by the 11,000 dead and almost 6,000 missing. the floods have loosened and uncovered tsunami disaster. Thailand reports 5,000 dead and 4,000 land mines in some areas. Sri Lankan Fred Ball, Minister General of the are unaccounted for. Other countries like rescue workers reported injuries inflicted Order of Ecumenical Franciscans Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Kenya have in this way. expressed his focus for the relief effort lost fewer than 10 each, but the areas In a plea to aid in the relief effort, in a letter: “Somehow, we must reach have been greatly affected in other ways. Dr. Pauline Sathiamurthy, General out with love—rebuilding homes and Though miraculous stories of Secretary of the Church of South India, restoring hopes.” survival have been reported, the majority placed a request for help on behalf of the —Jessica Garza is a professional writing of rescue efforts turned to recovery efforts Episcopal Relief and Development. “In student at Baylor University. Sources: just one week after the event. Entire places like Nagappattinam and Cudalore, CNN, Hindu Press, India Development communities were destroyed as huge entire families have died and their bodies and Relief Fund, Chinmaya Mission, sections of coastland were reduced to have been washed ashore in other Exnora International, Episcopal Relief mud and dirty water. People then lost villages. People are homeless, left and Development the ability to aid those who remained stranded. If you’d like to help, contact your denomination’s relief The people who survived had more and development office, contact one of the charities listed difficulties to face with the onset of disease and famine. The recovery of the above, or check out one of the many organizations who are dead brought new problems. There was responding to this disaster. For a list of groups with links, no place to bury the bodies—a situation go to www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/ which increased health risks. Many tsunami.aidsites/. doctors were concerned that this could Hunger News & Hope 2 Winter 2005 Stylianos Kyriakides: The Marathon Runner Who Brought Hope to Greece by Stephanie Tinker

ATHENS, GREECE—In the year 490 BC fought the Communists for control of individual people. As one friend remarked, Pheidippides ran 26.2 miles from the country. The Greek people heavily “Kyriakides was Greece.” Marathon to Athens in order to bring suffered. There were no jobs, no Just as Pheidippides brought word of word of Greece’s victory over the factories, and no food. The Greek victory thousands of years ago, Stelios Persians. In the same way that people were desperate. It was at this Kyriakides brought his people the hope of Pheiddipides brought hope to the point that Kyriakides acted. a new beginning. Athenians, Stylianos Kyriakides brought In 1946, he decided to return to —Stephanie Tinker is a recent graduate hope to his entire country in the aftermath America to run in the Boston from the Baylor University Professional of World War II. Marathon, a race he was unable to Writing department. Source: NBC Born in 1909, Stylianos “Stelios” complete several years earlier. He Documentary aired on August 29, 2004. Kyriakides first ran the marathon for wanted to win for Greece in order to For more information on the life of Stylianos . After becoming Cyprus’ top make their desperate plight known to Kyriakides, check out the book Running runner, he moved to Greece and quickly a blind world. He adopted the phrase with Pheidippides: Stylianos Kyriakides, made his way to the top once again. His “win or die” as his slogan, and at 36 the Miracle Marathoner by Nick Tsiotos, fame grew with each race, and by the years of age and after a six-year Andy Dabilis, and . time of the 1936 Olympic Games in absence from competition, he ran. Berlin, Germany, Kyriakides was hailed On April 20, 1946, Stelios as a national hero—a modern Kyriakides set out to accomplish Pheidippides. the impossible. Wearing However, this golden age would not number 77 for luck, he last. Five years after the Olympics, the caught up with the Nazis invaded Greece, and Athens finally American favorite, fell on April 27, 1941. The next four Johnny Kelley, and years proved treacherous for the Greeks. sprinted to the end after The Germans took all food, clothing, and falling seemingly too far medicine causing 250,000 deaths from behind, improving his starvation in the first winter of occupation. personal best by 16 minutes. One German soldier put it in perspective: As he crossed the finish line, he “Let them perish so long as no German uttered the words “for Greece.” dies.” After the race his fame exploded, During this time, Kyriakides was and he used it to his advantage. captured and almost executed in a Kyriakides let America know of response to the death of a German soldier, the plight of his people. He pleaded but when the Germans saw his credential for their help. He made Americans papers from the Berlin Olympics, they let aware of a dying Greece, but he also him go. The other men captured with him awakened Greeks to the power left in were executed the next day. their land, the land of Pheidippides. Because of his freedom when so many When he arrived home in Greece were perishing, Kyriakides bore a burden bringing money, food and other and a guilt that would spur him to action supplies, almost one million people several years later. lined the streets to greet him. But he Shortly after the jubilant period of brought much more than supplies. He celebration at the end of the war, Greece brought Greeks hope, pride, and erupted in a cruel civil war as the Loyalists confidence as a nation and as Winter 2005 Hunger News & Hope 3 Milwaukee’s Downturn CARE International Director Said to Be Worse Than Great Depression Reported Murdered in Iraq MILWAUKEE, WI—An exhaustive analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel re- BAGHDAD—Margaret Hassan, beloved direc- leased grim news about the city’s economy tor of CARE International in Iraq, is reported late last year. murdered by an unknown “Islamic group” at “A depression far exceeding the Great the age of 59. Depression of the 1930s has struck the On October 19, Hassan was kidnapped Milwaukee region’s urban core,” the ar- while on her way to work. Men dressed as ticle, titled “Hit by a Global Train,” said. police officers stopped her car and began to The article declared that no other major beat her guard and driver. She stepped in to urban center in America has suffered as stop the beating and offered to go with the much as Milwaukee has. gunmen. In the following weeks, she appeared The study shows that globalization is in several videos appealing to the British gov- the cause for the downturn. “No other ernment to pull troops out of Iraq to ensure her African-American community worked as release. Pleas from her husband and siblings intensely at manufacturing products that for her release were in vain, however, as a tape are no longer made here, or was less pre- depicting a blindfolded woman being shot in pared for a historic shift from unskilled photo courtesy of the head by a hooded man was released earlier labor,” according to the article. CARE International this week. “In little more than a generation, Mil- Hassan was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1944, and later moved to London with her waukee has gone from a place of unrivaled family. In 1961, at the age of 17, she met her husband Tahseen Hassan, an Iraqi economic opportunity for African Ameri- studying engineering in the United Kingdom, and they married. After ten years of cans to a city of downward mobility with- marriage, they moved to Iraq where Ms. Hassan fell in love with the people. She out equal among other big US cities.” learned Arabic, converted to Islam, and became an Iraqi citizen. She has lived there The employment rate among African- since 1972. American males in Milwaukee plummeted Ms. Hassan spent her time initially working for the British Council teaching by 21 percentage points from the peak of English to Iraqis. She would eventually become its director. She continued working America’s industrial boom in 1970 to the through every period of war and turmoil for the country—through Saddam Hussein’s most recent census in 2000. This is nearly regime, the Gulf War, and now the second US- led war on the country. She remained double the 13-percentage-point decline in an outspoken critic of UN sanctions and embargo of Iraq, emphasizing the detrimental the national employment rate from 1929 effect such things had on the Iraqi people. She even briefed British MPs and the UN to the Dust Bowl of 1933. before the latest war, explaining the suffering of a people she so deeply loved. In 1970, the poverty rate among Afri- After the Gulf War, Hassan became the director of the Iraqi segment of CARE can Americans in Milwaukee was 22 per- International, “a global humanitarian organization,” a position she held for the past cent lower than the US average among that twelve years. group. By 2000, the poverty rate in the According to Dr. Kaydar Al-Chalabi, the director of a Baghdad hospital that same group was 34 percent higher than the national figure. specializes in spinal injuries that was recently rebuilt by CARE, “She was not just the —from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel director of CARE International, she ran everywhere she was needed—whether it was and Food Research & Action Center a patient, a child, a hospital, a water purification project, she was the first one there with (FRAC) Digest her staff.” Hassan lived and worked in Iraq for thirty years and was loved by the Iraqi people. New York Senate Overrides She devoted her life to caring for the poor and disadvantaged in the country, and Governor’s Veto though childless herself, Hassan cared for the children of Iraq. They clung to her, chanting, “Madam Margaret. Madam Margaret. Everywhere she went, people just to Increase Minimum Wage beamed,” said Felicity Arbuthnot, friend and film-maker. ALBANY, NY—The Republican-controlled In light of her devotion to Iraq, her murder comes as a shock to all. Many around New York Senate voted overwhelmingly the world mourn her death, but she leaves a legacy of love and dedication to a poor and in December 2004 to overturn Governor forgotten people. She is survived by her husband, a brother, and three sisters. Pataki’s veto of a minimum-wage increase. —Compiled by Stephanie Tinker. Sources: BBC News; www.careinternational.org; As a result, the state’s minimum wage will Guardian Unlimited (www.guardian.co.uk) (continued on page 5) Hunger News & Hope 4 Winter 2005 hunger resources

Make Hunger History: BFW Launches 2005 Offering of Letters As many people know, hunger is still an epidemic in the US—and the numbers Raise Hunger of hungry and food-insecure people are increasing. (See “Number of Hungry Ameri- cans Increased for Fourth Straight Year” on page 6.) Hunger threatens the lives of Awareness nearly 36 million US Americans and 13 million children each year. To respond to this, Bread for the World (BFW) sponsors an annual Offering of Letters. The letters are through Worship. written by concerned citizens to help bring awareness to members of Congress about their need for a resolution to hunger problems. The theme for this year’s campaign is Subscribe to Make Hunger History. BFW is working toward ending hunger within US borders by Sacred Seasons, 2015. The organization suggests that a congregation or campus group choose a Sunday (or another day) to write letters to state representatives and senators. The a worship resource Offering of Letters Kit contains all of the information concerning current legislative from Seeds of Hope. campaigns in regards to hunger resolutions, plus sample letters, posters, bulletin inserts, and clip art. BFW hopes that 200,000 letters will be written for the campaign. To order a kit, go to www.bread.org or call 800-82-BREAD. Church World Service Launches New Website Feature “Build a Village” is a new interactive feature on the Church World Service Sacred Seasons is a quarterly series of creative website for the whole family, featuring alternative holiday and year-round gift-giving worship tools to help raise awareness of hunger opportunities as well as stories, games, and other activities for children of all ages. and justice issues. A year’s subscription includes Advent, Lent, Ordinary Time, and a fall Imani, a friendly giraffe, is the host of this feature. The feature can be accessed from hunger emphasis resource. To order, call 254/ CWS’s website (www.churchworldservice.org), or you can go directly to 755-7745; fax 254/753-1909; write to Seeds www.buildavillage.org. Publishers at 602 James, Waco, TX 76706; or email National Council of Churches Produces New TV Documentary [email protected]. US Hunger No More: Faces Behind the Facts, a documentary made for television by subscriptions are $120. Single the National Council of Churches (USA), aired on many ABC stations last October. packets are US$50. (Non-US The film takes an unflinching look at the persistent problem of hunger in the twenty- subscriptions are $135; individual packets are $60.) first century and, approaching the issue from a faith perspective, declares that hunger For more information, see is a moral issue that needs immediate resolution. The NCC also produced a study www.seedspublishers.org. guide. For more information, go to www.nccusa.org.

(New York Senate, continued) —from the Syracuse Post-Standard and year ago, a hunger-relief study found Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) only 20 percent of people eligible for rise to $7.15 an hour, to be phased in over Digest food stamp assistance in the county were two years starting in 2005. Senator John Outreach Helps 1,400 More getting help. Eligible people often do DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse), one of the not have time to visit the state social sponsors of the original bill, told the Syra- People Get Food Stamps assistance office to complete the paper- cuse Post-Standard that “No one...can af- SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA—A year after work necessary to qualify for food ford to live on the minimum wage as it county agencies made a push to increase stamps, according Ruester. exists today,” and added that raising the awareness about and participation in their As a result of the study, officials minimum was “doing the right thing.” food stamp program, participation rose from Social Services and the Food Bank Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said by nearly 1,400 persons from 5,159 to Coalition started making weekly visits that he remains hopeful that federal law- 6,554 persons—a 22 percent jump. “The makers will raise the national minimum to food pantries and shelters throughout more people are using the [food stamp] wage soon. Governor Pataki has argued the county, promoting awareness of the that increasing the state minimum wage in dollars…the better nutrition they’re program and helping people complete isolation would put New York at a “com- bringing home to their family,” Nancy the proper paperwork. petitive disadvantage” with businesses in Ruester told the San Luis Obispo Tri- —from the San Luis Obispo Tribune and Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the bune. Ruester works with the Food Bank Food Research and Action Center minimum remains at $5.15. Coalition of San Luis Obispo County. A (FRAC) Digest Winter 2005 Hunger News & Hope 5 hunger news Number of Hungry Americans Increases for Fourth Straight Year

WASHINGTON, DC—According to the United States Department of Agricul- ture (USDA), the number of hungry and food-insecure people in the US is still on the rise. A total of 36 million people are suffering from hunger and 13.3 million of those are children. The highest numbers are among African Americans and Hispanics. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Jersey, and Utah. There is a plan in three states dealing with the most hunger Women, Infants & Children (WIC), and action to improve the cafeteria program problems are Arkansas, Texas, and Mis- The Emergency Food Assistance Pro- in these states. sissippi—with eight other states show- gram (TEFAP) are not being utilized by In contrast, Oregon, West Virginia, ing at least 12.9 percent of households all food-insecure people. (People who Kentucky, Mississippi, and Texas all experiencing food insecurity. have not been able, for financial reasons, showed superior results in reaching low- This demonstrates an increase in the to access a sufficient diet at all times in income children with school breakfasts number of hungry and food-insecure a 12-month period are considered to be last year. Americans for the fourth straight year. food-insecure.) A FRAC report identified a positive According to the Food Research and Many hungry people do not know trend of more schools offering “univer- Action Center (FRAC), the number one about the social assistance programs that sal” School Breakfast programs—which cause of these conditions is weakness in are available to them. Other food-inse- serve breakfast at no charge to all chil- the economy for the bottom half of cure people have difficulties providing dren. The FRAC report says that these Americans. Jim Weill, president of for all their family members even with universal programs reduce administra- FRAC, cites wage stagnation, jobless- government assistance. tive burdens, reduce the stigma some ness, and underemployment for US folks Those who suffer most from hunger students feel in being treated differently in the lower income levels as the key are children. Schools have seen a 5.2 according to income, and increase stu- cause of the growing numbers of food- percent increase in the numbers for free dent participation and achievement. insecure people. and reduced-cost lunches for students Children, however, are not the only “Hunger rates in 1999 were already over the last three years. The govern- group to suffer from hunger and food much too high,” Weill said, “and three ment has placed more emphasis, for the insecurity. Older people do not get the of the last four years weren’t recession time being, on the importance of break- nutritional diets they need to help con- years, so the worsening rates really re- fast. trol their mental and physical health. flect the growing inequality of income in For years, nutritionists have made Without proper nutrition, this group can the country, and the harmful holes in the the correlation between academic see an increase in cholesterol, diabetes, safety net.” achievement and having a nutritional and high blood pressure. Putting together Another concern, according to Weill, breakfast. Another good reason for pro- hunger programs for the elderly will are reports that some in the White House viding breakfast to students is that it will ensure that these elders live healthier and Congress are discussing cuts in the eliminate the need for snacking between lives. nation’s basic human needs programs, morning and lunch time, therefore mak- —compiled by Jessica Garza. Sources: which “would add millions more people ing the way for more balanced meals Food Journal, a publication of the Texas to the already appalling national instead of empty-snack calories. Association of Community Action Agen- breadline.” Even with all the importance placed cies, the USDA, and FRAC. For a copy Federal nutrition programs still ex- on hungry children in the US, there are of the USDA report, go to ist as a preventive measure for further still some areas that fall short of provid- www.ers.usda.gov/publications. For a problems, but the damage will be diffi- ing for its youngest citizens. Some of the copy of the FRAC report, go to cult to repair. One obstacle is the fact worst states in providing nutritional www.frac.org/School_Breakfast_Report that Food Stamp programs, the Special meals for students are Wisconsin, New 2004. Hunger News & Hope 6 Winter 2005 hunger news Low-Income Groups, Children More at Risk for Heart Disease

Center for Disease Control: The group most significantly af- nior living alone would need $100 more. Children and Teens at Risk fected by this is children and teenagers. In a case study among African As children and teens are at the Americans in the Roxbury neighbor- ATLANTA, GA—As people have changed in the last forty years, so have their highest risk for developing unhealthy hood, families using the Food Stamp eating habits. With the influx of weight eating and exercise habits, schools are program were polled in focus groups comes the increase in heart disease. The doing what they can to provide them with a series of model seven-day menus. with a better lifestyle. Action for Healthy average person today weighs nearly In Roxbury, a family of four twenty to thirty pounds heavier than Kids, a nonprofit organization, says that would need $227 in excess those in the 1960s. there is a correlation between diet, exer- Men ages twenty years and older cise, and academic progress. of Food Stamp benefits to have added close to thirty-three pounds When diet or exercise is not moni- provide heart-healthy foods to their belts. Women ages twenty years tored in children, it has an adverse affect for themselves. A senior and above have added thirty pounds. on the learning process. The Trust for living alone would America’s Health organization (TFAH) And children gained ten pounds com- need $100 more. pared to children in the 1960s. states that schools need help finding a Though an influx of weight is seen better solution for obesity among its Rachel S. Fulp, director of the Center for across the board for all people, this still students. Cardiovascular Disease in Women at does not touch the increase of the Body They plan to target the organiza- Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Bos- Mass Index for people. tions that help schools reform the prob- ton, said that the study came about be- Body Mass Index is a single number lems. cause of a sharp rise in coronary risk that elevates an individual’s weight sta- Study Finds Food Stamp factors in this community. tus in relation to height. Though there Recipients Can’t Afford Heart- “Many sets of cost-effective menus has been a distinct growth in height for Healthy Meals have been developed in the past for men, women, and children, body fat has Children and teens are not the only members of low-income communities,” grown as well. The added height mea- people facing dietary difficulties in she said, “but none were developed with surements have not kept body fat under America. A study released in 2004 to the as much input from the community re- control. American Heart lated to taste and cultural appropriate- Association’s Sci- ness….” entific Sessions said Fulp said that the researchers real- that many families ized that the study is limited because it who accept govern- focuses on one ethnic group within one ment aid such as community. The group plans to conduct food stamps are at a similar study in Jamaica Plain, Massa- risk for unhealthy chusetts, among Latina women. lifestyles. —compiled by Jessica Garza. Source The report said for Body Mass Index study: National that in Roxbury— Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Boston commu- the Center for Disease Control (CDC). nity in the study—a For more on this topic, go to family of four would www.cdc.gov/nchs. Source for Boston need $227 in excess study: Food Journal, a publication of the of Food Stamp ben- Texas Association of Community Action efits to provide Agencies (TACAA). For more informa- heart-healthy foods tion on the focus group in Roxbury, go to art by Susan Smith for themselves. A se- www.tacaa.org.

Winter 2005 Hunger News & Hope 7 Hunger News & Hope is published quotes, poems, & pithy sayings quarterly by Seeds of Hope Publishers, in partnership with the following denominational groups: I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, ¥ American Baptist Churches USA psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, ¥ Baptist General Convention of Texas just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings. ¥ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) —Elie Wiesel ¥ Christian Reformed Church in North America If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that ¥ Cooperative Baptist Fellowship courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still ¥ Covenant World Relief have a dream. —Martin Luther King,, Jr. ¥ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America You must not lose faith in ¥ Presbyterian Church USA humanity. Humanity is an ¥ Reformed Church in America ocean; if a few drops of the ¥ United Methodist Committee on Relief ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Staff and Volunteers —Mohandas K. Ghandi Editor...... L. Katherine Cook Business Manager...... Laura Schmeltekopf We who lived in concen- Drama and Poetry Editor...... John S. Ballenger tration camps can remem- Copy Editor...... Pat A. Strother ber the men who walked Web Designer...... Bennett Lane through the huts comfort- Editorial Assistants...... Jessica Garza, Katie Moore, Jonathan Hal Reynolds ing others, giving away Artists...... Robert Askins, Sally Askins, their last piece of bread. Peter Yuichi Clark, Robert Darden, They may have been few Van Darden, Erin Kennedy Mayer, in number, but they offer Lenora Mathis, Sharon Rollins, sufficient proof that ev- Susan Smith, Rebecca Ward erything can be taken from Seeds of Hope Council of Stewards a man but one thing: the 2004-2005 last of the human free- H. Joseph Haag doms—to choose one’s Theodore Londos, Jr. attitude in any given set of Daniel B. McGee (President) Kathryn Mueller circumstances, to choose Nathan Porter one’s own way. Steven Sadler —Viktor Frankl Jacquline L. Saxon Jon Singletary Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid Statement of Purpose and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not Seeds of Hope is a private, independent group of believers responding to a common bur- concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people…re-examine all den for the poor and hungry of God’s world, and you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults acting on the strong belief that biblical mandates your own soul…. to feed the poor were not intended to be optional. —Walt Whitman The group intends to seek out people of faith who feel called to care for the poor; and to affirm, enable, and empower a variety of responses to the problems of poverty. 254/753-1909; Email: [email protected]. These include litanies, sermons, children's and Web: www.seedspublishers.org. Copyright youth activities, bulletin art, and drama. Editorial Address © 2005; ISSN 0194-4495. Seeds of Hope, Inc., Scripture quotations, unless otherwise Seeds of Hope Publishers are housed by the holds the 501(c)3 nonprofit tax status. noted, are from the New Revised Standard Ver- community of faith at Seventh and James Bap- Seeds of Hope Publishers also produce quar- sion, Copyright © 2001 by the National Council tist Church. The mailing address is 602 James, terly packets of worship materials for the liturgi- of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by per- Waco, Texas 76706; Phone: 254/ 755-7745; Fax: cal year—with an economic justice attitude. mission.