Norbertine Abbey Observers World Day of Peace

5:34 AM in abbey, Aqua, day, norbertine, observers, of, peace, world

 “I encourage the People of God of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to visit and pray at pilgrimage churches during the Year of Mercy. Pilgrimage is a long-standing and revered practice of the Church, one that produces much fruit in the life of the pilgrim.”  Archbishop John C. Wester, Archdiocese of Santa Fe

On Dec. 8, Pope Francis launched the Jubilee Year of Mercy, an effort to focus the mission of the church and of the faithful on mercy and forgiveness rather than on judgment. This is a call for both individuals and for the institution. Did you know Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey in Albuquerque is one of the official pilgrimage sites for this observance?

Today, on the first day of 2016, the abbey will commemorate World Day for Peace and the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God as part of the observance. Pope Francis has called for liturgies of peace on this day. The members of the Norbertine community invites you to join them today for a series of liturgies at the Abbey meditating on mercy, calling for peace, and celebrating the one who bore Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace, to our world.

Here is the schedule:

• Solemn Vespers, 5:30pm
• Prayer for Peace in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament: 6:00pm. We will pray over lamentations and hopes from 2015. There will be opportunities to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation during this time as well.
• Abbatial Mass , 7:15pm
• Fellowship, 8:30pm

If you want to pray with the Norbertines on other occasions, here is their schedule of prayers.

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New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps to Host World Food Day Dinner

10:26 PM in action, Aqua, corps, day, dinner, food, host, mexico, new, oxfam, to, world

Mark your calendars. This great event is only about a month away!

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Rick Steves Christmas Fundraiser Brings More than 430 000 to Bread for the World

8:46 PM in 000, 430, Aqua, bread, brings, christmas, for, fundraiser, more, rick, steves, than, the, to, world

Image from OpenClipArt

1,659 

That figure represents the number of supporters of Rick Steves who answered his challenge to help raise funds for Bread for the World during the Christmas season in 2015. The travel writer matched donations dollar for dollar.  People who donated $100 received a gift from Steves: his European Christmas gift package or his Complete Collection 2000-2016 DVD Box Set (all 100 of my travel shows)."

Steves and ex-Sen. Tom Harkin at Bread 40th anniversary (2014)

In a Thank You letter to supporters, Steves said:

"Together, you contributed $218,000. And with my match, collectively, we raised over $430,000 to help power BFTWs work in explaining to Congress the needs of our nations poor, homeless, and hungry people.

 "We all want to get our fiscal house in order. And BFTW has been very effective in its advocacy work encouraging our government not to balance the budget by cutting vital services to our nations most needy." 

Thanks so much for making this a very expensive Christmas for me. Giving like this, in partnership with caring travelers like you, makes my work even more gratifying than it already is. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all.

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A Video from Church World Service on World Food Day 2015

5:29 PM in 2015, a, Aqua, church, day, food, from, on, service, video, world

As part of its observance of World Food Day 2015, Church World Service (the organization that brings you the annual CROP Walk), created this video to raise awareness about hunger. By the way, there are five CROP Walks scheduled in New Mexico in the next several weeks, Gallup (Oct. 18),  Las Vegas (Oct. 24), Albuquerque (Nov. 1),  Carlsbad (Nov. 7), and Los Alamos (Nov. 22).  Four Corners (Farmington) held its CROP Walk on Oct. 3 and Curry County (Clovis) on April 26.

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My Dream is to End World Hunger

3:35 AM in Aqua, dream, end, hunger, is, my, to, world

Through photography children share their innermost feelings. The opportunity to reveal their dreams in photographs shows each child how much their dreams MATTER! Their hopes and dreams captured in quiet moments tell a story that few adults can imagine. "When you show children that you care about what they dream for in life, perhaps a child who never felt he or she had self worth, now will."  -Linda Solomon

When Emily, then 7 years old,  she was presented the opportunity to express her dreams via a photograph. Her dream was the very grown-up goal to end world hunger.

Emily was one of 19 homeless children in Albuquerque who were afforded this opportunity back in 2012. Darrionte, then 8 years old, is featured in an article published in The Albuquerque Journal on Sept. 6, 2012.

With the support of local car dealership Galles Chevrolet, the pictures were made into a set of greeting cards, which the Barrett Foundation  sold in 2012. Even though the cards were created three years ago, they still touch our hearts and are still very relevant today.

A national project
Project director, renown photographer Linda Salomon, has brought  Pictures of Hope to children living in shelters in Tucson, El Paso, Philadelphia, New York City, Flint, Michigan, Tulsa, Raleigh, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Kansas City, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and Albuquerque.

Heres how it works. Solomon presents a photo tutorial to the children at each shelter. At the conclusion of the tutorial, the children are surprised with digital cameras donated by Walgreens and given their first photo assignment as young photojournalists. Each child has a Picture of Hope card showcasing one of their photographs. All the children in each city celebrate with their mentors at the "Meet The Young Artist" receptions when the Pictures of Hope cards are launched. Its a special day no one will ever forget.

On her website, the photographer explains her motivation. "The numbers of homeless children in the US are the highest in our history, 2.5 million. One out of thirty children are homeless," said Ms. Solomon. "The mission of Pictures of Hope is to change lives, one life at a time. We show each child there is hope and they are not forgotten. Pictures of Hope touches the soul of each child we meet."

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Bread for the World Member Rick Steves Invites You to Join Him in Helping to End Hunger This Christmas

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"...Im one of thousands of Christian Americans who really see Bread for the World not as a charity but as a service. Together, we want to fight hunger, and Bread for the World represents that, and does our work right here in Washington, D.C."  excerpt from Rick Steves address at the Bread for the World national gathering, June 2014

Rick Steves loves Bread for the World. Every Christmas season, he puts together a special appeal to raise funds for our organization. The beloved television travel host and author has an offer for you again this year.

"Heres my challenge to you," Steves says on his Travel Blog. "Make a gift of $100 or more and as a thank you, Ill match your gifts (up to $250,000) and send you my European Christmas gift package or my Complete Collection 2000-2016 DVD Box Set (all 100 of my travel shows)."

This video tells you more about the European Christmas Gift Package


If you make your gift by December 10 (thats next Thursday!),  you’ll get everything in time for Christmas. "I’ll happily pay for the cost of these gifts and postage so that Bread can use 100 percent of your donation for their work," said Steves.

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Peace in a Time of Anguish A video from the Parliament of World Religions

3:47 AM in a, anguish, Aqua, from, in, of, parliament, peace, religions, the, time, video, world

We share this vision of creating peace in these times of anguish. Let us be love and compassion, a link to interfaith understanding, and may we move together in harmony to reclaim the heart of humanity. Let our spiritual paths intertwine, our action join us in a global compassion effort, and let us lead our lives together toward a better world. - Parliament of World Religions

Confronting War, Violence and Hate with Love and Compassion
In memory of all who have been harmed and died in global conflicts and for our human family, We share this vision of creating peace in these times of anguish. Let us be love and compassion, a link to interfaith understanding, and may we move together in harmony to reclaim the heart of humanity. Let our spiritual paths intertwine, our action join us in a global compassion effort, and let us lead our lives together toward a better world. Video © 2015 Parliament of the Worlds Religions
Posted by Parliament of the Worlds Religions on Monday, November 16, 2015

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Bread for the World Advocacy Outcomes for 2014

5:43 AM in 2014, advocacy, Aqua, bread, for, outcomes, the, world

Members of Congress rely on their constituents to keep them informed of issues and concerns in their districts. By writing your members of Congress, you’ve made yourself a valuable source of information. Congressional aides figure you represent others, so your voice becomes amplified. Writing letters gives you voice and power. Taking the time to write tells your members of Congress that you’re serious and that they’re accountable to you.  Exerpt from "Why Write to Congress", in Bread for the Worlds Take Action page.

Have you ever wondered what impact those letters to Congress, those meetings with congressional aides, those phone calls to Washington and the district office, those tweets, those letters to the editor are having?

The communications staff at Bread for the World put together these illustrations to show the progress against hunger since 1990 and the outcome of the advocacy efforts of grassroots members and staff during 2014 (illustrated in the five graphics below)

Remember those letters you wrote in 2014 urging Congress to reform food-aid programs? Legislators approved a set of reforms, and as a result, 1.5 million more people around the world have been fed.

These results, of course, did not occur in a vacuum. Bread for the World works in a number of coalitions (like the Modernizing Foreign Asissistance Network), and many other organizations and their members contributed to the outcome of the legislative initiatives.

This year, Bread for the World members (in partnership with other nutrition advocates) urged Congress to reauthorize child nutrition programs in our country, through our Feed Our Children campaign. In New Mexico, members of 18 congregations wrote more than 2,000 letters to Congress around this issue. Stay tuned for legislative updates.

Here are the graphics for the advocacy outcomes for 2014.

Food Aid Reform:

Circle of Protection:

Poverty-Focused Development Assistance

Immigration Reform

New USAID Strategy 

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Dear Presidential Candidate How Would You Address Hunger in the U S and Around the World

7:31 AM in address, and, Aqua, around, candidate, dear, how, hunger, in, presidential, s, the, u, world, would, you

Photo: Bread for the World

Over 100 Christian leaders have asked each presidential candidate, “What would you do as president to offer help and opportunity to hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world?” These videos, produced by the campaigns, are their response. The Circle of Protection, in partnership with Bread for the World, presents them without comment or endorsement. Additional candidate videos will be added as they are received.  As of Sept. 9, nine candidates (six Republicans and three Democrats) had responded.

The presidential videos are a major part of Bread for the World’s efforts to make hunger and poverty part of the national conversation during the campaigns for both president and Congress. Read more in Bread Blog

This link has the video responses from Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Martin OMalley and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

(The videos have received coverage in religious and other media and in some religious Web sites, including Mother Jones, Catholic News Service, The National Catholic Reporter, The Christian Post, Mennonite Church USA, National Association of Evangelicals and PRNewswire. Most of this coverage took place when the initial set of videos from six candidates was released in July). 

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Bishop Jim Gonias Super Bowl and World Hunger Challenge

3:40 AM in and, Aqua, bishop, bowl, challenge, gonias, hunger, jim, super, world

If you are a football fan (and even if youre not), you are probably aware by now that the two teams vying in Super Bowl 50 are the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers (based in Charlotte, N.C.).

According to oddsmakers, the Panthers are favored to win this game.  But thats not the line we care about. Whats important is the BIG GAME challenge that Bishop Jim Gonia of the Rocky Mountain Synod (Team Denver) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) made to fellow Bishops Timothy Smith of the North Carolina Synod and Herman Yoos of the South Carolina Synod (together as Team Carolina) to raise funds for the ELCA World Hunger Program.  (A similar challenge was made to the Northwest Synod, when the Broncos played the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 48)..

Bishop Gonia issued his challenge to Bishops Smith and Yoos via the Team ELCA campaign, which allows individuals and supporters of and advocates for ELCA ministries, to invite friends, family and connections to “join the team” in support of the ministries that  they support.

Things didnt get off to a good start for Team Denver. "I just found out that as of 10 p.m. on January 28, TEAM CAROLINA has raised $3055 and TEAM DENVER has raised just $955!" said Coach Gonia.

Of course, QB Gonia did not mention that TEAM DENVER faces a numerical disadvantage to TEAM Carolina. There are 165 ELCA congregations in the Rocky Mountain Synod, including 22 in New Mexico. In contrast the combined North Carolina-South Carolina Synods together represent more than 300 churches. Hardly fair, right? But thats beside the point. The three synods are on the same team to raise a combined $50,000 during the Super Bowl season for the ELCA World Hunger program. The combined total of slightly more than $4,000 as of Jan. 28 was way short of the goal. [Update: as of Jan. 30, The Rocky Mountain Synod Broncos were closing in. The score was $3,910 for TEAM CAROLINA and $3,360 for TEAM DENVER (click here for the latest score)]

Heres where you can help:
Give an online gift for TEAM DENVER
Give an online gift for TEAM CAROLINA

Note: You dont have to be an ELCA member or a member of one of those synods to participate.
Enlist supporters on Twitter using the #ELCABigGame hashtag

The competition between #denver Lutherans and Carolina Lutherans is the only one I care about https://t.co/vo4yrovDTS @rmselca #elcabiggame

— Nadia Bolz-Weber (@Sarcasticluther) January 30, 2016

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A Brief and very Abbreviated Account of World Food Day Commemorations in Albuquerque

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"Millions of poor people face hunger and poverty this year and next because of droughts and erratic rains as global temperatures reach new records, and because of the onset of a powerful El Niño – the climate phenomenon that develops in the tropical Pacific and brings extreme weather to several regions of the world."  -from  Oxfam America briefing note (published on Oct. 1, 2015) entitled "Entering Unchartered Waters"

World Food Day has been observed in Albuquerque every October 16 in one way or another over at least the past couple of decades. The commemoration was created by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1979, and the first observance took place globally  in 1981.

There was once a local group of volunteers that planned an event around a national telecast featuring a panel of experts. The event, which coincided with the national events held by the U.S.-Canada World Food Day organization, was usually held at the Technical Vocational Institute (TVI), which is now Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), or at the University of New Mexico. The event also included local speakers, panel discussions and special recognition for anti-hunger efforts.  For example, organizers in 2006 recognized the efforts of the (now-defunct) New Mexico Task Force to End Hunger to convince mayors of 103 communities to commit to end hunger. 

At about the same time that the momentum to hold the event faded locally, the local volunteers for New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps stepped in to hold their own commemoration of World Food Day on the Saturday closest to October 16. Over the past three years, St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church and First Congregational Church have opened their doors for the event, which has featured a Hunger Banquet, a discussion on how to support local farmers by buying food locally, the importance of women farmers, and much more.

An Invitation to the 2015 Commemoration
The fourth annual World Food Day commemoration sponsored by New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps will be held on Saturday, October 17, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Albuquerque Mennonite Church, 1300 Girard Blvd. NE (map) in Albuquerque. Enjoy a free locally sourced community dinner and live entertainment, but please RSVP online via this link.

The event will  celebrate small farmers, locally and globally, but will again place an emphasis on the impact of climate change on food production. This connection between global warming and hunger has been a common theme for local World Food Day celebrations, including the one that the previous organizing group held at UNM in 2008.

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