My Blog

Tag: Hunger

  • Inasmuch

    Senior Warden Tom Keyse and I spent a couple of hours today with The Rev'd Lynne Butler, CEO and Executive Director of  Metro Caring, Denver's leading frontline hunger prevention organization. I was heartened by everything I saw. This is the kind of place that offers real hope to our neighbors in need.

    Just a few of the programs I learned about are: Metro Caring_Logo_color

    • Healthful Foods Access
    • Nutrition and Gardening Education
    • Seeds for Success Job Training
    • Self Sufficiency Counseling
    • Financial Literacy Education
    • Identification Document Assistance
    • Metro Caring Market
    • Legislative Action
    • Benefits Enrollment Assistance

    Saint John’s Cathedral has members who serve on the board or volunteer in one or more programs. I saw some of those members who were exercising faithful stewardship of their time by sitting with guests of Metro Caring, engaging in conversation, listening, and demonstrating genuine care. It was as if I were witnessing a living tableau of the scene described in the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew:

    When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Mt. 25:31-36)

    During lunch after our tour, Lynne told us that one out of four children in this state faces hunger. She also told me that a person enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in Colorado receives $126 per month in food stamps. That’s far less than I would have imagined. She then told me about a challenge that was given to Denver religious leaders in June. Each of us is asked to personally contribute $126 to Metro Caring and then to ask 126 more people to contribute the same amount. If even one of us did that, it would raise $16,000. The funds raised in this campaign will be used by Metro Caring to fight hunger in the following ways:

    • Reduce local food waste to ensure all have enough
    • End food deserts by going mobile
    • End hunger at its root through Seeds for Success, Metro Caring’s signature employment training program for food-industry jobs.

    In several ways, it is an awkward time to be doing this because of the start up of fall stewardship campaigns among my friends around the country. However, inasmuch as I am so impressed with the good work being done through Metro Caring, I’m going to make my contribution. If you are moved to do likewise with a gift over and above what you plan to give to your faith community, please do so. This is a personal suggestion and not a Cathedral campaign. Contributions can be made online or by mailing a check to:

    Metro Caring
    P.O. Box 300459
    Denver, CO 80203

    Everything I saw today convinces me that Metro Caring will exercise faithful stewardship over our gifts, hope will be restored, and lives will be transformed.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue 

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    Saint John's Cathedral
    Denver, Colorado

     

  • Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole ~ July 26, 2015

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    The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

    Listen to the Sermon for July 26, 2015

    Read the Sermon for July 26, 2015

     

     

     

  • A Wonderful Example of World Scouting’s Messengers of Peace Initiative

    Mop_logoDan Ownby, who represents the Boy Scouts of America on the World Scout Committee shared this wonderful story and I wanted to pass it along.  Click  HERE to read Dan's story of Messengers of Peace in Nicaragua. Please pass it along as a reminder that youth can make a positive difference in our world.

    To learn more about Scouting's Messengers of Peace initiative, click HERE.

      Ron Short Sig Blue

  • Sermon at Calvary Church ~ July 29, 2012

    by Deacon Diane Zwick

    Calvary CrossProper 12B

    Listen to the Sermon for July 29, 2012

     Read the Sermon for July 29, 2012

     

     

     

  • If we’ll make it available, God will make it enough!

    On Sunday, July 29, we are observing Loaves and Fishes Sunday. We are asking worshipers to bring items that will be used in the Weekend Snack Sacks for clients of The Community Kitchen or make a contribution that will be used at to purchase the items needed for those weekend meals from River Cities Harvest.  We’re doing this because donations of food and funds tend to drop off during the summer vacation season.  But hunger never takes a vacation.

    Our Gospel reading for Sunday is John's version of the story of the Loaves and Fishes.  It is the only miracle of Jesus that is included in all four gospels.  All four gospels agree that there were five thousand or more hungry people, that the meal started when Jesus blessed five loaves of bread and two fishes, that everyone had enough to eat, and that there were twelve baskets of leftovers.

    What is the significance of this miracle? Firstly, Jesus is revealed as the Ruler of Creation, the One who multiplies food in Nature.  In his classic work Miracles, C. S. Lewis shows how many of the miracles take what God normally does slowly in Nature and speeds it up dramatically as a kind of flourished signature, signifying, "the One who always multiplies fish and grain is here."

    Secondly, Jesus is also revealed as the Ruler who Provides.  And what does he provide here?  What promise does he keep? What need does he meet?  Is it the need of the hungry or is it the need of the disciples?  Or is it both?  He has commanded the disciples to feed the people and that elicits their admission that they are not able to do it.  Then, to their amazement, he tells them to have the people sit on the grass anyway.  The need being met here is not only the people's need for food.  The other need that is met is the disciples' need to be able to minister!  You and I are in the same position today as Jesus' disciples were on that day.

    In their obedience, the disciples learned a lesson about faith, elements of which are present in every mighty work of God:  Need seen + desire felt + inadequacy confessed + Christ obeyed = the opportunity for God to work miracles. It is our job to make our inadequate loaves and fishes available. It is God’s job to make them enough.  Faith is the determination to obey in spite of our inadequacy, to consider our own inability irrelevant in the light of Gods ability, and to act on that basis.  The more we do so, the more we will find our own paltry loaves and fishes multiplied.

    In each of the Gospels, this event is a time of transition in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus and his disciples. Jesus now concentrates on preparing himself and his disciples for the Cross.  Disciples often learn important lessons during times of transition. By the grace of Jesus Christ, those hungry people were fed by those disciples.  And, by the same grace, the hungry people who are standing outside those red doors of Calvary Church are going to be fed by these disciples.

    Ron Short Sig Blue

  • Hunger never takes a vacation.

    We're having a special emphasis on relieving hunger at our church this Sunday.  We're calling it "Loaves and Fishes Sunday."  Leaders of our Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry will provide inspirational talks at both services and educational materials at the receptions that follow in the Parish Hall.

    The idea for this summertime emphasis comes from St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Granby, Colorado, where my family and I have worshiped from time to time.  They realized that donations of food and funds to fight hunger drop during the summer months while people are on vacation.  Yet hunger never takes a vacation!  Therefore, this is an important time of year to ask people to be mindful of our Lord's call to feed the hungry.

    Our three-year Revised Common Lectionary includes the story of the Loaves and Fishes as told by Matthew in Year A and as told by John in Year B.  However, for some reason, Luke's version (Luke 9:10-17) is skipped in Year C.  So, in order to set this up as an annual emphasis, I petitioned the Bishop of Kansas to allow us to use the story of the Loaves and Fishes from the Gospel of Luke instead of the Gospel reading appointed in the lectionary for this Sunday.

    The story of the Loaves and Fishes is the only miracle story that is recounted in all four of the Gospels and it carries a powerful message.  Here's the gist of it:

    •  The disciples come to Jesus with a problem – the people need food.
    •  Jesus told them, "You give them something to eat."
    •  The disciples protest that there isn't enough food.
    •  Jesus told them to "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each."
    •  Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, blessed and broke them, then gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
    •  All ate and were filled.
    •  There were twelve baskets of leftovers.

    The lesson: When we place what seems not enough in the hands of Jesus, he transforms scarcity into abundance to fulfill his mission.

    We place our contribution and our commitment into the hands of Christ.  He adds his blessing and returns them to our hands, multiplied, so we can carry out his mission.  Recognition of our inadequacy is the first step, but never the last.  That recognition reminds us that God's work is always humanly impossible and prompts us to trust him to add everything needed to make us adequate to the task. Without him we can do nothing!

    So, on Loaves and Fishes Sunday, we are aware of the immensity of the problem of hunger in the world, in our nation, and in our community.  It is overwhelming to realize that in 3.8 million U.S. households, (3.5 percent of all U.S. households) one or more household members were hungry at least some time during the year because they could not afford enough food.  We feel inadequate to even make a dent in the problem, Jesus.  And yet he says, "You give them something to eat."  So we bring what we have – food from our pantries, funds from our pockets, the work of our hands – and give it to him.  He will take it, break it, bless it, and give it back to us to share, with the promise that because it is his work that is being done, there will be more than enough.

    Let's try it and see what happens.

    Ron

  • In this day and age, is gluttony still a sin?

    Sarah Henning, the Features Editor for the Lawrence Journal-World, asked me to respond to a question for "Faith Forum," which is a weekly Saturday column in which two local religious figures share their views on a topic.  The topic for this week is "In this day and age, is gluttony still a sin?"  I suppose the question is related to the season of Lent.  Here is my response:


    If sin is seeking our own will instead of God’s will, thereby distorting our relationship with God, others, and creation itself, and gluttony is overconsumption of the gifts God provides, then in light of what we now know about the impacts of overconsumption, there is more reason than ever to consider gluttony a sin.

    The biblical revelation makes us conscious that we were intended to have a dynamic relationship with our Creator.  The privilege of stewardship is a vocation given to no other creature.  Caring for creation involves consideration for the needs of others.  When my overconsumption (gluttony) results in a shortage of the necessities of life for others whom God also created and loves, my relationship with God, other people, and creation is distorted.

    As much as 64% of the adult U.S. population is overweight.  One-third are obese. The chief causes are simple: eating more food than the body needs, drinking too much alcohol, and getting too little exercise.  The impact on healthcare alone is startling. Studies indicate that increases in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. accounts for 12% of the growth in health spending.

    Our appetites are enormous in a world where people are starving. The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed, and one-third is starving.  During the time you’ve been reading this, at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.

    This condition is a distortion of God’s vision. To live my life in a gluttonous way contributes to the perpetuation of the distortion.  So, yes, gluttony is still a sin.  Since I’m 20 lb. overweight, I’m among the sinners and need to repent. Better stewardship of the body God has given me expresses love for God and for my neighbor.

    Ron


    P.S. The following sources were helpful to me in preparing my response and I commend them to others who are exploring the relationship between gluttony, obesity, and world hunger.

    Obesity in America

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    An End to World Hunger: Hope for the Future

    World Health Organization: Millennium Development Goals