From May 4-18, our Micah 6:8 Team is inviting Highland to write letters to their elected officials urging them to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Our faith in Christ compels us to love our neighbors and stand up for those experiencing hunger in the U.S. and abroad.
Who is Bread for the World?
Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Their mission is to educate and equip people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Highland has a long history of partnering with Bread for the World to advocate for a world without hunger, particularly by doing an "offering of letters," writing letters to government leaders to support hunger-ending programs and legislation. Learn more about Bread for the World here.
What are we advocating for at this time?
Congress is considering legislation that could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in funding cuts from both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. These cuts would greatly impact the ability of low-income families to put food on the table during a time when grocery prices are rising.
Eighty-three percent of all U.S. aid contracts have been officially cancelled. Without lifesaving aid, tens of millions of people will be at risk of losing access to clean water, sanitation, nutrition assistance, and medicine. Children are especially vulnerable unless these programs are restored and protected.
How do I participate?
We will have several letter-writing stations available around campus on Sunday, May 11 for you to write your letter. If you can't join us on May 11, you are encouraged to write a letter on your own and submit it along with letters written by other Highland members by dropping it off at the church.
Here are some instructions and tips:
Writing to government officials sounds political. Why at church?
"He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God?" - Micah 6:8
Methodists have a long history of advocating for social justice, going all the way back to Methodist founders John and Charles Wesley. Just as John Wesley advocated for prison reform, the abolition of slavery, ending hunger and poverty, and the elimination of child labor back in the early 1730s, so do contemporary Methodists advocate for peace and justice across all aspects of society -- including ending hunger and poverty. Advocating for U.S. legislation that helps end hunger in our country and around the world is just one way that we seek to "do justice."