United Methodist Men asks families to focus on hunger

By J. Richard Peck*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Men's agency is asking families to fast a meal in June to feed the hungry.

The churchwide Commission on United Methodist Men and the Virginia-based Society of St. Andrew are asking families to observe National Hunger Awareness Day on June 6 by fasting one meal and giving the amount that would have been spent on that meal to feed the hungry.
Operating under the banner of Fami1y (Fast A Meal In 1 Year), the National Association of Conference Presidents of United Methodist Men also encourages churches to use June 4 or June 11 as a Hunger Awareness Sunday. The presidents hope families will fast one meal and send funds to the National Hunger Relief Office in Nashville.

Glenn Wintemberg, president of the national association, proposed the plan to a March 3-5 gathering of conference presidents. The presidents unanimously approved the plan and hope other agencies and denominations will join the effort.

"The vision came to me while attending the 2005 National Hunger Summit in Washington," Wintemberg said. "With thousands of hunger advocates in one place, the setting was the perfect place for the idea to be born. This is another instance where if you open yourself to the possibilities of what God has in store, he will answer."

Churches that want to observe a Hunger Awareness Sunday can find Sunday school lessons and worship materials at the Society of St. Andrew Web site at www.endhunger.org/nhad. Individuals may download a Fami1y brochure at www.nacpumm.org. Printed brochures are available through the Commission on United Methodist Men or the annual conference hunger relief advocates.

World Hunger Day was created in 2002, at a time when there was a significant increase in the number of Americans unable to feed their families. Hunger-relief organizations such as the Society of St. Andrew were forced to cope with this increased demand while working in an environment with less food surplus and fewer charitable dollars available. National Hunger Awareness Day emerged as a way to increase awareness about hunger in America.

Recently, the Society of St. Andrew passed a 500 million-pound milestone. In cooperation with the United Methodist Men and other organizations, the society has distributed more than 500 million pounds of fresh produce to the hungry since its founding in 1979.

Hunger relief funds may be sent to the Hunger Relief Advocate, General Commission on United Methodist Men, P.O. Box 340006, Nashville, TN 37203-0006.

The Society of St. Andrew is an Advance special (#801600) of the United Methodist Church's second-mile giving program, the Advance for Christ and His Church.

*Peck is the communications coordinator for the Commission on United Methodist Men.