A TIME OF THANKSGIVING

The harvest is in, the weather turns cold and we look forward to feasting and thanksgiving.  Then we prepare for the Christ Child's coming.  For the blessings we enjoy may we be truly thankful.  For the instruction of Jesus may we be truly mindful.  At each groaning board, may there be a place set for Him.  When I see this in my mind, I also see those who have no groaning board and those who have no table.

At the first harvest feast of thanksgiving on the soil of the New World, the native people sat with the pilgrims.  Without them there would have been little harvest to celebrate.  In the nearly 400 years since then, we have pushed the native people further and further away from their ancestral homes.  We allow them to live in poverty, jobless, on land without access to the natural resources that once sustained their society.  The statistics are horrible.  Some groups of Indians living in the southwestern United States are worse off economically than citizens of many Third World countries.  Many Indian families live in over-crowded dwellings, often with no running water, no plumbing and no electricity.  Food is scarce-and jobs are scarcer still.  Unemployment is around 50%on most reservations...as high as 90% on others.  More than a third of Indian children live in poverty.  Alcoholism is rampant.  The suicide rate is 150% higher than the national average.  High school graduation rates are extremely low.  These are the signs of a despairing people.

I offer no solution to this disgrace, but I know Jesus lives these poor people as he loves the poor in every place.  I know, too, that He expects us to do something about this problem.  Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will show us what that something might be.  And let us pray for every Native American as we gather at our groaning boards this Thanksgiving day and as we gather at the manger on Christmas morning.
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Page 2                                                                                                                                                          Hunger Newsletter Oct - Dec  2005

                                                            
                                                                                TWO CENTS A MEAL GRANTS 2005
Cape Fear Presbyterian Food Pantry                            500.00
Christian United Outreach of Lee County                   1,500.00
Church Community Services of
Scotland County                                                        1,500.00
Food Bank Of Central & Eastern NC                        1,500.00
Hope Ministries of Lumberton                                    1,500.00
Hope Mission Christian Ministries,
Morehead City                                                          1,500.00
Onslow Community Ministries                                   1,500.00
Pender County Christian Services                              3,000.00
Sampson Crisis Center                                              1,500.00
Sandhills/Moore Coalition of Human Care                 1,500.00
Sandhills Interfaith Hospitality Network                      1,500.00
Society of  St. Andrew                                              1,500.00
South Brunswick Interchurch Council                         1,500.00
Tileston Outreach, Wilmington                                   1,500.00

                                                   FOOD SECURITY FOR THE PEOPLE OF CHINGALE, MALAWI
25% of the Two Cents a Meal funds given to international ministries is sent to Chingale, Malawi where PDA )Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) has been working with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) attempting to aid the many people there facing starvation.  Inadequate rainfall resulting in poor harvests has been a problem in Malawi since the drought of 2002.  PDA reports that 49% of the children under five in Malawi have stunted growth, an indication of chronic malnutrition.  The scarcity of safe drinking water leads to the spread of endemic diseases to which malnourished children are most susceptible.  CCAP is serving as a lead agency in the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International appeal.  An expanded appeal for funds was issued on September 6, 2005 for more that $2 million.  We expect to receive a detailed update through PDA by the end of the year.  Meanwhile, please pray for the people of Malawi, particularly the children - the hunger peak period in Malawi is from December to March.  Anyone wishing to make an additional donation should designate his or her gift for DR000158.  A donation in a friend or loved one's name to aid the people in Malawi would be a very special Christmas gift.


                                                             St. Barnabas Agricultural School
                                                                      Terrier Rough, Haiti  
St. Barnabas Agricultural School receives 40% of the 65% of Two Cents a Meal Funds earmarked for international Ministries.  The Presbytery of Coastal Carolina is in partnership with the Presbytery of the Peaks in Virginia to support the work done at the school by Dirctor Nicky Delva and his staff.  Each September a group from the Presbytery travels to Haiti to attend the graduation ceremony--at least, they have when the political climate allowed.  This year, again, it was deemed unsafe for us to travel to Haiti.  Usually the group attending graduation arrives with gifts for each graduate.  This year, Westminister Pres in Fayetteville provided gifts and shipped them to Haiti.  Nicky sent pictures of the graduation, which will be included in the Hunger Action display at Presbytery meetings and other gatherings.  On September 23, we also received this message from Nicky via email: "Today was along and happy day at St. Barnabas.  The graduation has been held.  The graduates were very happy, so were their parents.  We really missed you... One more time, thank you very much for all".  One more piece of news from Nicky-he finally has his new truck!! It is a MazdaB-2900.  He has also sent pictures of the truck, which I will include in my Hunger Program display.


                                        CHRISTMAS IS COMING ALTERNATIVE GIFT IDEAS
For the friend or relative who has enough of anything you could afford to buy him or her, a gift in his or her name that provides something really needed to "one of the least of these" could be the answer.  Here are some places to shop:
Heifer International Gift Catalog
Food for the Poor Gift Catalog
The Greater Gift Catalog (was SERRV)
Equal Exchange (Organic, fair traded coffee, tea, cocoa and chocolate bars)
For copies of these catalogs and other suggestions, call Marylou cook, HAE, at the Presbytery office or at
(toll free 877-643-3376)


Hunger Newsletter   Oct - Dec 2005                                                                                                                                                              Page 3
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                                                   NEW CURRICULUM:  "JUST EATING"
"Just Eating?  Practicing Our Faith at the Table" was developed through a collaboration of many people and organizations beginning with Advocate Health Care and Church World Service and including the Presbyterian Hunger Program.  The curriculum examines four aspects of our lives with food:  the health of our bodies; the access others have to food; the health of the earth, which our good choices influence; and the ways we use food to extend hospitality and enrich relationships.
The "Just Eating"  curriculum format includes four components:  a series of seven group meetings, readings for reflection and action, additional resources (a list of Healthy eating Tips and more choices for Faith in Action Steps following each unit) and an invitation to change.  In addition to attending as many group sessions as possible, participants are expected to read the offerings for daily reflection in the participant guide and to try at least one Faith in Action Step and one Healthy Eating Tip each week.  The aim of the curriculum is "to shape a way of life with food that flows out of a deep understanding of how food connects us with God and all of Creation".
Participant's Guides (PDS #74365-05-361) and Leader's Guides (PDS #74365-05-362) are available from Presbyterian Distribution Service at 1-800-524-2612.  Cost is $5.50 for the Leader's Guide and $4.00 each for 1-9 copies and $3.00 each for 10+ copies of the Participant Guide.
                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                      TO REACH YOUR HUNGER ACTION ENABLER
Since my position is a part-time one, and since I work part of the part-time at my home office, here is all the information you will need to find me.
Presbytery office:  1-800-277-7479
Email:  maryloucook@presbycc.org
Home office:  1-877-643-3376
Email:  loubear@atmc.net
If you would like me to come to your church to speak about hunger issues, you have only to ask.
Thank you, Marylou Cook, HAE

Members of the Subcommittee
Maxine Anders
Bebe Brewton
Bryant Holmes
Joseph & Roberta Keithley
Jo Robinson
Stan Stanonis

Page 4                                                                                                                                                         Hunger Newsletter   Oct - Dec  2005
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                        MCDONALD'S JOINS THE FAIR TRADE CROWD IN NEW ENGLAND
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. based in Waterbury, VT will supply Newman's Own Organics Blend coffee to the more than 650 McDonald's Inc. restaurants in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Main and in the Albany, NY region.  The coffee will also be certified as Fair Trade, meaning the beans from which it was brewed were produced by farmers who are guaranteed a basic minimum wage and who are encouraged to practice organic and sustainable cultivation.  This information appeared on October 28, 2005 in the New Haven Register (New Haven CT).  The date to introduce the coffee was set for Tuesday, Nov 1.  THis is such exciting news if the coffee is well received (and I will be in touch with family and friends in the area to check it out!) then we should begin asking for Fair Trade coffee in our McDonald's restaurants as well.  Tabletop promotions will proclaim "Good for you...Good for the environment...Good for the world".



                                    HOW TWO CENTS A MEAL FUNDS ARE DISTRIBUTED
65%  International
         40% St. Barnabas Agricultural School in Haiti
         25% Chingale, Malawi Food Security Program of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
                  in conjunction with the Central Africa Presbyterian Church
25%  Local Ministries
         Agencies must complete a grant application, be endorsed by the Session of a Presbyterian church and approved by the Hunger Subcommittee of the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina.
                                                                        2 ¢-A-Meal
                                             ".…just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."
                                                  Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:40)

                                              "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."
                                                    John F. Kennedy




Presbytery of Coastal Carolina
807 West King St
Elizabethtown NC 28337



04/12/2006
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