International UN Day in Seattle

After a week of meetings in Rome last week, Mark Brinkmoeller could have packed up and headed back home to DC. Instead, ONE’s Senior Director of US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations spent a 24-hour travel day crossing the heartland to Seattle. We set a full schedule of events for him here, including meetings with faith groups, partner organizations, and even a concert. Still he never complained and the jetlag never showed. That is grace!

This year, International UN Day fell on Friday, October 24, and Mark was our keynote speaker. We wanted to hear how to engage the next administration, the next congress, and each other in order to lift the profile of the Millennium Development Goals. These are increasingly trying economic times and we feel far behind the curve. Mark embarked on a theme of hope. His interaction with the audience pointed the way. Measurements of progress are encouraging, and they open the doors to greater involvement. US funding has had a massive impact across Africa including TB/Malaria funding, antiretroviral treatment for AIDS, bed nets, and putting children in school. Through the grassroots activism of organizations that have made this a priority, millions of lives are saved and federal aid dollars over the course of this administration have morphed from Millions of dollars to Billions of dollars.

Saturday’s meetings included a relation-building coffee with leaders in the Seattle Islamic community. Mark’s knowledge and experience with Islamic organizations were extremely helpful. A new Islamic Faith-In-Action forum here in Seattle this winter will likely include the ONE Islamic Faith/ONE Sadaqa materials, and we shared the ONE multi-faith videos with them to use as well.

That night, the folk group “Real Folk” put on a benefit concert for ONE and RESULTS. Mark’s message of hope again resounded loud-and-clear encouraging us in our efforts to keep up the good fight in the north county. It’s gratifying to know that we are being heard and making a difference.

These events were also opportunities for the communities to take a photo with the traveling Jubilee USA Drop the Debt banner and sign up to ask the next administration to cancel the odious debts of highly-indebted poor countries.

Up here in Seattle, the group “Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project” couldn’t appreciate Mark’s support and encouragement more. Thank you Mark for an amazing week here, for promoting the great work of ONE and ONE Faith in the pacific northwest, and for helping Washington DC and this “other” Washington, um, “stay close!”

-Sammi Fredenburg

Announcing ONE Sabbath

“Imagine: there are 300,000 houses of worship. Imagine if they all got involved in ONE Sabbath, if 300,000 houses of worship with 140 million members all pool their attention, their resources to really make a difference in poverty. What an impact that can have!”- Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Your congregation, your faith community, your place of worship can make a huge difference in the mission to end extreme global poverty and eliminate global diseases. Of course, you know this already. That’s why you are reading this post.

You also know that the coming months are a crucial time to make a difference. We’ll be electing a president and new members of Congress. After the election, priorities and policies will be set from among all the campaign commitments that have been made. ONE Sabbath helps your congregation engage effectively in the coming months by providing resources for worship services, youth groups, religious ed classes and small group discussions.

The ONE Sabbath effort includes Jewish and Christian congregations and encompasses ONE Sadaqa in the Muslim community and ONE Seva in the Hindu community. Congregations across the U.S. have been creative in incorporating ONE Sabbath into their services and events. We invite you to add your creativity to the cause.

The ONE Sabbath page links it all together. You can sign up, watch the latest faith videos, get the materials, and tell others. Please join in.

-Mark Brinkmoeller

ONE Sunday at Zoar Lutheran Church

Ed Streitelmeier opened the sermon at Zoar Lutheran Church’s “ONE Sunday” with “Bambelela,” a South African term for encouragement. Throughout the month of February, the congregation held two Bible Studies and devoted a sermon to educating their congregation about extreme poverty, its reality, and Christianity’s role in fighting extreme poverty.

The Bible Studies included a Hunger-Awareness Sunday for first grade and pre-school children. The children were given cheerios, crackers and donuts to represent the different amounts of food given at different economic levels, from the most minimal to the overstuffed and over-glazed. Using treats may have been the best way of grabbing their attention, and it assured every little attendee was involved in the event.

For the older students (those probably less impressed with dry cheerios and donuts) the studies included a run through of the bind that holds Christianity to the duty of social justice by adding a biblical application to each MDG:

8. Create a Global Partnership for Development
Biblical Application: “If you lend money to my people, to the poor around you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbor’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else should that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.” Exodus 22:25-27.

Adults were able to contribute to the “Noisy Bucket” and throw loose change, bills and checks. Those attending generated almost $3500 in donations for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal!

- Betsy Avila

Bluff Road ONE Sabbath

The weekend of November 23 - 25 was the first ever ONE Sabbath weekend, in the pilot of year of what we hope will become a major expression of the impact of people and communities of faith in the fight against extreme poverty and global disease.

ONE members across the country downloaded materials from our faith resource page ONE.org/faith and organized services and group activities in their houses of worship. A recap of Bluff Road African Methodist Episcopal Church’s ONE Sabbath in Columbia, South Carolina is below.

On Sunday, November 25, I attended services at Bluff Road AME Church in Columbia, the home church of ONE Vote ’08 SC ambassador Leon Love. Pastor Ellis White led a brief presentation about the One Campaign. He shared with his congregation of 100 plus members that during this holiday season we need to be mindful of those in other countries who are suffering from poverty and disease.  After referencing numerous bible verses and praising the One Campaign, he invited me to address the congregation.  I discussed the importance of fighting poverty and how clean water can save thousands of lives.  I stressed the need to elect a President who cares about eradicating poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and pneumonia, and educating all children.  I also thanked Pastor White for representing South Carolina on our national media call to promote One Sabbath activities.

-Bianca Crawford

An Ocean (Park) View of ONE Sabbath

The Church in Ocean Park began our ONE Sabbath event with Joy Buckley, one of our resident poets, reading the Millennium Development Goals as they appear on the ONE.org website. The Millennium Development Goals set a framework for how nations can work together to end extreme poverty. Then Ron Maxson read a quote about poverty being a justice issue.

The first to speak after the readings was Bob Gordh who discussed The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs. Rev. Janet McKeithen talked about the spiritual dimensions of poverty and ONE. I rounded out the presentations talking about ONE successes and what we can all do. This included signing the ONE Declaration, participating in the LA ONE Volunteer and Advocacy Training on December 8, and the World Swim Against Malaria on April 5 (where we will take to the water in fancy dress again).

A number of people responded thoughtfully during the community sharing. We sang several songs throughout, led by Elinor Graham and Bob Gordh singing Bob Marley’s “One Love”.

-Herley Jim Bowling, Santa Monica ONE Group Leader

ONE Sabbath in the Midwest

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