wfn.org | Presbyterian Rural Committee Members Headed to Washington Rally

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

1-March-2000 
00100 
 
    Presbyterian Rural Committee Members Headed 
    to Washington Rally 
 
    PC(USA) leads push to urge Congress 
    to invest in rural America's future 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Farmers say they receive only seven cents of each dollar 
consumers spend on items like baked goods and cereal. Such poor returns the 
past few years have many small operators spending more money producing 
commodities than the products actually will bring on the supermarket shelf, 
driving a record number of farmers out of business after generations on the 
family farm. 
 
    As a result, people and businesses are vacating rural towns, once 
considered a staple of Americana, now drying up and disappearing from the 
national landscape. That's why members of the Rural Ministry Advisory 
Committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have plans to travel to 
Washington later this month to participate in the "Rally for Rural 
America." 
 
    "We have a lot of rural Presbyterians who sometimes think that nobody 
cares what happens in rural America," said Fred Brust, chair of the rural 
advisory committee, whose seven General Assembly elected members are 
farmers and others involved in rural ministry on a daily basis. "Our 
committee would like to make them aware that somebody does care." 
 
    The nation's rural crisis will take center stage at the two-day event 
starting March 20, with PC(USA) among a growing list of organizers. Family 
farmers, church leaders, business owners and environmentalists from across 
the country will march on Congress at the U.S. Capitol to advocate for 
policy changes that would benefit farmers, ranchers and rural communities. 
Regulations will be sought enabling farmers and ranchers to receive a fair 
price for their commodities, a strong safety net for all producers, and 
fair, open and competitive markets. 
 
    Brust, a farmer from Union Mills, Ind., will be joined at the rally by 
the Rev. Ken Osborne, a newly elected member of the Rural Ministry Advisory 
Committee and pastor at Centre Presbyterian Church in Loysville, Pa. Also 
attending will be Diana Stephen, who works with the committee as associate 
for rural ministry with the denomination's National Ministries Division 
(NMD). 
 
    Their message will convey concern that extraordinarily low crop and 
livestock prices, along with multinational corporations are putting farmers 
out of business, while bringing attention to the impact the crisis presents 
outside the rural community. 
 
    "Anyone who consumes food is affected by what's happening to family 
farmers and ranchers who produce the raw materials for our food," Stephen 
said. 
 
    Family farmers are expected to demand that Congress dump the 1996 
Freedom to Farm Act., saying the measure is causing economic ruin in much 
of rural America. Critics have blasted the new policy, claiming it puts 
them at the mercy of giant agricultural businesses now benefitting from low 
commodity prices around the world and a weak Asian economy. 
 
    "The concentration of power in a few large corporations is squeezing 
family farmers and ranchers into economic despair," Stephen said. "When 
life in rural communities is disrupted, many Presbyterian congregations are 
affected. We need to wake up and take a 
stand before it's too late." 
 
    The rally is being coordinated at the national level through the 
National Farmers Union, which is working with a broad group of 
organizations, such as the PC(USA), Center for Rural Affairs and the 
American Corn Growers Association, all concerned that rural America has 
been left behind during a time of unparalleled economic prosperity. 
Although groups involved hold different perspectives, they share one common 
aspect - concern for family farms and the rural communities they help 
support. 
 
    The need for such action is clear to Osborne, whose rural community in 
central Pennsylvania is turning into a crowded "bedroom community" for 
nearby Harrisburg, Pa. 
 
    "Rural America, which has been the backbone of America, is starting to 
change,"  Osborne said. "Either we can make it something good and maintain 
who we are as rural America, even in the midst of the changes, or we battle 
and end up doing damage, not only to rural nature, but also to anybody who 
would be moving in here." 
 
    Brust said he plans to confer with other ecumenical representatives at 
the rally, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or the 
National Catholic Rural Life Conference. He said the groups must come 
together as part of a national effort to give voice to the rural crisis. 
 
    "I think Congress will take a lot more interest in it if there is a 
wide-base of support," he said. "I think they'll have to take more 
concern." 
 
    Pre-rally activities will include prayer services, a "farmers' share" 
luncheon, a town hall meeting, and hear from members of Congress and the 
Clinton Administration. Events will culminate on March 21 with participants 
gathering in front of the capitol building for the main rally. 
 
    Organizers hope the Rally for Rural America will also prompt changes to 
ensure: 
 
      * An investment in rural education and health care; 
      * Protection of natural resources for the next generation; 
      * A strong voice for rural communities in pursuing fair trade policy; 
      * A safe and secure food supply; 
      * A revitalization of the nation's farm families and rural 
communities. 
 
    Other organizations helping to coordinate the rally with more expected 
to join: 
      * AFL-CIO; 
      * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; 
      * Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy; 
      * Mennonite Central Committee; 
      * National Association of Development Organizations; 
      * National Association of Farmer-Elected Committees; 
      * National Catholic Rural Life Conference; 
      * National Family Farm Coalition; 
      * National Farmers Organization; 
      * National Farmers Union; 
      * Rural Coalition; 
      * United Methodist General Board of Church and Society. 

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