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Politicians, United Methodist theologian pen book on hunger

Oct. 24, 2005

NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Wendy Whiteside*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - People of faith can end world hunger if they combine
their efforts, according to a new book by a bipartisan team of veteran
politicians and a theologian.

Former Senators Robert Dole, R-Kansas, and George McGovern, D-South
Dakota, are major contributors to Ending Hunger Now: A Challenge to
Persons of Faith, published this fall by Fortress Press, an agency of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The editor and major writer
is the Rev. Donald E. Messer, a United Methodist theologian on the
faculty of Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

McGovern is a member of the United Methodist Church. Dole is
Presbyterian with strong United Methodist connections.

"The problem of world hunger is soluble," said McGovern at a Washington
press conference launching the book. "We are calling people of faith to
be part of the solution." The former lawmaker and Democratic candidate
for president in 1968 is an ambassador for the World Food Program of the
United Nations.

The eradication of hunger is an "imperative" that can be shared by
people of all faiths, according to Messer. "This issue cuts through
politics and doctrines. Christians, Muslims and Jews all share the same
theological imperative for addressing the problem of hunger."

Dole believes there is a link between hunger and terrorism. "I am
confident that widespread hunger is one of the contributing factors that
leads to discontent and creates an environment that is conducive to
terrorism," he said at the National Press Club event.

Dole was the Republican Party presidential candidate in 1996.

"This book is a clarion call to all people of faith in the eradication
of hunger," said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, who attended the book launching.

"Faith communities can do much more than provide food charity," he
added. "They can also encourage international agencies, national
governments, corporations and civil societies to understand that food is
abundant - if economic and social systems can be revamped to allow
people access to the supply and to its production."

McGovern and Dole have long shared a commitment to combating hunger.
They co-authored legislation in the United States leading to programs
such as food stamps; food assistance to women, children, and infants;
and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child
Nutrition plan.

The relationship between hunger and AIDS is also of critical concern to
all three authors. In sub-Saharan Africa, drugs alone cannot turn back
the disease. The strong drugs must be taken with food to produce the
desired result, so doctors are beginning to prescribe food alongside the
drugs.

Messer plays a pivotal role in promoting and interpreting the Global
AIDS Fund of the United Methodist Church, created by the denomination's
legislative assembly, the 2004 General Conference. He is a professor of
practical theology at the seminary in Denver and a former director of
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Former President Bill Clinton provides an introduction to Ending Hunger
Now. The book is strongly endorsed by Bread For the World, the food and
anti-poverty organization that represents many religious organizations
on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Information about ordering Ending Hunger Now is available at
www.fortresspress.com, the publisher's Web site.

*Whiteside is an executive with the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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