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A farmer tends to his crops in Thaba Bosiu, Lesotho. © Albin Hillert/WCC

A farmer tends to his crops in Thaba Bosiu, Lesotho. © Albin Hillert/WCC

Observed on 15-22 October 2017, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (WCC-EAA) invites churches around the world again to a Churches’ Week of Action on Food, an opportunity to pray, reflect and take action together, for food-justice across the globe.

“The Churches’ Week of Action on Food is a week-long global campaign initiated by the WCC-EAA,” explains Manoj Kurian, coordinator of the WCC-EAA and the Food for Life Campaign, “through which we invite the global ecumenical movement and organisations, community-based organisations and faith-based organisations to act collectively for food-justice.”

“It’s critical that churches and communities engage with the issue of food through the lens of their faith,” says Bernhard Walter, head of the Division for Global Food Security at Bread for the World, and member of the Food for Life strategy group, “particularly as the number of hungry people in the world is on the rise again, affecting 815 million people in 2016 – 11% of the global population. Conflicts with drastic violation of civil and political rights, climate change and protracted crisis have contributed to this increase”.

“The United Nation's theme for World Food Day this year is ‘Change the Future of Migration: Invest in Food Security and Rural Development’,” Kurian adds. “And so the WCC-EAA has chosen ‘Food and Migration' as a theme to observe during the Churches’ Week of Action.”

“This year, the world has seen the worst hunger crisis in modern history, and in many contexts this is a crisis caused not only by natural causes, but also by human struggles. As churches, we are called to pray for one another, and to act for one another. Food is more than a human right; it is a divine gift that should never be impeded,” remarked Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, WCC deputy general secretary responsible for Public Witness and Diakonia.

Liturgical materials a highlight, among resources made available

Each year, the WCC-EAA makes available a range of resources Christians and others around the world to use to act together for food justice and food sovereignty, and to raise awareness about farming approaches that help individuals and communities develop resiliency and combat poverty.

“This year the WCC-EAA is making available seven prayer services for the Week of Action,” Kurian says. “These have been prepared in collaboration with churches in India, and interpret Psalm 23 from ecological, food-justice and migration perspectives. They will be published online in English, French, German and Spanish on 11 October, anticipating the start of the Week of Action 15 October.”

In addition to liturgical materials, the WCC-EAA will also be highlighting resources such as the Ten Commandments of Food, during the Week of Action.

The WCC-EAA is also one of the organizers launching of a 10th anniversary issue of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch in Geneva on 19 October, an event for which registration is open to the public until 16 October.

Churches Week of Action on Food 2017

10 Commandments for Food

Register for the Right to Food Watch 2017

WCC-EAA Food for Life Campaign