Oregon Bread Enews – 2009-07

MONTHLY UPDATE – VOLUME 5 ISSUE 07  - July 31,  2009

Greetings!  My name is Mike Hiland, I live in Sherwood, and am a local activist with Bread for the World. This is our monthly Oregon newsletter. Please check below for upcoming events and current action alerts and contact me if you have any questions or comments. I am available to speak to your church or group about the issue of hunger and the moral call to take action. Please also forward this to whomever might be interested. God bless and thanks for your time.  Monthly Online Meeting for Bread for the World Oregon Wednesday, August 5th @ 8-9pm To participate either:  1) Skype me at Mike.Hiland 2) Call me at 503-925-5097 For meeting agenda: Click here The monthly online meeting allows people to participate from home using their computer and/or phone. The meeting will last no longer than an hour, it consist of a worship, education and action component. The theme for this month is the Millennium Development goals and the progress to date. To participate, open your web browser and click on the meeting agenda link above. Then either Skype in to me at Mike.Hiland, or call me at 503-925-5097.  You can get and use skype for free by going to www.skype.com and downloading it (you’ll also need to get a headset – available from the website). Skype allows you to make free phone calls using your computer to anyone who also has skype (no long distance charges)(for a small charge you can also call regular phones from skype or have regular phones call into your skype account). If you cant make the meeting, you can go to the agenda link after the meeting and review the material and take the action. This way you can still support us even if you cant make the meeting (let me know what you thought of the agenda and if you have any comments for next time). You dont need to RSVP, but I’d like to get an idea of how many people will be participating. Please email me to RSVP. Action Alert: Bread for the World Urges Senators To Pass Initial Aid Reform Bill   Washington, DC, July 28, 2009—Bread for the World President Rev. David Beckmann urged members of the Senate to promptly pass a bill introduced today aimed at revitalizing the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The bipartisan bill — the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S.1524) — was introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA), Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN), and Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Corker (R-TN), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Jim Risch (R-ID). “Revitalizing USAID is crucial to the overall reform of U.S. foreign assistance,” said Rev. Beckmann. “If the Obama Administration and Congress improve the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance, our dollars will do more good for decades to come.” USAID was created to lead U.S. development efforts and was once the premier development agency in the world. However, after years of benign neglect and proliferating aid programs across the U.S. government, USAID has lost much of its professional capacity, expertise and authority. The bill includes a formal statement that it is U.S. policy to promote global development, good governance, and the reduction of poverty and hunger. It contains provisions for restoring planning, policy, and evaluation capacities to USAID. It also lays out new transparency measures for U.S. foreign assistance. The Senate bill introduced today complements the efforts of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA-28) and his initial aid reform bill, H.R. 2139, which currently has 91 bipartisan cosponsors. Please contact your senators using the links below and ask them to cosponsor and support S1524, the Kerry/Lugar foreign aid reform bill. Email Webforms (click the links to contact your senator through their webforms):   Wyden, Merkley, Murray, Cantwell.  Bread Update The links below are from various Bread for the World blogs and articles. Updates from these blogs are also maintained on our local www.breador.org website. A Partnership of “Faith Active in Love” Bishop Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, reflects on advocacy’s relationship with mission and ministry The Rising of Bread for the World: “Cheering On a Humble, Mission-Driven Organization” Bread founder Art Simon’s new book looks at our past and our future. Also, view the schedule for Simon’s fall book tour. Arthur Simon will be in Portland at: Westminster Presbyterian Church Wednesday, September 9, 8:00 a.m.