The Advent season is around the corner. What does it mean to be Christian in a world in which “6 million children die each year, mostly from hunger-related causes.”

“For unto us a child is born." - Isaiah 9:6

Bread for the World, the Christian advocacy organization on hunger and poverty issues, has developed Advent resources use in our churches:

"Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given," Isaiah declares. As we prepare to receive the Christ child anew in this season of Advent, our faith compels us to hear the cry of all children, especially poor children. We must remember that every day millions of children are born suffering from hunger and poverty. Many of them will die of preventable disease.

If we are to receive the Christ child fully into our hearts, we must allow the Holy Spirit to work within us and shape our lives. We are called to take on God's passionate concern for the world's poor and oppressed people. This Advent and Christmas, let us remember with Isaiah that the Child who brings light to those "who walk in darkness" tells us that if we "offer food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted," our own "light shall rise in the darkness" and our "gloom shall be like the noonday." (Isaiah 58)

The Call to Respond

2005 brought the hope of new political will to end hunger and poverty, as the ONE Campaign in the United States, and similar campaigns in 80 other countries, engaged millions of people in new efforts to end to extreme poverty, hunger and disease. An unprecedented array of religious and secular groups have organized to address the root causes of these problems. They are responding not only through charity, but also by calling on our elected officials to make genuine human development for the poorest people and nations a top U.S. policy priority.

More and more Christians are finding – in the ONE Campaign, the Micah Challenge, and the Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty – ways of acting on their faith to advocate for debt cancellation, trade justice and robust increases in poverty-focused development assistance. Advent can be our time to learn about these efforts, pray for their effectiveness and thus respond with greater energy in 2006 to better the lives and ensure the dignity of all God’s children.

What can our congregations do this Advent to become involved with these issues?

Click here to downlaod a quidebook from Bread for the World with suggestions for congregational efforts.

There is a lot God is calling on us to do.