CWoAoF |October  11 – 17, 2017

The Churches Week of Action on Food is a Global Campaign for Food Justice initiated by the World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and the National Council of Churches in India is part of this campaign for years. This week (11 -17 October), highlights the UN days of Gild Child (11), Disaster Reduction (13), Rural Women (15) World Food day (16) and Eradication of Poverty 17).

The theme for World Food Day, this year (2017) is “Change the Future of Migration: Invest in Food Security and Rural Development”. It has been chosen to highlight the role of civil societies and faith communities in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger by addressing climate change with the Gospel Values of Justice, Love and Peace.

Despite the economic growth achieved during the last 20 years, India continues to suffer from ‘alarming hunger’ and acute malnutrition among children below age five. The recently introduced National Food Security Bill tries to address some of these concerns seriously. The Government of India also has to improve the design and supervision of the welfare programmes like the Public Distribution System (PDS) which distributes basic commodities at subsidized cost to the people who live under the poverty line. However, food alone does not solve the problem of underweight children; it needs a multidimensional thrust through the right to health, right to hygiene, right to water and right to life.

Therefore, considering the seriousness of the issue the then Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation, of the National Council of Churches in India joined the World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance in launching a National Campaign on “FOOD-JUSTICE for LIFE” in 2012 and initiated missional interventions in promoting ‘Life Giving Agriculture’ as a commitment to facilitate their constituent members and communities of people to join the campaign to give expression in the entire world to the Gospel of Food-Justice for Life.

The National Council of Churches in India has been part of the World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance’s Churches Week of Action on Food. This year the NCCI joined the WCC – EAA along with the Student Christian Movement of India (SCMI) and facilitated a National Consultation and Workshop on Food and Migration ( 14 -15 Aug 2017, SCM House Bangalore) and developed these Orders of Worship for the week. Such ‘Prayer’ campaign is an urgent necessity to inform the world that food insecurity is sin caused by unjust systems and practices of the society. It is a call to the entire society to campaign for just-production, just-consumption, and just-distribution on the basis of needs, necessity and equality along with practicing and promoting socially and environmentally sustainable agriculture. The Gospel imperative is that we all work together, irrespective of caste, creed, faith, ideology and philosophies to change the unjust practices, structures and systems of our society.

This year the entire focus would be on ‘Food and Migration’. Migration is one of the Programme focal areas of NCCI in this Quadrannum.

The NCCI appreciates the SCMI – WCC – ECC and NCCI -Unity and Mission for facilitating this timely and important prayer campaign to encourage all the members and their churches/institutions to observe the Food Action Week actively as a call of God to serve the society.

We request you to kindly disseminate and publish the same among your congregations and networks and encourage them to join the campaign by observing the Week of Action for Food.

The Campaign envisions “Hunger-free Society of all and Society for All!

DOWNLOAD – CHURCHES’ WEEK OF ACTION ON FOOD 2017 WORSHIP RESOURCE BOOKLET