A PRAYER SERVICE: UNITED
NATIONS DAY FOR THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY
October 17, 2016, 8:00 a.m.
CALL TO PRAYER ( A Tibetan bowl may be
sounded.)
Leader: Today, October 17th, we join
with people from every corner of our world to commemorate the United Nations
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. We bring to our circle of
prayer the cries of our sisters and brothers who fall victim to poverty. Poverty
eradication is a central tenet of both national and international development
agendas, yet, despite some progress, millions remain mired in abject poverty.
As Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights states, “The fact that
almost three billion people live in poverty and that 20 per cent of the world’s
people hold 70 per cent of its total income means that we have not kept our
promises [to each other].”
Poverty
and its web of inter-related conditions, such as economic and social inequality,
often intersect with other conditions including gender discrimination and the
lack of access to educational opportunities, health care, sanitation, clean
water, and decent work. One of the root causes of our failure to eliminate
poverty is the absence of a human rights framework in addressing poverty
eradication (Pathways to Poverty Eradication: Civil Society Perspective 2012).
Reader 1: Let us ready ourselves to
listen to the Gospel message [A Tibetan bowl may be sounded.]: Matthew 25: 37-40 I
was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to
drink. I was a stranger and you gave me no welcome; naked and you gave me no
clothing. I was ill and in prison and you did not visit me. [Pause for a moment of silence]
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 2: Hunger is the world’s number
one health risk. It kills more people than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis
combined.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 3: 925 million people do not have
enough to eat—more than the populations of the United States, Canada, and
Europe combined.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 4: Sixty percent of the world’s
hungry are women. Fifty percent of pregnant women in developing countries lack
proper maternal care, resulting in over 300,000 maternal deaths annually from
childbirth.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 4: 1.4 billion people in
developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 6: Seventy-five percent of the
world’s poorest people – 1.4 billion women, children, and men – live in rural
areas and depend on agricultural and related activities for their livelihood.
Fifty percent of hungry people are farming families.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 7: 1.7 billion people lack access
to water. 2.3 billion suffer from water-borne diseases each year. 12 percent of
the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water, and none of the 12 percent
lives in developing countries.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 8: According to the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2011 report, the United States has the
second-highest rate of childhood poverty in the developed world.
All: Lord, when was it that I saw
you hungry?
Reader 9: Among poor children in
America, race and ethnicity are significant indicators for outcomes regarding a
host of health-related issues, including birth weight, exposure to lead, and
access to adequate food and medical care.
All: “SOMEONE’S CRYING, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
Reader 10: The UN Human Rights Council’s
Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights address key elements of
meaningful participation, nondiscrimination, and accountability as integral to
the way forward. These principles are founded on the indivisibility and
interdependence of the civic, social, cultural, political, and economic rights
of all people.
Reader 11: According to the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), investing two percent of global gross domestic
product in protecting the environment can initiate a transition towards a low
carbon, resource efficient green economy that would have a positive impact on
all sectors of society. It is central to the eradication of poverty. The
extractive industries need to come under more stringent control as the
livelihoods they eradicate by polluting fisheries, farmland, forests, etc.
cannot be compensated by investments.
Reader 12: Social development in today’s
globalized world necessitates addressing the systemic causes of poverty and
inequality. The economic, political and social structures that sustain poverty
and unjust relations must be transformed so as to rebalance the extremes of
poverty and wealth throughout the world. The Guiding Principles provide
practical guidance on how to operationalize the obligations of States to
respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of all persons living in extreme
poverty.
Reader 13: As a result of the global
financial and economic crisis, public spending for social development has decreased,
but military spending has continued to increase. The continued emphasis on
military spending as a means of providing security and stability, both
nationally and globally, does not address the root causes of insecurity and
instability. Reducing military expenditures by even 2% and allocating that
money to addressing these root causes would greatly advance peace and
development, the real foundation of the security and stability of a nation.
Because global military spending has a direct impact on people living in
poverty and the environment, there can be no serious commitment to poverty
eradication by the United Nations Member States without addressing it
All: “SOMEONE’S CRYING, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
Reader 14: We pray that governments,
civil society, and people living in poverty can work together in programs that
address the root causes of poverty, promote systemic change, and eliminate
inequalities so as to achieve a just and productive society for all.
All: “SOMEONE’S DYING, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
Reader 15: We pray that governments adopt
and implement the Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights
presented by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights.
All: “SOMEONE’S HUNGRY, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
Reader 16: We pray that all governments
provide public investments in physical and social infrastructures, and enabling
environments and necessary resources for those involved in agricultural
production and distribution.
All: “SOMEONE’S THIRSTY, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
Reader 17: We pray that all governments
of developing countries with large rural populations implement social and
economic policies and programs that provide small landholders, landless
laborers, and women the opportunity to earn a livelihood and contribute to their
communities.
All: “SOMEONE’S TRUSTING, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
Leader 18: Because global military
spending has a direct impact on people living in poverty, we pray that all
governments reduce military spending by even 2%, and allocate that money to addressing
the root causes of poverty thus greatly advancing economic justice for all.
All: “SOMEONE’S HOPING, GOD, KUMBA YAH” (sing)
AFFIRMATION OF THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS OF FOOD
1.
Give
thanks for the food you eat.
2.
Eat
food grown as close as possible to where you live.
3.
Strive
for all people to have knowledge about and access to affordable,
4.
nutritious
food.
5.
Eat
mindfully and in moderation.
6.
Do
not waste food.
7.
Be
grateful to those who grow and prepare food for your table.
8.
Support
fair wages for farm workers, farmers and food workers.
9.
Reduce
the environmental damage of land, water and air from food
10.
production
and the food system.
11.
Protect
the biodiversity of seeds, soils, ecosystems and the cultures of
12.
food
producers
13.
Rejoice
and share the sacred gift of food with all.
CLOSING PRAYER
I dare to pray: God, let the
world be changed, For I long to see the end of poverty;
I dare to pray: God, let the
rules be changed,
For I long to see our economic
structures
Bring justice to the poor;
I dare to pray: God, let my
life be changed,
For I long to bring hope
Where the Good News is needed.
In the strength of your spirit
And inspired by your
compassion,
I make this promise to work for
change,
And wait confidently for the
day
When you make all things new
And those that weep will
rejoice. ~ Adapted from prayer by Peter
Graystone
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