Summer 2007 Newsletter
The contents of the summer 2007 newletter are reprinted below. For archived news, please click here. Pictures accompanying the articles will be included soon.
Ninth Annual Empty Bowls Event Scheduled for October 13, 2007
This year’s Empty Bowls event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at MATC—Oak Creek, 6665 S. Howell Ave.
Once again, as in 2006, Friedens Community Ministries has been selected to be one of the pantry and meal programs who will receive proceeds from the event. This year the Empty Bowls volunteers are planning changes "to improve the flow of traffic and enhance your experience."
As in 2006, the waiting line will be inside the building where guests will be able to meet grant recipients. Raffle items will be displayed in the "waiting area." Just before entering the event, participants will have the opportunity to watch a potter throwing bowls.
The Grab Bag Express, which requires a minimum donation of $20, allows guests to purchase a pre-selected bowl and enter the event through a "fast track " line. In addition to acquiring a one-of-a-kind handcrafted bowl, participants are able to sample soups and breads made by Milwaukee area chefs and bakers.
Empty Bowls was started in Michigan in 1990 by a high school art teacher for the purpose of supporting a food drive. Guests took home an empty bowls as a reminder of hunger in the world. Since then Empty Bowls events have been held throughout the world to combat hunger.
According to volunteer organizers, Milwaukee’s Empty Bowls event, which started in 1999, has grown to be the largest in the United States.
Attendees in 2006 enjoyed selecting their own unique bowl from the more than 2,000 original designs.
For a donation of $20 per bowl—$10 per child—participants were also invited to sample bead and soup from 50 local chefs and enjoy the talents of Milwaukee musicians.
For more information click on www.milwaukeeemptybowls.org.
Friedens Welcomes One Returning and Three New Board Members
James R. Dorr rejoined the Board of Directors on January 24, 2007 after a hiatus of one year. Jim served as vice president in 2001 and 2002, then as president from 2002 to 2006. In the past he has served on the Nominating and Development and Implementation committees. Currently, Jim is a member of the Finance Committee.
An architectural designer and builder, Jim is the owner and president of Living Space Design-Build Company, Inc. He is a graduate of St. Norbert College and holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from UW-M’s School of Architecture & Urban Planning. Jim says he serves on Friedens’ Board as well the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association’s Board because he likes using his skills in areas of design, writing, planning and managing events, and entrepreneurship in other ways than profit making.
Inez Jane D Luna became a Friedens’ Board Member at its May 23rd meeting. A Certified Nurse-Midwife, Inez works at Milwaukee Health Services, a healthcare provider that serves primarily individuals living on the northside of Milwaukee, with an emphasis on underserved individuals.
Inez earned her Masters of Science in nursing from Marquette Univesity, and is a licensed Nurse Midwife and an Advance Practice Nurse Prescriber. She has served on the Bethel-Bethany UCC Council, and other community nursing boards.
Inez agreed to serve on the Board because she is interested in doing more in the areas of hunger and housing, as these are issues for many of her clients. She brings to the Board her skills as a teacher, facilitator, organizer, speaker, and listener.
Rev. Daniel Schultz was welcomed as a member of the Frieden’s Board on Jan. 24th. Rev. Schultz is Pastor of Salem United Church of Christ located in Wayne, WI. A third generation minister, Rev. Schultz earned a Batchelor’s degree in English, history and history culture from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He received his Master of Divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
>Prior to becoming the pastor at Salem, he served two congregations in central Pennsylvania.
Pastor Schultz is an avid blogger and maintains the website www.streetprophets.com. He brings his online skills, as well as skills in preaching, teaching, organizing and problem solving.
Rev. Wanda J. Washington joined the Board at its January 24th meeting. She brings to Friedens many gifts, including organizational and motivational skills, preaching and public speaking, teaching, mentoring and staff supervision.
In 2006, Wanda was chosen to take on the task of starting a new congregation in Milwaukee, Grace United Church of Christ. Rev. Washington is the first African American female in the UCC to start a new church in Wisconsin. "God has been blessing this new calling," says Rev. Washington. "The church has been growing and developing since its first worship on April 9, 2006 —Palm Sunday. Currently there are 100 official members. Rev. Washington’s mission is to unite the members of the congregation with God in a personal relationship, unite the members with one another in strength and fellowship, and unite the ministry of the church with a community that is in need.
What Do You Know About Hunger?
In 2005, the US Census Bureau reported that Milwaukee is the 9th poorest city in the United States. 25% of its resident live below the poverty line. And we know that "where there is poverty, there is hunger." The Wisconsin Research Policy Institute states that Milwaukee lost 30,000 family-sustaining jobs between 1999 and 2003. FoodShare use is up 94% in Wisconsin, with recipients indicating that benefits only last about 2½ weeks. Then families turn to pantries and meal programs. 211@IMPACT, the area’s 24/7 helpline, says that it receives more than 25,000 calls each month for food assistance. Hunger is the number one reason for calls to 211.
So What Can We Do About Hunger?
Are we going to be like Ted and allow the compassion we feel to be moved to action? We would like to suggest the following:
Hunger Task Force Becomes Sole Operator of Milwaukee County 150-Acre Farm
Located in Franklin, across the street from the Milwaukee County House of Correction, the farm is expected to yield 335,000 pounds of produce in 2007.
Recently, Hunger Task Force signed a ten-year lease with Milwaukee County to run the County’s farm. On June 20th we made the long trek to the southern border of Milwaukee County to visit Hunger Task Force’s growing operation.
We observed a well-run, modern farm that has been producing high quality fruits and vegetables. A beneficiary of the harvest, Friedens has been able to offer to people who use its pantries a wide variety of fresh foods.
Since 2004, Hunger Task Force has partnered with Milwaukee County to farm 60 of the properties 150 acres. Each year the Task Force has been able to offer 277,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables to Milwaukee’s meal programs, homeless shelters, and 80 food pantries.
With Hunger Task Force running the farm, the focus will be on growing high quality produce for County residents who are poor. This year, they are growing 27 varieties of fruits and vegetables, including bok choy, napa and greens. Friedens’ customers are already enjoying these healthy alternatives to the typical canned foods distributed by the pantry.
At a time when Wisconsin is losing about 30,000 acres of farmland per year, the Hunger Task Force is improving the land by creating a "green belt." It has also added new equipment, a green bean picker, a tractor, seeder, seedling transplanter, and root crop digger. The new vegetable wash line will make the product more attractive to consumers. Hunger Task Force also hopes to farm an additional 40 acres, increasing the annual yield to 500,000 pounds.
A recent article in Harvard Health Publications, stated that growing number of children and adults are dealing with obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. These conditions disproportionately affect the poor.
The farm fits into Hunger Task Force’s initiative to fight these conditions by providing healthy fresh foods along with non-perishable items to pantries, shelters, and meal programs.
According to Milwaukee County officials, the farm was founded in the 1950s to provide food for the House of Correction. Farm workers will continue to be non-violent House of Correction inmates who are nearing release from the facility. They will be supervised by Hunger Task Force employees.
*Condensed from Hunger Task Force article "The Farm" that appears on www.hungertaskforce.org
Used by permission.
Pyramid Pete Meets Ted Chisholm
By Cletus Hasslinger, Vice President, Friedens’ Board of Directors
We are sharing the story of nine-year-old Ted Chisholm because his actions on behalf of children who are hungry set him apart as an extraordinarily compassionate individual.
A third grader at Willow Glen School in St. Francis, Ted said that one day he observed a girl crying during lunch.
"I asked her what was wrong, and she said that because she forgot her lunch money, she was given only a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with cheese."
According to Ted their class had just learned about petitions being a peaceful means for affecting change.
" That night I organized a petition asking Chartwells Food Service, which serves Willow Glen School, to provide a side of fruit or vegetables to go along with the sandwich. That would be fair because kids would get enough to eat and not be humiliated for not having lunch money," said Ted.
On Wednesday, 29 students and two teachers signed Ted’s petition. "No one was pressured to sign. Then on Thursday I [took] the petition to the principal’s office." According to Ted, the principal read the petition and scheduled a meeting with Chartwells’ staff who agreed to talk with Ted and his class the following week.
" I prepared a speech and a power point presentation for the meeting," said Ted. "At the meeting Chartwells presented their point of view and the students asked good questions. Chartwells agreed to give the kids more food."
So we asked Ted, if he had plans for future petitions? "I have some ideas on what we can do as a school to create a slush fund for kids whose families forget to give them money or a lunch," he said.
Ted based his presentation on Chartwells’ mascot, Pyramid Pete, who says that kids should have balanced meals.
Where Does the Real Meaning In Life Come From?
The following paragraph was written by Herb Miller and published in his book "Stewardship Preaching." Permission to use this excerpt has been granted by Abingdon Press. Edited to fit the format.
"Some 200 years ago, the French educator, Alexis de Tocquesville came to America to study the newly independent republic. In Democracy in America he pointed to traits in Americans that are applicable today. ‘I have seen the freest and best educated [people} in circumstances [that seem to be] the happiest in the world. Yet, it seemed to me that a cloud habitually hung on their brows and they seemed serious and almost sad in their pleasures. They never stop thinking of the good things they have not got. They clutch everything and hold nothing fast.’
"We have grown more knowledgeable and secure over the last 200 years, but. . .The forces that hammer at us have turned us into a nation of seekers. Part of our search has been prompted by a sense that our lives are empty, confusing, monotonous, unrewarding. We search for meaning and inspiration, for a workable formula that can lead us to a joyful, contented, satisfying existence." [Give to Live, Douglas M. Lawson]
The answer is so obvious that we can fail to see it. Real meaning in life does not come from getting things, but from giving —giving of our resources, of our time, of ourselves.
Our Mailing Address:
Friedens Community Ministries, Inc. Marcia Coggs Human Services Center
1220 West Vliet Lower Level
P.O. Box 05411
Milwaukee, WI 53205-0411
Phone: 414.289.6030
Fax: 414.289.8935
E-mail: friedens AT milwpc DOT com
Creating Opportunities, Seeking Justice