UUA Representative Joins Faith Leaders to Press for Action During G-20 Summit

On the morning of September 23rd, the day before the start of the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA, Rev. Eric M. Cherry, Director of International Resources for the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), will join more than 25 Christian, Jewish, and Islamic religious leaders for a Faith Leaders Summit to press for actions—not just words—that will help hungry and poor people lift themselves out of poverty.

During the week of the G-20 Summit, September 24th-25th, U.S. administration officials are expected to provide details on a new initiative to reduce hunger and poverty around the world. Faith leaders gathered for the summit will voice their support for the initiative in a press conference on Wednesday, September 23rd at 9:00 a.m., in the Symphony A Room of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel at 107 6th Street, Pittsburgh.

Immediately following the press conference, religious leaders will process to the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, at 320 6th Avenue, where they are slated to meet with representatives of the U.S. delegation to the G-20.

“Along with interfaith allies, the Unitarian Universalist Association stands with the poor and hungry around the world. A recovery from the global economic recession is only meaningful if it includes significant alleviation of suffering for our poorest and hungriest brothers and sisters,” said Rev. Cherry.

Organized by Bread for the World, the Alliance to End Hunger, Religion for Peace-USA and other organizations, the religious leaders will convene to press world leaders to fulfill their promises to help people who have suffered from the global economic recession.

“The most important indicator of economic recovery should be what happens to hungry and poor people—the many families who are struggling in our own country and the tens of millions who have been driven into hunger around the world,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a collective Christian voice urging U.S. decision-makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

The worst global recession came on the heels of two years of soaring food prices. Together, these crises have led to dramatic increases in hunger and poverty around the world. For the first time in history, over a billion people are suffering from hunger.

The Group of 20 (G-20), established in 1999, brings together major industrialized and developing economies to discuss global economic issues. Together, these countries account for 90 percent of global gross national product, 80 percent of world trade, and represent two-thirds of the world’s population.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a faith community of more than 1,000 self-governing congregations that bring to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance and social justice.

ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.uua.org/pressroom/pressreleases/151105.shtml