Public policy leader on hunger to speak at Annual Conference.

H. Eric Schockman, president of MAZON, a Jewish Response to Hunger, will speak on "Repairing the World: Creating Just and Compassionate Communities" at the Global Ministries Dinner at the 2009 Annual Conference.

Established in 1985 in Los Angeles, MAZON is a national nonprofit organization that allocates donations from the Jewish community to alleviate hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds. The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. on June 29. The dinner will include elements of the Passover Seder, which begins with the declaration, "Let all who are hungry enter and eat."

Earlier that day, at 12:30 p.m., Schockman will lead a Global Food Crisis Fund insight session looking at how scriptural teachings on hunger apply to today’s world. "Dr. Schockman is well positioned to help us explore the intersection of faith and hunger issues," said Howard Royer, manager of the Global Food Crisis Fund. "A former Peace Corps worker in Sierra Leone and political science professor at the University of Southern California, Eric is a widely recognized expert on agricultural policy and sustainable development."

The Church of the Brethren and MAZON work together through the Interfaith Hunger Coordinators Forum. The Global Ministries Dinner is sponsored by the Church of the Brethren’s Global Mission Partnerships.

-- Janis Pyle is mission connections coordinator for the Church of the Brethren.

Source: 2/12/2009 Newsline Extra