Give us this day...
...our daily bread.
I wonder sometimes if I open my mouth too much about issues for the hungry. I hope you bear with me, because that thought always follows with the one telling me that I must be a voice.
Take a breath.
Every 3.6 seconds, or the time from one breath to the next, someone in this world dies from hunger. That's 24,000 deaths a day, or over 8 and a half million deaths a year. These deaths are mostly children.
1 in 7 people of this world live in chronic hunger, which is defined as not having a single day of one's life receiving adequate nutrition. That's the same number of people that live in the world's developed nations.
In my hands are 3 ounces of rice. The average person living in chronic hunger receives only this amount of food...daily.
The fact is that we have a bountiful God, and it would be funny if it were not so sad that God has given us an earth capable of feeding every human a daily diet of 3,500 calories in grains alone. That's enough to make everyone fat. The sadness is that people still die from hunger.
The United Nations knows this. Our governments' leaders know this. We have the distribution know-how to feed everyone. What is lacking is the moral courage of the people to say this is an injustice.
As a Christian, I must remember that I pray for our daily bread, not my daily bread. I must fight the temptation to construct a life where the poor are absent, and I must not submit to a theology that makes me comfortable in a world where the poor are invisible. When I do not recognize the faces of the hungry as my brothers and sisters, and when I do not stand up to be the voice for those whose cries go unheard, how sadly ironic it is that I follow the petition to give us this day our daily bread with a request to be forgiven of my sins.
*****
"The community which prays, 'Give us this day our daily bread,' and has as its constitutive sacrament the breaking of the bread in Jesus' name is by definition a community in service to the hungry. By virtue of partaking in the sacrament of bread, we become united with the one body of Christ among whose members are multitudes who are hungry. The question becomes not if but how we are going to share the bread on our tables with these hungry brothers and sisters." ~ Dr. Craig L. Nessan, Academic Dean at Wartburg Theological Seminary, "Give Us This Day"
May 10, 2007
THE NEED - hunger
THE ACTION - being a voice for the hungry
NON-PROFIT - The ONE Campaign
Photo by Kris Litman
amateur photographer
Comments and faves
Photo.Nerd.Emily, synecdoche, Michelle Brea, Fe em Brasil, and 159 other people added this photo to their favorites.
d.rex (73 months ago | reply)
Brilliantly said. Thank you.
--
Seen in Take a class with Dave & Dave (?)
artsy_T (73 months ago | reply)
very powerful and well done. wow. thanks for this. maybe it will inspire some to help make a difference.
Melody Harrison Hanson (73 months ago | reply)
Thanks for this. Thoughtful, provocative, and appealing.
Change comes one person at a time.
/cwd/
~*Leah*~ (73 months ago | reply)
Scary to think how many died in the time it took to read that.....
Thank you for the information. I had no idea the severity of the problem.
Mr. Kris (73 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the responses, everyone. I wasn't sure if I'd get any feedback on it. It is a troubling subject that I'd rather not bring up, but that is why I felt I needed to do it for the justice assignment. The best way anyone can help is by being a voice for the voiceless. Check out the ONE Campaign; it never asks for your money, only your voice.
d.rex - Thank you for commenting. I hope you don't mind that for the assignment I used injustice to describe what I believe can be justice.
artsy_T - We can hope. As you know, working with kids is a great way to change the world.
Melody - Thank you. Those were my goals with it.
leah8691 - I hate to say it, but the scariest part for me is that every year more people die from hunger than the number that died during the Holocaust.
Sunneschii (73 months ago | reply)
Wow... this is strong. And works excellent for the assignment!
And I love how you techniqually executed this shot.
--
Seen in Take a class with Dave & Dave (?)
Jessica Leas Photography (73 months ago | reply)
Lovely sentiment and beautiful photo.
cwd
¤ njm ¤ [deleted] (73 months ago | reply)
Powerful, Kris.
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Seen on your photo stream. (?)
synecdoche (73 months ago | reply)
I must fight the temptation to construct a life where the poor are absent, and I must not submit to a theology that makes me comfortable in a world where the poor are invisible. When I do not recognize the faces of the hungry as my brothers and sisters, and when I do not stand up to be the voice for those whose cries go unheard, how sadly ironic it is that I follow the petition to give us this day our daily bread with a request to be forgiven of my sins.
Sorry, I just wanted to emphasize this, as I too rarely encounter such thoughtfulness associated with theology, especially in America.
Ivania photography [deleted] (73 months ago | reply)
wow!!! great message, perfect image and amazing words!
Mr. Kris (73 months ago | reply)
Sunneschii - I felt simplicity was the best way to get this one across.
leas_jessica - Thank you for the comment!
Frica - ...like so many of yours.
synecdoche - Thank you for the emphasis; I need to be reminded of it frequently. Some theologies I hear spewed in America make me sick; they prefer to call certain actions evil, when (Biblically) those actions are character deficiencies at worst. Preaching those actions as evil only emphasizes the status quo, which is not what Jesus is about. We fail to recognize that what the Bible labels as true evils are the human practices of injustice.
::stepping off soapbox::
Ivania - Thank you for commenting. I had hoped the two (photo and text) would go hand in hand (no pun intended).
lagreenfrog (73 months ago | reply)
Awsome shot! great message! Thank you...
Michelle Brea (73 months ago | reply)
I don´t know if i like the photo or the message best!!! Almost made me weep ;(
love it!
This photo deserves a big HEART,
please post this beautiful picture at
Heart Awards Group .
You are my winner!
Please add this photo to
www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/
Big Garlic Bullet [deleted] (73 months ago | reply)
Definitely a winner!!!
You deserve another one.
Found in www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/
izewine (73 months ago | reply)
Great pics! please consider submitting it to Charity In-Focus Photo Contest: www.flickr.com/groups/charityinfocus
lrayholly (73 months ago | reply)
Great photo, Great message! Thank you! Very powerful
ps. I'm glad I wasn't the only one on a soapbox this week ;-)
Fe em Brasil (73 months ago | reply)
Thanks for speaking up. Mother Teresa was once asked why she bothered because what she did was just a drop in the ocean. Her response has always stuck with me. She replied that the ocean is made up of those drops. In speaking out you are another drop in that same ocean. We CAN make a difference!
little_trouble_girl (73 months ago | reply)
Thank you for having the courage to use this forum as a way of spreading the knowledge of injustices that occur in our world. It is quite easy to slip into "ignorance is bliss" unless people like you are encouraging us to revisit and think about these issues. Thank you.
Sugaard (73 months ago | reply)
You should use this as a graphic for your presentations. It beautifully illustrates an ugly truth and would have a powerful impact on your listeners, just like it did here! Great job of both photo and message!
pi c's (73 months ago | reply)
Excellent!
Seen in Class with Daves...
I give to you my version of a gold star....the vermilion fish award!
Cognitive Ambition (73 months ago | reply)
Well conceived, well executed. Beautiful shot.
d.rex (73 months ago | reply)
amanky (73 months ago | reply)
this is an amazing shot... well worthy of the GoldStar!
°*° SweetMalia °*° [deleted] (73 months ago | reply)
words and light. beautiful
abchick (73 months ago | reply)
I'm so glad this got a gold star or I may have missed it. Wonderful shot and thoughtful words.
Mr. Kris (73 months ago | reply)
Thanks to everyone for your comments and faves!
One goal of the photo was so you all might take the time to learn more about the efforts of the ONE Campaign. Its goals are to see that the nations of this world live up to the promises they made when the United Nations unanimously passed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). ONE never asks for your money, just your voice.
The MDGs
1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2) Achieve universal primary education
3) Promote gender equality and empower women
4) Reduce child mortality
5) Improve maternal health
6)Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
7) Ensure environmental sustainability
8) Create a global partnership for development
Glen's Pics (73 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Digital Classic Black and White, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Glen's Pics (73 months ago | reply)
I have not heard of your organization before now, but applaud your work. We have a project in our church called Seeds which distrubutes thousands of packs of vegetable seeds as well as grain each year. The idea is to allow people in poverty ridden areas to grow there own food and also share seeds with family and neighbors. That is not the official name of the organization, just what it is known by most of the congregation.
Mr. Kris (73 months ago | reply)
Glen - That sounds a like a wonderful project! I like to hear of groups (especially congregations) that really pull together to work toward one goal (Seeds, in your case). I feel more is done as a total and the message doesn't get confused or lost with others.
.Bradi. (73 months ago | reply)
Very good... Good shot and good words.
It seems incredibly easy to just not think about things like this. And even if you do think about it, to do not much more than feel some sympathy for them for a while and just move on. Definitely something we need to be reminded of often (for both our and their sakes.)
If I could fave this more than once, I would!
DavidDMuir (72 months ago | reply)
Thank you for making this photo available under a Creative Commons License. I was looking for a photo of rice to illustrate a blog entry and decided this was the one when I saw the thumbnail. ...Then I came here and read your description. Excellent. Thank you for sharing both your picture and your thoughts.
unaerica (72 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called IN MY HAND, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Mr. Kris (72 months ago | reply)
David - Thanks for choosing my photo for your blog entry! I read it and understood a bit of what was being discussed, but the topic of discussion is not my normal cup of tea. :)
Mr. Kris (71 months ago | reply)
For those of you who have commented on this photo, is was recently accepted as an honorable mention for the Charity-In-Focus photo contest. It'll be on display July 20-22 in NYC.
I don't live near there, but if any of you want to visit the display, here is the information about the display:
Exhibition Hours:
Opening Reception: July 20th, 2007 (Fri) 6pm to 8pm
(w/ wine and cheese and music performance)
General Exhibition: July 21-22, 2007 (Sat/Sun) 12pm to 5pm
Exhibition Gallery:
Icosahedron Gallerie
(Near 1 train's Franklin Station)
27 North Moore St.,
NY, NY 10013
Tel. no.: (212) 966-3897
Exquiro (66 months ago | reply)
"...the time from one breath to the next..."
For a moment I slowed my breathing, it was a pretty stupid thing but then automatic reactions are sometimes.
Wonderful image and some very good points. I love the way the rice is weighed, not sure why.
Dulcinea von Toboso (66 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Your life belt, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
janusz l (64 months ago | reply)
Great image , but please take a look at this guy he is using it ( just like mine )
www.flickr.com/photos/davidorban/
I did ask him to remove my image
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Seen in someone's favorites. (?)
Sorensens & Kids (64 months ago | reply)
Beautiful image, wonderful sentiment. Would you allow your image to be used on a church missions webpage which has the sole purpose of inspiring members to donate to those in need?
madhavaji (63 months ago | reply)
Hi Mr. Kris,
We've used this creative commons photo on our non-commercial blog site The Thoughts of PR Sarkar ...
Here's the link thoughtsof.prsarkar.com
How does it look to you? Are you happy with this use of your photo?
Great shot by the way ...
Thanks :)
m.
bott.richard (63 months ago | reply)
Thank you for sharing this image through a Creative Commons license.
It was used in part of the Sunday morning worship experience at St. Andrew's (Haney) United Church in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, on Sunday, March 16th.
Peace to you!
lucymac (62 months ago | reply)
Thank you for sharing this photograph. I used it with credit, on Positive Attitude Quotes to illustrate a quote about giving and taking.
Lucy MacDonald
bcalifornian (62 months ago | reply)
Great Image. I used it in my presentation on sustainability (with appropriate attribution to you of course) here...
innodesk.blogspot.com/2008/04/recyclable-vers us-sustainab...
Thanks for sharing!!
Caro's Lines (62 months ago | reply)
Thank you very much for making this image available with a creative commons license that allows manipulation. If you would like to see what I have done with it please look here: www.flickr.com/photos/caroslines/2418417051/
keith_erwood (62 months ago | reply)
Mr Kris'
Thank you for using Creative Commons and I want to let you know I posted this picture in my blog here
disasterpreparednessblog.com/2008/04/world-fo od-shortage-...
Hope that you find it worthy
Regards,
Keith
Moon Beams and Day Dreams (61 months ago | reply)
like it. love it. blogged it : christyhulsey.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/anne-f ranks-words-...
loswl (61 months ago | reply)
Wonderful photo, i love the softness of the image, it helps to portray a compassionate feeling!! :o)
This Beautiful Photo is invited to INSPIKS Pool
'SomewhereinAK' (59 months ago | reply)
I think this is a great image, that shows humanity at it's finest!
You are invited to join and add it to:
Celebrating Humanity
Please tag your image: CelebratingHumanity
whatismyoption (59 months ago | reply)
Fantastic photo.
I hope it is OK with you, we used your photo on our site
payconomics.org/2008/07/enough/
I'm newish to flickr so not sure of the etiquette. If using your photo is not cool please let me know.
Cheers
Dean
ramblinglibrarian (57 months ago | reply)
Hey Mr. Kris, you've got a good heart :)
anyway, just to let you know this image was also used it in this music video:
starfishstories.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/musi c-video-one-...
Thanks for sharing this under the CC license.
The crazy Colombian (55 months ago | reply)
Hello Mr Kris,
this is just a short note to say a big 'Thank You' for making your photograph available under a Creative Commons (attribution) license. I recently used it for a literary/photographic experiment of mine: a book (print and online versions available) that tells my story in pictures (It is calledZen and the art of photographic story-telling) and I have used your photo on the Give page.
Thanks again for your generosity,
The crazy colombian
crazycolombian.com