North Alabama churches recognized for feeding the hungry
Six United Methodist church congregations in the North Alabama Conference have been recognized by the Society of St. Andrew for their support of its hunger-relief ministry during the first quarter of this year. They are among 83 churches across the connection that have partnered with Society of St. Andrew so far this year to feed the nations hungry people.
The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is an Advance Special of the United Methodist Church (#801600) and a national nonprofit ministry that salvages fresh, nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it to feeding agencies for their hungry clients.
Partner Churches support SoSAs ministry by providing the financial means to help glean even more food to feed the poor, educate people about the causes and effects of hunger in the nation and world, and enable SoSA to reach out in loving kindness to a world that is hungry for food and for the gospel. Churches are recognized as Partners for donations of $500 and more to the hunger-relief ministry of Society of St. Andrew. Partner Church levels include: St. Andrew Partner ($500), One Mile Partner ($850), Change the World Partner ($1,000), and Extra Mile Partner ($1,700).
During 2005, SoSA was blessed with the support of 1,567 churches nationwide. 302 of those churches supported SoSAs hunger relief work at the Partner Church level. Total contributions from congregations amounted to $523,486, allowing SoSA to save more than 8.7 million pounds of food and provide 26.2 million servings of fresh produce to hungry families. Totally during 2005, SoSA saved 29.5 million pounds of food that was distributed throughout the 48 contiguous states.
The Society of St. Andrew has issued certificates of recognition and gratitude to the following churches in the North Alabama Conference for their Partner Church level support since January:
St. Andrew Partners
- Lacey's Spring United Methodist Church Lacey's Spring
- First United Methodist Church Alexander City
- Alexandria United Methodist Church Alexandria
- Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church Pleasant Grove
- Huffman United Methodist Church Birmingham
Change the World Partner
- Snead First United Methodist Church Albertville
Churches throughout the Conference are encouraged to participate with the Society of St. Andrew in feeding the hungry. For more information about the Society of St. Andrew and its Partner Churches program, contact the national office at 800-333-4597, online at www.endhunger.org , or by mail at 3383 Sweet Hollow Road, Big Island, VA 24526.