President Jimmy Carter to Address Faith and Global Hunger on Day1

"Faith & Global Hunger" series capstone focuses on United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the series and supporting resources examine global hunger through a Christian social justice perspective, to spark increased awareness of and support for the MDGs among people of faith.

President Jimmy Carter will provide the capstone address for the forthcoming "Faith and Global Hunger: A Special Day1 Series in Support of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals."  The series, airing this summer and fall on 200 'Day 1' affiliate stations and at Day1.org, also will include addresses by four prominent faith and policy leaders.  Together, the speakers emphasize Christ's insistence on justice for the least amongst us, and describe the power of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals program to transform the lives of the world's poorest citizens. 

The weekly 'Day 1' program, hosted by Peter Wallace, will air the "Faith and Global Hunger" series on four consecutive Sunday beginning June 13, with President Carter's capstone airing Sept. 12. The series commemorates the program's 65th consecutive year of radio broadcasts. 

Carter, acclaimed internationally for his humanitarian efforts, has been vocal about the importance of his faith and its impetus to serve the poor. A former governor of Georgia, he served as the nation's 39th president from 1977 to 1981.  In 1982, he founded The Carter Center (www.cartercenter.org), in Atlanta, to "wage peace, fight disease, and build hope."  In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." 

Carter is also widely acclaimed for his work on behalf of Habitat for Humanity, and recognized for his regular service as Sunday school teacher at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga.

He is the author of 24 books, including "Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope," and "Living Faith."

President Carter's capstone will air Sept. 12, on the eve of the High-Level MDG Review Summit at the United Nations.  There, the world community will review MDG progress and, it is hoped, recommit to the full realization of the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target date. 

'Day1' will launch a special website, hunger.day1.org, to provide series listeners and congregations with tools - including a wide array of audio, video, and text resources - to move from faith to action.  To carry the message of faith and action to the widest possible audience, 'Day 1' and allies including the United Nations Millennium Campaign, Bread for the World, The Micah Challenge, and others will launch a comprehensive, simultaneous outreach campaign utilizing social media and the Web.

In addition to President Carter, the "Faith and Global Hunger" series features messages by and interviews with four prominent faith and policy leaders:

• W. Hodding Carter III , Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and State Department spokesman under President Carter, journalist, author, former president of the Knight Foundation, Professor of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, speaking on the scope of the problem of world hunger today (airdate June 13).

• The Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad , the Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary in New York, Lutheran clergy, former pastor and frequent Day1 preacher, on the biblical foundation for serving the poor (airdate June 20).  

• The Rev. David Beckmann , President of Bread for the World since 1991, Lutheran clergy, former World Bank economist, author of books and articles on Christian faith, economics, poverty and hunger, on specific ways of addressing the problem of poverty and hunger through the Millennium Development Goals (airdate June 27).

• The Right Rev. Michael Curry , Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, issuing a call to serve the poor individually and corporately (airdate July 4).

The idea for the series came from a listener and supporter in Chapel Hill, N.C.  Charles Browning heard Lundblad say in a 'Day 1' sermon that "Jesus knew long ago what economists and hunger activists tell us now: We have everything we need to end world hunger."  Browning, a retired farmer, and his wife, Margaret Knoerr, a librarian, were inspired to do something in response.  He contacted the producers to suggest the idea of the series to raise awareness and encourage listener response to the problem.

The Millennium Development Goals represent the historic promise made by 189 world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000.  In the Millennium Declaration, the first global compact in which rich and poor countries recognize a collective responsibility to end poverty and its root causes, the world community resolved to achieve substantial improvements in the lives of the world's poorest people by 2015.  The eight MDGs target global hunger, universal education, gender equity, child health, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other disease, environmental sustainability, and comprehensive development planning.

Ten years after the Millennium Declaration, significant progress has been made toward the realization of the MDGs.  In 2010, the UN member states will convene to assess progress and accelerate achievement at the High-Level MDG Review Summit, scheduled for Sept. 20-23 at the United Nations as part of the 65th UN General Assembly.  The year 2010 therefore offers a unique opportunity to catalyze public discussion and policy development on the MDGs in anticipation of the Review Summit, which stands as the most important event on the 2010 global policy calendar.

Formerly known as "The Protestant Hour," 'Day 1' is distributed to 200 radio stations across America and overseas.  The program is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in association with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.  The program has received numerous awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award and the Communicators' Award for Excellence in inspirational radio.

For more information, call 404-815-9110 or visit the program's website, http://day1.org. In addition, audio, video, and text resources for individuals and church groups will be available on a special website, hunger.day1.org.