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North Park Students Join in Poverty Vigil
NEW YORK, NY (October 4, 2005) - Students at North Park University and North
Park Theological Seminary recently participated in an interfaith vigil
at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations to encourage world
leaders to strengthen support for goals to end extreme poverty by the
year 2015.
The students gathered September 14 to mark the beginning of a three-day
U.N. Summit that discussed the progress of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG). The goals include eight objectives that call for raising
the standard of living of the world's poorest people by an agreed-upon
target date.
During the vigil, participants prayed and fasted as well as listened to
different speakers. The North Park group included Jodi DeYoung, Gavin
Dluehosh, Ingrid Johnson, Tim King, Andrew Phelan, Bryan Phelan, Adam
Phillips and alumnus Dana Fritz.
Some students stayed in New York City following the conclusion of the
summit to meet with Florence Chenoweth, director of the U.N. Food and
Agriculture office for New York. The meeting was arranged by Adam and
Amy Rohler, pastors of Bethesda Covenant Church where Chenoweth attends.
The meeting with Chenoweth was the highlight of the trip for many
students, said Bryan Phelan.
Standing in front of a banner reading "Poverty Kills 30,000 Children
Every Day," religious leaders encouraged participants to work together
to make history in the fight against poverty. "We need to start a new
war against global hunger," said Richard Cizik of the National
Association of Evangelicals. "We know from this banner that 30,000
children die every day from global hunger. Can an evangelical close his
eyes to that tragedy?"
Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, lamented that every day
there is a Hurricane Katrina in some area of the world. "Katrina was a
teachable moment," he said. "Ever since the hurricane struck, we have
been concerned that some of our neighbors may not have clean water to
drink or may get sick from water-borne diseases. But in the developing
world, we witness these harsh realities every single day - with no end
in sight."
Prominent speakers notwithstanding, general attendance at the vigil was
less than what DeYoung had hoped. "I expected it to be a larger crowd,"
she said. "I wrongly assumed that more people were an active voice for
the poor than there really are. As I realized how few people are
advocating for the poor, I realized that my voice matters more than I
ever gave myself credit for."
DeYoung's time at the seminary has stirred a deeper call to focus on
poverty issues. "Being in seminary has created a high learning curve for
me regarding justice," she says. Making the trip to New York was not
easy for her, however. "I was a bit fearful to go because I knew this
exposure might cost more than I was ready to give," she says. "I was
unsure what my participation in an event like this would require of me
in the future."
The event was the latest in which North Park representatives have
participated to advance the goals. Students and faculty at the
university and seminary have been taking a leading role in the U.S.
campaign.
Seminary Prof. Kazi Joshua, director of the Center for Justice
Ministries and university dean of multicultural development, will speak
at a MDG conference in Pasadena on October 15. Phillips and Bryan
Phelan, an intern with Bread for the World, will be leading a workshop
at a MDG conference in Seattle on November 19.
Rohler and NPU student Tim King recently attended the G-8 Summit in
Scotland, attended by world leaders including President Bush and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair. King has addressed student leaders in
Washington D.C.
In 2000, the United States and 188 other nations adopted the MDG goals,
which include achieving universal primary education, promoting gender
equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving
maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and malaria, ensuring environmental
sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.
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