United Methodists take look at hunger in NCC documentary

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Several United Methodist leaders figure prominently in a powerful TV documentary, "Hunger No More: Faces Behind the Facts," presented by the National Council of Churches.

The program takes an unflinching look at the persistent problem of hunger in the 21st century and offers solutions. It is available to NBC television network affiliates beginning Sept. 10.

United Methodists contributing their expertise in the program are the Rev. John McCullough, executive director of Church World Service; George McGovern, former senator and Democratic presidential candidate; Ken Horne, chief executive of the Society of St. Andrew; June Kim, executive secretary for world hunger of the United Methodist Committee on Relief; and the Rev. Bob Edgar, the NCC's chief executive.

Most Americans don't often ask where their next meal is coming from. But for millions of Americans and nearly a billion people worldwide, such food insecurity is a daily reality. The documentary approaches hunger from the perspective of faith, declaring that hunger is more than a social issue.

"It is a moral issue that needs immediate resolution," explained Burton Buller, president of Mennonite Media, producer of the program in collaboration with the NCC.

"The program brings to life the moral dimension of this thorny issue and offers up a vision for a new day when hunger is eradicated from the face of the earth," he said.

The one-hour, closed-captioned special, presented by the NCC in partnership with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission, will be telecast by NBC affiliates nationwide beginning Sunday, Sept. 10. Interested viewers should call their NBC station and ask when the program will be broadcast locally.

A study guide for the program or more information is available online at www.councilofchurches.org/hunger.

The TV special is being produced as part of the NCC's commitment "to address significant issues of faith and public policy and to pursue concrete solutions to the persistent challenge of poverty in a time of great wealth and capability in our society," Edgar said.

In addition to Mennonite Media, the NCC's partners for this production are the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the World Hunger Program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Society of St. Andrew and Church World Service, with cooperation from Bread for the World and United Methodist Communications.

*Information for this story was provided by the National Council of Churches.