“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” —Nicene Creed
Blessed 1,700th birthday of the Nicene Creed, which recognizes and celebrates the gift of unity, oneness, and action together as people of faith. Diverse Christian leaders came together in 325 AD at the First Council of Nicaea to establish a credal foundation based on the gospel lesson of oneness among diversity—found in John 17:20 (“so that they may be brought to complete unity’) and in Acts 2: 1-13 (the Pentecost).
This creed calls us to a belief in one God and to all things visible and invisible from our Creator, God. Such a call invites us to see the ordinary and to imagine the extraordinary that is divine. Examples of this can be found in hospitals, schools, and other ministries of hope. We are called to see the extraordinary through companionship with the sick, the shut-in, those imprisoned, and yes, those affected by hunger and poverty.
Bread for the World has lived into this calling of the ordinary and the extraordinary since 1974 by advocating for justice for those affected by hunger and poverty and also by seeing and believing we can end hunger. Indeed, Bread recognizes the importance of charity as it engages its mission of justice through advocacy.
For 50 years, Bread has been a harbinger for justice. We welcome you to our Jubilee Year of advocacy! Next month, you are invited to join us during Black History Month on February 4 at 7 p.m. ET for the launch of Bread’s Nourish Our Future campaign. Please go here to learn more and register. The movement is building, and we would love to have you as a part of it!
On June 9–11, Bread’s 50th Anniversary Advocacy Summit will be held in Washington, D.C., at the Museum of the Bible. Various rates of accommodation and access to the events will be available. Please keep an eye on Bread.org to follow the preparations and further details. The Pan African Consultation related to these events will be on June 9.
Nourish Our Future is critical to our Bread legislative agenda and our Pan African priorities. Nourish Our Future is a focus on the future and the present. It focuses on our children and youth and the role all of us can play to build a sustainable future for and with all. The legislative agenda includes Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Child Tax Credit; campus hunger; and global nutrition.
At the same time, debt relief, debt cancellation, and economic aid and climate justice are also important to our 2025 legislative agenda. Bread will be working with partners like the African Union, Jubilee, and Jubilee Year of Turning Debt to Hope Campaign on these years. And in 2025, many Bread member churches will be celebrating the Ecumenical Year and the Ecumenical Decade on Climate Justice.
We look forward to collaborating with you in 2025!
Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church engagement at Bread for the World.
