Religious Leaders Convene in New York as Heads of State Review the Millennium Development Goals

Approximately 75 national religious leaders and directors of religious relief and development organizations from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions will convene to discern their response to the continuing hunger crisis that threatens to reverse the gains made toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This is the first gathering of leaders from all three faiths to discuss the impact of the continuing global hunger crisis on the MDGs.

The session is set for Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. The plenary session from 12:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. is open to the media. From 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the participants will be cloistered for a period of reflection and discernment. Among those attending:

* The Rev. David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World, will talk about the Millennium Development Goals and the continuing global hunger crisis.

* The Most Rev. Njongonkulu W.H. Ndungane, former Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, will lead the participants in prayer.

Heads of state from around the world will convene on Thursday, Sept. 25, at the United Nations to review the midpoint progress of the Millennium Development Goals and secure more resources to accelerate achievement of these goals by 2015. They will participate in three roundtables discussions on poverty and hunger, education and health, and environmental sustainability.

With these high-profile UN meetings as the backdrop, Bread for the World, the Alliance to End Hunger, and the Inter-Faith Anti-Hunger Coordinators hope to encourage and embolden religious leaders in their efforts to engage their members in efforts to achieve the MDGs.

Bread for the World (www.bread.org) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. The Alliance to End Hunger (www.alliancetoendhunger.org) engages diverse institutions in building the public and political will to end hunger at home and abroad.

More info:  http://www.alliancetoendhunger.org/  or http://www.bread.org/