Sanitarium in New Zealand is extending community support, including a new partnership with Kiwi Harvest.

In early April, the first of 90 pallets of Weet-Bix was delivered to its distribution centre in Auckland, with a further delivery to reach its Christchurch distribution centre in June.

Kiwi Harvest distributes food to more than 280 charities throughout New Zealand that provide for people in need. Read more

"We're grateful for the donations from Fresh Direct that enabled us to provide fresh vegetables for the people, and the people were very appreciative," Msgr. Sullivan said in a phone interview with Catholic New York on Holy Thursday, April 9.

"Our staff did a great job preparing things in a way that was absolutely proper according to the requirements of social distancing, and people had protective gear on," added Msgr. Sullivan as he described a Bronx distribution gathering earlier that day. Read more

On this Saturday night, we're joined by volunteers who run the Te Puke, Tauranga and Hamilton branches of the Free Kitchen, which also operates in Rotorua and Christchurch. Continue reading

United Nations (UN) officials have expressed concern about the fate of the South Sudanese people.

The mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in the country is set to expire.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the UN Security Council the South Sudanese people "have simply suffered far too much for far too long and we must not take their resilience against incredible odds for granted".

Lacroix is the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.

South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011.

The mainly Christian and Animist population had been involved in a civil war with Muslim citizens - now mostly located in Sudan - for decades.

The civil war sprang up again in 2013, between the majority Dinka and Nuer tribes.

The net result is famine, the possibility of genocide and over three million displaced people.

While political and economic instability continue, "humanitarian needs will remain dire," Mark Lowcock says.

Lowcock is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

He estimates about half South Sudan's 12.23 million population will be relying on emergency food aid by early 2018.

Although both Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby had planned to visit South Sudan in October, the visit was cancelled for the meanwhile.

The deteriorating security situation was the reason their visit was cancelled.

Francis has since held a prayer service for South Sudan and Congo, which is also suffering from the effects of war.

In his homily during the prayer service, Francis said "...Prayer works by the power of God, for whom nothing is impossible".

Source

• Crux
• Upper Nile Times

The church partners with the local government to raise awareness of the ministry in the neighborhood.

"The results have been humbling," Daniel Banyuls, who has been a pastor at the Baptist Iglesia Evangelica, in Cerdanyola for the past 15 years.

The need for help in the Cerdanyola community is great. Many people are suffering from the economic crisis of 2008. Providing basics like milk, bread, rice and meat has had been noticed in the area.

When the Baptist church began the feeding ministry 20 years ago, the community began to take notice.

Now, most people in Cerdanyola know about the church and have seen the members serving as a way of showing their faith.

Social Ministry

"As a Christian, it is a way to be known as the city—to be a light and a testimony here," a church member 36 years who volunteers each week at the feeding ministry.

"The neighbors know us through this social ministry. This is a great way for the church to be known through this area."

One neighbor visits the ministry every two weeks to receive food for herself and her paraplegic son, who has been paralyzed 12 years. She is unable to work because her son needs full-time care at her home.

Without the food ministry, her family would be unable to make ends meet.

Source:

• The Baptist Standard
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