Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, April 5, 2001
The Southern Cross, Page 11
So fast that others may eat: Operation Rice Bowl
By Sister Mary Faith McKean, RSM
peration Rice Bowl ends with Lent. Families
and parishes throughout south Georgia will be
forwarding what they have saved to help others
who are hungry. This combination of prayer, fast
ing, and almsgiving is a modem method of heeding
the advice of saints over the centuries, “so fast that
others may eat.” Fasting is a good work only if it is
done prayerfully and it is completed when whatev
er is saved goes to benefit those in need.
An ecumenical response to hunger caused by the
African drought of 1975 was at the origin of
Operation Rice Bowl, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
“The intentions of Operation Rice Bowl were to
help alleviate the starvation in Africa,” said
Monsignor Robert Coll of the Diocese of Allen
town. “Families would make their own ‘rice bowl’
and keep it on the table throughout Lent or
Passover, and every week each family would bring
their collection to their place of worship.” The
monies collected from Catholic parishes were
donated to Catholic Relief Services.
Family Meal
That first year the local paper published a recipe
for a simple meal and a prayer every Tuesday. On
Wednesdays, families used the recipe for an inex
pensive meal and placed their savings in a “bowl.”
This method has continued, in some cases with
parishioners coming together to share a parish-
sponsored meal. Through fasting, or sharing a sim
ple meal, people experience solidarity with their
brothers and sisters who are hungry
In 1976 at the International Eucharistic Congress
in Philadelphia, Operation Rice Bowl went nation
al. For 25 years now, Catholic families and individ
uals across the country have made its program of
prayer, fasting, and giving a part of their Lenten
observance.
Need, not Creed
Through Catholic Relief Services, the money
saved by fasting has a direct effect on those suffer
ing overseas. Farming assistance, clean water proj
ects, and other developmental efforts aim at alleviat
ing hunger. “People sometimes ask if CRS helps
only Catholics,” said Sister Mary Faith McKean,
Diocesan Director of CRS. “Nothing could be far
ther from the truth.” CRS assists the poor based on
need, without any attempt to convert those whom it
serves. In fact, in Eastern Europe and elsewhere
CRS has acted as a role model amid ethnic tensions.
When CRS staff member Kim Burgo led a group
to Ecuador in 1998, she saw the fruits of Operation
Rice Bowl firsthand. In a small community living
at the snowline of Mt. Chimborazo, villagers had
prepared a large meal for their North American
friends. Asking where the food had come from, the
visitors were humbled to learn it was from
Operation Rice Bowl. The village community had
been receiving O.R.B. funds to grow potatoes,
beans, and com for their livelihood. Yet they want
ed to share this food with their visitors. Burgo
noted, “my heart was immediately humbled to real
ize that now I was the recipient of a Rice Bowl
meal. I ate a small portion and saved the rest for
those who needed it and were waiting for it, but
that day, I walked away changed.”
In 2000 13,626 parishes, schools, and faith com
munities raised $7.3 millhon in Operation Rice
Bowl, up 7% from 1999. Three-fourths of the
money raised in the Diocese aids groups like the
Chimborazo villagers, while one-fourth helps the
hungry here in the Savannah Diocese. Last year
$16,490.00 was collected in the Diocese and
$4,122.00 stayed here for local needs. So far three
outreach centers have used these funds for some
kind of food assistance. The Social Apostolate in
Savannah supplements canned goods from the local
parishes. They also provide families with vouchers
for meats and baby food. This grocery assistance
goes on year-round. Brother Walter Gluhm in Adel
provides Thanksgiving dinner with all the trim
mings to the local prison. About 125 prisoners had
a holiday dinner thanks to his efforts. In Valdosta,
Dwight Carver prepares food baskets at Thanks
giving and Christmas for needy families. Other out
reach centers will be requesting funds in the near
future.
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Extension
(Continued from page 3)
Mass intentions.
In a jocular note dated April 16,
1946, Archbishop O’Brien responds
to Bishop Gerald P. O’Hara: “Of
course, Your Excellency, we will help
you to build a church in every county
in Georgia... if you are there long
enough! We are enclosing herewith
an application blank for Tifton. Don’t
be afraid to tell us about any more of
the counties where you can build a
chapel. We are ready any time you
are!”
A virtual “fairy godmother,” the
Catholic Church Extension Society
helped the Diocese of Savanah to
realize the dreams of its early years,
and continues to do so today when
the total Catholic population of the
diocese remains under three percent.
With the assistance of the Extension
Society, missions have grown into
parishes and the true spirit of mis
sionary service in the Church reaches
out today to the newest group of emi
grants, Hispanic Catholics. In an arti
cle published in a recent issue of
Extension Magazine, Bishop J. Kevin
Boland of the Savannah Diocese
pointed out that today’s mission work
in the diocese is as challenging as
yesterday’s and that priests, sisters
and brothers—backed by the Catholic
Extension Society—are mastering
new ministries. Monsignor Kenneth
Velo, president of the Catholic Ex
tension Society, notes in a current
message on the Society’s Web site:
“Since our beginning in 1905, Ca
tholic Extension Society has never
taken a national collection. We de
pend entirely on the generous contri
butions of caring Catholics across our
nation.”
The Diocese of Savannah, along
with 73 other mission dioceses
throughout the U.S., benefits from
the charity of this consistently helpful
organization.
Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer
in the Diocesan Archives.
For Mass times and locations nationwide,
call 1-800-Masstimes
(1-800-627-7846)
www.masstimes.org
TV Mass Schedule:
Augusta
Sundays
10:00 a.m. WAGT-TV
Macon
Sundays
5:30 p.m. WGNM-TV
Savannah
Saturdays
6:00 p.m. Comcast Cable 7