BWA Executive Committee Resolution 1974-08.1

MOTION by Mrs. Mary Ross was seconded, and passed

EC74 that the following statement be adopted:

In view of the alarming world food situation threatening multitudes of the world’s population with famine and starvation, and recognizing the gospel mandate for Christian people to meet such urgent human need:

Be it resolved that:

1. We encourage mission agencies and related church bodies to assist peoples to increase food production, and to teach good nutrition — a significant contribution to meeting the food crisis in places where people are undernourished;

2. We urge nations of the world to expedite the export and import of food, seed, and fertilizer among the nations;

3. We respectfully recommend that nations increase their budgets for relief and development efforts, and encourage the greater use of multilateral aid;

4. We encourage governments of the world to pursue migration policies that will permit equitable and stable distribution of population;

5. We encourage the United Nations and governments to enter into international agreements over fishing rights and to reduce pollution of the oceans, so that the oceans could be used as a greater food source;

6. We ask that nations free religious bodies (such as Baptist unions) from foreign exchange restrictions, sufficiently to permit them to give financial and/or material support to such international relief efforts (as Baptist World Alliance Relief);

7. We further ask governments to permit duty free entry of relief supplies to authorized church-related relief agents;

8. We encourage the United Nations and other such international agencies to continue to utilize the non- governmental organizations, including church relief agencies, in the distribution of food in areas of need;

9. We urge all persons in positions of responsibility to take all necessary steps to reduce waste and to develop all available resources for the production of more food;

10. We call upon pastors and other leaders to preach and teach the specific responsibility of those who have plenty, to pray, give, and even to reduce their caloric intake so that more of the limited food supply of the world could be made available to those who are in want;

11. It is our conviction that an efficient relief service cannot be enacted unless peace is preserved on earth. Famine and starvation — among other causes — are a natural consequence of wars. We feel that it is our Christian duty to be actively engaged in promoting understanding among nations, and action conducive to peace. Peace and justice are pre-conditions enabling nations to work with the hope of success upon meeting the urgent material needs of the world.

Following on Page 50:

Carl Tiller thanked the Resolutions Committee and stated that the adopted resolution subsequently would be presented to the World Food Conference scheduled in Rome, Italy. Certain portions of the resolution are expected to be released to the press by Communications Secretary C. E. Bryant. Tiller suggested that member conventions may wish to call appropriate paragraphs to the attention of their governments, and other paragraphs to the attention of their churches.

The following suggestion by Ruth Rohlfs regarding disposition of the resolution was accepted: “Because of the staff of the United Nations Environmental Center has extended itself to be helpful in briefing and working with members of our Baptist fellowship, and because we share concern for the quality of this earth…we recommend that the Baptist World Alliance submit a copy of the resolution to the United Nations Environmental Center, Nairobi, Kenya.”

Keywords

BWA; Aid; Environmental Care; Hunger; Peace; Peacemaking; Relief Ministries; United Nations; War.

Citations

Original Source Bibliography: Denny, Robert S., editor. Baptist World Alliance: Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Committee Held at Louisville, Kentucky, August 6-9, 1974. Washington, D.C.: Baptist World Alliance, 1974.

Original Source Footnote/Endnote: Robert S. Denny, ed., Baptist World Alliance: Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Committee Held at Louisville, Kentucky, August 6-9, 1974 (Washington, D.C.: Baptist World Alliance, 1974), p. 49; see also p. 50.

Online Document Full Citation: BWA Executive Committee Resolution 1974-08.1 World Food Situation; https://baptistworld.org/resolutions.

In-text Online Document Citation: (BWA Executive Committee Resolution 1974-08.1).