CROP Walk For Hunger On Sunday

The annual CROP Walk for Hunger will be held at 2 pm on Sunday, October 24, rain or shine, beginning in the parking lot of Trinity Church.

The CROP Walk will take place simultaneously in some 2,000 communities across the country. Each year more than 2.5 million friends and neighbors walk or sponsor a walker to help stop hunger around the block and around the world.

Among the churches that have signed up to be involved this year are Christ the King Lutheran, Newtown Christian Church, the Congregational Church, United Methodist, St John’s Episcopal, St Rose of Lima, Grace Christian Fellowship, and Trinity. The Rev Gregory Wismar, pastor of Christ the King Lutheran, is the chairman of this year’s walk.

Church World Service (CWS), which sponsors the CROP Walk, is a ministry of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States. In partnership with organizations in more than 70 countries, CWS supports sustainable self-help development, meets emergency needs, and helps address the root causes of poverty and powerlessness.

CROP is the name given to hunger education and fund-raising events organized by 25 CWS/CROP regional offices nationwide.

Within the United States, CSW assists communities in responding to disasters, resettles refugees, promotes fair national and international policies, provides educational resources and offers opportunities to join a people-to-people network of local and global caring through the walks; the CWS Blanket, Kit, and Layette Program; and the Tools of Hope Program.

About 25 percent of the money raised locally will be used to assist food banks, pantries and other hunger-fighting programs in Newtown. Last year cropwalkers throughout the United States raised more than $15 million.

Walkers will begin at Trinity and take West Street to Route 302 to Boggs Hill Road. At Head O’ Meadow School, walkers will turn back and return to Trinity Church, about a five-mile walk.

There will be two water/refreshment stops along the way. The Newtown police will assist with traffic control.

Walkers and donors can contact any of the participating churches for pledge envelopes and other materials. For more information about Church World Service emergency response and programs, call the hotline at 800/297-1516 or visit its Web site at www.churchworldservice.org.