Photo and story by Everett Bassett
‘Every Christian ought to participate in the work of the Church.’
Carlos Tchihuto traveled a long way to put his words into action. He and Madalena Magita are delegates to General Conference from Malange, Angola. They put their faith into practice by joining the potato drop sponsored at the Conference by the Society of St. Andrew, a mission arm of the Church.
42,000 pounds of potatoes were shipped by truck from mine packing houses to the General Conference meeting in Pittsburgh. The truck arrived on April 29, and was unloaded by a representative group of United Methodist bishops and others who wanted to take part in the effort.
The potatoes will be distributed by the Community Food Bank of Greater Pittsburgh through over 300 agencies, to benefit the hungry in the city and surrounding areas.
‘General Conference ought to be working to globalize the Church,” said Tchihuto. “Boards and agencies should be working in places where the need is most severe.” He named the issues of poverty, lack of education, corruption, and war.
Helping with the potato drop is one small way to represent that work.
Ken Horne, executive director of the Society of St. Andrew, and organizer of the event, also sees it as representative of the Church’s call to be ion ministry to those experiencing hunger and economic distress.
“Jesus said when you see your neighbor hungry, feed them,” said Horne. “It’s no more complicated than that.”
