National Day of Prayer for Farmers, Ranchers, and Fishermen
April 19, 2020
April 19, 2020
Prayer Intentions
National Day of Prayer for Farmers
Thank
God for blessing our nation with the resources and capability to produce an
abundance of wholesome food.
Numbers 13:27
Then they told him, and said: “We went to the
land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and
this is its fruit.
This blessing can be taken away as a
result of the corruption and greed of those who oppress farmers.
Psalm 107:33 -34
He turns rivers into a
wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
A fruitful land into barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
Pray that farmers would experience the peace of God’s
presence.
Galatians
6:9
"So we
must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we
don't give up."
Pray that farm families would experience God’s strength and
protection to endure these difficult times.
Psalm 37:1-6
Do not
fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they
shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Trust in
the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way
to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Pray that farmers and their families would have mental
stability.
Psalm 123:3-4
Have mercy
on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Micah 2:2 They covet
fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
Pray that farmers’ deep struggles would be understood by
those around them.
Psalm 55:22
"Cast
your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the
righteous to be moved."
Pray that God would raise up bold leadership that will
confront industry leaders and politicians with the truth.
Isaiah 3:13-15
The Lord stands
up to plead,
And stands to judge the people.
The Lord will
enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have eaten up the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean by crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
Pray for receptive and responsive political leadership.
Ecclesiastes 5:8
If
you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of
justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter;
for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are
over them.
Pray for economic justice for farmers.
James
5:4
Look! The
wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out
against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord
Almighty.
Pray that people will understand the value of local food and
local farms.
Genesis 18:6-8
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and
said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and
make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf,
gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare
it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared,
and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they
ate.
Pray our land remains in the hands of free and independent American
Farmers
so they can keep our nation fed.
Leviticus 25:17-19
Therefore you shall not oppress one
another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your
God. ‘So you shall
observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will
dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you
will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.
National Day of Prayer for Farmers
Thank God for blessing our nation with the resources and capability to produce an abundance of wholesome food.
Numbers 13:27
Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
This blessing can be taken away as a result of the corruption and greed of those who oppress farmers.
Psalm 107:33 -34
He turns rivers into a
wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
A fruitful land into barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
Pray that farmers would experience the peace of God’s presence.
Galatians 6:9
"So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up."
Pray that farm families would experience God’s strength and protection to endure these difficult times.
Psalm 37:1-6
Do not
fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they
shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Trust in
the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way
to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Pray that farmers and their families would have mental stability.
Psalm 123:3-4
Have mercy
on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Micah 2:2 They covet
fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
Pray that farmers’ deep struggles would be understood by those around them.
Psalm 55:22
"Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."
Pray that God would raise up bold leadership that will confront industry leaders and politicians with the truth.
Isaiah 3:13-15
The Lord stands
up to plead,
And stands to judge the people.
The Lord will
enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have eaten up the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean by crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
Pray for receptive and responsive political leadership.
Ecclesiastes 5:8
If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
Pray for economic justice for farmers.
James 5:4
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
Pray that people will understand the value of local food and local farms.
Genesis 18:6-8
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Pray our land remains in the hands of free and independent American Farmers
so they can keep our nation fed.
Leviticus 25:17-19
Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God. ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.
Facts
The land is God’s and all that
dwell in it, all the cattle on a thousand hills. Farmers are stewards of God’s
creation and the caretakers of land and animals.
Increasingly, farmers face economic, global, and pricing pressures. Apart from farmers who are able to sell directly to their customers, a large majority of farmers, realistically, function as merely producers for a utilitarian ag economy in which they have no say over the price they receive for their products. Farmers are pushed to produce more with less.
Local food processing has been largely destroyed and replaced by national and international brands. Natural food quality and diversity have been replaced by unnatural food uniformity. Perishable food is increasingly treated by various industrial methods which violate the integrity and safety of food.
Mom and Pop stores have been replaced by national chain stores. In some places called “food deserts” the elimination of the Mom and Pop stores means nutritious food is no longer available.
Globalism has taken away protections from farmers worldwide, decimating traditional family farms. An ever-increasing percentage of our food is produced on foreign soil or by foreign workers on American soil. Our own traditional, generational, family farms have been run out of business. Farmers are broken as they feel responsible for losing these family farms.
The farming culture, where young children grow up learning important life-skills and responsibilities, is being destroyed. Appreciation for a diverse family farm system of agriculture is being lost. Along with the loss of family farms, is the knowledge that our aging farmers pass on to their children about how to produce our food.
The main streets of rural America have become ghost towns.
As farm numbers decline, so, too, does the public understanding of farmers. Many farmers feel overwhelmed, isolated, and misunderstood even to the point of despair.
Excerpts
from Faith Community Statements Concerning Agricultural Policy
Excerpts from Faith Community Statements Concerning Agricultural Policy
American Baptist Resolution on Family Farm
Crisis June 1987
"The creation, including the land, water, air, and all living beings, is a gift from God. We live in a fragile relationship to the land. As we care for the land it cares for us and other living creatures. We are called to be responsible stewards—to conserve, sustain and renew the land with the hope that future stewards will also manage and enjoy.
Currently, many family farm operations in the United States are facing a severe economic crisis. The family farm involves a very large capital investment to realize a small net income. This potential income can quickly become a loss because of its vulnerability to economic, political and natural conditions.
The crisis is more than economic. It is also a crisis with psychological, social and spiritual dimensions that are having a profound impact on rural communities where farm families are the backbone. Issues of self-worth are being raised at the deepest level. Individuals, families and communities face the trauma of feelings of failure and forced change. Issues of faith and hope that sustain life’s meaning are being brought into question."
Auburn Baptist Church, Reverend Timothy Barnett 2000
The effect "...the loss of farms would have on a community is a moral one. Farmers generally raise the moral and ethical level of a community. Their families are generally stronger than average, which elevates the community...A fair base price to cover the cost of production is only reasonable. As a nation and individual communities, we are not prepared for the consequences that the loss of local dairy farmers would bring."
Agriculture with a Human Face
A Value System to Sustain an Agricultural Rural People (Catholic Bishop George H. Speltz)
"In the food and agriculture section of the U.S. Bishops’ Economic Justice for All pastoral, the bishops take the position that 'moderate-sized farms operated by families on a full-time basis should be preserved and their economic vitality protected.' (n. 233)"
"If the rural way of life is to be sustained, it must see agricultural work as eminently worthy of a farmer’s time and effort. When this value is forgotten, rural culture will be impoverished and with it the land."
"Unless the farmer is given fair prices for products, and is in other respects treated justly, he/she will be forced to compromise...values...and resort to a system of agriculture...driven by economic forces to the practical exclusion of values."
National Catholic Rural Conference 1995 Farm Bill Advocacy for a Just Farm Policy
"Infrastructure-encourage diverse and managed mechanisms for processing and marketing local/regional farm produce, capturing and retaining full production value potential at the community level..."
Lutheran Bishops’ Statement on the Farm Crisis, May 1999
"Lutherans understand that farming is a vocation-a calling- and that agriculture is basic to the survival and security of people at home and throughout the world. Agriculture provides the grain for our daily bread as well as producing the rest of our food supply. Without a bountiful and affordable food supply Americans would not enjoy the quality of life we do."
Excerpts from the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church 1996
". . . the relationship between farm products prices and incomes, farm debt and bankruptcies, forced land transfers and foreclosures, changes in the structure of agriculture, and tax policy continue to contribute to the loss of family farms... Many farmers have internalized the external cause of their losses, which has led to deep depression, spouse and family abuse, alcoholism, mental breakdown, divorce, suicide, participation in extremist groups, and, on rare occasions, murder."
Excerpts From Overture 99-8. On Advocacy for Survival of Family Farmers, Ranchers, and Rural Communities
The Presbytery of South Dakota overture the 211th General Assembly (1999) of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.)
"Monopolistic practices in food processing and vertical integration by processors are holding down prices to independent food producers. Food producers receive a disproportionately small share of the consumer food dollar, especially in terms of risk involved and the time the commodity is held."
For the full text of these and other church statements about the agricultural crisis, please visit www.farmwomenunited.org and click on the St. Brigid Society Page.
National Day of Prayer Press Release
Farm Women United
P.O. Box 113
Laceyville, PA 18623
(570) 267-7405
www.farmwomenunited.org
For Immediate Release
Farm Women United Announces "National Day of Prayer for Farmers, Ranchers, and Fishermen"
Laceyville, PA, March 9, 2020-In light of the ongoing and worsening financial crisis facing farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, Farm Women United (FWU), advocates for a morally just food system that reflects God’s sovereignty over all of creation, has announced April 19, 2020, as a "National Day of Prayer for Farmers, Ranchers, and Fishermen." FWU is calling on faith communities, church congregations, religious associations, and individuals who are concerned about the humanitarian crisis afflicting rural America, to join together in prayer asking for God's intervention for relief of the socioeconomic suffering being endured by the families who produce America's food.
Over the past several years, these dedicated food producers have fallen deeper into financial hardship and emotional despair, with, seemingly, very little outside understanding or support. FWU is seeking prayer support, from all faiths, for farmers, ranchers, and fishermen in these difficult times, while just, long-term remedies are being sought.
Please pray for physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as economic justice, with fair prices, for America’s beleaguered farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, who can no longer bear up under the stresses alone. They desperately need support, encouragement, advocacy, and, most urgently, prayers, as many have lost hope and are suffering despair, feeling abandoned and misunderstood.
FWU has prepared a packet of information, available upon request, to assist with this "National Day of Prayer for Farmers, Ranchers, and Fishermen." To receive this packet, please contact Farm Women United at (570) 267-7405, or email [email protected], or www.farmwomenunited.org/national-day-of-prayer.
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National Day of Prayer Poster to post in area businesses or church foyers
