People of the Table:
Celebrating and energizing ministries that end hunger
What do we mean by a “mission focus”?
Our faith calls us into action. The Local Churches, Associations, and Historic Conferences of the United Church of Christ in Pennsylvania are involved—and will continue to be involved—in hundreds of efforts that seek to offer mercy, be of service, advocate in the public square, and build a just world for all. Among all of these laudable projects, we see a need for the newly-formed Conference to unite around a specific direction for our outreach in the coming years.
A mission focus for the Keystone Conference United Church of Christ offers us a way to concentrate our efforts in this initial season, amplifying our voice and helping to bring us together. We propose that this initial mission focus, People of the Table, will be a Conference priority in our founding years (2026-2028), and that the Conference Board might choose either to continue this focus or to determine a fresh mission focus to pursue in the subsequent period of Conference life.
Why choose ending hunger as a mission focus?
Ending hunger is a goal that unites our diverse Local Churches and Associations. Across the proposed Keystone Conference, settings of the United Church of Christ area already engage in ministries to feed our neighbors: food pantries, community dinners, soup kitchens, canned good drives, neighborhood gardens, and political advocacy are just a few examples. We do this work because the Gospel mandate is clear: “feed my sheep,” said Jesus: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.” We are people of the table, uniting around our Eucharistic tables and then welcoming our neighbors around our social hall tables. This identity is particularly strong in Pennsylvania, a commonwealth containing over seven million acres of farmland, where many Local Churches take pride in our agricultural heritage. While our members may vary in their perspectives on many social issues, we believe that ending hunger is a priority that brings us all together.
What will the People of the Table mission focus entail?
We anticipate that the majority of the action around this focus will continue to happen within Local Churches and Associations, who will continue or initiate practical projects relating to ending hunger. Meanwhile, Keystone Conference staff and board/committee leaders will play these roles in implementing the mission focus:
Cheerlead
Conference leaders will celebrate and encourage the ways that settings across the Conference are working to end hunger. They will collect stories and statistics about how UCC settings are ending hunger: how many meals are we serving? how many pounds of food have we collected? how many letters have we written to Congress? Then, they will amplify these stories in Conference publications and in their preaching and public speaking.
Resource
Conference leaders will offer guidance and connections for Local Churches and Associations who wish to begin or improve their ministries relating to ending hunger. For example, the Conference might organize a webinar on establishing a community garden, or it might circulate a set of bulletin inserts on how to write an email to your state legislator encouraging policies to eliminate food deserts.
Advocate
Conference leaders will partner with organizations already working on hunger priorities in state and federal government (e.g. the United Church of Christ Office of Public Policy & Advocacy, Hunger-Free Pennsylvania, Bread for the World, etc.) to bring the voice of the Conference to Harrisburg and Washington DC.
Engage
Incorporate this theme into Conference-wide programs and gatherings. For example, the Conference Annual Meeting, youth gatherings, and clergy retreats might include hands-on projects that help to end hunger and speakers who can inform our advocacy.
50 Days of Easter Food Challenge
The Challenge: Churches across the Conference are challenged to donate non-perishable food to a local food bank between Easter (04/05/2026) and Pentecost (05/24/2026) and to report the quantities of their donations.
Each church will report its totals (by category) via a web link, and the Conference-wide total will be revealed at the 1st Annual Meeting, June 5–7, 2026. Using categories such as canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, pasta and rice, toiletries, and more will provide an easy-to-visualize picture of the breadth of donations.
Having churches donate locally will allow you to serve the communities in which you live, work, and minister. We want to avoid hauling donations across the commonwealth to a single location when we know the need exists everywhere.
We are also asking delegates to bring a one-pound bag of rice or beans to the Annual Meeting as a representation of their local donation. These items will be donated to the Lancaster Food Hub.
The churches of the Keystone Conference are already working hard to alleviate food insecurity in their areas beyond these donations. We ask that you report the ministries your church supports—from community gardens to meal deliveries—so we can celebrate them at the Annual Meeting.
