2008 PASSPORTycm Theme

5…4…3…2…1…Start a COUNTDOWN and things begin to happen!

People pay attention.

Individuals get motivated.

Obstacles start to move.

Goals get accomplished.

What was once seen as a limitation begins to shift.

A COUNTDOWN has begun that we all need to join in accomplishing. We are almost halfway there, but most people don’t even know it – and there is still so much to be done! 8 goals designed to help the “least of these” in the world have been identified and only through sustained action on the part of individuals like you can they be accomplished in time.

5000 people we fed with the recognition of Jesus that people are hungry and in need of food. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is a worthwhile goal.

4 friends would not be denied and brought their companion to Jesus for healing. Combating HIV/Aids, malaria, and other diseases, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health should be a Christian’s calling.

3 days in the belly of a whale and Jonah learned to trust God’s calling in his life. Achieving universal primary education would provide the needed foundation for children around the world.

2 women were valued by their Savior in different but equally affirming ways. It is time to intentionally promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.

1 person can make a difference. And our unified effort will accomplish the goals!

So, COUNTDOWN with us to the completion of each of the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) this summer at camp and help teach your youth that every effort they can make on behalf of another can make a difference.

For more information on the individual MDGs, visit the United Nations website .

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2008 Bible Studies

Youth will be divided into different Bible study groups with campers from other church groups. This will allow for new and interesting group dynamics and fresh perspectives. Though wary of this idea on the first evening, by the second day, campers will have made new friends and will look forward to their Bible study time each day!

Bible Study groups are mixed together – Jr. High and Sr. High. This is done intentionally for two reasons. First, as a practical matter, we need senior high leadership for all groups at camp. Second, as an educational matter, we like to encourage the interaction of older and younger youth during camp. By teaching the camp Staff to specifically accommodate developmental differences among youth, and combining their interaction with role-modeling and in peer leadership, a full camp experience can be attained.

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About the Writer

Michelle Tooley, Eli Lilly Professor of Religion
Berea College

• Christian Ethicist who teaches about poverty and peacemaking
• Activist with Bread for the World for 20 years
• Owner of one shaggy dog, Toby
• Lover of Mexican food and travel

Read Michelle's own words about this Summer's theme:

2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohammed Yunus says that there are at least 1001 ways to remove poverty from the earth, yet we are surrounded by some of the most abominable human and environmental situations that the world has ever known. In Latin America, the poor and friends of the poor call it “La Realidad”—the Reality. Our Reality. Realities like:

• the richest 20% have 74% of the income while the poorest 20% only have 2% of the income
• 1.1 billion people live on less than $1 a day (30% are children).
• 11 million children, more than 29,000 a day, die before the age of five, mostly from preventable causes.
• 1 of 3 children in the Global South – over 500 million children – has no access to sanitation facilities; one in five has no access to safe water.
• 140 million children in developing countries – 13 per cent of those aged 7 to 18 years – have never attended school.

But these realities don’t have to be our realities. The good news is that hunger has a cure and poverty is a solvable problem. God has created a world with enough for what we need. I am passionate about these Bible studies because we’ll look through the lens of faith at a set of goals called the Millennium Development Goals that are already improving the lives of poor people in the Global South. When I was part of the U.S. poverty leaders’ delegation at the 2005 G-8 in Edinburgh, I saw the banners proclaiming “Make Poverty History.” I saw Walter Brueggemann’s prophetic imagination in action with leaders from the All Africa Council of Churches, from Micah Challenge, from Bread for the World and World Vision, as we were challenged to change our world.

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