A Christian organization that seeks to end world hunger has developed an interfaith study guide for the G-20 summit.
"The G-20 Pittsburgh Summit: Reflections for People of Faith" can be downloaded from www.bread.org, the Web site of Bread for the World. The organization will lobby G-20 leaders to make decisions that bring benefits of the global economy to the world's poorest people.
They will urge delegates to keep promises the G-20 already has made. These include ending corruption and secrecy in key international lending organizations and increasing the money that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund make available to entrepreneurs in the poorest nations.
Although Bread for the World is a Christian organization, the study guide has been designed so Jews and Muslims can use it in reference to their own teachings.
On Sept. 23, as summit participants prepare for the meeting, Bread for the World will sponsor a procession of about 30 national religious leaders through Pittsburgh's downtown streets.
"Hopefully it will be a silent witness to the religious leaders' concerns about the G-20," said Gary Cook, Bread for the World's director of church relations. The group did not apply for a protest permit because police officials said none was necessary if they weren't carrying signs, he said.
The religious leaders will then meet with G-20 delegates and urge them to make decisions that will help end world hunger.
Cook drew a line between groups like his that urge the G-20 leaders to do the right thing, and protesters who believe the G-20 is inherently part of the problem.
"There's a contrast between the people who are getting all of the attention, who are on the streets because they don't believe the G-20 has any legitimacy, and the people who are here because they believe that the G-20 has responsibilities that they need to live up to," Cook said.
"These are two very different groups. There's a sensationalist point of view with covering the anarchists. But ours is a democracy-at-work point of view, where we want citizens to impact the process."
The religious leaders will hold a news conference on Sept. 23, then process in clerical garb to First Presbyterian Church. They hope to spend the next few hours meeting with G-20 delegates, urging them to follow through on earlier pledges to help alleviate world hunger.
Cook said he expects the Obama administration to announce a world anti-hunger initiative shortly before the G-20.
"We're going to welcome it and have comment on it," he said.
Reach Ann Rodgers at arodgers(at)post-gazette. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
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