The Right Reverend John B. Lipscomb, D.Min., Bishop

February 29, 2000

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Florida is a major agricultural state. Much of the food that overflows our market shelves and fills our tables at home is harvested here by men, women and children who often cannot satisfy their own hunger, who bend, stoop, climb, lift and carry by day, and return by night to overcrowded motel rooms, garages and tents.

The church must support those who are living at the margins of our society and whose labors are not recognized with a living wage. What that means, first of all, is being mindful, deeply mindful, that the farm workers, regardless of race, creed or country of origin, desire and deserve the same respect, fair treatment and opportunity for themselves and their children as we do.

Being mindful includes making an effort to educate ourselves about farm workers' struggles for dignity and a living wage. Until the farm workers are able to identify fully and act on the power within themselves, they need our voices to give weight to their
struggles. The National Farm Worker Ministry is an interfaith organization committed to 6 4 stand with farm workers in the struggle for justice." They are a resource for education and means of standing with farm workers.

Therefore, I urge each congregation to include in their outreach effort support for these working poor. Write the National Farm Worker Ministry at 438 N. Skinker Blvd., St. Louis MO 63130 for more information, or visit their website: www.nfwm.org.

Let, us make the start of the new millenium the beginning of the end of the shameful working and living conditions of these working poor.

May God bless and keep you in all things.

Yours in Christ,

John B. Lipscomb+

The Right Reverend John B. Lipscomb
Fourth Bishop of Southwest Florida