The struggle against world hunger is a major concern at ACC. We participate annually in the Pasadena area CROP Hunger Walk to raise funds for Church World Service. Their goal is to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world.
CROP Hunger Walks are community-led interfaith events that raise funds to end hunger locally and around the world. CROP Hunger Walks is the only nationwide walk that addresses hunger both locally and globally impacting individuals and families in more than 35 countries. From its birth in 1969, Church World Service sponsored CROP Hunger Walks have grown to include walkers of all ages, faiths and backgrounds in more than 500 communities throughout the U. S.
The money raised by the walk supports grassroots development projects around the world and immediate disaster relief, with 25% earmarked for local organizations, such as our ACTS Food Pantry. Though our church is one of the smaller groups involved in the walk, we consistently rank among the top contributors.
ACC is a supporter of Friends In Deed. Friends in Deed is an interfaith organization comprised of many active congregations. We actively participate, which provides coordinated and effective social services to those in need in the greater Pasadena area.
A highly valued ministry for our congregation is the Altadena Congregations Together Serving (ACTS) Food Pantry. Housed at the back of our church, the Food Pantry was started by ACC and three other Altadena congregations when we discovered that many of the local food programs are closed on the weekend. The Food Pantry is now up to 5 participating congregations. Volunteers buy the food, pack the bags, and hand them out Saturday mornings. We welcome people to buy and donate food from our latest needs list, or you can participate by donating money for the shopping.
In November 2018, six members of Altadena Community Church and four friends from other UCC congregations traveled to the Tohoku region of Japan that was devastated by the triple disasters on March 11, 2011. The 9.1 magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake off the Pacific coast of northern Japan created a major tsunami that brought colossal destruction along the coastline including thousands of deaths and entire towns being destroyed. The earthquake and tsunami also caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident which resulted in the release of radioactive contaminants into the surrounding environment.
The people-to-people sojourn enabled the group to meet some of the victims of the disasters who with their blessings shared their stories and experiences. The Japan side was coordinated by Jeffrey Mesendiek, United Church of Christ in Japan through UCC Global Ministries. The group visited and participated in the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi Prefecture, abandoned Ōkawa Elementary School in Miyagi Prefecture, Ishinomaki Church in Sendai City, Sendai Higashi Church in Sendai City, Wakamatsu Sakaemachi Church in Aizu Wakamatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture, Aizu Radiation Information Center in Aizu Wakamatsu City, United Church of Christ in Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Memorial Park, and Bazaar Café in Kyoto.
We are pleased to support the work of Jeffrey Mensendiek through Global Ministries (www.globalministries.org), a joint United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ organization focused on justice, peace, and poverty issues.
The son of missionaries, Mensendiek grew up in Japan. He works to promote a culture of inclusion and tolerance and speaks against militarism in contemporary Japan. He works for justice, with particular outreach to the victims of radiation in the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
On the second Sunday evening of each month, ACC serves supper to homeless children and their parents at the Union Station Family Center in Pasadena. Two to three volunteers from the church bring in broiled chicken, beans, rice, tortillas, and potato salad that we purchase from El Pollo Unico, plus fresh fruit, homemade cookies, and drinks that church members provide. It is a relaxed evening, with 15 to 20 coming into the dining room in family groups from 6pm to 7pm. And as we clean up, we leave plenty of food prepared in plates for latecomers. For twenty years, through changes in our team and our menu, ACC has sustained this simple ministry, pulling together to feed the hungry with generous donations from the church at large.
