CHICAGO, IL (December 9, 2013) — Debbie Blue, executive minister of the Department of Compassion, Mercy, and Justice, is asking Covenanters to participate in the global “wave of prayer” to end hunger being held around the world Tuesday.

“We have the opportunity to join with Christians around the world as well as take action to make sure the hungry in our country do not have important food assistance taken away from them,” said Blue.

Pope Francis called for the “wave of prayer,” and various Catholic ministries as well as hundreds of organizations such as Bread for the World will participate. Christians are being asked to pray at noon local time. The wave will begin in Samoa.

David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, wrote in a Huffington Post article on Saturday, “We have the tools, expertise, and resources to ensure that within two decades every person will have enough to eat. What is needed is the political will.”

Blue said 16 million children in the United States live in families where it is uncertain whether they will have enough to eat. Many of them live in “food deserts,” where healthy food is unavailable.

Blue and other Christian leaders also are asking Christians to call or email their Congressional representatives and urge them to reverse cuts that have been made already in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as to prevent further cuts as political leaders consider how to slash more money from the Farm Bill.

Blue said Bread for the World’s 2014 Hunger Report: Ending Hunger in America presents a well-rounded plan for addressing the issue.