Botswana RPCV Joni Overton-Jung speaks on "Feeding the Hungry; Healing the Heart"
Speaker sees linkage of spirituality to relief
03/13/03
OREGON CITY -- Joni Overton-Jung, a former Peace Corps volunteer and chaplain for an inner-city mental health center, will speak Saturday at First Church of Christ, Scientist, about the role she believes spirituality has to play in helping people who lack money and food.
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Overton-Jung will discuss "Feeding the Hungry; Healing the Heart," at 4 p.m. in the church, 503 Ninth St.
Her talk is to be the first in a series, "Spiritual Solutions to Poverty and Hunger," that Elise Lunas and other members of the church's congregation are organizing in conjunction with other churches as a way to stimulate interfaith discussion and increase public awareness of the problems.
In a statement provided by Lunas, Overton-Jung said: "As our world heaves with conflict and people struggle to make basic ends meet, how vital it is that we come together to explore spiritual solutions to these pressing needs. . . . Each of us needs to know that we can make a difference -- that abundance and peace are essentially spiritual and that changes in our lives, communities and the world begin from the inside out."
Overton-Jung, who lives in Toronto, has been a third-grade teacher, a Peace Corps volunteer in southern Africa and a volunteer social worker in Illinois. Inspired by the writings of the late Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science and author of "Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," Overton-Jung travels throughout North America, speaking in a variety of venues.
There will be no admission fee for Overton-Jung's talk, but the organizers are asking that attendees donate nonperishable foods or money to help people through a food bank. Other dates, times, speakers and topics in the series, Lunas said, are to be determined.
For more information call Lunas at 503-656-5578.
