The Rev. Dr. Arthur R. Simon

Bread for the world! If ever there were a rallying cry that could motivate people’s minds with conceptual clarity and their hearts with the sheer rightness of a cause, surely these four words would be it! Bread for the world, indeed!

The Reverend Dr. Arthur Simon, retired pastor of the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod, is founder and President Emeritus of the organization that carries the same name as the world’s need. BREAD FOR THE WORLD, a Christian Citizen’s movement of some 46,000 members across the United States, has been lobbying Congress, various Administrations, and international financial organizations to serve better the world’s poorest and most hungry for over a quarter of a century (1974). Successes in addressing domestic and international hunger needs come almost annually. Long an ecumenical Christian body bringing together Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians for common witness, BREAD FOR THE WORLD also appeals to a broader interfaith audience of members.

Pastor Simon has been a prolific author of ten books (his eleventh, How much is enough? Hun-gering for God in an Affluent Culture, will be available in February 2003), several dozen journal articles, and countless op-ed pieces to newspapers across the country. His most recently published work is Grace at the Table, a book co-authored with BREAD FOR THE WORLD’S cur-rent President, David Beckmann. There are common features to his writings. “Hunger is preventable. Hunger is conquerable. Hunger need not be the reality for any child, woman, or man living on our globe. The tools, prescriptions, and tech-niques to end hunger are do-able.”

Since graduating from Dana College in Nebraska and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, thir-teen higher education institutions have awarded Pastor Simon an honorary doctoral degree for his service to humanity. Of note is that these honors have come from institutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and from colleges and universities that have no Lutheran affiliation. He is the recipient of many other honors including the National Religious Book Award, and the Presidential End Hunger Award for Lifetime Achievement.

By receiving his Wittenberg Award, Art Simon becomes half of the only siblings of Witten-berg Awardees. Former Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, his older brother, received the Award in 1996.