Faith in the Public Square

In 1973, the Capital Area Council of Churches established a scholarship to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is described as “a positive way of encouraging young people to keep striving for the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream.”   The scholarship is available to graduating high school seniors who live, worship, or attend school in Albany or southern Rensselaer County. Awards are given without regard to race, creed, or gender. The deadline to apply for this year’s award is March 31.   According to the Council website, “Applicants must be active in their school and faith community and accepted at an accredited college or university for the fall semester. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and for the ideals of peace and equality for which he devoted his entire life, recipients will be asked to explore in an essay how they exhibit an understanding of and a desire to implement the goals of Dr. King.”   For more information or to obtain an application, click here .  Informat

 On Thursday, March 16, JustFaith Ministries is offering a webinar on the Farm Bill, an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs.    According to Congressional Research Service (CRS): Farm bills have become increasingly expansive in nature since 1973, when a nutrition title was first included. Other prominent additions since then include horticulture and bioenergy titles and expansion of conservation, research, and rural development titles.    Without reauthorization, some farm bill programs would expire, such as the nutrition assistance and farm commodity support programs.  CRS also notes:  The relative proportions of farm bill spending have shifted over time. In the 2023 projection, the Nutrition title is 85% of the farm bill baseline, compared with about 76% when the 2018 farm bill was enacted and 67% in the 2008 farm bill. Sharp increases in the Nutrition title reflect pandemic assistance and administrative adjustments made to SNAP benefit ca