The office of Town and Country Ministries of GBGM organized the Emergency Consultation on Family Farm Crisis and Hate/Violence in Rural Places, held in Kansas City, Missouri, March 19-20, 1999. The farm crisis in the United States, so rampant in the early 1980s, again has reached a critical stage. The loss of farms can function as a seedbed for unrest, community trauma, and an increase in acts of hatred, violence, and domestic abuse. The consultation was co-sponsored by the Rural Chaplains Association and the GBGM Cross-functional Team on Ministry in the Midst of Hate and Violence. The purpose of the consultation was to alert rural chaplains and other participants to the reality of the economic crisis being faced by many farm families; to receive an update on how the Class Action Discrimination Lawsuit and the new USDA rules affect African-American Farmers' Rights; to issue an alert about potential acts of hate/violence; and to identify ways rural chaplains can respond to and stand with rural individuals, families, churches and communities at this time.

One of the emphases of rural chaplaincy is anti-violence workshops with leadership in churches and other organizations working in areas like law enforcement, community service, and advocacy. Workshops involve pastors and laity from many denominations, lawyers, teachers, counselors, farmers, police, probation court officers, count commissioners, county court clerks, human service workers, and common law court officers.

The Rural Chaplains Association, an ecumenical network of laity and pastors, can be reached at P.O. Box 29044, Columbus, Ohio 43229, phone (614) 891-6167, e-mail HWMcSwain@juno.com