Arthur Simon (July 28, 1930 – November 14, 2023) was an American Lutheran minister, founder and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Bread for the World, a citizens' lobby on hunger, which he served for almost two decades.Profile
:

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

website.

Life and career

Arthur Simon was born in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

on July 28, 1930.Biodata
:

St. Ambrose University St. Ambrose University (SAU) is a private university, private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882. History Foundation St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and scho ...

(

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

) website He was a graduate of

Dana College Dana College was a private college in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre (607,000 m2) campus is approximately 26 miles (40 km) northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley. It closed in 2010. T ...

Blair, Nebraska Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Omaha-Council Bluffs Me ...

, and Concordia Seminary in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He was an

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister. His brother was

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

(D-IL). He pastored at Trinity Lutheran Church on

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

from 1961 to 1972. As a pastor, Simon became involved in responding to emergencies associated with hunger and poverty. Wanting to address the root causes of hunger, Simon formed a committee of seven

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and seven

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

in 1974 called Bread for the World. He became Bread's first president, holding the position for sixteen years. After retiring from Bread, he directed the Washington Office of the Christian Children's Fund from 1992 to 1997. His book ''Bread for the World'' won the national Religious Book Award, and was described by the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

economist

Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money an ...

as a "clear and convincing" analysis of world hunger. His most recent book is ''Silence Can Kill: Speaking Up to End Hunger and Make our Economy Work for Everyone''. In 2009 he published ''The Rising of Bread for the World: An Outcry of Citizens Against Hunger''. Prior to that, he authored, with David Beckmann, ''Grace at the Table: Ending Hunger in God’s World''. His previous books include ''Faces of Poverty'' and ''Harvesting Peace: The Arms Race and Human Need''. He has also had articles published in many national

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s and journals.Further profile
''Center for Public Justice'' website. Simon received a number of awards and

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s, including the Presidential Hunger Award for Lifetime Achievement. He has served on the advisory board for the Center for Public Justice. He was the 35th recipient the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award in 2004. The honor was named after a 1963

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

letter, '' Pacem in terris'' (Peace on Earth), by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Simon died at his

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

home on November 14, 2023, at the age of 93.

References

External links

Bread for the World
1930 births 2023 deaths American activists American Lutherans American Christian clergy American non-fiction writers Writers from Eugene, Oregon Concordia Seminary alumni {{US-reli-bio-stub