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Plan now: Two October events to
Stand Up for the
MDGs
As you do your congregation's fall planning, don't
miss two great opportunities to get your
congregation involved in the MDG
movement.
Sunday,
Oct. 15 - STAND UP Against Poverty -- All
over the world, people will be gathering literally
to stand up and pledge to eradicate global
poverty and support the MDGs (and break a world
record in the process). This is part of a global
campaign to raise awareness about the MDGs and
publicly demonstrate the growing support for their
achievement.
All you have to do is to integrate the Stand
Up moment and pledge into your Sunday liturgy or
education time. It's also a great time to use other
prayers
and litanies for the MDGs. Click
here for more information. And be sure and let us know if
you're doing it!
Sunday,
Oct. 22 - Children's Sabbath -- Many
congregations are already participating in this
annual event sponsored by the Children's Defense
Fund. It's also a great opportunity to educate and
engage your congregation on MDG
2 (universal primary education) and 4
(reducing child mortality).
In addition to using the CDF
materials, here are
some more ideas:
*Have an ice cream social to raise awareness about
universal primary education (UPE would cost $10
billion annually ... we spend $20 billion a year in
the U.S. on ice cream) with proceeds going to
education in your companion diocese, to ERD's
work at a pre-school in Zambia, or other
ministry you're involved with.
*Have people make and drink oral
rehydration solution , an easy way to save a
child from dying of dehydration from diarrhea for
less than 5 cents a shot. A
child in sub-saharan Africa is more than 500 times
likely to die from diarrhea than an American
child.
*Make a popsicle
stick cross to raise awareness that
a child dies every three seconds from preventable,
treatable causes.
*Get the knitters in your congregation going with "Knitters
and Crocheters for Newborns: Caps to the Capital"
campaign. Have people knit or crochet caps to be
given to newborns as part of safe birth kits --
along with an advocacy action to tell our leaders we
care about reducing child mortality. Use Oct. 22 as
a day to bless the caps and send them off. (Thanks
to the Rev. Helen Svoboda-Barber of Harcourt Parish
in Gambier, OH, for this idea).
Interested in helping plan other options for a MDG
observance of Children's Sabbath, email us and
we'll put you in touch with others working on the
same thing.
| U2charist - coming soon to a church near you! |
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Since General Convention, it seems like everyone is
wanting to hold a
U2charist (a service of Holy
Eucharist using the music of the Irish rock band U2)
to raise awareness about the Millennium Development
Goals.
Here are some of the U2charists coming up (click on
the locale to email the contact person). If you'd
like to host one, check out the
U2charist page on the EGR website and then email
the Rev.
Paige Blair, and
she'll help you get everything you need!
Saturday, August 26 - St. Mark's
Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY
Monday, Sept. 4 (Labor Day) - Episcopal Campus
Ministry, College Park, MD (with house
dedication)
Saturday, Sept. 9 (and every second Saturday for
8 MONTHS!!) - St. Paul's
Episcopal Church, Walla Walla, WA.
Thursday, Sept. 14 - Trinity Cathedral,
Cleveland, OH
Sunday, Sept. 17 - St.
John's Episcopal Church, Sutton, MA
Sunday, Sept. 17 - Uptown
Church @ Incarnation, Dallas, TX
Many more are in the works -- date and place TBA. If
you're doing a U2charist, let us know so we
can get it on the list.
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| Update -- The Karen Emergency Relief Fund |
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Last year, What One Can Do featured an article about
the Karen
Emergency Relief Fund -- a nonprofit founded and
run by Connecticut Episcopalians that provides food,
shelter and medical care for refugee orphans and
others of the Karen people from strife-torn
Burma.
One sign of an effective NGO is the percentage of
funds that actually get to the people in need. 75%
is considered excellent. KERF is at 95%. Funds given
provide pre-natal and maternal health care, malaria
treatment, therapy for traumatized women and
victims of rape, orphan care, etc.
The most pressing need for KERF is a motorcycle with
a side car so those caring for the refugees at the
orphanage in Mae Sot, Thailand, can go grocery
shopping safely. The total cost is around $1,600.
For more information, contact the Rev. Steven
Hulme.
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| Raise Your Voice - Two MDG Advocacy Opportunities |
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Using your political power is an important
part of
making the MDGs a reality. Here are two chances to
raise your voice to get our government behind some
important MDG-related issues.
Stop child marriage -- Child marriage
victimizes young women and girls around the world
and contributes to the extreme poverty and
insecurity that destabilizes much of sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia. The
International Child Marriage Prevention and
Protection Act of 2006 (S.3651), introduced by
Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE),
would help bring an end to this practice. Please e-mail
your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor S.3651.
Women who are married before the age of 18
have reduced rates of education and increased risk
for premature pregnancy, maternal and infant
mortality, obstetric fistula and sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Child
marriage is a violation both of an individual's
right to 'free and full' consent to marriage,
something a child cannot give, and the rights of
women to not be subject to discrimination. (Thanks
to the Episcopal
Public Policy Network for this alert)
Stop the killing and child abduction in Northern
Uganda Oct. 9-10 is Northern
Uganda Lobby Day, a broad-based event to urge
more effective U.S. involvement in the
crisis in Uganda.
Register to attend and
lobby your Senators and Representatives in person on
the Hill ... or educate yourself through things like
the Invisible
Children movement and call and email your
leaders on those days to let your voice be heard.
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| Quote of the Week |
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"While we appreciate the importance of debt and
disease relief in the suffering of Africa's poorest,
the key element of success in providing sustainable
livelihoods for most Africans is trade.
"It has been estimated that if Africa increased its
share of world exports by only 1%, it would generate
$70 billion. That is about five times what our
continent receives in aid."
-Njongonkulu Ndungane, Anglican Primate of
Southern Africa
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What One Congregation Can Do |
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When the Rev. Alma Beck preached
a sermon on the Millennium Development Goals a
few months back, she
had no idea the effect it would have.
After her sermon, some of the kids of the
parish
came up to her asking if they could raise money to
help. That "helping" quickly grew into an idea -- a
carnival for the MDGs.
And so after church on Sunday, August 27, the
children of St. Michael's will be giving canoe
rides, running races, making and selling crafts,
playing games -- all as a way to reach out around
the world to those in need.
"The kids came up with this all by
themselves," Beck said. "I was trying to dampen the
idea as way too grand -- silly me -- but
another mom isn't one to squelch enthusiastic kids.
She agreed to help them.
"They asked for their Sunday School to NOT disband
over the summer, so they could continue to work on
their project. They're meeting mornings
from 9 to 12 this week and next for a last big push,
making crafts to sell.
"Boy, when Jesus used children as examples for us,
he sure knew what he was doing!"
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