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It's September, the kids are back in school and the
church program year is off and running. And EGR has
a catalog of resources for you to bring the MDGs
home to your congregation.
Here's a "starter set"
Available for shipping to you from EGR (we ask you
pay cost of packing and shipping ... any donation
above that is, of course, greatly appreciated). Some
items are in limited supply.
*Glossy cards with the MDGs on them +
EGR's name and website.
*White bands from the Millennium Campaign
that say "2015 No Excuses Voices Against
Poverty"
*MDG brochures from the Millennium Campaign
(lots of good information without being
overwhelming.
*MDG bookmarks from the Millennium Campaign
*The
EGR primer -- "Preach the Gospel at All
Times, Use Words if Necessary" booklets, updated for
2006. With lots of info about EGR, the MDGs, 0.7%
giving, and the Episcopal Church. (click
to download it off the EGR website)
*Big, red 0.7%
What One Can Do buttons from General
Convention ... perfect
for use while staffing a booth or giving away at
your convention.
And FINALLY, the RED T-shirts the EGR volunteers
wore at General Convention are now available! We
have S, M, L, XL and XXL available for only $10 each
plus shipping. (The School for Deacons in California
just bought 35 -- one for everyone in the school!).
They have the 0.7%/What
One Can Do logo on the front. On the back, it lists
the MDGs with "The MDGs - The REAL Instruments
of Unity" below it (as well as Episcopalians for
Global Reconciliation + www.e4gr.org)
Order any of these by
emailing us at
EGRnews@e4gr.org.
In addition to these, www.e4gr.org is
bursting with resources you can download for free.
Spend some time surfing around the site for:
*Handouts,
resolutions, bulletin inserts, commitment cards and
MDG business cards
*Booklets,
FAQs, position papers and MDG documents
*Congregational
toolkits and guides for local and youth action
*Sermons;
*Prayers,
litanies and liturgies
*Videos
*U2charist
resources
You can also download
the EGR logo for use on your websites and materials.
More resources are available from the ONE
Episcopalian Campaign and Episcopal
Relief and Development.
Keep checking back at the website for more resources
coming soon -- including powerpoints and scripts for
presentations and new curricula for youth and young
adults.
And when you find or develop resources - SEND THEM TO US
-- so we can share your gifts with the whole church!
| Make 9/11 a Day of Reconciliation |
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Next week is the fifth anniversary of the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It is a tremendous
opportunity for people of faith to put the focus on
the postive things we can do to heal a broken world
and to call for an end to the cycle of violence that
keeps the poverty and brokenness alive. Here are
some ideas and resources for you and your
congregation:
*Pray - Use Sunday, Sept. 10 and Monday,
Sept. 11 as days for specific prayers for peace and
for the MDGs in your congregation. Organize public
opportunities for prayer in your community. Pray
for our enemies, as Christ taught us to. E4gr.org
has prayers for the MDGs and Textweek.com has
collected a marvelous compilation of "Resources
for Use in Times of Terrorism and War." On Sept.
11, take a "TV sabbatical" and spend the amount of
time you usually spend watching TV and devote it to
prayer for peace and the MDGs
*Advocate - The Friends Committee on National
Legislation is sponsoring a "Nationwide
9/11 Call for Freedom from Fear." Episcopal
Peace Fellowship is encouraging people to sign the
"Declaration
of Peace." Use Bread for the World's Offering
of Letters Kit and DATA's
Faith in Action Resources to mobilize yourself
and your congregation. Use Sept. 11 as a platform
for signing people and your congregation up for the
ONE
Episcopalian Campaign.
*Educate - Use resources
from the EGR website to start a MDG study group
in your congregation.
*Give - Hold an 8
1/2-hour fast (roughly 10 seconds
for each of the 2,986 people killed in the Sept. 11
attacks), and give the money you would have spent on
food to an organization
that supports the MDGs.
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| Sites to bookmark |
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*Fair
Trade Certified - A great one-stop site with
loads of information about what Fair Trade is and
how you can participate in the movement.
*Results.org
- a great grassroots organization educating and
mobilizing people to be advocates to eradicate
global poverty. The Rev. Amy McCreath
has established a chapter of this organization
at the Episcopal
Chaplaincy at MIT.
*Print
for a Purpose - an online vendor of printer
cartridges that donates a portion of every purchase
to fight poverty.
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| Quote of the Week |
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"It is a poverty to decide that a child
must die
so that you may live as you wish."
-Mother Teresa
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Growing the Movement -- Diocesan Contacts for EGR |
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Since General
Convention, the energy around working
with the Millennium
Development Goals has continued
to mushroom. The requests EGR is receiving for
resources, speakers, information, etc. have
increased exponentially.
It's amazing! But
it also means we need to get organized ... and that
means finding at least two people in every diocese
who can coordinate EGR's work there.
Here's what our contact people do:
*Track data on 0.7% giving by the diocese and
congregations (who is doing it, how much, where the
money is going) as well as other ministries that
involve the MDGs (this will be incorporated into a
virtual map on the EGR website -- so the whole
church can see what's going on!)
*Act as "go-to people" for EGR's resources
for individuals, congregations and the diocese
*Be enthusiastic promoters of MDG ministry in
their diocese.
In addition, we are working with the Office
of Government Relations to help promote ONE
Episcopalian (the Episcopal version of the ONE
Campaign). We are hopeful our contact people will
also be portals for ONE-E information and resources
for their dioceses.
The executive
director and board or EGR are
available to them to help the contacts in any way
they can. Our job is to support them. We have also
used the E4GR googlegroup to link them online in a
community of EGR contacts throughout the church --
that is a primary community for them to share
resources, bounce ideas, tell stories, and make
connections for ministry.
EGR believes strongly in partnerships -- that's why
our goal is at least two people in every diocese so
that nobody is doing this alone. Every diocesan
bishop has been asked for nominations, but you don't
have to be nominated by your bishop to serve. You
just have to have a heart for this mission and the
dedication to carry it out. If your diocese has a
Global Reconciliation Commisison or other such body
already working on the MDGs, then we're happy to
have as many people as want to as contacts.
Many hands make light work, so the more the merrier.
So far we have 92
contacts in 59 dioceses! (Go to e4gr.org to see
if and by whom your diocese is represented!) That's
an amazing group of dedicated, Spirit-filled people.
Thank you to all who have put themselves
forward.
If you would like to be an EGR diocesan contact, or
if you would like to suggest someone whom we can
invite, just drop
us an email at egrnews@e4gr.org.
And please, help your diocesan contacts out by using
them and by helping them gather and spread the
information we need to keep this movement growing!
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