A Message of Solidarity with the Church in South Sudan 

Friday, May 9, 2014

The situation in South Sudan continues to be extremely difficult, and news of it in North American media is minimal. Violence has been fomented and stirred by political leaders for their own ends. Although the mainstream media portrays the conflict as ethnic, its roots, as with any conflict, are varied and complicated. Regardless, there can never be a rationale for the suffering that has been wrought.

Our partners in South Sudan have suffered massive casualties. Their people have been murdered, raped, tortured, and burned out of their homes. Churches and entire villages have been destroyed. In spite of extensive displacement, Anglicans/Episcopalians and Lutherans continue to be active in relief and peace-making efforts through our partners in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan, and the Lutheran World Federation.

We urge you to join in prayer for the people of South Sudan and Sudan, for a lasting and meaningful peace, and for immediate aid and response to the needs of the myriad of displaced persons.

As we celebrate the feast of the Resurrection, we urge you to help make the risen body of Christ evident to those who labor through the valley of the shadow of death.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori

Presiding Bishop and Primate

The Episcopal Church

Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

Presiding Bishop

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz

Primate

Anglican Church of Canada

Bishop Susan Johnson

National Bishop,

Do you know that:

• Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children aged 1 to 4 years? 70% of African-American and 60% of Hispanic/Latino children cannot swim.
• African-American children drown at a rate of nearly 3 times higher than their Caucasian peers?

In 2013, approximately 75 children from the Our Next Generation summer program received free swim lessons at the Washington Park pool. Some of the children at our program didn't participate because they did not have basic swim gear - swimsuits, goggles, caps, and towels.

Free swim lessons will be available again this summer. Our goal is to have more children learn to swim. We hope to provide equipment to them. It costs about $65 to outfit a swimmer with a swimsuit, cap, goggles, and towel. You can sponsor as many swimmers as you like at $65 each. Or, you can contribute funds to purchase individual pieces of swim equipment - Cap ($8); swimsuit ($40); goggles ($12); or towel ($4). Please make checks payable to Our Next Generation and write "Swimming Equipment" on the memo line. Send to 4321 W. Lisbon Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208 or donate online at www.ongkids.org. Click here for more information about the free swim lessons at Washington Park.

Article contributed by The Rev. Miranda Hassett, rector of

St. Dunstan's, Madison

Middleton Outreach Ministry (MOM) is a charitable agency working to prevent homelessness and end hunger in Middleton, West Madison, and Cross Plains, WI. St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, on the west side of Madison, supports MOM in many ways throughout the year, but early May is always a special time because it's "Canstruction" season! MOM's website explains: "Canstruction� is a community competition where teams use canned and packaged goods to build imaginative structures.  Awards are given out..., but the most important part is that all of the food is used to help feed local people in need.  MOM hosts one of the largest food pantries in Dane county." 

This year's Canstruction was Thursday, May 1. 28 tons of food were collected through Canstruction and community food drives associated with this fun event. St. Dunstan's got involved in a couple of ways this year: with our Kids' Canstruction, and by sending a team to DeCanstruction. 

Kids' CanStruction: During the month of April, we had a small parish food drive to collect canned and boxed goods for the MOM food pantry - but instead of passing them along right away, the Sunday school students, ranging in age from 3 to 11, gathered on Sunday, April 27 to build their own "canstructions" while learning about hunger and the importance of food pantries. When they came back into church, they shared a prayer they had written together for the hungry and those who work to help them, and they invited us all to come view their creations during coffee hour. 

DeCanstruction: When Canstruction is over, volunteer teams from the community pull on their gloves and start "De-Canstructing" the carefully-built creations, sorting the cans and other grocery items into boxes so they can easily be used at the food pantry in the months ahead. This year St. Dunstan's teamed up with our neighboring church, the Madison Vineyard Church, to send twenty volunteers! Our joint team was a powerhouse and we took down two structures - a castle and a giant Lego head - in just over an hour. It was warm work but also a lot of fun, and a great opportunity to collaborate in service to our wider community.   

• June 3, Tuesday - Ordination discernment informational meeting.  This is a mandatory first meeting for anybody sensing the call to ordained ministry.  It will take place in two locations: Good Shepherd Sun Prairie and Trinity Wauwatosa, 7-9 pm.  RSVP is REQUIRED by emailing COM chair, Fr. Scott Seefeldt at skotallen@yahoo.com
• September 18, Thursday - Parish Ministry Discernment Committee training night.  Two locations: St. Dunstan's Middleton & Trinity Wauwatosa, 7-9 pm. 
• October 24-25, Friday & Saturday - Ministry Discernment Weekend and postulancy interviews.  Durward's Glen Retreat Center (http://www.durwardsglen.org/)