US Sudanese Form an Alliance for Development

Eighteen Sudanese non-governmental organizations NGOs met in Rochester, NY on September 20-21. Developed over the last four to five years by groups who came as "The Lost Boys of Sudan," the intention of the meeting was to form an alliance to create a unified program to deliver clean water, medical facilities, schools and agricultural development projects to war-torn Southern Sudan. Among the leaders of this group are John Dau ("God Grew Tired of Us"), Salva Dut ("Water for Sudan"), Aduie de Riak (New Sudan Education Initiative) and Valantino Achak Deng ("What is the What"). Currently the combined work of the eighteen NGOs is impacting about a quarter of a million people in southern Sudan. It is their vision that the combined and coordinate the efforts of all the NGOs to assist the Government of Southern Sudan and the communities to re-establish and transform themselves into self-sufficient societies that will thrive and live in peace. Fr. Jerry Drino was elected as the chairman of the executive committee.

Want to read more? Follow this link to the following news article and video clip.
See also the Organizational Roster and the Hope of Sudan Mission Core Values Statement.

END POVERTY 2015: Praying to Make it Happen -- ACTION

From Jerry Drino:

The Episcopal Public Policy Network
Policy Alert

Click here to read about how you can tell lawmakers to renew commitment to MDGs.

Bishop Mary's Presentation on Lambeth

The powerpoint presentation that Bishop Mary gave at Lambeth, is now available here on our blog! In it, you will see pictures and information about the Bishop's time at Lambeth, and also background for the proposed Triad Companion Diocese Relationship between ECR, Gloucester, and Western Tanganyika.



Please post your thoughts about this triad relationship by commenting on this article, or the article below which details the relationship.

9-15 Conference Call Summary

The World Mission Network Conference call was held on 9-15-08. An agenda prepared by Rev. Jerry Drino was presented and a lively discussion among the participants followed for over an hour.

Comments and questions were offered regarding the Triad Diocesan Companion relationship presented by Bishop Mary. Next steps were proposed for improving communication among members and the identification of parish representatives. Further discussion centered on the Diocesan Convention, specifically the presentation and a display. Read the minutes by clicking the link below for further information and details:

Conference Call Minutes 9-15-08

Experience THE GIRL EFFECT

From David Wittrock (St. Mary's, Pacific Grove) regarding "The Girl Effect": The humanitarian organization CARE has posted an informative video presentation on its website showing that by investing in girls' education we are assisting in one of the best ways to fight global poverty.

Watch the video here

Your Mission Stories

Please share your mission stories with us! You can post comments to this article with your story, or email the World Mission Network with your story so we can post it!

See the "Your Mission Stories" section in the right hand sidebar, where links to mission stories will be posted.

See the newest story: A reflection from Jackie Boynton on Epiphany Lutheran and Episcopal Church's 10 year relationship with Rwanda: 10 Years with Rwanda

Discussion Topic - 3 Way Diocesan Companion Relationship

What do you think about the possibility of a 3-way Diocesan Relationship, as proposed by the Bishop? How do you think this relationship will impact our diocese?


Background:
At a meeting of the World Mission Network, Bishop Mary proposed a Triad Companion Diocese Relationship with a diocese from the Church of England (Gloucester) and a diocese from the Anglican Church of Tanzania (Western Tanganyika). Bishop Mary met Bishop Michael (Gloucester) and Bishop Gerard (Western Tanganyika) at Lambeth. All three of them are interested in perusing a relationship together, engaging in conversation about the issues facing our churches and the communion (i.e. women's ordination to the episcopate, human sexuality, poverty, etc.) and in working side by side on mission projects.

We are gathering comments from people around the diocese. Please post your thoughts here!

What would this look like?
-The bishops would visit each other for conventions and other participatory events.
-The bishops would continue in conversation and come up with a "rule of life" that they can share.
-Groups from each diocese would be engaged together in conversation, visits, and mission projects.

See the discussion points from our meeting's minutes:
Minutes 9-6-08 Meeting

Also, see the Presentation given by Bishop Mary on Lambeth and this relationship: Presentation

Conference Call- "The Circle of Mission"

You Are Invited!

On Monday, September 15 at 7pm we will have a follow-up conference call to plan our next step. We have reserved a conference call line for 30 participants. Anyone who would like to join the conference call is welcome to do so in the spirit of working as a network, which is a circular and inclusive model. In order to participate we ask that you email , Robin (redenney AT gmail.com) and Jerry (jdrino AT hopewithsudan.org) to say that you are joining the call and to list any issues or questions you would like to address by NOON, Monday September 15 so that talking points can be addressed.

Review the minutes from last Saturday's meeting with the Bishop to renew our actions.
Minutes 9-6-08 Meeting

Then follow these steps:

Dial the Telebridge Number: 916-233-0499
Wait for the prompt to give the Guest PIN#. Enter 39642

-Posted by Jerry Drino

Meeting with Bishop Mary

The World Mission Network met with Bishop Mary on Saturday September 6 in Salinas. More than 40 people attended. The bishop talked about her experience at Lambeth this summer, and presented a concept for a Triad Companion Diocese Relationship between ECR, a diocese in Tanzania, and a diocese in England.

See the full report of the meeting including discussion and next steps: Minutes 9-6-08 Meeting

See the supporting documents that the Bishop presented: Bishop Mary's Presentation on Lambeth

Remember, documents are also posted in the sidebar of the page under "Mission Data Files"

News from Southern India

More than 30,000 Christian educational institutions across Southern India closed for a day to hold a peaceful protest of the escalating violence against Christians across Southern India. Now the government is threatening to take action against these institutions for the protest.

READ about it at Episcopal Life online:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_100398_ENG_HTM.htm