Episcopal Press and News
MINNESOTA: Diocese makes first MDG donations
Episcopal News Service. April 27, 2007 [042707-04]
The Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota has formally begun its monetary support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a news story on the diocesan website.
The first of four quarterly donations have been made to NetAid and Bread for the World.
In October 2006, Diocesan Convention designated 0.7 percent of the diocesan operating budget for 2007 to MDG work. The diocese's MDG Task Force recommended to the Diocesan Council that quarterly disbursements be made to organizations engaged in direct development work or advocacy for those suffering from extreme poverty. Each quarter's gifts will focus on two of the eight MDGs.
NetAid, which focuses its work on MDG #1 (eradicate extreme hunger and poverty) and MDG #8 (develop a global partnership for development), seeks to educate, inspire and empower new generations of young people to fight global poverty throughout their lives. NetAid's programs educate young people about international development and provide opportunities for them to take actions through its four campaigns: world hunger; aid, debt and trade; access to education; and HIV/AIDS.
Bread for the World, which has been in existence since 1974 and seeks to serve as citizen advocates for hungry people, has grown into a nationwide movement of more than 58,000 members seeking to end global poverty (MDG #1) through direct programs and in building the public will to overcome hunger through political advocacy.
In related news, the Rev. Devon Anderson, chair of the Diocesan MDG Task Force, has received one of three transformational ministry grants from the Episcopal Church Foundation. Anderson will work to equip people in the diocese and beyond to implement global mission projects in their congregations.
"Focusing on the micro-level is the key to keeping a movement rooted, sustained, and faced toward the future," Anderson said in a diocesan news story. "This fellowship will equip hands-on coaching, training and support for congregations."
A goal of Anderson's project is to provide replicable training and empowerment models to the wider Church at General Convention 2009.
More information about the grants is available here.