Church Missionary Offering Helps in Appalachia
Diocesan Press Service. September 15, 1975 [75318]
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- As of September 1, a total of $76,000 has been received for the 1975 Church School Missionary Offering (CSMO) of the Episcopal Church.
This offering, in the recent past the children's arm of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, is now on its own. Contributions this year were designated for the Appalachian People's Service Organization (APSO).
Through APSO the Episcopal Church is at work in this pocket of desperate poverty, an area encompassed by the Appalachian Mountains, covering parts of 13 eastern states, from Mississippi to New York.
Much of APSO's work is done through the Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA), an ecumenical, cooperative effort of 18 churches, 11 state councils of churches, and the National Council of Churches, which seeks to mobilize and utilize manpower and resources of the region for the Church's ministry.
Some of the projects which APSO funds relate to mine safety and health, training programs for leaders of income generating businesses, a news service, health and child care centers, senior citizens self-help programs, ministry training, migrant ministry, development of education programs and curriculum materials, and youth projects.
In a recent letter to Presiding Bishop John M. Allin, Bishop Wilburn C. Campbell of West Virginia, president of APSO, expressed his appreciation to those "who have done such grant work in preparing and implementing the Church School Missionary Offering program this year. "
Acknowledging receipt of a check for $50,000, Bishop Campbell said that this money, combined with other funds, would help support 22 Appalachian projects through CORA.
"APSO has committed $100, 000 to these twenty-two projects ear marked for funding in 1975," he said. If funds permit, he added, an additional 20 projects seeking funds from APSO will be supported.
The 1976 CSMO is designated for the island of Mindanao, a part of the Missionary Diocese of the Southern Philippines, of which the Rt. Rev. Constancio B. Manguramas is bishop. CSMO materials will be available this fall, for use at any time in 1976.