Here is a collection of a few of the good things that Episcopalians and their congregations have done that made the news this past week. And other news fit to print.
Episcopal Relief and Development reports delivery of its one millionth net:
Three years after delivering the first long-lasting insecticide-treated net to a remote community in rural Zambia, NetsforLife® has concluded Phase 1 of its implementation by distributing its millionth net.
A collaborative partnership of ExxonMobil Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank, Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Starr International Foundation, White Flowers Foundation and Episcopal Relief & Development, NetsforLife® implements integrated malaria prevention through a network of local faith-based organizations and NGOs in 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The program is managed and monitored by ERD in 15 countries and by Christian Aid in two.
St. Barnabas of DeLand, Florida is an example of what one church can do. They collected $6,567.24, enough to buy 547 full-size mosquito nets. The nets will be provided by Episcopal Relief and Development to families that need them to ward off mosquitoes and the diseases they can carry.
Buy a net for a family here.
St. John’s in Stamford, CT adds a clergy member:
Fritts, a single parent to a college-age daughter, loves drumming, the practice of acupuncture, physical therapy and Tai Chi meditation. But she said her newest passion is to revitalize the parish of St. John’s.
Fritts’ “sense of entrepreneurship” drew him to her over other candidates for the job, [the rector the Rev. ] Wheeler said. She proposed a semi-weekly meditation gathering, a monthly service backed by contemporary rock music and more intimate meetings with parishioners, Wheeler said.
…
Fritts said she can relate to people who don’t think the church has anything to offer, because she once held the same belief.
____________________
Amazing Grace Youth Circus from Grace Episcopal Church in Nyack performed to raise funds for the All Our Children Initiative at General Convention this summer.
The Nyack ensemble is the tri-state’s only year-round, all-youth circus and is an interactive experience. Troupe members and Ringmaster Mr. Amazing (Carlo Pellegrini) taught children how to juggle balls, balance on globes, work the rola bola, perform classic clown routines, master acrobatic adagio acts, walk on the tightwire and perform human pyramids in their own circus.
_____________________
The youth group at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Kingwood, TX raised $3,050 at their Feb. 15 Feast of St. Cocoa fundraiser for Holy Cross Anglican School in Belize, the site of their 2008 and 2009 mission trips. The youth group entertained about 200 people with songs, skits and instrumental pieces, and provided an array of homemade chocolate desserts in honor of “St. Cocoa.”
______________________
A nurse from All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Hilton Head, SC, took part in the Diocesan Medical Mission Team to the Dominican Republic. Islandpacket.com reports:
When Dale Finn visits the Dominican Republic in May, she won’t come empty-handed.
She’ll bring plenty of medical supplies donated by All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island.
Finn, a registered nurse from Sun City Hilton Head, will represent the church as a member of the Diocesan Medical Mission Team. The team sets up clinics in Episcopal churches and buildings in the impoverished sections of San Francisco de Macoris and the barrio of Cristo Salvador. Local people can get help from medical providers and a dentist with the assistance of nurses, pharmacists and others. For many, it’s the only medical treatment they will receive all year.
… “Our members donated over 1,120 toothbrushes, 900 washcloths and 100 boxes of Band-Aids,” Finn said. “They also added an unsolicited 337 tubes of toothpaste for the collection.”
The church’s Episcopal Church Women and other groups also donated money to purchase medications and supplies for the clinics.
__________
News8austin.com has a story about El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission in South Austin, Texas. The parish celebrated “Dr. Seuss Week” to give young children the chance to experience American literature.
Rev. Ed Gomez of El Buen Samaritano said honoring Dr. Seuss is an effort to help young children acclimate to the United States.
“We want to teach them about what are the American popular literature that’s going to be part of their upbringing and culture, so that these children, children of immigrants, come and acclimate to the U.S. will be able to successfully deal with and understand the different aspects of literature,” he said.
Some local lawmakers read “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Cat and the Hat” to the children at the mission.
In addition, the 2 to 4-year-olds got a special breakfast, a chance to try their very own green eggs and ham.