Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation Conference Call Minutes

Tuesday, June 26, 9 pm EDT, 8 pm CDT, 7 pm MDT, 6 pm PDT, 5 pm AKDT

Participants - Cindy Long ; Eleanor Braun; Char Miller; Bob Runkle; Evelyn Piety; Dick Kerner; Ron Thompson; Debbie Betsill; Joy Daley; Michael Burke; Luke Fodor; Elizabeth Henry; Mike Kinman; Marguy McVey,

I. Welcome & brief introduction

II. Prayer, Readings and Reflection

III. MDG update from Episcopal Relief and Development - Luke Fodor

Luke: ERD's main campaign is the MDG Inspiration Fund. They're creating partnerships to raise 3 million dollars to fight malaria & other diseases. They are trying to get to @ half the total goal, which is 3 milllion dollars by fall. A primary aim of the fund is to purchase anti-malarial mosquito nets. This supports MDG #6, but also addresses the other MDGs as well. They are depending on church members to pledge to that goal. Preparing the literature right now. Probably roll out late September/October. Really push hard on First Sunday in Lent - ONE/ERD Sunday. Asking all congregations to set that Sunday aside to give money to ERD for this.

 

Also, recently they received a $1 million gift to work w/ women. They are targeting women as resources of the community. They are also trying to develop a "Women's Development Council", focused in Seattle WA. Laura Muglia is the main contributor. Laura's focus is more in Development rather than Relief - which is also, increasing, the aim of ERD. The goal is to raise substantial funds to reach out to women as the "neediest population" and the population that represents the "backbone of communities". The Women's Development Council is in the initial stages of drafting literature for their campaign. The gift of 1 million is the primary (nearly exclusive) funding for this project.

 

IV. Movement update from EGR - Mike Kinman

a. Eat In to Help Out - Elizabeth Henry

This is a grassroots response to commemorate and foster more support for the MDG's at their mid-point. It is a very localized, community-building exercise. Its aim is to initiate dinners to educate and to raise funds to address the MDG's. There are now a total of over #450 people who have joined our Facebook community. 108 of these members will be hosting or attending "Eat In to Help Out" dinners, the first week of July. We continue to spread the word about these dinners and the MDG's. Though the target of the dinners campaign is Youth and Young Adults, they are not the exclusive aim. We would like to promote these dinners to interested people of all ages. Further, though the dinners are primarily occurring from July 1 to July 7, they can take place anytime of year, multiple times per year. To get more information please go to the website www.eatin2helpout.org

 

b. MDG Christian Formation Curricula

Tracy Herzer, President of NAECED (National Assoc. of Episcopal Christian Eduation Development) is gathering Christian Educators to work on the MDG's. This work includes, but is not limited to, Summer Camp, Vacation Bible School and Junior & High School programs to address the MDG's. You can email Mike Kinman w/ names of people who may be interested in supporting these educational efforts. The Kenyon Conference is nearing, which is a weeklong conference of the Dioceses of Ohio and Southern Ohio which both Mike & Elizabeth will attend, at which they'll "test drive" their ideas on how to foster more support for MDG education and action among youth.

 

c. Congregational Surveys (attached)

Mike believes it is important to have at least one survey that's limited to one page. This, so the survey can be issued and answered in relatively simple and brief exchanges, including by hand-out dissemination and direct mailing. The paper survey will be on the EGR website &/or you can notify us and we'll email you them. If you can get at least one person in each congregation to answer them, you may get an idea of how the MDGs are faring in your area. Key for these surveys: Use them creatively, add or change questions. The online one, in next two days, will be on SurveyMonkey.com. Your diocese, city, etc., will be noted so we can tally information by region. Cindy from N. CA already sent out one today & received it back. Debbie, from Atlanta, is visiting 94 parishes with the survey. She noted the response has been good and said, "There's quite a bit of giving that has been going on" in the parishes. Joy Daley, of Dallas, expressed appreciation to Mike for his visit. She said a group there has met to adapt some of the language of the survey so people unfamiliar with the MDG's can become apprised of how to develop interest in them in their parishes. Mike asked if it would be helpful for the surveys to include some written examples of work that's already being done to address the MDG's - to help inform and educate survey participants, promoting their own interest and action. The reply to this idea was, yes. Eleanor suggested the surveys might also include more room for feedback. Presently there are limited options to respond to only "yes" and "no" queries. For example, she noted that her congregation has started a prayer group for the MDG's - though there is no room on the current survey to reference that. The phrasing on the survey could be something comparable to the question, "Is there anything, not mentioned on the survey, that you're doing which you'd like us to be aware of (regarding your efforts to address the MDG's)?".

 

d. Video contest update

Question from Mike: This idea received no replies/no entrants, though it seemed like a good idea, initially. Maybe it had too narrow of a focus; or the time of year for such a contest was poor; or the type of contest may have been too technological or cumbersome for many people to have sufficient interest in it. Evelyn suggested perhaps video shoots could be encouraged to document the "Eat in to Help Out" dinners, during the dinners. Mike asked for any thoughts on "why this (video contest) thing tanked" and/or for ideas on how to create a new contest that might inspire participation. He invited all to please email us with comments and ideas. He noted that students generating ideas may produce better (more popular) results than Mike doing so.

 

e. Call for theological context papers

Mike: One of the criticisms he has heard about the EGR and the MDG's is the notion "we're just substituting this secular agenda (of the MDG's) for the gospel". Mike asked all to please help us collect scripture, sermons, prayers, litanies and more, which connect the gospel to the MDG's. He said, a lot of people don't consider themselves theologians yet they are - because god moves through their minds & hearts as they're simply trying to get through life. So please, if anyone wants to submit their thoughts and their writings about the relevance of the gospel to the MDG's, these are welcome too. Please email these to Mike. He'll send them for posting to the website and/or to the committee working on this.

 

Rob: There is a Beekeeping project, teaching people to become beekeepers and to create a business and income from their skills, which has a connection to the MDG's, though the founders of the program did not recognize that (until it was pointed out to them). Mike acknowledged the diversity of ways the MDG's may come into play in our everyday lives. He said, "Don't worry about mentioning the MDG's when you aim to educate others about them. If the mention of the MDG is cumbersome, keep the conversation simple. You can reference "working with the poor". Debbie: As Bono said in his interview with Larry King, about these aims, "It's not about charity, it's about justice." Debbie further noted that kids "get this" particularly well. And to do political advocacy, we should emphasize the Justice aspect. Elizabeth: It's not as if the MDG's is a new effort for which we are seeking to inspire support. We've said (as members of the Episcopal Church) we've made this promise, now we need the actions that correspond with the words.

 

f. Sabina Alkire/Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (by Sabina, if present)

Sabina was not present during this call. For more information on her work, please go to: www.ophi.org.uk She is an economist & a priest. She wrote the book, "What Can a Person Do". Her poverty studies are at Oxford. Mike noted that economists have generally and traditionally only looked at the money aspects of poverty versus the spiritual elements of how poverty affects all of our lives, individually and collectively. Sabina's work is revolutionary in that it does not focus, exclusively, on numbers but includes the personal relationships we have to poverty issues in our lives.

 

V. Open floor for storytelling, questions, problem-solving, resource-sharing, exploring partnerships, conversation

 

Bob Rungel: Eat in Help Out, meeting in Lewiston last weekend. Church lunch made contribution to KIVA, 156.00. w/ matching funds to KIVA. They're picking an education oriented KIVA project to target for the funds.

 

Evelyn attended her Provincial ECW conference. An established project, by ECW, called "Women to Women" could not be easily found on the ECW website. Kay Meyer, is national president and Mariann Ransom, is secretary of ECW. Mariann promised to get more info on this on the website for ECW. Eleanor said they did presentations to their local ECW, who committed .07% to MDG's thereafter. She said, "The women of the church are a great resource because they 'GET IT'. You don't have to explain it (the need to address the goals of the MDGs) to them."

 

Debbie noted: Their work in Honduras is very rewarding. You return year after year and it benefits both communities in the exchanges. Mike suggested we should compile a list of "Best Practices" (of projects targeting the MDG's), so we don't have to reinvent the wheel to create projects that effectively support the MDG's.

 

Mike asked: Is there anything we could do better at EGR? Eleanor or Debbie asked if there's still an interest in putting together a Speaker's Bureau. Mike wants to get a list together online as an "action item on the front burner". He said, whenever he receives any name of a potential person for the Speaker's Bureau, we'll send them an email asking if they'd be willing to be listed. He also noted that Mary Getz is in charge of the public policy network for the ONE Episcopalian Campaign. She should be contacted for any information regarding that campaign, and that she is extremely prompt and prepared.

 

VI. Closing Prayer and dismissal