Pictured: Abp. Hector Zavala (Global Trustee, Southern Cone), Abp. Onesphore Rwaje (Visitor, Rwanda), Abp. Bolly Lopok (Global Trustee, S. E. Asia), Abp. Robert Duncan (Global Trustee, President, USA), Abp. Henri Isengoma (Global Trustee, Congo), and Abp. Eliud Wabukala (Visitor, Kenya).

The post Three New Development Projects Approved at Our 2013 Global Trustees Meeting Nairobi, Kenya appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

ARDF is accepting donations on behalf of the Anglican Diocese of South Rwenzori, Uganda to aid in relief efforts following devastating flooding that began on May 1st.

We urge you to support this much needed disaster relief work: Click here to donate online.

Checks may be sent to the ARDF lockbox:  ARDF, PO Box 3830, Pittsburgh, PA  15230-3830 with a note in the memo line of the check “Rwenzori Uganda Flood.”

All gifts are used as designated.  However, in the unlikely event that a relief effort becomes over-funded, your gift will be applied to another disaster need as they arise. 85% of funds donated will be used for the relief and recovery in the affected areas with 15% used for administrative costs including credit card fees.

Below you will find more information about this urgent situation including a press released from the Diocese of South Rwenzori and videos from local Ugandan TV stations:

Press release: Bishop of South Rwenzori Diocese Appeals for Support after Devastating Floods

The Diocese of South Rwenzori was ravaged by flooding on 1^st May 2013 after a long, heavy downpour of rain. Every river in the Diocese burst its banks and wrought destruction on roads, gardens, and homes.

Five people have been confirmed dead and 3,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

The hardest hit areas were Kilembe, Kasese Municipality, Maliba, Kyarumba, and Kisinga. Fifty buildings in Kilembe Valley and twenty buildings in Nyamwamba Zone of Kasese Town have been destroyed; five bridges in the Diocese have been washed away.

Bishop Jackson Nzerebende, Bishop of the Diocese of South Rwenzori, is appealing for support.  “There is an immediate need for food, tents, bedding, household items, water tanks, drugs, and three standby ambulances,” he said.

Bishop Nzerebende further emphasized their long-term needs in three areas: (1) rebuilding infrastructure, (2) rebuilding homes, and (3) intensive rehabilitation of those affected by the floods.  “Our long-term needs,” he said, “are building materials, road construction materials, electrical poles and wires, rebuilding of five bridges, counselors, prayer, and an intensive rehabilitation programme.”

NTV Uganda Report (May 6th):

Earlier NTV Reports:

May 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlsY77SiBzA&feature=em-uploademail

May  3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kANu7O82iSM&feature=em-uploademail

May 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXj4TSxHyD0&feature=em-uploademail

May 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CesNYVs3lpo&feature=em-uploademail

May 6  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt3xpV4j0Hc&feature=em-uploademail

The post Urgent Disaster Relief: Devastating Flooding in Southwestern Uganda appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

• Help the kids in your parish connect with needy children throughout the world and with what ARDF is doing to help them.
• Have them learn how God has used water over and over again in his mighty acts of rescue and mercy.
• Get ready for four days of water-filled summer fun!

WATER WEEK VBS Materials:

• WATER WEEK VBS Testimonial (PDF)
• WATER WEEK VBS Overview (PDF)
• WATER WEEK VBS Creative Response Activities (PDF)
• South Sudan Clean Water Project Descriptions for WATER WEEK
• WATER WEEK Pictures
• Download the whole curriculum (Zipped folder): WATER WEEK

You can also download the materials from our Media Page.

Testimonial from the original creators of WATER WEEK VBS:  

Fr. Brian Barry our Director of Youth and Children’s Ministry, with his VBS Team designed “Water Week” in 2012, focusing during the hot days of August on the great water stories of the Bible. We had talked earlier about the success of the ARDF Lent curriculum and we thought the children (and their parents) would want to have a mission project to support that would involve supplying water, especially to benefit children like themselves. So I began to look for an ARDF project that would fit our theme.

Each child was given a water bottle to fill with coins or other money to support the ARDF project. By the end of the week, the children showed they really were committed: they filled their 21 water bottles with nearly $400!

We may think that this is a very small gift toward a project of over $60,000–and it is. But that’s to miss both the big picture and the long term goal. The big picture is threefold:

1. Introducing children to their church’s world-wide mission.
2. Helping them understand the needs of children who are Anglicans just like them throughout the world.
3. Having them not take for granted the water, plentiful food, and fresh vegetables they eat every day.

The long term goal is having children form the habit of mission-mindedness, become committed to the Anglican Relief and Development Fund and supporting the Gospel in word and deed around the world.

The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Andrew Reid
Director of Outreach
Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church
Danvers, MA

The post ARDF’s New WATER WEEK VBS Curriculum appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

The post ARDF is Raising Funds for Cyclone Haruna Relief in Madagascar appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

Find out more about this unique partnership in the next issue of ACNA’s Apostle magazine!

The post Video Report: ARDF helps ex-soldiers become carpenters and Christ-followers. appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

The Rev. Bill Haley, an ARDF board member, sat down with us at the Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit 2013 to talk about his experience as a church-planter and supporter of world mission.

Bill emphasized how important it is for churches to have world mission in their DNA from the very beginning.

When Bill and his family planted St. Brendan’s in the City in inner city DC, they set aside 30% of their budget for mission giving right from the start. Some of that money went to support ARDF projects.

“That 30% demonstrated that mission wasn’t an afterthought” Bill says.

“It spoke to how we understand our reason for being: that we exist for other people. From the beginning, our church had a broader awareness and concern-not just for the things that immediately impact us-but for the things that impact millions of people around the world like poverty, hunger, oppression, and despair.”

In fact, “some people stayed at our church precisely because they knew we were concerned about the world, not just our community or country.”

Bill continues: “It infused a sense of excitement in our congregation about what we could do with these resources, and from time to time we had to take on corporate experiences of faith and prayer in order to raise that 30%.”

Yet Bill cautions that mission of any kind must never be undertaken because of the benefits it has for a congregation or to attract new members: “that’s not the reason why we do it; we do it because it’s right. Helping the poor should never be about attracting people–we serve because that’s what Christians do. It doesn’t matter if anyone sees it.”

 St. Brendan’s is now pastored by the Rev. Richard Treacy and is part of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic.

Are you a pastor or church-planter? Consider supporting ARDF as a part of your regular mission giving. Check out our resources for churches.

The post ARDF and Church Planting appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

Bringing together hundreds of Anglicans from across the country, the Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit begins Monday, March 4th, in Wheaton, IL. Speakers include Alan Hirsch, Darrin Patrick, and Dr. Wes Hill (more information).

Why is ARDF excited to be at a conference dedicated to church planting in North America? Because we believe two things:

1. The Church is truly global.
2. The Great Commandment and the Great Commission are integrally linked.

Because the Church is global, a congregation in North America can form a real partnership with a church in the Global South to bring hope and improved quality of life to its underdeveloped local community. Because the Great Commandment and the Great Commission are equally vital expressions of Christ’s love, church planting and evangelism can and should be integrated with works of mercy that meet physical needs–especially through sustainable development!  Read our Mission Statement.

We believe that it is vital for all local churches to have world mission in their DNA from the very beginning.

Breakout Session

We will be offering a breakout session entitled, Discovering the Anglican Relief and Development Fund

Description: ARDF is the ‘underdiscovered jewel’ of ACNA. As the other half of ACNA’s outreach efforts, ARDF is a critical ministry of our denomination for those who suffer poverty and lack of resources around the Anglican Communion and especially with our Global South partners. This break out session will explore the global work of ARDF with a special report on our recent trip to South Sudan, Congo, and Rwanda, discuss the resources ARDF offers to churches and especially church plants, and explain the role of ARDF in ACNA and the broader Anglican Communion. The stories from our fellow Christians in the Global South will be an inspiration, especially about what they’ve sacrificed in order to partner with ACNA.

The Rev. Bill Haley will speak at the breakout session. Bill is the Associate Rector at The Falls Church Anglican, Director of Coracle, and is Trustee of ARDF. Bill is pictured below visiting an ARDF project in the DRC (far left):

The post Join ARDF at the 2013 Anglican1000 Summit appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

Lent: A Time to Give

Lent has traditionally been a season in the Church calendar when special offerings are collected for the poor. Please consider supporting one of our high-impact, sustainable development projects in the impoverished northeastern region of Brazil during lent this year.

To help you, your congregation, and your family pray for and learn about our work in Brazil, ARDF is pleased to offer a Lenten Prayer and Giving Guide, Mite Boxes (small boxes to collect donations), and a Lenten Bible Study Program.

• ARDF Lenten Prayer and Giving Guide 2013 (PDF)
• Lenten Bible Study Program – Gods Purpose in Mission
• Mite Boxes – Email: admin@anglicanaid.net to request mite boxes.
• Why ARDF? Bulletin Insert
• Brazil Project Descriptions

Bible Study: God’s Purpose in Mission

Julie Cosgrove, a devotional writer, Christian novelist, and speaker created this year’s Lenten Bible Study Program. In the study you will,

• Hear stories about people living in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Myanmar and Brazil.
• See more clearly what ARDF is doing to meet their needs, and how the change you place in your Mite Box changes lives.
• Understand how the work of ARDF stems from Biblical roots.

Focus: Northeastern Brazil

In July 2011, after days of heavy rain, the Paraiba River overflowed its banks, devastating 26 cities and leaving over 12,000 people homeless. The government immediately declared a state of emergency, but for many in northeastern Brazil–already the poorest region in the country–the destruction was overwhelming.

In the town of Itapua homes were swept away and other buildings damaged or destroyed including St. Stephen’s Anglican Church which was condemned by the government and demolished soon after the flood waters subsided. This was a significant loss for the people of Itapua. St. Stephen’s had long played a central role in mobilizing and uniting this rural community, offering worship services, agricultural training, Bible studies, meals, classes for women, and events for children.

Thankfully, the government has provided safe land above the flood zone to rebuild the church, but without the money needed to buy materials and hire contractors construction would remain at a standstill.

ARDF has been asked to partner with the people of St. Stephen’s to rebuild their church so that they can continue to provide much needed services to this endemically poor community. Find out more about this project on our Regions page.

Other development projects in Brazil include partnering with Christ the Liberator Anglican Church to construct a vocational training center which will provide vital job training, literacy and computer classes, and professional help for students with disabilities.

Please consider walking with us as we walk with the poor this Lenten season. Donate online.

“We love because he first loved us.”

I John 4:19 

The post ARDF’s 2013 Lenten Resources Focus on Development in Brazil appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF – Almost three months have passed since Hurricane Sandy  tore into the Eastern United States bringing high winds and destructive flooding that left houses flattened, thousands without access to food or shelter and millions without electricity. The flood waters have receded and power has been restored, yet for many the devastation continues. Make a Donation for Hurricane Sandy Relief Work.

Featured Local Partner: Covenant Chapel REC

With assistance from ARDF, the Rev. Miller and Covenant Chapel have been empowered to make an even longer lasting impact on the lives of those devastated by the storm.  The church has decided to witness to Christ’s love in a personal way by reaching out to a widow whose house was destroyed by the storm.The Rev. Gregory Miller of Covenant Chapel REC, Basking Ridge, JY has been leading his church’s relief work on Staten Island. “The impact has been really beyond comprehension,” he told ARDF, and the ongoing need goes beyond the houses reduced to their foundations by flood waters, and the growing heat crisis brought on by colder days and unusable basement furnaces: “people are suffering emotionally and spiritually” as well. In response to this crisis the Rev. Miller has organized teams from the church to help existing relief organizations serve food at shelters, and tear down molding drywall and dangerous wiring.

“She’s been living out of a garbage bag since the end of October, staying with relatives and trying not to overstay her welcome. We hope to give her some normalcy. She will need help both physically and monetarily to begin to rebuild her home, and although the needs are far above what any one person or organization can provide, we’re just going to try to do what we can,” said The Rev. Miller. “As ministry to Christ and ministry to her, on behalf of the church we are trying step in and offer help.”

ARDF’s Commitment to Relief Work

This kind of story highlights ARDF’s commitment to partnering with local churches and charitable organizations to strategically meet pressing

needs in the wake of natural disasters. Over the past three months ARDF has raised more than $50,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief work carried out by Anglican churches in New York and New Jersey, cleaning and rebuilding homes, repairing church buildings, and providing food and water to displaced residents. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, the love of Christ has been demonstrated in a tangible and lasting way to those left emotionally as well as physically overwhelmed by the personal consequences of this tragedy.

Make a Donation for ARDF’s Hurricane Sandy Relief Work

Much work remains to be done as ARDF seeks to continue its response to Hurricane Sandy as long as it is needed. We welcome your donations Online OR  sent to our secure lockbox at:

ARDF
PO Box 3830
Pittsburgh, PA  15230-3830

With the notation in the memo line:  Hurricane Sandy/ARDF relief efforts

All gifts are used as designated.  However, in the unlikely event that a relief effort becomes over-funded, your gift will be applied to another disaster need as they arise. 85% of funds donated to the Hurricane Sandy Relief will be used for the relief and recovery in the affected areas with 15% used for administrative costs including the credit card fees.

Thank You!

Local church leaders have expressed their gratitude for ARDF’s support during this time of special need. The congregation of St. John’s-by-the-Sea, Ventnor, NJ, created a special giant “Thank You” sign:

“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”
- II Corinthians 9:12

ARDF is also Committed to Sustainable Development Work

Please consider supporting ARDF on a global scale as we partner with local organizations from around the world in sustainable development work. Visit our Regions page to find out more about our projects.

The post ARDF partners with Anglican churches in New Jersey and New York to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.

Consider supporting ARDF and other Anglican Global Mission Partners (AGMP) organizations as part of Mission Sunday 2013. In a recent letter to the province, Archbishop Duncan encouraged all ACNA churches to highlight their call to world mission through prayers, testimonies, stewardship and education on February 10th. Make ARDF a part of your church’s Mission Sunday by collecting a special offering or making a personal donation for one of our high-impact projects. Visit our Regions page to see how your donations are providing vital relief and development aid around the world.

During the Season of Lent–which begins February 13th–ARDF will be highlighting our work in the Diocese of Recife, Brazil.

Consider making a special donation for the reconstruction of churches damaged during severe flooding in 2011, or the building of a new educational and professional training center that will help unemployed people learn new skills and provide youth with a formal education through reading workshops, English classes, and computer classes.

The post Support ARDF on Mission Sunday 2013 appeared first on Anglican Relief and Development Fund.