wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Mission funds campaign at $9.3 million

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8705 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05186
April 4, 2005

Mission funds campaign at $9.3 million 

Most contributors want to designate how their money will be spent 

by Toya Richards Hill  

LOUISVILLE - More and more donors are committing money to the Joining Hearts
& Hands (JHH) fund-raising campaign of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), but
not without a hitch.

	 Most contributors want to have a say in how the money is spent.

	"People want to designate," said the Rev. Jan Opdyke, director of the
mission initiative. But that's not a problem, because "We can now match up
the (mission) need with a donor."  

	That's what Opdyke and others told the Worldwide Ministries Division
Committee (WMDC) of the General Assembly Council (GAC) during meetings here
on Friday, April 1. The committee, headed by Fran Calderwood, also heard
reports from subcommittees for People in Mutual Mission, Ecumenical
Partnerships and Global Service and Witness. 
 
	To date, the JHH funds-development effort for international mission
personnel and church growth has brought in more than $9.3 million in pledges
toward the $40 million goal officials hope to reach by the end of 2007,
Opdyke said. Already, mission efforts in Egypt, Guatemala, India and Turkey
are being funded through the program, she said.  

	"We're already now spending this money, and it is having an impact
around the world," said the Rev. Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide
Ministries Division (WMD) of the PC (USA).  
 
	On Saturday, the GAC also approved a recommendation from the WMDC
that the GAC maintain a level of no less than 10.23 percent of its
unrestricted budget for international mission personnel. The committee said
the funds are needed to fulfill the mandate of the JHH campaign. That
calculation will be exclusive of JHH funds.  

	It used to be that all you had to do was tell donors their money was
going to world missions, "and they would respond," said Bill Saul, co-chair
of the JHH steering committee. But now, he added, "most of them will not."  

	"We've had to change and be more flexible," he said. "The people want
to know where their money is going." 
 
	Among the targeted donations to JHH was one from Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, which has a number of members originally
from Cameroon in Africa. The Minneapolis church is funding a new AIDS/public
health worker position for the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.
   
	The Westminster session has committed $250,000 to fill the position
for five years. Included is a contribution from church member John Greenwald,
who has cerebral palsy. He contributed money he unexpectedly got from his
retirement plan, and hand-delivered it to the church via his motorized
wheelchair.
  
	"The funds are flowing for the purpose that was envisioned," McClure
said.
  
In other news: 
 
	  The GAC voted to seek a postponement of an April 15 meeting of the
Pakistan Property Trust pending negotiations with the Presbyterian Church in
Pakistan. The Rev. Will Browne, WMD's associate director for ecumenical
partnerships, said the Pakistan church has felt excluded from the
decision-making process and has withdrawn its delegates from the trust, which
has never been able to legally hold property. 

	  The GAC approved a commendation of Yum! Brands Inc., the parent
company of the fast-food chain Taco Bell, and the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers for their work toward an agreement to improve the wages and working
conditions of Florida farm workers. The coalition of workers who harvest
tomatoes for Taco Bell	ended a national boycott of the chain last month
after reaching a historic agreement with Yum! that will substantially raise
the workers' wages. The PC (USA) was a major supporter of the boycott. 

	  The WMDC approved International Health Strategic Plan
recommendations, including one that says International Health Ministries will
initially focus on Pakistan, Malawi, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. 

	  The WMDC approved two initiatives relating to the vision and
organization of WMD, including one that will establish an alumni association
for former PC (USA) mission workers.

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