VALLEY FORGE, PA.-American Baptist Churches USA has made a special allocation of $150,000 to an international campaign for relief of suffering in the war-torn Sudan territory of Darfur.
The funds come from the church's annual "One Great Hour of Sharing" mission campaign.
The allocation request was presented by the American Baptist world relief officer, Lisa Rothenberger, and approved by its World Relief Committee, during a meeting of the denomination's General Board this week.
The money will go toward an effort by world church agencies to raise $14 million to assist Darfur residents, many of whom are homeless and destitute after being displaced within their country.
The money will be funneled through the relief organizations Action by Christians Together and Caritas, which will relay it to Norwegian Church Aid, the main relief group working inside Darfur.
Some two million people have been displaced in Darfur, and starvation and disease are rampant. Many have also been killed by marauding soldiers in what has been widely characterized as genocide.
The relief effort brings Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Greek Orthodox together to try to alleviate conditions in a country with a large Muslim population.
The special allocation was made possible because American Baptists, even as they were giving large amounts for tsunami and Katrina relief, were also increasing their giving of undesignated "One Great Hour of Sharing" funds, Rothenberger said. This allowed the denomination to respond to the critical situation in Darfur "where right now it's a matter of keeping people alive."
Andrew C. Jayne American Baptist Churches, USA Mission Resource Development http://www.abc-usa.org/