Episcopal Life Online Daybook -- Today is Monday, June 11, 2007. The Church remembers Saint Barnabas the Apostle.
* Today in Scripture:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1888, Maxwell J. Blacker, Anglican priest and hymn translator, died in Westminster, England.
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MISSION
HIV/AIDS awareness, education focus of standing committee, national coalition work
By Matthew Davies
[Episcopal News Service] Speaking to the Church about the importance of HIV/AIDS training and education, and eliminating the stigma associated with the disease is central to the work of the Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS and the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition (NEAC).
The primary focus of both groups is to provide support for HIV and AIDS ministries throughout the Episcopal Church, especially for caregivers and those who minister to people infected or affected by the disease.
NEAC -- formed in 1988 and funded partly by General Convention -- operates as an independent non-profit organization, and the Standing Committee is mandated by Executive Council. Both groups have a long history of collaborative work that raises awareness of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. and the 40,000+ new infections reported each year, half of which occur among people aged 25 and younger.
Elton James, chair of the Standing Committee, explained that the two groups -- which held joint meetings at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City May 9-11 -- work closely to ensure the necessary information is being shared and that their work remains consistent. "Our primary focus is education," said James, a staff assistant in the office of the senior vice provost at Harvard University. "Some of the statistics of people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are shocking and many people are not aware of them."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_86725_ENG_HTM.htm
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ERD launches mother-to-child HIV/AIDS program with support from MAC AIDS Fund
[ERD] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) has been awarded a grant from the MAC AIDS Fund. The grant will help launch the program, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), a partnership between ERD and the Zambian Anglican Council (ZAC), in Livingstone, Zambia. The award is for year one of the program with a possibility for additional funds in 2008.
Worldwide, there are 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS with two million succumbing to the virus each year. Southern Africa remains the epicenter of the pandemic. In Zambia, people have limited access to counseling and testing so that many women who are pregnant may not be sure of their status. Even if they know their HIV status, they may be unable to secure treatment. A lack of maternal health services denies many expectant mothers a healthy and safe birth. For the newborn baby of an HIV-infected woman, this means that they are at 40% risk of contracting HIV during or following their birth. HIV prevalence is a significant factor in keeping infant mortality rates unacceptably high in Africa.
ERD is working with the ZAC to launch the PMTCT program that targets pregnant women for a community-wide educational and treatment program. The project will be conducted through the Livingstone Anglican Children's project in the regions of Ngwena, Maramba, Namatama, Libuya, and nearby compounds in the Livingstone area.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_86724_ENG_HTM.htm
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Catalyst: "God's Mission in the World" from The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Washington Office, edited by Charles Hefling and Cynthia Shattuck, 58 pages, paperback, c. 2006, $5
[Source: The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations] God's Mission in the World is a study guide on global poverty and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), produced jointly between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Intended as a resource for congregations and other groups who are looking to broaden their understanding of global poverty and become part of the worldwide movement toward achieving the MDGs, the guide features six weekly sessions examining Christian understandings of social justice, global poverty, and the MDGs.
The MDGs are eight goals adopted in 2000 by all member states of the United Nations, including the United States. The goals are to, by 2015, cut extreme poverty and hunger in half, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other preventable diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development.
To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at http://www.episcopalbookstore.org or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org.
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