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Editor, The Harvest
Kansas contributions to ERD show big increase Contributions from members of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas helped Episcopal Relief and Development mark a banner year in 2005, with total contributions of nearly $37 million. The Diocese of Kansas provided $146,817 to ERD, an increase of $112,484 over 2004. Contributions came from 478 donors. Much of the aid to ERD was designated for relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami of South Asia. ERD is in its second year of a three-year response to the aftermath of the tsunami. The agency continues to work with the bishops of dioceses along the Gulf Coast to serve the people ravaged by the storms of 2005. Episcopal Relief and Development is an official agency of the Episcopal Church dedicated to alleviating human suffering in the world. It was established in 1940 by the Episcopal Church in the United States as the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief. Its mission was to assist refugees fleeing Europe during World War II. Over the years, its focus has expanded. In 2000, the name was changed to Episcopal Relief and Development to emphasize its ongoing emergency relief work and a growing focus on long-term development and rehabilitation programs. Information on the work of ERD, including a link to make an on-line contribution, is available at www.er-d.org.
Neodesha couple takes supplies to New Orleans Margaret and Emmett Hedges had vestments that their parish, Church of the Ascension in Neodesha, no longer needed. They thought surely some church damaged by Hurricane Katrina could use them, and they thought there might be more out there to give as well. Inquiries resulted in a carload of vestments, altar supplies and books that they delivered in February to New Orleans. Used vestments also came from Epiphany, Independence; St. Paul’s, Coffeyville; St. Bartholomew’s and St. Stephen’s in Wichita and St. Barnabas, Poteau, Okla., the Hedges’ old parish. They packed their Suburban full of donations, including books that found their way to a local library, and headed south. They connected with relief efforts in New Orleans and were assigned to an area staffed by a mobile relief van provided by St. Luke’s in Baton Rouge. The Hedges worked for three days in the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the city’s hardest-hit areas. Margaret Hedges said St. Paul’s there had nine feet of water throughout the church building and school, with the water standing for weeks. The couple staffed tables of relief supplies that contained, she said, “Bibles on one end and food on the other.” She noted that food had to be in cans that didn’t require can openers and whose contents didn’t require heating or refrigeration, since many in the area still are without electricity. The Hedges plan to return to New Orleans in September for a two-week volunteer stint.
Cathedral choristers sing at national cathedral Members of the youth choir of Grace Cathedral, Topeka traveled to the nation’s capital in March to sing at the Washington National Cathedral, one of the largest Episcopal cathedrals in the world. The group served as the presiding choir at Choral Evensong on March 17. They honed their performance with an Evensong at Grace Cathedral the week before, in which they offered the same repertoire they used in Washington. The 15 youth choir members, who are in fourth grade through high school, were accompanied by 12 family members. While in Washington the group also took in the famous sites, including a private tour of the U.S. Capitol provided by the office of Sen. Pat Roberts, trips to the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, Arlington National Cemetery, the federal monuments and a nighttime ghost tour of historic Alexandria, Va. Choir members undertook a number of fundraising ventures in the months leading up to the trip to help defray expenses. |
©2004
Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. All rights reserved.
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