Resolution of the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Vienna VA, September 14, 2006 State of the Church Resolution

Resolution of the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Comforter

Vienna VA

September 14, 2006

Resolved, that the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Comforter affirms and embraces the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in which the countries of the world pledged to:

1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;

2) achieve universal primary education;

3) promote gender equality and empower women;

4) reduce child mortality;

5) improve maternal health;

6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;

7) ensure environmental stability; and

8) develop a global partnership for development; and be it further

Resolved, that the Vestry commends to the members of the parish that they support the Millennium Development Goals through prayer, study, action, and advocacy; and be it further

Resolved, that the vestry commits to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals with 0.7% of the pledge revenue of the Church, beginning in 2007, which amount is in addition to existing mission support, and encourages each parishioner to also commit to giving 0.7% of their income to achieving the MDG’s.

Resolved, that the vestry requests the Mission Committee and the Peace & Justice committee to jointly develop standards and recommendations for distribution of the 0.7%.

Resolved, the Church of the Holy Comforter will be a ONE Congregation.

RATIONALE:

Every three seconds, a child dies from the consequences of extreme poverty. Every three seconds! In Africa, only half of the children who survive get to complete their primary school education. And every minute, a woman dies in childbirth, ninety-nine percent of those deaths occurring because of conditions of poverty.

In September of 2000, the member nations of the United Nations met and decided that they could no longer live with the world situation as it is. No longer could they accept children dying every three seconds. So they developed a plan to eradicate world poverty. This wasn’t some vague, feel-good plan, either. It had measurable goals and a target date for achievement. The goals are called the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), and the target date for meeting them is 2015.

Jesus directed us to feed the hungry and heal the sick, as he did. A fundamental part of the relationship with God expressed both in Hebrew scripture and the new covenant is that we will provide for our neighbors as God provides for us, and that we work towards justice and reconciliation of all people with each other and with God. Working towards the Millennium Development Goals is this generation’s opportunity to do God’s work on earth.

Achieving the MDG’s requires a combination of aid, trade reform, debt forgiveness, and other changes in policies. There are many ways to support achieving the MDG’s, including prayer, increasing knowledge, raising awareness, advocacy and giving. Each contributes to the other.

The amount of 0.7% has been promised by developed countries for years. The US contributes less than 0.2%, even including private donations. We are towards the bottom of the rich nations in the percentage of our national income we give.

The Episcopal Church nationally has focused on the Millennium Development goals, with support coming across the full range of beliefs on other issues. At the recent General Convention, Resolution D022 was passed, which included these paragraphs:

Resolved, that the General Convention establish the work toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as a mission priority for the coming triennium, and that each diocese, congregation and parishioner be urged to commit to 0.7% giving toward these goals by July 7, 2007 (07/07/07)….

and

Resolved, That the General Convention endorse “The ONE Campaign,” the U.S. movement for the MDGs, through The Episcopal Church’s “ONE Episcopalian” campaign; call on all parishes, missions, congregations, and dioceses, and individuals to join the ONE Episcopalian campaign; and publicly endorse The ONE Campaign’s call for the United States government to annually spend an additional one percent of its budget to combat global poverty, and to be active advocates for the achievement of this work.

Careful consideration needs to be given to how to distribute the funds; thus the request to the Mission and Peace & Justice committees to develop criteria and recommendations. We want to build on, not compete with our mission work; we want to make sure that the money is well spent, and that the funds truly improve the lives of people in accordance with the MDG’s. In itself the development of the criteria will be an educational experience.

For more information on the Millennium Development Goals, see the website of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation: www.e4gr.org ; the Episcopal Public Policy Network: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/EPPN_MDG_2006.pdf ; and the Millennium Campaign: http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/

RESOLVED, the House of _________concurring, this 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church

1. Establish the work toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as a mission priority for the coming triennium,

2. Direct the General Convention Treasurer and the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to create a line item in the Budget for the Episcopal Church containing no less than 0.7% of that budget for work that supports the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,

3. Designate September 11 a special day of prayer, fasting and giving in the Episcopal Church toward global reconciliation and the Millennium Development Goals,

4. Request that all dioceses establish a diocesan global reconciliation commission dedicated to mobilizing Episcopalians toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Rationale

The past two General Conventions have adopted and embraced the Millennium Development Goals and urged every diocese to do the same and signify that commitment by giving 0.7% of their budgets toward international development projects that work toward their realization.

This call from General Convention was both sparked by and has further encouraged a grassroots movement among Episcopalians, congregations and dioceses. As of Oct. 1, 2005, 61 dioceses were engaging the MDGs in some form and issues of international development and global reconciliation as integral to discipleship and our life together as Christ’s body were high on the agenda of individuals and groups at all levels of our common life. Our participation as a wider church in ecumenical and interfaith organizations such as the ONE Campaign and the Micah Challenge has highlighted this commitment … but even more significant are the literally thousands of Episcopalians who have become more connected with our brothers and sisters around the globe over the past triennium through engagement with the Gospel imperative reflected in the MDGs.

This resolution seeks to have the mission priorities, budget and calendar of our church reflect this movement and emerging state of our church. It is a declaration of vitality and commitment not only to Christ’s mission of reconciliation but to a renewed commitment to deep relationship around the globe at a time when we have never been more aware of the potential those relationships bear.