MDGs and the Episcopal Church

This appeared in my email inbox today. Presumably it comes from somewhere in the bowels of 815. It's great info, which I wholly encourage you to read.

In the three years since The Episcopal Church endorsed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for the first time at the 74th General Convention, Episcopalians have stood at the forefront of the U.S. movement to achieve the MDGs. This government to government partnership grew out of the 2000 Millennium Declaration. It has involved the Church’s leadership and staff, particularly in the area of public-policy advocacy; collaborative efforts with Anglican partners around the world; the work of Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), and the efforts of dioceses, parishes, and individuals at the grassroots level. Now that the 75th General Convention has adopted the MDGs as a mission priority for the coming triennium, and set aside a new 0.7% line item in the DFMS budget for MDG-related programs, the Church at all levels is challenged to expand and intensify its advocacy for and contribution to the achievement of the MDGs.

ONE EPISCOPALIAN CAMPAIGN:
The ONE Episcopalian campaign, which was endorsed at last month’s Convention, provides an important way to move this work forward. This new partnership between The Episcopal Church and ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History challenges Episcopalians at the diocesan, parish, and individual level to deepen their involvement in MDG advocacy and connect those efforts to the larger MDG movement in the U.S. ONE is a large and growing movement of more than 2.3 million Americans (ironically the same size as The Episcopal Church), supported by a coalition of more than 70 leading advocacy and humanitarian organizations. It seeks to convince the U.S. government to spend an additional ONE percent of its budget each year on MDG-related programs. The ONE Episcopalian initiative unites this work with the Church’s ongoing MDG work. Parishes and dioceses are asked to become “ONE Congregations” and “ONE Dioceses” and make a series of commitments to MDG advocacy. Individuals, likewise, are asked to sign the ONE Declaration, wear a white wristband (the international symbol of the anti-poverty movement), and commit to regular MDG advocacy. Individuals, parishes, and dioceses will be supported in their efforts by materials and updates from The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations. To learn more about ONE Episcopalian, visit www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE.

OTHER ONGOING MDG WORK AT THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH CENTER:
The Episcopal Church’s staff has made the MDGs a priority in many areas including Peace and Justice Ministries, the Office of Government Relations (OGR), Anglican and Global Relations, and Women’s Ministries. The Office of Government Relations has integrated the MDGs into all of the Church’s international-policy work; coordinated the grassroots MDG activism of Episcopalians around the country; and developed a host of educational, liturgical, prayer, and informational materials on the MDGs. Additionally, OGR staff co-chairs several Washington-based policy working groups on the MDGs.

NETWORKING GLOBALLY:
The Episcopal Church is providing financial and human resources to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Poverty and Trade Task Team, chaired by Archbishop Ndungane of Southern Africa, which is attempting to coordinate MDG efforts across the Anglican Communion. (Alex Baumgarten from the Office of Government Relations was appointed by Archbishop Rowan as the U.S. member of that team.) The Anglican Peace and Justice Network – on which the Rev. Canon Brian Grieves is the U.S. representative -- also has identified the MDGs as a major priority for the Communion and receives most of its funding from The Episcopal Church. Shortly after the February 2007 Primates’ Meetings in Tanzania, there will be a March Communion-wide conference in Boksburg, South Africa. It will focus on the MDGs and overcoming poverty and HIV/AIDS. The conference planners include staff and members of The Episcopal Church, and the project is receiving significant funding from ERD, Church Center and many other Episcopal Church resources.

MDG WORK OF EPISCOPAL RELIEF and DEVELOPMENT:
The Millennium Development Goals are one of the frameworks Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) uses to put its development strategy into action. Working with Anglican and ecumenical partners, ERD focuses on food security, primary health, and emergency relief and rebuilding. ERD’s programs are rooted in capacity building, gender empowerment, and environmental sustainability. During 2005, ERD launched or strengthened over 35 programs around the world. For example, ERD is rebuilding lives and livelihoods devastated by the tsunami in India, providing training and long-lasting insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria in Zambia, and helping women earn an income in a bread-making cooperative in Honduras. ERD’s monitoring and evaluation program helps measure the effect and impact of these programs which informs not only ERD’s approach, but helps other institutions working to achieve these important goals.

DIOCESAN RESPONSES:
Alongside the growing movement in support of the MDGs within The Episcopal Church, there has also been a movement of dioceses supporting international-development programs with 0.7% of their annual budgets. Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation has played a key role in this effort. The Lambeth Conference of 1998 urged all dioceses in the Anglican Communion to adopt this target as model of advocacy to governments, a call that was reaffirmed by the 2000 General Convention of The Episcopal Church (The 0.7% figure is a 40-year-old international target for government giving to foreign aid). Today, more than 60 dioceses of The Episcopal Church have committed to the 0.7% international-giving target. Many dioceses also are developing global-reconciliation committees to determine how this money best can be used and how the financial commitment can be used to engage Episcopalians and deepen their involvement in issues of international development. Commitment to advocacy on the MDGs – through participation in efforts like ONE Episcopalian -- is one such example of a deepened involvement that can grow from a diocese’s giving to international-assistance programs.

HOW TO MOVE THE MDGs FORWARD:
In the coming year, the MDGs will reach the half-way point of their lifespan with most of the world – particularly the most impoverished countries – well behind track in progress toward the Goals. There are many signs of hope, however. In 2005, world leaders gathered at the G8 meeting pledged to devote $50 billion in new aid to impoverished countries by 2010 and adopted a major new debt-cancellation initiative for some of the world’s poorest countries. These promises are only first steps, however. It is now up to citizens to make sure their governments keep these promises. The ONE Episcopalian campaign provides the framework for how The Episcopal Church intends to do this over the next triennium and beyond.