Loading...While many congregations across the diocese are working towards achieving the Millennial Development Goals, a few have chosen to help Hannah’s Ministries. Its close ties to the Diocese of Kentucky were made vividly evident during the convention by an industrious group of college students.
The college students hosted a booth that few could pass by and demonstrated in the process that Episcopalians with passionate differences can come together. Although the booth was staffed by a group of University of Louisville students who call themselves the Canterbury Cards, Wildcat fans were known to have visited the booth and made donations.
Their cause, Hannah's Ministries, is an organization in Byumba, Rwanda, founded locally to help children at risk because of the AIDS epidemic and Rwandan genocide. "Hannah" comes from the Book of Samuel in which she describes God's particular care for the poor and hungry. The ministry provides nutrition, medical aid and education to the children, many of whom are acting as heads of their own household. Currently, Hannah's Ministries is able to provide nutritional, medical and educational necessities for 187 children. For every additional $1,000 they receive, they are able to do the same for one more child for a full year.
This ministry has a special connection to the diocese and the Canterbury Cards. Its director, Josephine Mujawiyera, who recently visited our diocese and spoke at a Daughter's of the King gathering, is the wife of the Rt. Rev. Onesphore Rwaje, the bishop of our companion diocese. Their son, Claudel, is studying for his master's degree at the University of Louisville School of engineering and has become an active member of Canterbury Cards.
"Having Claudel there, and being able to meet his mother and hearing the story of these children - it makes it harder to ignore it," said the Rev. Amy Coultas, chaplain of the college group. The group meets every Thursday for lunch at U of L's Interfaith Center, and an overlapping older group meets Thursday nights at O'Shea's Irish Pub.
Convention goers were hard-pressed to resist the Canterbury Cards' booth and its "name-your-own-price" bake sale, a tempting display of chocolate-dipped pretzel rods, chocolate-dipped Oreos, and sugar cookies cut and decorated to look like Episcopal shields. Many booth visitors managed to avoid the high-calorie sweets, but most were quick to make generous donations.
The students raised $652 and half of the convention offering was also designated to support the ministry. (The other half of the offering was given to Episcopal Relief and Development on behalf of the MDGs campaign.)
The college students, however, aren't the only Episcopalians in the diocese supporting this ministry. Last fall, the youth at St. James' Church in Shelbyville decided to support Hannah Ministries, after their vicar, the Rev. Amy Coultas preached about the orphans of Africa. From a pumpkin sale, a bake sale, and a coin collection, the youth group raised more than $500.
"You have a few kids at St. James', a few students at U of L, you pair up with the diocese and now we have thousands of dollars," commented Coultas, who sees these efforts as part of the Millennial Development Goals developed by the United Nations and adopted by both The Episcopal Church and our diocese. "We're the first generation that's been able to do this. If we have the will, we now have the accessibility and way to make it happen because of technologies."
Similarly, the youth at St. Thomas Church, Campbellsville, also were inspired to support Hannah's Ministries, and because of their initiative the mission church with ..... members in south-central Kentucky raised more than $2,000.
Karl Lusk, the congregation's lay vicar, said the St. Thomas youth wanted to help the children in non-industrial nations as part of their Lenten studies and chose Hannah Ministries after learning about it from diocesan connections. They asked for "free will donations" at their parish brunch and dinners, and with a few anonymous donations, collected $2,140.
"To me, it's what you do for the sake of the Gospel," said Lusk. His parishioners liked knowing that their money was going directly to where it was needed, especially since Byumba is our companion diocese. While the fundraising effort involved St. Thomas's entire congregation, Lusk emphasized the project, helping children and youth in another diocese, was completely initiated by the youth.
[Editor's Note: A total of $4,015.90 has been donated in the diocese for Hannah Ministries to date.]
