Pray, give, act: In the midst of 'interesting times'
Is it a blessing or is it a curse?
We have undoubtedly all heard the saying: “May you live through interesting times.”
The truth is that “interesting times” is a two-edged sword, bringing challenges like we have never imagined, while at the same time bringing opportunities like we have never imagined. Certainly the global community is in the midst of “interesting times”.
With a global pandemic still very much asserting its presence, climate change and climate disaster on the doorstep of every country in the world, and ongoing political tensions uprooting record numbers of the world’s population, there is much with which our generation must cope.
“How shall we respond in our present circumstances?” is a spiritual question. People of faith may be pondering the tension between our realistic limits and our hope.
The Good News in Canadian Anglican circles can be discerned in places like the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF).
Over the past year, in the midst of seemingly overwhelming catastrophic events in the world, with the help of PWRDF as an outreach tool, Canadian Anglicans have stepped up in record-breaking ways to join our energy into Christ’s healing reach into this broken planet.
With this support, the relief and development work of PWRDF with global partners and with partners here in Canada has not abated. It is even more robust.
With this generous support, PWRDF has been able to be quick to respond to multiple humanitarian emergencies, for example those stemming from the war in Ukraine and most recently those in the aftermath of climate disasters like typhoons and hurricanes.
Ongoing reports of these, as well as the significant programs of PWRDF partners in food security, preventive health programs, indigenous programs, refugee support, and climate action can be accessed by going to the “News” tab on the PWRDF website at www.pwrdf.org.
PWRDF Huron (formerly known as the Huron Hunger Fund) has been supporting this work since the early days of the national organization. We in the Diocese of Huron can be proud of this historic and continuous sign of the generosity of Anglicans in this part of the world reaching out to people all over the world.
The annual Fall Appeal, supported by the Synod and Diocesan Office and Huron Church News, is an opportunity to invite, with gratitude, the continuing support of all those individuals and parishes who have recognized this outreach ministry and to invite, with hopeful encouragement, the participation of others who may be thinking about it for the first time.
As followers of Jesus, we all long for opportunities to demonstrate our baptismal commitments in tangible ways. PWRDF is one of these; perhaps one that reaches farthest with the embrace of Divine Love. PWRDF, as a national Canadian Church organization staffed with committed professionals and supported by the network of volunteers and cheerleaders in our congregations, enables us to extend our reach to the global community and into areas even within Canada that sometimes may feel beyond us.
You are invited to consider joining in this work towards a truly just, healthy and peaceful world. Pray, give, act.
In Christ,
The Rev. Canon Greg Smith and the PWRDF Huron Committee