Directors explain where money goes

Dear editor,

Re: the letter entitled Appeals, by Winnie Hammerlindl (January).

You have asked an important question. Many Canadian Anglicans wonder how best to express their faith in action, and are confused by the many calls on their generosity from within the church. In a recent Anglican Journal, you were surprised to see appeals for financial support from three sources, Anglican Appeal, Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), and World Vision. Both Anglican Appeal and PWRDF are outreach ministries of the Anglican Church of Canada. World Vision is not associated in any way with the Anglican church, but advertises in Anglican Journal to attract Anglican donors.

We would like to explain what you are supporting when you give to Anglican Appeal and to PWRDF. In a nutshell, Anglican Appeal supports the growth and strengthening of the church both overseas and in Canada, while PWRDF supports community development projects worldwide.

The Partnerships department of General Synod (the national office of the Anglican Church of Canada), with the help of Anglican Appeal, supports the mission and ministry of Anglican churches in the Global South. It also encourages Canadian Anglicans to advocate for social and environmental justice, and accompanies indigenous peoples in their struggles for justice and self-determination. Within the church, Partnerships supports the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples as it creates a self-determining indigenous Anglican identity. Through the Indigenous Healing Fund, we also work with indigenous congregations and communities to address the legacy of the residential schools experience.

You are already supporting this work through your regular parish donations, a portion of which is transferred by your diocese to General Synod. If you donate to Anglican Appeal, you will be providing additional resources for this work. Anglican Appeal also supports mission and ministry in Canada’s northern dioceses.

Since 1959, PWRDF has supported development projects which favour disadvantaged people in Asia, Africa, Latin America and in indigenous communities in Canada. These projects meet basic needs and provide lasting solutions to ensure a more just and equitable world. PWRDF supports development projects around the world, educates and advocates for change among Canadian Anglicans, provides support to refugees, and responds promptly to man-made emergencies and natural disasters. PWRDF works with many development partners in the Global South who know best how to respond to the most immediate needs of local communities.

Many Canadian Anglicans seek reassurance that their money is being put to good use. When you give to Anglican Appeal and to PWRDF, you can be assured that your money is going to support the work of your church, through its international development ministry and through support of its mission work in Canada and throughout the world. In making these difficult choices about your charitable donations, we urge you to support the work of our church that we know and love.

Ellie Johnson

Director, Partnerships

Anglican Church of Canada

Andrew Ignatieff

Director (resigned Dec. 31, 2004)

Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund

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Disappointed

Dear editor,

As a member of the PWRDF board, I was disappointed by your choice to include in the December issue of Anglican Journal solicitation envelopes for both World Vision and Partners International (Harvest of Hope).

Both these organizations have huge advertising budgets, while our PWRDF does not, so we are unable to compete with them for donor support.

A look at Partners International Web site sugests that they are an American fundamentalist organization that boasts that their ministers “won a new believer to Christ every five minutes and planted one church every nine hours.”

On the other hand, World Vision violates the code of ethics for the Canadian Council for International Co-operation by using the picture of a crying child on the front of its envelope.

I feel very sad when I hear of Canadian Anglicans who fall for this type of emotional advertising and fail to support the wonderful work our own PWRDF is doing in the name of our Canadian Anglicans.

Cecily Hinton

Charny (L©vis), Qu©.