Welcome to Update - March 2024

Working towards a truly just,

healthy and peaceful world.

In this update...

• March Voices of Hope/Voix d'espoir - Read about PWRDF's support for Indigenous midwives in Canada and Latin America
• PWRDF 2024 Lent Resource - subscribe today!
• February Under the Sun - Available now!
• Annual Report available
• Check out Super Friends 11!

The latest PWRDF News...

• Community Preparedness in Cuba: PWRDF continues to support longstanding program
• Growing skills for success: PWRDF supports agriculture education in Uganda
• Community Healing in the DRC: PWRDF partners with Maison Dorcas and PANZI Foundation to support SGBV victims
• WATCH: ACT Alliance marks 2nd anniversary of Russian Invasion

Plus resources and upcoming events

Learn about PWRDF's support for Indigenous Midwives in Canada and Latin America.

PWRDF 2024 Lent Resource

Health and well-being – without one, the other simply isn’t possible. Likewise, the well-being of humans isn’t possible without a healthy planet; something we are discovering every day as we face a growing and global climate crisis.

This theme is at the centre of PWRDF’s 2024 Lent Resource. Every day of the Lenten season, you will receive a daily email with a reflection from Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat, on what health, well-being and good living require of us in our lives and our relationships with one another, with creation and with God.

As you will read, things begin to break down when human beings separate themselves from creation, exploiting it as a commodity, or separate and exploit one another. In so doing, we separate ourselves from the Creator.



And so, on this journey through Lent, PWRDF invites you to join Dr. Keesmaat as she walks with us, meditating on our current climate crisis and the well-being of ALL of creation, human and non-human, and offering us lessons in repair and restoration that are both profoundly ancient and current.

Journey of Reflection: Lenten Resource Recording!

We launched our 2024 Lent Resource on February 1^st – along with resource-author and renowned biblical scholar, Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat!

In this recording, Dr. Keesmaat will introduce you to the resource, including the daily reflections and weekly bible studies.

Passcode: s1!7v#&x

February Under the Sun - Available now!

The February edition of PWRDF's Under the Sun is available to view or download now!

In this edition, read about all the ways PWRDF partners work amid war and conflict. Plus, a Q&A with PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator, Naba Gurung.

Do you subscribe to the Anglican Journal?

Look for your hardcopy of Under the Sun in your February edition of the Anglican Journal.

Annual Report available in English and French

The 2022-2023 Annual Report was included in the September Anglican Journal, and the French Rapport Annuel was included in the December Quebec Gazette and Montreal Anglican. If you would like to order additional Annual Reports in either English or French, please email pwrdf@pwrdf.org.

Super Friends 11! Available now

Super Friends is a long-standing Social Justice resource produced by PWRDF for children, with stories, activities and faith connection. In this newly revised edition, you will find these same elements and more. Super Friends 11! focuses on Right Relationships and Reconciliation. Free to a maximum of 20 copies per parish, per year!

Community Preparedness in Cuba: PWRDF continues to support longstanding program

In Cuba, the Episcopal Church of Cuba (ECC) and PWRDF have renewed their partnership for the Integral Development Program (PDM), a disaster management initiative focusing on improving diets, reducing food scarcity, and enhancing economic independence in low-income and rural communities. The program, renewed in August 2023, also empowers women, mothers and children. PWRDF is providing $39,440 to support this year-long program, aiming to reach 8,200 people in 50 Cuban communities through activities related to food security, economic empowerment, water and sanitation and disaster risk management. The PDM addresses challenges exacerbated by long-standing U.S. sanctions, recent restrictions, and the impacts of natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Growing skills for success: PWRDF supports agriculture education in Uganda

In Uganda, rural youth are facing challenges as the education system prioritizes industry and service sector skills over agribusiness, despite agriculture's significant contribution to the country's economy. This has led to a migration of young people from agricultural communities to urban centers in search of alternative job opportunities. To address youth unemployment, declining secondary school enrollment, and malnutrition, PWRDF has renewed its partnership with St. Jude Family Projects. The project, titled "Agroecology for School Nutrition Enhancement and Entrepreneurship," aims to promote agricultural entrepreneurship in Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule, and Mpigi districts. PWRDF is contributing $288,047 over three years to support the project, which focuses on nutrition, a culturally relevant school curriculum, and agro-ecological entrepreneurial skills development for youth in rural communities.

Community Healing in the DRC: PWRDF partners with Maison Dorcas and PANZI Foundation to support SGBV victims

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ongoing war has created a deeply unstable and unsafe environment for hundreds of thousands of women across the country. Rape and sexual assault are often used by soldiers as a tactic of war against women in their home villages and communities. With nowhere to go, Maison Dorcas – part of the PANZI Foundation – provides services and support to survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) so they can heal and safely reintegrate into their communities. PWRDF has partnered with the PANZI Foundation and Maison Dorcas in a new phase of a successful project, which began in 2019. This second phase – which began in October 2023 and will run until September 2024 – places a heavy emphasis on agricultural skills, as many of the affected women live in rural communities. Agricultural success has been proven to boost survivors’ self-esteem and facilitate their reintegration back into their families and communities, while the increase in financial autonomy mitigates the risk of becoming a victim to SGBV again. 

WATCH: ACT Alliance marks 2nd anniversary of Russian Invasion

In February 2021, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, the ACT Alliance response has focused on providing lifesaving support to impacted communities. As the second anniversary of the conflict passes, ACT Alliance shares a message of hope. Watch to learn more about how your support for ACT Alliance - of which PWRDF is a member - is making a difference.

EVENTS

March Praying with PWRDF

All are welcome to join our online parish. Hundreds have prayed with us from across Canada.

Join us March 14, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET – Archbishop Linda Nicholls, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada will be our reflector.

Give it up for the Earth!

Give it up for the Earth! is a national faith-in-action campaign that raises awareness about the climate crisis and mobilizes people across Canada to reduce personal and household greenhouse gas emissions, engage in acts of solidarity, and collect signatures as a demonstration of support for increased federal climate action.

Citizens for Public Justice invites you to join the hundreds of churches, schools, religious orders, and ecumenical groups across Canada that are Giving it up for the Earth! this Lent!

Book your Mapping Exercise workshop

PWRDF's Mapping the Ground We Stand On is now available as an online or an in-person workshop. Learn more at pwrdf.org/mapping-exercise.

PWRDF coming to a church near you

PWRDF has joined scores of virtual worship services at parishes across the country. Staff can deliver a prerecorded sermon, or join live worship on Zoom or other platforms. To learn more or to book a virtual guest speaker, contact Public Engagement Program Officer, Abdi Ali.

PWRDF wants to hear from you!

Please share your fundraising success stories to inspire others and to spread the word about the good work you have done! Email Abdi Ali and tell us about it. Many thanks to all of our donors.

RESOURCES

a just generation is a series of conversations with allies, educators and folks working to bring about equity and justice. 

Join Duncan Chalmers and Robyn Sulkko in conversation with PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator Naba Gurung as they chat about how PWRDF responds to humanitarian crises and disasters in Canada.

PWRDF 2024 Annual Resources

PWRDF's Annual Resources will be available a little later than usual this year. You can expect the 2024 Annual Resources in the fall, along with many exciting updates from PWRDF. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, our 2023 Annual Resources are still available for ordering.

(left) This year's placemat includes children's activities and the Prayer for PWRDF on the reverse; (top right) the offering envelope and (bottom right) bulletin cover reflect the Let's Make a World of Difference theme.

Annual Resources for 2023 still available for ordering

PWRDF’s resources for 2023 focus on the overall work of PWRDF and partners around the world and extend an invitation: “Let's Make a World of Difference.” There are pieces to support a PWRDF Sunday, such as bulletin covers and offering envelopes, as well as our popular in memoriam and in honour cards for use anytime. These beautiful educational and informational resources unite us in prayer and action for the work of PWRDF and partners. Learn more about this year's resources and order for your parishes gatherings and services.