Team PWS&D Raises Over $10,000 in Toronto Marathon
A team of runners raised about $10,500 for Presbyterian World Service and Development in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 20.
Among the 13 team members—who each ran either a 5 – km, half – marathon or full – marathon route—was Webster Moyo, a Malawian who oversees some of PWS&D’s HIV/AIDS programs in his home country. As an orphan, Moyo received support from PWS&D when he was in school. He was in Toronto for meetings with the PWS&D committee.
This is the second year a team of runners have raised money for the church’s relief and development arm through the marathon. Both times they have surpassed their goal of $10,000. —PWS&D
PWS&D Visitors
Two international partners visited national offices in October for meetings with the Presbyterian World Service and Development committee, sharing both the joys and challenges of their work.
Webster Moyo works with the HIV/AIDS program at Ekwendeni Hospital in Malawi. As supervisor of their home – based care project, he ensures that people afflicted with AIDS can be supported in their homes, which includes medical assistance and support for domestic chores.
In Guatemala, Ruben Feliciano is the director of the Maya – Mam Association for Research and Development, an organization that works to strengthen the identity and community spirit among the indigenous Maya Mam people, and to protect their rights—particularly rights of land ownership.
In Feliciano’s small community, the Canadian company Goldcorp Inc. operates a large gold and silver mine (despite protests from locals), with little regard for the health and livelihood of the people who live there.
According to Feliciano, since the mine began operating in 2003, children have developed skin conditions, water has been contaminated, conflicts among neighbours have begun, and many people—often poor—are lured off their land with large cash offers from the mining company. The government, which supports the mine, has made it illegal for the Mam people to protest. The community is losing its cultural identity, families are splitting up, and the land is being stripped of its resources.
Feliciano told the Record that despite the huge challenges, he has hope that with the support of the church, the voices of the Maya Mam people will be strengthened.
“We want our opinions to be respected. We did say, no,” said Feliciano, through a translator. “We hope that the mine closes, and that they will stop exploiting our people and
our land.” —AM
New Books Released By Amy MacLachlan
Two Presbyterian ministers can now include “author” on their resumes.
Rev. Scott McAndless, minister at St. Andrew’s, Hespeler, Ont., has written Caesar’s Census, God’s Jubilee. It examines the story of Jesus’ birth as told in the gospel of Luke and struggles with the historical puzzles that arise from it.
“It may give you some wonderful new perspectives on the Christmas story as you look forward to preaching on it and reflecting on it this year,” said McAndless in an email.
Rev. Peter Coutts, a general presbyter with the Presbytery of Calgary – MacLeod, wrote Choosing Change: How to motivate congregations to face the future.
“A recent study has shown that 79 per cent of all North American congregations do not have sufficient motivation to pursue significant change,” Coutts told the Record. “Choosing Change address[es] this need by introducing motivation psychology to the field of congregational change.”
Both books are available through the WMS Bookroom.
Life and Mission Agency Discussions
The Life and Mission Agency committee met in November to hear from LMA staff about their work, to chat with the General Secretary, and to participate in a blanket exercise and listen to a special guest from Mistawasis Memorial Church near Prince Albert, Sask.
The committee also discussed the proposal to move to biennial General Assemblies, asking to hear from staff about how the change would affect their work. Most commented that the move would be a positive one, freeing up time to do good work, to possibly offer other conferences and educational events, and to respond to overtures that come from assembly, rather than spending many hours to write the lengthy reports that required for GA every year.
“We need to be able to change and envision something different,” said Glynis Williams, associate secretary of International Ministries, the department responsible for the church’s missionaries. “There are ways to respond to a new reality, and we shouldn’t be afraid of it.”
Rick Fee, general secretary, reiterated that the call for biennial assemblies “is not Wynford-driven,” noting that the “whole church needs a review,” and lamenting that all aspects of governance and organization such as synod and presbytery, aren’t being examined along with General Assembly. He also noted the financial considerations, and the fact that with electronic communication, the church has many more options to do things differently, yet effectively.
The committee listened to these responses and is drafting a list of pros and cons around each scenario and sending it to the Assembly Council for information.
Ken Kim, associate secretary of PWS&D, shared the results from an online survey conducted by his department. There were 250 respondents, and while the results are too lengthy to note here (watch an upcoming issue of the Record for more!) the overall takeaway was that both the church and PWS&D’s international partners have a high level of confidence in the work of the agency, though there were some questions raised around the countries where PWS&D works (in particular, the number of countries), and their work around climate change.
The committee also heard from Delores Werchola from Mistawasis Memorial Church. Werchola is a direct descendant of Chief Mistawasis, was born and raised on the Mistawasis reserve, and attended a residential school run by the Anglican Church for seven years. She spoke about her work as a social worker, and the work she does to help strengthen relationships between St. Paul’s in Prince Albert, Sask., and the Presbyterian church on the Mistawasis reserve.
The committee also participated in a blanket exercise—an interactive exercise that helps demonstrate the plight of aboriginal peoples in Canada beginning with when Europeans first came to this land, up to residential schools, apologies from churches, and government laws and reconciliation. The exercise is available through the Church’s Justice Ministries department.
Regional staffing was also discussed in response to two overtures from General Assembly, both asking that monies be found to continue funding regional staff at the current levels for the next five years. A small committee was set up to work on the response to the overtures and will report to the committee’s March meeting. —AM
