Ministries and Resources
New Hope Campaign News
New Hope Exceeds $3.6 Million Initial Goal and breaks $4 Million! Strives for $4.1 Million Stretch Goal
Estatic faces and many thanks from the Romogi School PTA for the 12 days of Christmas project. Photo by Stephen Tomor.
Diocese of Kajo Keji web site.
Check out the "New Hope" page here.
Kajo Keji Newsletter for April-June 2010
Latest Newsletter, download it here.
Kajo Keji Newsletter for January-March 2010
Latest Newsletter, download it here.
After the construction ends, the learning begins
New Hope in Kajo Keji, by Charlie Barebo. Download March DioLife, page 5.
Diocese of Salisbury, UK and Sudan
The Diocese of Salisbury, UK also has a companion relationship with the Sudan. Check out their web site here.
Dreams realized in two dioceses on two sides of the world
Check out this wonderful article and photos by Charlie Barebo here.
Seasons of Love at Good Shepherd, Scranton
Good Shepherd, Scranton is one of the parishes that is receiving funds for new ministries to the needy of Northeast Pennsylvania. Check out their YouTube video here on their project. The October issue of their newsletter was devoted to the project and can be downloaded here.
Companion Relationship Poster
Click here to download the Companion Relationship Poster between Kajo Keji and Bethlehem
New Hope Newsletter from the Diocese of Kajo Keji
To see what we have done so far and to read what the Diocese of Kajo Keji is doing, check out the latest newsletter from Stephen Tomor here.
New Hope Student Profiles
Check out the student profiles of two students directly affected by our New Hope dollars! Their education is being made possible through our New Hope Campaign. Read their stories here and here.
New Hope progress in Kajo Keji
Michael Deebee is the head man of the Kuku people in Romogi. His story is worth telling. Michael is the living history book of the Kukus and the Episcopal Church in the Romogi area. His words were translated to me by the Rev. Emmanuel Murye. [Read the story written for us by Charlie Barebo, with pics, here.]
The Loopo School in Kajo Keji
Our prayers this Sunday are for the Loopo school, an Episcopal primary school that has been supported by our diocese through the adopt-a-school program. There are around 400 students; half are girls.[See two pics here.]
Episcopal Churches Get Social Grants
Times-Leader article covering the New Hope Grants to St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre; St. Peter's & St. Clement's, Wilkes-Barre; and Good Shepherd, Scranton. Read the full article here.
Bethlehem Gets Recognition as "Good Stuff in TEC"
A Pittsburgh blogger, Jim Simons, posts the recent New Hope grants news in the Diocese of Bethlehem under his "Good Stuff in TEC" section. Read it here.
$16,600 for 12 Days of Christmas for Kajo Keji
Families and friends of the Diocese of Bethlehem raised $16,600 toward purchases of gifts for our friends in the Diocese of Kajo Keji. Read it all here.
Imagine –– What one Diocese can do! (HEY!! THAT'S US!!!)
[From the newsletter of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation] "This Advent, look to Bethlehem! If you're looking for a diocese that really gets that living the Gospel means boldly stepping out in faith, you've got to take a look at the Diocese of Bethlehem.
Episcopal Diocese grants nearly $100,000 for social outreach from New Hope campaign funds
The Diocese of Bethlehem, the Episcopal Church in 14 counties of eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania, has designated nearly $100,000 in grants to help with the launch of new social outreach programs by six congregations. These are the first of five years of grants for local social ministry projects that will be made from New Hope campaign funds. The balance of the $1.1 million designated for local needs will fund future projects. Read about it here.
Being loved by people who are not like us
A Joint Pastoral Letter from Bishop Paul Marshall of the Diocese of Bethlehem and Bishop Anthony Poggo of the Diocese of Kajo Keji in Southern Sudan will be read in churches throughout the Diocese of Bethlehem over the weekend of September 6-7. [Download the Pastoral Letter here.]
Stretching
Contributions and pledges to the New Hope Campaign for a New Sudan and the Needy in Pennsylvania have surpassed our $3.6 million goal by more than $100,000. The campaign has begun to look toward a $4.1 million stretch goal. More info here.
Church School at Trinity, Easton Raises $1850 for New Hope
The Church School at Trinity Easton has a missionary offering every program year. They undertake a small fundraiser or two, but mainly they collect spare change from their alowances, their families and fellow parishioners at Trinity from mid-September through May. Read about it here.
American Friends of Sudan hear challenge to act for peace, basic human needs
By Joe Bjordal – June 3, 2008
[Episcopal News Service] "We need you now more than ever," was the message of Sudan's recently enthroned Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul to the fourth annual conference of the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (AFRECS), meeting in Chicago May 30 to June 1. The conference participants came from around the Episcopal Church, representing dioceses and congregations with companion relationships with the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) and those seeking to explore new relationships. One quarter of those attending were Sudanese refugees now living in the United States. Read it all here.
Joint Statement of Episcopal and ELCA Presiding Bishops:“Prayer and Action for the People of the Sudan”
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Over the past several weeks, we have watched with great sorrow as the new outbreak of violence in the Sudan has threatened the resumption of widespread conflict in a nation just three years removed from decades of civil war. Our sense of foreboding is heightened because the violence has come in and around Abyei, a town whose history, resources, and proximity to the border between northern and southern Sudan make it a proving-ground for the success or failure of the nation's still-young peace agreement. At the present moment, untold numbers of people have been killed, much of Abyei has been burned to the ground, and as many as 120,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Urgent action from the international community is necessary to address the present suffering and safeguard against the resumption of widespread and de-centralized fighting across a country already destabilized by the unchecked and catastrophic war in its western Darfur region. In the coming days, we urge all Americans to pray for peace in the Sudan and to call for strong action from the international community to restore stability in a land whose people have been entangled far too long in violence.
First, there is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance—both through government agencies like USAID and through private giving—in order to assist those newly displaced from their homes who now suffer without food, clean water, or shelter. Second, increased diplomatic pressure from the international community, including neighbor states and allies of the Sudanese government, is necessary to demand that northern Sudanese military units withdraw from Abyei immediately and allow a comprehensive international assessment of the cause and effects of the conflict. Third, the United States and other parties to Sudan’s 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement should insist on full and immediate implementation of the CPA and subsequent agreements, especially as they relate to Abyei. This includes provisions respecting clear borders, fair sharing of resources, and autonomous local governance in the South. These steps are necessary for the remainder of the peace process to unfold as envisioned by its drafters and to avoid the pitfalls we have seen in other areas of implementation such as the current census.
Recently, each of us has had the opportunity to hear firsthand reports of the situation from Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, the leader of Sudan’s four million Episcopalians, as well as from members of a joint Episcopal-Lutheran delegation that traveled to southern Sudan last month. We have heard stories of great hope and courage, but also of the fragility of peace and the dire humanitarian consequences a resumption of war would bring. We hope this joint statement may raise awareness of the crisis, and urge Episcopalians and Lutherans to send a copy of it to their elected officials. In these difficult days, we pray that God, whose blessed Son “came to preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near,” would grant wisdom and strength to our brothers and sisters in Sudan, as well as inspiration and purpose to all who watch from a distance and wish to help by heart, hand, or voice.
Anglicans Online Highlights Relationship between Kajo Keji and Bethlehem
This week's introductory essay on the home page of AnglicansOnline deals with companion diocese relationships and highlights "the wonderful one between Kajo Keji and Bethlehem, [in which] there is a deliberate policy of reciprocal enrichment and benefit that really does lead to more informed Christian belief and more effective Christian living."
Read the essay here.
AnglicansOnline is, according to Yahoo Unplugged, "the largest and most comprehensive resource on the Internet for Anglicans and Episcopalians worldwide." This will give you a clue. To be mentioned on and linked from its home page for a week gives our relationship with Kajo Keji and our New Hope campaign high visibility around the world. --Bill Lewellis
Recent Visits by Diocese of Bethlehem Missioners to Kajo Keji
Archdeacon Howard Stringfellow and Charlie Barebo, chair of the New Hope Campaign and member of Diocesan Council, have returned from Kajo-Keji where they visited on behalf of the New Hope Campaign and the Diocese of Bethlehem to strengthen the ties between our dioceses, meet with the person who is to be Bethlehem's representative in Kajo-Keji during the Campaign's construction of schools and the Canon Benaiah Poggo College, and inspect the progress of those constructions. More on page 5 of the March issue of Diocesan Life.
Jo Trepagnier, Char Horst and Father Earl Trygar visited with our sisters and brothers in Kajo Keji in January. See pages one and five of the February issue of Diocesan Life here for a story (with photos) by Jo. View additional photos provided by Jo here. There’s a story by Char about Stella and her baby on pages 1 and 5 of the March issue of Diocesan Life. View additional photos provided by Char here.
Living Water: Gushing in Bethlehem, Flowing in Kajo Keji
Archdeacon Howard Stringfellow and Charlie Barebo, chair of the New Hope Campaign and member of Diocesan Council, visited our companion Diocese of Kajo Keji in Southern Sudan on behalf of the New Hope Campaign and the Diocese of Bethlehem to strengthen the ties between our dioceses, meet with the person who is to be Bethlehem's representative in Kajo-Keji during the Campaign's construction of schools and the Canon Benaiah Poggo College, and inspect the progress of those constructions. Find an initial story here, text and photos by Howard Stringfellow.
Charlie Barebo ( C ), and his daughter Ashley, accept a check of $1,200 from the Finance Committee of St. Paul’s, Montrose, for the New Hope Campaign. The Parish pledged its 2007 Christmas Offering to New Hope.
St. Paul's Montrose donates Christmas offering to New Hope campaign
[From St. Paul's Montrose] On Sunday, February 10, 2008, St. Paul’s, Montrose presented Mr. Charlie Barebo with a check for $1,200.00 for the New Hope Campaign. The parish had committed its Christmas 2007 offering to the Campaign for projects in Kajo Keji and Northeast Pennsylvania. Mr. Barebo was visiting the parish to acquaint the parishioners with the needs and the plans for the $3.6 million mission outreach. Read about it here.
A Brief History of Mission Trips to Kajo Keji
Mission Trips to Kajo Keji
By Bill Lewellis, Jan. 1, 2008
Since 2000, 13 missioners of the Diocese of Bethlehem have visited our sisters and brothers in southern Sudan. Some have made the journey several times. Read it all here.
Pray for New Hope
Ignite our hearts, O Holy Spirit, with the love of Jesus Let his compassion for the poor burn in us as we respond joyfully to his call to serve the least of his sisters and brothers. Let our participation in the work of New Hope transform us as individuals and as a community. May our unity of purpose and love for your creatures witness to the world the truth you have revealed to us in Christ. Receive our work as praise for our creation, redemption, and the call you have given us; receive it as our response to your eternal love.
On What Floor Do You Live Your Life?
By Priscilla Payne Hurd
[Download the talk Mrs. Priscilla Payne Hurd gave at the 15th annual Souper Day Luncheon to benefit New Bethany Ministries, October 16, 2007, at the Candlelight Reception and Conference Center.]
New Hope Youth
The diocesan youth council has decided to give its full support to the New Hope Campaign, with a program we are calling New Hope Youth. If you have any questions, please email Demery Bader-Saye.
Our New Hope program is Bethlehem’s extra mile along the MDG journey
By Bishop Paul V. Marshall. Find it here.
Giving Globally
How to Heal the World
Those whom most of us will never see. Commentary by Bill Lewellis. Read it here.
Mission Trip to Kajo Keji. Check it out here.
Op-Ed by Bishop Anthony Poggo
The Church Times, London, Dec. 7, 2007, published an op-ed by Bishop Anthony of Kajo Keji. Find it here.
New Logo! Check it out here.
Bishop Anthony's Greetings to the 136th Diocesan Convention. Check it out here.
Bishop Anthony's Sermon at the 136th Diocesan Convention Eucharist. Check it out here.
Bethlehem and Kajo Keji: Our Partnership by The Rev. Canon Bill Lewellis
[The following is a portion of a larger document which you can download as a .pdf file here. For full text and photos, please see our blog here.]
Something Unique Read more here. And read the Presiding Bishop’s letter about our New Hope campaign here.
For more information, please read the article by Charlie Barebo found here.
New Hope Pastoral Letter by Bishop Paul Marshall found here.
Sermon by Canon Gwendolyn-Jane Romeril
New Hope Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007
Campaign Brings Renewed Hope for War Torn Africa, article in the Pocono Record Times on Trinity, Mt. Pocono's New Hope efforts.
Information on Bishop Anthony Poggo
As we develop the campaign, please check back frequently for information, news, and resources.
Home Site Map Please direct any questions or comments to the webmaster@diobeth.org
