The Tower Online

Greetings Trinity Parishioners and friends!

Here is our monthly update from the Sustainable Philanthropy Committee, part of the Mission and Outreach Commission. We have received a portion of the Parish’s Mission and Outreach budget so that we can make kiva loans to the poor around the world in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We call ourselves “sustainable” because as borrowers repay their loans, we can help more people with the same money.

We met in late June to establish our Mission and a loan process so that we can prayerfully be good stewards of the Parish’s assets. Since that time we have made:

• 69 loans in 29 countries of which 15 were funded by borrower repayments
• To date, our borrowers have a 2.0% delinquency (most delinquencies are cleared up within 60 days) and 0% default rate
• 9 loans were repaid and we expect 10 more loans will be fully repaid later this month

To see the loans that we have made, check out our lender page http://www.kiva.org/lender/trinitychurch9574

Did you know you can buy kiva gift certificates as Christmas presents @ kiva.org

Check this space next month for more updates!

 

Monthly update from the Sustainable Philanthropy Committee

Greetings Trinity Parishioners!

Here is our monthly update from the Sustainable Philanthropy Committee, part of the Mission and Outreach Commission. We have received a portion of the Parish’s Mission and Outreach budget so that we can make kiva loans to the poor around the world in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We call ourselves “sustainable” because as borrowers repay their loans, we can help more people with the same money.

We met in late June to establish our Mission and a loan process so that we can prayerfully be good stewards of the Parish’s assets. Since that time we have made:

• 52 loans in 23 countries of which 12 were funded by borrower repayments
• To date, our borrowers have a 2.9% delinquency (most delinquencies are cleared up within 60 days) and 0% default rate
• 2 loans were repaid and we expect 7 more loans will be fully repaid later this month

Check this space next month for more updates! If you feel inspired to make your own ($25) loans, go to kiva.org.

To see the loans that we have made, check out our lender page http://www.kiva.org/lender/trinitychurch9574

All Youth Kickoff Canoe Trip

The youth ministries programs kicked off 2010-2011 with a canoe trip to northwestern Connecticut.  Peter Anderau organized the trip with Clarke Outdoors www.clarkeoutdoors.com for over 50 people.  After a long ride up to West Cornwall, we ate lunch together (organized by Temple Whitaker) and then were driven to the launch point above the dam in Canaan, CT.  Two hours of canoeing down the beautiful Housatonic river - and no one fell in!  A few got turned around backwards and went zig-zagging down the river, but it was a safe and fun time for all!  Here are a few photos of the fun.

Getting our instructions and life preservers:
 

The very steep launch site. 

 

 

 

A beautiful day for all!

Sustainable Philanthropy Committee

Greetings Trinity Parishioners!

We are the Sustainable Philanthropy Committee (Peter Anderau, Mark Benedict, Larry Coleman, David Erickson, and Rich Stein), part of the Mission and Outreach Commission. We have received a portion of the Parish’s Mission and Outreach budget so that we can make kiva loans to the poor around the world in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We call ourselves “sustainable” because as borrowers repay their loans, we can help more people with the same money.

We met in late June to establish our Mission and a loan process so that we can prayerfully be good stewards of the Parish’s assets. Since that time we have made:

• 31 loans in 17 countries of which 5 were funded by borrower repayments
• To date, our borrowers have a 0% delinquency and default rate
• We expect 2 loans will be fully repaid later this month

Check this space next month for more updates! If you feel inspired to make your own ($25) loans, go to kiva.org.

To see the loans that we have made, check out our lender page, paste http://www.kiva.org/lender/trinitychurch9574 into your browser.

Sharing the Love

Trinity children, youth and adults have been busy sharing the love in 2010! 

Our Church School children wrote and made Valentines to send to the troops serving overseas:

 

Our Youth helped pack up over 25 college Care Boxes to send to our current college students for Valentine's Day:  

Our whole parish/community helped donate medical/sanitary items to send to Carrefour Haiti to be used at the Good Samaritan School's medical clinic for earthquake relief.  For more information on the Haiti Relief at the Good Samaritan School, please see this website: http://www.ecolelbs.com/ .

 

Our Workcampers made and sold Valentine fudge and chocolate candy to help raise the funds needed to transport over 50 people to Clearfield, Pennsylvania this June.

Kiva Update

First Counter-Trafficking Loan on Kiva

In this Group: Phany Chhem, Sokhey Khorn, Ngith Mrs.thuon, Phally Ms.pech, Thavy Ms.yun

December 10, 2009

 

Hello Kiva World --

I wanted to highlight a loan that was recently posted by AMK – our largest microfinance partner in Cambodia. This loan is the first made by AMK's Special Interest Group Unit (SIGU) – a department within AMK designed to serve more ‘vulnerable’ groups that are currently underserved by microfinance services. These groups include women who are victims of trafficking, domestic violence and other gender-based traumas, people living with HIV/AIDS, street people and children and people with disabilities. AMK is currently focusing on assisting women who are victims of trafficking, domestic violence and other gender-based traumas.

Anyways, the loan below is made to a group of 5 women who were rescued from exploitative working & living conditions and who are now using loans from AMK to start their own sewing business. Eventually, their products will be available for purchase through www.ahkun.org – a website created by ex-Fellow Sanjaya Punyasena which sells products made by Kiva borrowers.

 To see this loan http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=153589  

Check out AMK’s blog here which talks in detail about SIGU (http://amkmicrofinance.wordpress.com/).

Although this loan was fully funded in less than 12 hours, AMK is planning to post more of its SIGU loans in the future so please keep your eye out. In the meantime, please consider lending to other AMK loans currently on the Kiva site (please click here to see all fundraising AMK loans).

Taking a Stand Against Poverty

By Rick Chamiec-Case

On October 18^th, at the start of Trinity Episcopal Church’s 4:30 pm service, Trinity’s 5^th & 6^th grade church school class joined with family members, classmates, and neighbors from the Newtown community to Stand Up and Take Action against poverty. This event was one of thousands held all over the world during the weekend of October 16^th – 18^th as part of an international movement focused on eradicating poverty in our world.  The focus of the 5^th and 6^th grader’s event was to help educate members of the Newtown community about the devastating effects of poverty, take a pledge to make a difference, and collect cans of food to donate to the F.A.I.T.H. Food Pantry in Sandy Hook to help fight poverty in their community. 

When asked why their church school class was hosting this event, 5^th grader Peyton Cutolo responded: “Have you ever stopped to think about how many people are living in poverty? Well, you should because there are 37 million people just in the United States of America suffering from poverty and are on the edge of dying. Do you want to help? Well you can!”

Sunday’s event were inspired by the group Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now (http://standagainstpoverty.org), which for the past few years has equipped people around the world to rally against poverty. Citizens across the world are demanding that world leaders keep the promises they made in 2000 to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDGs are a set of 8 benchmarks to eliminate extreme poverty, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat major diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership by the year 2015. In 2006, 23 million people participated in events coordinated by Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now, followed by 47 million in 2007 and 116 million in 2008.  A Guinness World Record shattered this weekend when 173,045,325 citizens gathered at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries. It has been certified by Guinness World Records as the largest mobilization of human beings in recorded history, an increase of about 57 million people over last year.

Thank you to all who participated at Trinity.

Hope of Sudan Weekend Huge Success!

The Trinity YAC (Young Adults in the Church) Class ended the year with a huge splash and the ripples will be felt around the community and across the world.  They spent the last year planning and preparing for raising money and awareness for those in the Sudan through an organization started by two former Trinity Parishioners, Jerry and Ann Marie DeLuccio, called The Hope of Sudan.  The youth decided to have some of the men who were once Lost Boys of Sudan come to speak to three area high schools to tell about their ordeal as children during the long-running civil war in their home country fo Southern Sudan.  Five of the Lost Boys of Sudan (now grown men living in the US) came with the DeLuccios to speak to large groups of students at Brookfield, Danbury and Newtown High Schools on Friday, May 29th. 

William Riak, Thomas Mum and Jerry DeLuccio speak at Danbury High School

The students were very moved by what the men said. The message they gave of "Never give up" and "Always give back" was powerful and inspiring.  John Dau came to Newtown High School from Syracuse, NY.  John is co-author of the book, God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir published by National Geographic. He was also featured in the award-winning movie documentary God Grew Tired of Us. John spoke to the Newtown students as he told of all the organizations he has started and how he has raised millions of dollars to start medical clinics in Sudan since he came to America in 2001.  Then he told the high school students that his first day of school wasn't until he was 17 years old when he learned his abc's writing in the dirt with his finger.  He's now 32 years old and the head of the John Dau Foundation which provides healthcare in the war-torn region of southern Sudan by building and sustaining medical clinics and training community health workers.  "As Americans, you are lucky," he explained to the students, you have many opportunities here such as education, healthcare, jobs that we didn't have in Sudan or in the refugee camps."  James Riak (from New Haven, CT) was also at NHS.  He was so excited to "meet" John Dau again.  He remembered him as a leader of the boys back in Sudan. Both men shared how their faith was how they managed to keep going - it gave them hope.

 John Dau and James Kurchuk greeting people after speaking at Newtown High School.

Then on Saturday, May 30th, the YAC Class set up for the U2charist and Walk of Hope at a local school.  The stage had the altar with frontal designed by a parishioner with photos of Lost Boys, banners made by the each class of Trinity Church School representing the 8 MDGs and the Hope of Sudan Alliance and the band which consisted of more high school youth who had spent hours practicing U2 songs. 

The youth also sold bottles of water, picture books called, Brothers' in Hope, handmade necklaces with footprints on them, and ONE bracelets to help raise money for Sudan.  The Walk of Hope began with a short singing of Siyahamba as over 150 people walked through the Fairfield Hills Campus across the street from the school.  Along the way, the YAC Class members had posted signs with facts of what the original Lost Boys had gone through in Sudan in the 1980s.  We paused at the 1,000 step point to remember the 1,000 miles the boys had to walk in hope of finding safety.

 Walk of Hope

The U2charist (an Episcopal Holy Eucharist service that features the music of the rock band U2 and a message about God's call to rally around the UN Millennium Development Goals) began after the walk and about 300 people were in attendance as the music started.  U2's lead singer, Bono has given permission for his music to be used free of charge or permission as long as all the profits go to a cause that supports the MDGs.  It was a rockin' service of music, prayer, and emotion as we watched a short video piece about the story of the Lost Boys and how we can help Sudan recover today.   People came from all walks of life and from all over the greater Newtown community.  One woman said she heard about it through a co-worker at Danbury Hospital, another said she had just seen the Walk of Hope advertised on a poster at a coffe shop and decided to come that afternoon.

 

The U2charist service

The YAC Class had set a goal of making $5,000 to provide a much needed well for clean drinking water to a village in Southern Sudan.  Salva Dut was another "Lost Boy" who came to speak and be a part of the U2charist Weekend and he founded, Water for Sudan.  "$5,000 puts a well into the ground, and you get to name it," says YAC Member Ellen.  The well will be called The Well of Hope given in the name of Educating Youth To Youth (EY2Y) from Trinity Episcopal Church, Newtown, CT.

"It seemed like a huge goal at first - we weren't sure we could actually make that much money," says Anna (YAC Member and a leader of this mission project).  "But we actually made $8,400 all together!"  The other $3,400 will be used to support some of the other important needs in Sudan through The Hope of Sudan Alliance like supporting a health clinic.

This weekend was such a success, the YAC Class (who are 11th and 12th graders this year) are planning more exciting events including another U2charist for this spring.  "In the name of love. What more in the name of love?" -- U2

  Some members of the YAC Class pose with their teachers behind the altar frontal from the U2charist

Trinity WorkCampers Return to Help Port Jervis Residents

by Curt Symes

On Sunday, June 28th, fifty-one Trinity youth, ages 13 and up, and adult chaperones loaded into 16 vans and SUVs and returned for a second time in 3 years to help the residents of Port Jervis, NY.  The return to the familiar town hit hard by the economic downturn was uplifting to both the Trinity members who had been there in 2007 and the new workcampers joining this year’s Mission and Outreach trip.

Of the 380 youth and adult attendees from CT, NY, NJ, MA, NH, IA & WI, almost half the camp were familiar faces who have now been working together for the past 2 to 4 years at Group Workcamps.  The familiar faces of the Port Jervis clergy, sponsors and residents that greeted the Trinity team were a welcome sight, as Trinity immediately knew how welcome and heart-felt their efforts would be in painting homes, building wheelchair ramps and repairing decks, steps and roofs.

The Port Jervis High School served as home base for the camp, providing lodging, cafeteria meal services and the much needed end-of-day showers necessary to de-gunk the paint, grime and dirt from a challenging day of home repairs.  The high school wood shop doubled as a staging area for the 90 ladders, tools, supplies, safety equipment and trucks of paint and building materials necessary to complete the 54 housing projects by the 62 crews, each comprised of 5 youth and 1 adult leader.  Some large projects had double crews and massive house painting projects often ended late Friday with 3 crews simultaneously painting both the residences and on occasion, themselves.

During the course of the day the crews broke for lunch and spent time reading and discussing devotions.  Often the resident of the house joined the youth for the devotions, discussing the theme for the week of how God “Reveals His Love for Us”.  By the end of the week the residents and crews bonded very closely and the resident and family attended the evening programs back at the high school which highlighted the accomplishments of the week in prayer, pictures, Christian music and giving thanks for all that has been accomplished.  Over the course of the week the mayor of Port Jervis, the  clergy, the president of the Rotary Club and many of the local business owners got involved in the workcamp activities, assisting the onsite Group Workcamp Foundation staff (Red Shirts) from Loveland, Colorado who oversee and run all aspects of the week long adventure.

As a part of the workcamp coming-together experience, all youth groups were asked to gather and bring canned food for the local food banks.  Trinity Newtown brought over 190 cans and the camp as a whole contributed over 1700 cans.

By Saturday morning the Trinity team was packing up vans and SUVs, saying heart-felt, good-byes to both old and newly acquired friends, and already planning where Trinity would return to workcamp next year.

Attending this years workcamp were 51 Trinity youth. The accompanying adult leaders included Shep Adams-Shepherd, Cindy Anderau, Jay Benson, Matt Benson, Chris Hoolehan, Paget Haylon, Margot Snellback, Beth Thompson, and Temple Whitaker with Pastor Kathie, Scott Coleman, Patrice DiVanno, Scott Erhardt, Dennis O’Connor and Sue Vogelman providing transportation assistance.

And once again Larry Coleman (17 Camps), Boyd Schlaefer (5 Camps) and Curt Symes (14 Camps) traveled with the Trinity team and served as volunteer (Red Shirt) Group Workcamp Foundation staff and site coaches throughout the week.

Click here for Port Jervis newspaper coverage including a series of workcamp and resident pictures.   

To research the Group Workcamps Foundation, visit www.groupworkcamps.com and learn about their many opportunities for both Youth and Adult Outreach and Mission.

Welcome to the Trinity Library

by Jen Peterson

The Trinity Library is located in the Johnson Room. It has over 4,000 volumes from books to audio/visuals.  Over the last few years, we have been expanding our selection to help meet the spiritual needs of our parishioners. Our library is organized according to the Dewey decimal system with a computer “card catalog” called ResourceMate to help you navigate the library. Instructions for our catalog are by the computer located in the library.

For those of you who have not checked out a book from our library, there are some simple instructions to follow. Simply remove the green card from the back of the book, print your first and last name and the date checked out. There are card boxes located on either side of the library and one located on our book cart. Please take the green card and place it behind the date due back cards. Take a date due back card and place it in the pocket of your book to take with you. If you have any questions about the library, please contact Jen Peterson @ jdmp7896@charter.net or call 270-8804. When you return your books, please place them in the baskets located on either side of the library or with the library cart. Items need to be checked into the computer when they return. 

Our next project will be to catalog educational materials from classes given by Christian Formation. These materials will be located in the bins under the Children’s section of the library. Soon after, I hope to start imputing Classical Church music donated by a friend of Fiona Sutherland. These are both welcomed additions.