Anglican Appeal Celebrates 21 Years of Making an Impact

Some support for the Anglican Appeal comes from parishes and dioceses, but most comes from individual donors.

"There is a need to carry on God's work, says one donor. "I like to support all the programs that the Anglican Appeal is supporting . . . Every program in some way or another helps many people to change their lives for the better."

The Anglican Appeal—established in 1992 to carry on the work of Anglicans in Mission, the national church's capital campaign from the 1980s—celebrates its 21st anniversary on October 1. For 21 years they have helped the ministries of General Synod do their vital work across Canada and around the world.

Healing and hope

Funds raised by the Anglican Appeal help support people like Cynthia Patterson, Indigenous Ministries' suicide prevention coordinator for eastern Canada. "We understand that suicide is an illness of the soul," Patterson said last year in remarks at Sacred Circle, the triennial Anglican Indigenous gathering. "It's a state at which people arrive after being through enormous, enormous pain."

Suicide is a particularly serious problem for Canada's Indigenous communities. For First Nations people of all ages, the suicide rate is two to three times the national average.

For First Nations youth it is 5 to 6 times the national average, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Institute for Child Health.

What can the church offer in such circumstances? "We bring faith," says Patterson. "We bring faith, and in that we bring the gift of hope, we bring the miracle of forgiveness, and we bring the sureness of healing."

"It's hard to imagine anything more urgent than the suicide prevention program," says National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald. "What we see as essential to the work of suicide prevention is the rebuilding of community, the rebuilding of the sacred circles that nourish life and keep us all together."

Helping Global Relations deliver medical aid in Jerusalem

Money donated to the Anglican Appeal also goes to help work overseas in places like the Diocese of Jerusalem (a part of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East). The diocese is comprised of more than 7000 parishioners spread across 30 parishes in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

Funding from the Appeal supports the Diocese of Jerusalem's Penman Clinic in St. Matthew parish, Zababdeh, West Bank. According to the World Health Organization, there are only 1.8 primary health care units/centres for every 10,000 people in East Jerusalem. The Penman Clinic serves a vital role, providing accessible and professional healthcare for thousands of people who would not otherwise get it.

Being a good neighbour

"Supporting the Appeal is a great way to fulfill Jesus' injunction to love our neighbours as ourselves," says Jacqueline Beckford, General Synod's interim manager of annual giving. "The Anglican Appeal lets us reach out to our neighbours, both within Canada and internationally, and support them in times of trouble and need."

Source: Anglican Church of Canada