T O W A R D S A T R U LY J U S T, H E A L T H Y A N D P E A C E F U L W O R L D
UNDER THE
SUN
MARCH 2025 | TRANSFORMATION
NEWS FROM ALONGSIDE HOPE
“See, I am doing a new thing.”
– Isaiah 43:19
CHANGE CAN BE CHALLENGING. We rely on the comfort of routines to get through the day. Moving house, getting to know a new colleague or even a hiccup to our commute can easily throw us off our game. Toronto’s SkyDome opened in 1989 and became the Rogers Centre in 2005, though many still refer to it as the SkyDome. In 2021, the diocese of British Columbia changed its name to the diocese of Islands and Inlets. In 2024, the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land became the Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights. Getting used to new things and new names can be challenging, but newness can also be life-giving. At Alongside Hope, formerly PWRDF, we strive for change, whether it’s the gift of a goat that transforms a family’s nutrition and income, clean water that transforms the health of a community, or education programs that transform someone’s ability to earn an income. As Christians, we know a thing or two about change. Change and transformation are at the very heart of the Gospel story. When God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, he was doing something new. Through Christ’s life, death and resurrection, he changed the world. And when we choose to follow him, our hearts are changed. In this issue of Under the Sun, we include stories of change from our partners in Gaza and Kenya and how a priest was transformed by her ministry with the Waswanapi First Nation in the Diocese of Moosonee. We’ll also share more about our own story of change to become Alongside Hope.
Pray for Alongside Hope
Your 2025 Alongside Hope parish resources are now available for order! We have created new place mats, book marks, bulletin covers, offering envelopes and a host of other new material to share with your community. Among the resources is a suggested prayer to include in your Prayers of the People or biddings. Feel free to customize it to your parish: Let us pray for Alongside Hope ( formerly the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund) as it walks alongside partners, across the globe and here at home, sharing hope for a better world on behalf of Anglicans in Canada. Amen. To watch a video about our new name please scan the QR code or visit alongsidehope.org.
www.alongsidehope.org
Elizabeth Mwende Mutua proudly shows the goat she received from Alongside Hope partner ADSE in Kenya. Goats are a powerful tool for transforming families and communities. They provide a source of protein, income and fertilizer, leading to a brighter future. Thanks to your support of the 2024 World of Gifts campaign, 158 goats will be distributed in Kitui county.
Our name has changed. Our work stays the same. After almost two years of listening together and planning, PWRDF has chosen Alongside Hope as our new name. It was approved at a Special Members meeting held Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in accordance with our corporate bylaws. In 2022, the Board of Directors allocated funding for the creation of a new name. We selected a Task Team of staff, board members and volunteers from across Canada. This team gathered on Zoom with the goal of identifying a compelling name – a name that better reflects our work, and one that would sustain our work into the future. In these and other discussions with stakeholders and staff, one dominant theme emerged: partnership. • We partner with local organizations who carry out the work that you support — life-giving work that improves food security, champions gender rights, provides training on conservation agriculture, and creates income opportunities. • We partner with membership organizations that allow us to be part of a larger network. These include the Anglican Alliance, the ACT Alliance, the
Canadian Foodgrains Bank, KAIROS, Cooperation Canada, among others. • We partner with our generous donors, without whose support none of our partners’ work would be possible. • We partner with funding agencies including Global Affairs Canada, businesses and a growing number of private and family foundations. • We partner with the Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican dioceses, spiritual ministries and ecclesiastical provinces, through their bishops and their PWRDF Representatives, who support our programs and invite us to spread the good news of PWRDF at synods and other meetings. • We partner with parish representatives, clergy and countless volunteers in the pews across the country, who share our stories and engage others in our work. This theme of partnership or
Our Mission Statement:
Inspired by God’s love for all creation, Alongside Hope accompanies, learns with, and responds to the priorities of our partners, acting together to improve the well-being of communities.
Our Values:
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”
Our Vision Statement:
A truly just, healthy and peaceful world.
accompaniment is woven throughout the Bible, but the task team was drawn to the story of the road to Emmaus. Days after Jesus died, the disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, still grieving their loss. As Luke writes, the resurrected Continued on page 2
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