Beginning Monday, May 25, you will be able to support the Anglican Appeal by dialing a phone number.
“It’s an experiment,” says Gail Holland, the Appeal Coordinator. “The television coverage of General Synod will include highlights of the church’s mission, and we wanted to offer people an easy way to support that work.” Holland notes that the cost of the phone-in donation system is quite low. “We hope people will see it as a convenient alternative to mail.”
Donors can call 1-900-565-1222 and choose a donation amount of $25, $50 or $75. The donation will be charged to the caller’s phone bill (there is no extra charge for the call), and the Appeal will issue a receipt in the name of the person to whom the phone is billed.
One of the mission highlights to be broadcast as part of the television coverage of General Synod is the ministry of the Rev. Siméa de Souza Meldrum, in northern Brazil, who works with people eking out a living in the midst of a garbage dump.
Siméa has helped to start many programs to improve conditions in the dump, but without permanent resources or Government support the obstacles are immense. “Our church has so many needs that we can’t afford to have an established long-term project to help people in the dump,” explains Siméa. “We rely on volunteers and whatever financial support we can get. But it is difficult…. We need to establish funding in order to make more permanent plans.”
Siméa is attending General Synod as an international partner, and will tell how our church has been able to help provide new housing, and much healthier lives for the people whose livelihood still comes from garbage. Watch for Siméaís interview on the General Synod broadcasts.
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