The Global Mission Partnership Task Force (GMPTF) is currently going through some changes. In the coming months, there will be three additions to the GMPTF family.

Over the past several years the Diocese has had groups of individuals active around issues related to peace in Palestine/Israel and working for justice for Palestinians. Various trips have been made to the region, people have supported Palestinian businesses in various ways, people have been involved in various advocacy efforts, fundraising efforts have enabled our Diocese to be generous in its support of projects such as housing in Ramallah, the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital in Nablus, and the elder housing project in Ber Zeit, and churches have developed relationships with churches such as Emmanuel in Ramla, St. Andrew’s in Ramallah, and St. Peter’s in Ber Zeit ... and more ... A Palestine/Israel Task Force is forming to continue work in the region by focusing our efforts on continuing the work of Bp. Harris and others in developing our relationship with the Diocese of Jerusalem, providing tools and resources to educate the members of our Diocese about the issues, and working collaboratively with other organizations to expand opportunities for interfaith dialog.

There are several parishes, and individuals, in our Diocese that have been active in Haiti over the years developing church partnerships, providing medical care, assisting with construction projects, and supporting schools. In response to the recent earthquake, members of the Diocese have come together to form a Haiti Task Force. The task force is addressing both short-and long-term responses to Haiti's needs. In the short-term, we are encouraging people to offer prayers for Haiti, conducting fundraising, and supporting those who are currently able to help as certified first responders. In the long-term, we hope to facilitate reconstruction and healthcare mission trips in the coming months and years.

Members of the GMPTF have expressed a growing desire on the part of healthcare professionals in our churches to participate in mission activities that take advantage of their professional skills. In response, Samaritans Now, an Episcopal medical relief organization, has joined forces with the GMPTF to create a Global Healthcare Mission Task Force. We will be hosting an informational meeting at St. Mary’s Church, Newton Lower Falls (Saturday, 4/10, 10:00AM) for any and all healthcare professionals interested in participating in a mission trip (doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, psychologists, clinical social workers, etc.). Plans are currently underway for healthcare mission trips in 2010 and 2011 to the Caribbean, West Bank and Africa.

HAITI DISASTER RELIEF

*** Most aid organizations can only take trained professionals … people with disaster relief certification. The Red Cross offers a course, if you’re interested.

*** There are few things we can do in the immediate besides pray and donate funding, as there is limited access to Haiti (as is often the case in a disaster situation).

*** While the immediate disaster is front and center on our mind, there will be much that needs to be done for MANY years to come. Just because you don’t go this week doesn’t mean you should scrap your interest in offering relief. Get some training, raise some funding, and make some connections (after the “smoke” clears, as they say) and then go to help.

There is plenty to be done in disaster relief. Here is some information that might be useful if you’re considering donating or getting involved:

Donating

The Society of St. Margaret, 17 Highland Park Street, Boston, MA 02119. For updates and more information about the sisters’ work in Haiti, go to www.ssmbos.com and click on the “Haiti” page link.

Episcopal Relief and Development: Donate online at www.er-d.org or call 800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Donations can be mailed to Episcopal Relief and Development, PO Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058. (Please put “Haiti Fund” in the memo line of all checks.) Also, Episcopal Relief and Development is producing a bulletin insert that will be available online.

Volunteering

The highest demand right now is medical support and supplies. If you have some kind of healthcare skills, have disaster training, and are prepared to travel to Haiti, here is some information that may help.

Contacts

Doctors without Borders 212.679.6800 … has an online volunteer form and probably won’t accept anyone who lacks disaster experience and/or training.

Partners in Health 617.432.5256 … is based out of Boston and has medical programs and facilities in Haiti (PiH has set up a temporary field hospital in Port-Au-Prince and all medical facilities are reporting a lack of sufficient staff and medical supplies).

Episcopal Relief & Development 800.334.7626, ext. 5129 … has a disaster relief program and may have a channel for volunteers.

The Episcopal Church of Haiti … http://www.egliseepiscopaledhaiti.org and the local contact through the diocesan offices in Haiti is The Rev. Kesner Ajax … kesnerajax@yahoo.com . Though communication in Haiti is currently a challenge, Kesner has had some internet access.

Credentials

It’s recommended that you carry a copy of any current valid medical credentials or licenses. You might plan to keep one in your bag and another physically on you. That’s also the case with your passport. Be sure to keep a copy of your passport separate from your actual passport. (If your passport is lost or stolen, a copy will significantly expedite replacement.)

Self-care

You’ll be going in to difficult places and be exposed to increasing health risks. If you haven’t been to a travel clinic recently, you should do so. Get things like malaria tablets. Unlike a typical mission-related trip, you’ll want to remember to take supplies such as water treatment tablets which are usually available in stores like Eastern Mountain Sports and REI.

Packing

Plan to pack “extremely” light. You’ll probably be carrying your personal belongings much of the time. A good rule is for all of your personal items to fit in one carry-on. Keep in mind that you’re in a disaster area, so keeping up appearances isn’t really an issue. If you’re a medical professional, you may want to restrict the majority of your wardrobe to scrubs. Scrubs are appropriate for just about any healthcare environment and provide an added advantage of identifying you as medical.

Take as many checked bags as you can handle and that are allowed … filled with all types of medical supplies (you might call the airline prior to departure to see if you can get luggage fees waived for humanitarian efforts). Think in terms of any kind of bandaging or wound cleansing materials, as well as any antibiotics, Benedryl, Ibuprofen, extra strength Ibuprofen, Vitamins, Children’s Tylenol, basic personal items such as a toothbrushes, lotions, hand sanitizers, and so forth.

Provided by:

The Global Mission Partnership Task Force

The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts

In Port-au-Prince, our medical mission team stopped at an orphanage to provide lunch for the children (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we made the night before), to make donations of clothing, school supplies, and games, to provide basic medical care to those with the greatest need, and to spend some time playing with the children.

Many orphanages in developing countries lack adequate services … running water, electricity, sufficient staffing, and medical care. In addition, the children come from deplorable situations, often carrying physical and emotional scars from their difficult situations. Some children are simply dropped off by family members, because for some reason they feel unable to care for them. Then there are others who are found in the trash. Sometimes, children have had some kind of medical situation that their families were unable to attend to, compounding a situation that may lead to a permanent condition or amputation. The permanent medical condition they created by not being able to access or provide adequate medical care often leads to abandonment. Some children are born on the streets to prostitute mothers and are abandoned or brought into the world of prostitution at an extremely young age until rescued by someone who cares enough to bring the child to an orphanage. Sometimes a mother will move in with a new boyfriend, bringing the child with her, and then use the opportunity to abandon the child at some point in the future hoping the boyfriend will see the child as his responsibility. In some cases, children are left in abandoned homes, or are locked in closets or small rooms for long periods of time, because no one is available to care for them. While the stories seem endless, the reality is that NO child should have to experience any of these life scenarios. And yet, many do … daily.

An orphanage visit definitely emphasizes the point that mission is more often about “being” than “doing.” Orphans need someone who will be with them, staying long enough to let them know they aren’t forgotten … that they are loved. On this hot sunny day we arrived to a very warm and energetic welcome … in fact, it was a bit overwhelming, particularly after four very full days of medical clinics. All of the children were excited to be touched, held, or to be played with. Many signaled that they wanted to be picked up. Once raised into our arms, most didn’t want to be put down nor did they want to let go. Like several others in our group, I quickly ended up sitting on the floor so that I could hold more than one child at a time.

One young boy (~ 4 years old) will be in my thoughts for a long time to come. I never knew his name, and he didn’t say a word to me. He sat on my leg for a long while … just sat. At one point, another child tried to monopolize me and he got very upset. He didn’t say anything, but used his presence to make it clear he wouldn’t be moved. What sticks in my mind about him was that he didn’t seem to have any kind of emotional affect (outside of that brief forceful standing of his ground on my lap). I spoke to him, touched his arms, handed him things as they were passed around by others, but he never did anything but look forward with a blank stare. He didn’t take things from me. He didn’t smile. The only emotion thus far was the few moments when he thought his spot on my lap would be threatened. When I was ready to resign myself to the assumption that maybe he had a learning disorder or some kind of brain damage, I noticed a tear running down his face. Though there was no change in his facial expression, he was crying. Tears ran down his cheeks for several minutes. I wiped away his tears with my finger. There still wasn’t any movement or change in expression. He didn’t offer any kind of emotion other than the tears. But after I wiped them away, he leaned back into my shoulder, snuggled into the fold of my arm, and fell into a deep sleep. I continued to hold him until we were ready to leave, at which point I laid him down on a padded bench and walked out of the building.

It was difficult to put him down. It was difficult to leave the orphanage. As short term missioners, we know we have to leave. But those who touch are lives, somehow change us … they become a part of us. I guess, in this way, we are living out one of the blessings of the Eucharist … where we are all one in Christ.

Arguably, this may be one of those times in history where it’s clear we need strong cross-cultural relations. Challenges in the Anglican Communion, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, issues related to immigration, and so on, all point to our need to understand and appreciate each other’s perspectives. One of the ways in which all of us can strengthen our ties within the Anglican Communion, develop and share new perspectives, and ultimately, be spiritually transformed by our encounter of Christ in others, is through global mission activities.

The Global Partnership Task Force is focused on providing leadership and support for churches to develop their own unique global mission program. In some cases, churches encounter problems and need some assistance. Last year, for example, Christ Church Needham was scheduled to travel to Haiti on a medical mission. Given the environment in Haiti at the time, they needed to make a last minute change. I was able to facilitate contact with the diocesan offices in Guatemala and arrangements were made for the team to stay at a mission and provide medical services through congregations in the Lake Izabal region.

The majority of this year’s work has been focused on revamping our web site (which you already know or you wouldn’t be reading this), continuing the success of the Mission Leadership Program, and developing a global mission event for the Diocesan Resource Day. If you’re interested in getting involved, I hope you’ll take a minute to drop me a note or give me a call (tjgaiser@earthlink.net or 617-782-1577).

Often when I present on global mission, after I’ve made a lengthy pitch about parish discernment and ways in which I can support the discernment effort, someone inevitably says something like, “just tell me what you need,” or “is there a list somewhere of things we can support?” While that’s an understandable desire, particularly when the work of discernment is difficult, it, unfortunately, doesn’t make for sustainable partnerships.

I could tell you about some possible projects in Tanzania. I could share that Wilfred, the headmaster of the diocesan secondary school in Hegongo could use a few thousand toward a new chemistry lab or the reconstruction of the chapel. I could advise you to give medical books to the library of the School of Nursing at Teule Hospital. If you asked about Central America, I could encourage you to donate to the diocesan road construction project in El Maizal, El Salvador, or how to sponsor a child at El Hogar in Honduras, or maybe how to support the Diocesan school, Holy Cross, in Belize. But then who has the relationship with the organization? … me. We need to ask ourselves what makes a relationship sustainable and whether or not giving another $1,000 from next year’s mission budget constitute “sustainable” or a “relationship?”

If you're looking for opportunities to donate money toward mission, then there are many. On the Diocesan website, www.diomass.org , you'll find a link to Jubilee. The committee is doing great deal of work in Africa and would welcome your involvement and contribution toward their many AIDS projects in East Africa. If you’d rather, Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD), www.er-d.org , raises funds for a variety of programs from emergency relief around the world to specific projects such as the distribution of mosquito nets for the prevention of malaria. If you’d like more options, there is Save the Children, Children International, Feed the Children, The Heifer Project, Direct Relief International, Doctors without Borders, and … take your pick.

Go ahead and donate. Donations are necessary, and our contributions go a long way in addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But don’t fool yourself into thinking that means you have a “relationship.” Relationships develop when you “relate.” Relationships take time and effort. They require action and interaction. As we get frustrated by the differences in our uses of technologies, negotiate times to call that compensate for differences in time zones, deal with snafus in the itinerary, learn about added fuel tax for our trip due to the rising cost of fuel oil in the region where we’ll be travelling, discuss food allergies and medications for warding off regional illness … a relationship begins to emerge. When we see commonalities and dissimilarities, talking about raising our children, addressing typical challenges at church, learning about new liturgical ideas … these are the ways in which we begin to plumb the depths of a new friendship. These are the signs of a relationship. These are the signs that a global partnership is forming.

In El Salvador, Bishop Barahona expressed this well when he shared with the Mission Leadership participants that he once turned a visitor away. He shared that he was talking about relationships and the desire to be in relationship with the visitor’s diocese. He then shared the kinds of things they might do together. At that moment the guest pulled out a check book and asked how much he needed for one particular project. His response was to ask if the person had heard anything that he had said. He wasn’t interested in his money, because if it’s about money, there are lots of places to get it. He was interested in relationship. He was interested in the empowerment that emerges when people from other countries show interest in the work of their church and in learning more about their experience. He wants the church of El Salvador to have the opportunity of experiencing that they are seen as brothers and sisters by their Anglican colleagues, evidenced by our willingness to come work beside them in El Salvador as they, too, work to fulfill God’s mission in the world. He concluded his comments to us by summarizing as follows, “You can’t fix our problems, nor do we want you to. But we all share in the same baptismal covenant … we are all called to the same mission … God’s mission. Come work beside us, joining together in mission.”