Your Gifts Help Overcome Discrimination: Petrona’s Story
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Indigenous people in Guatemala face discrimination in all facets of their lives.
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Published On: December 17, 2021 Feb. 27. 2022
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Everyone has a right to express their beliefs, find good work, have a safe place to live, speak freely, love who they want to, and meet their basic needs. Discrimination strikes at the heart of these core human rights.
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Although Indigenous people living in Guatemala make up nearly half the population, they face discrimination in all facets of their lives. Because of this discrimination, accessing health care and education and becoming financially stable is extremely hard. Especially for women. According to the Guatemala Conference of Evangelical Churches, 43 percent of Indigenous women living in Guatemala are unable to read and write compared to 19 percent of non-Indigenous women.
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That’s why your gifts through Mission & Service support the Conference in providing human rights education as well as business and agricultural training skills for women farmers.
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Petrona is one of hundreds of women who have changed their lives after receiving training through the Conference.
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She is a member of a gardening group of six women. Thanks to your generosity, these women receive seeds, tools, and agricultural training. Today, instead of making the long walk to the market to buy costly produce, Petrona grows tomatoes and chili peppers a stone’s throw from her home.
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“When we need anything, we just get it from our greenhouse,” she says.
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Catarina, another member of the group, says the greenhouse means children in the community are healthier.
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“If we plant tomatoes, radishes, and chard, these are very good vitamins for our children. We don’t see malnourished kids anymore,” she says.
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The gifts you give have a lasting impact on the lives of hard-working Indigenous women and their families, who face discrimination simply for being who they are. A better world is possible! Thank you for helping to make it happen.
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Support Canadian Families
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Record numbers of families are turning to our Mission & Service partners for support.
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Published On: January 19, 2022 Feb. 20, 2022
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In the last two years, visits to Canadian food banks have climbed 20 percent. Today, over 33 percent of foodbank users are children. For families already struggling, there’s no relief in sight. Food prices are set to rise another 5 to 7 percent this year. Record numbers of families are turning to our Mission & Service partners for support.
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That’s why on February 21—as many provinces celebrate Family Day—Mission & Service is launching a special appeal to support Canadian families. Your gift of just $25 will provide a family of four with a warm, nutritious meal. $50 will support a family with two meals. $175 will ensure a family can eat a good, healthy meal every day of the week.
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Whether you are celebrating Family Day, Heritage Day, or if it’s just another day, let’s make February 21 a day of generosity. If you are able, please make a special gift(opens in a new tab) to help families, and make sure your friends know there is an opportunity to give. With new variants, rolling school closures, lockdowns, fear, and uncertainty, families are more stressed than ever. It doesn’t cost a lot to show we care.
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Above all, let us pray for families:
O God, bless our families.
Bless parents who are on edge balancing parenting and work responsibilities.
Bless those who feel isolated and alone without childcare supports.
Bless parents who are physically and mentally drained.
Bless those who are unable to find or afford safe housing and stable jobs.
Bless those giving it their all to approach this time with creativity and compassion.
Bless children who feel the uncertainty of these days most acutely.
Bless those living in unsafe home environments.
Bless young people who are missing friends and gatherings.
Bless teens who grieve the loss of graduation celebrations, who have delayed further education and work opportunities, and who are waiting for driver’s tests.
Bless families facing financial insecurity, struggling to put food on the table.
Bless all experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.
Bless those waiting for vaccinations and tests, worried about staying or recovering well.
Bless families to express warmth, caring, patience, forgiveness, and love toward one another.
Bless them to know it’s okay to not be okay, and to reach out for support.
Bless them with the peace and grace of your holy spirit.
Bless them to know they aren’t alone.
Amen.
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Love the Way God Loves
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Thank you for showing love for neighbours at home and around the world.
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Published On: January 19, 2022 Feb. 13, 2022
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Love the way God loves. That’s arguably what Jesus’ whole ministry was about, and it’s summarized in his most travelled quote: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37–39)
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We want to thank you—our amazing Mission & Service supporters—for showing love for neighbours at home and around the world. Thank you for turning compassion into action.
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Since the pandemic struck, you have helped raise over $500,000 in emergency gifts to support Mission & Service. Your generosity helps deliver personal protective equipment, distribute food, install sanitation stations, and support education programs to help prevent and control the spread of the virus.
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What’s more, through our Gifts with Vision catalogue, we have provided over 8,360 full vaccinations to those who need them most across the globe.
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Altogether, that’s over $750,000 in COVID relief. Amazing!
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Once again this year, your local region will receive $240,000 to support Mission & Service partners near you. From coast to coast, our partners are helping record numbers of families in need. Your generosity through Mission & Service is providing shelter to Canadians without a home, serving nutritious meals to families struggling to make ends meet, offering critical pastoral care in hospitals and schools, and extending life-changing education and job training opportunities.
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Thank you for joining with members across our United Church to show and share love. Thank you for loving your neighbour. Your generosity is a blessing.
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Choosing the Lesser Evil
"This book is about being faithful while wrestling with what’s best.”
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Published On: January 19, 2022 Feb. 6, 2022
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Have you ever had to make a decision knowing that all of the choices in front of you felt wrong somehow? As if you were caught between a rock and a hard place? Regardless of how righteous we might feel about our decisions, we choose evils every day, hoping that we are choosing the lesser ones.
The United Church’s Lenten book and study guide Lesser Evils, published by United Church Publishing House, explores everyday dilemmas of seeking the good while choosing the lesser evil from a Christian perspective. This collection of devotions challenges all followers of Jesus to faithfully attempt to do and seek good in our actions and choices.
“We confront dilemmas every day: Do I wear this mask? Do we close in-person gatherings? Do I take this parking space? People are trying to work for good. There are a lot of holier than thou judgements going on these days. We wanted to write about making tough decisions. What’s hopeful about this book is the faithfulness of the struggle,” says editor Alydia Smith.
Your generosity through Mission & Service helps deepen faith by lowering the cost of important faith resources such as Lesser Evils and the accompanying book study webinar. Hosted online through United In Learning, the study runs every Tuesday at 1 pm ET from March 8 to April 12, 2022.
“What does it mean to be Christian in this time when we don’t always feel good about the many choices before us?” says Smith. “When systems are broken and we are in those systems, how do we deal with it? Lesser Evils is really for all of us coping with uncertainty. This book is about being faithful while wrestling with what’s best.”
