June 24, 2003
by Richard W. Schramm

Richmond, Va. - In semiannual session here yesterday the American Baptist Churches' World Relief Committee voted to fund a number of relief and development programs and projects in the U.S and overseas.

The committee establishes policy for distribution of funds from the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Projects were presented by American Baptist International Ministries, American Baptist National Ministries and Baptist World Aid of the Baptist World Alliance.

In his report to the committee, World Relief Officer Charles Sydnor noted that One Great Hour of Sharing receipts are down for the first five months of 2003. "A shortfall in OGHS receipts would have a major impact on our ability to respond to disasters," he said. "One Great Hour of Sharing funds are used not only to assist when disasters strike but also for development projects that help people improve the quality of their lives. Development projects in the United States and around the world, which the World Relief Committee has already reviewed and approved to receive funds, are basing their current operations on the assumption that the WRC will be able to honor its commitment to them, totaling almost $1,100,000.... The Committee has no source of income other than the One Great Hour of Sharing offering from which it can draw to make grants. May this year's offering be, once again, 'a time to build up,' as the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes 3:3b."

Within the U.S., programs receiving funding include: Restoration House, a residential home in Fall River, Mass., for men recovering from addiction to alcohol and drugs, endorsed by the ABC of Massachusetts ($90,000 over three years); The Evangelical Crusade, a support and assistance project for refugees in Mesa, Ariz., endorsed by ABC of the Pacific Southwest ($25,000 over two years); the Denver (Colo.) Inter City Parish Ex-Offender Renew Project, which works with inmates and recently released persons, endorsed by ABC of the Rocky Mountains ($7,500 over two years); Congregations Acting for Justice, an ecumenical ministry in Evansville, Ind., addressing justice and equality issues, endorsed by the ABC of Indiana and Kentucky ( $15,000 over two years); Zion Baptist Church Before and After Hour of Sharing Youth Program, a multi-purposed youth outreach program in Ardmore, Pa. endorsed by the Philadelphia Baptist Association ($10,000 over two years); and Covered Bridge Therapeutic Communities, a substance abuse treatment program and prison aftercare support in Milton, Vt., endorsed by ABC of Vermont/New Hampshire ($28,000 over two years).

Overseas programs funded include: two endeavors by the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention - AIDS/HIV prevention education programs ($41,389 over three years) and the Internet Cafi Project, to expand local and global communication opportunities ($10,300); Baptist World Aid work in refugee assistance within Africa ($11,111); and the Flame Project, a Hungarian Baptist Aid ministry supporting handicapped children and their parents in Kosovo ($26,664 over two years).

Sydnor also shared an appreciation of the late Dr. Matthew R. Giuffrida, longtime National Ministries staff member who served the World Relief Committee for many years. Giuffrida, who died this April, was "the one who built up ABC's commitment to, and ministry of, refugee resettlement," Sydnor noted, adding that the committee expresses a "hearty thanksgiving to God for Matt's ministry among us."

American Baptist News Service