The United Thank Offering, a ministry of the Episcopal Church, was begun in 1889 and, since its beginning, has been administered by women. The mission of the UTO Committee of the church women is to raise the consciousness of the whole church to the daily discipline of offering thanks to God through the use of the Blue Box, into which coins are placed daily along with giving prayers of thanks.

The UTO Committee is made up of one woman elected by the provincial Episcopal Church Women in each of the nine provinces. Three members at large are elected from the former committee, and one person is appointed from the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church to the committee. The Executive Council representative on the UTO Committee is the Rev. Virginia M. Sheay (NJ).

Grant requests are made to the UTO Committee. Awards are made once each year for the following twelve months. Decisions for grant awards are made according to published criteria. All requests must be related to compelling human needs and/or the expansion of mission and ministry. Grants are not issued to meet emergencies. Every penny of the UTO offering received is given in grants. Many grants are dedicated to families and children of all ages and circumstances. A good number of grants focus on educational purposes. Grants are made in the dioceses of the Episcopal Church USA and to dioceses outside the United States.

The 1996 grants were awarded to 131 projects totaling $2,704.195.52. Grants in Province II include:

• The Saint Francis Academy, Lake Placid, New York, Diocese of Albany, received a $22,000 grant to buy a van that will widen the range of activities for boys with conduct disorders living in a residential setting who need transportation for health appointments, vacations, and field trips.
• Pastoral Center for Youth, Port-au-Prince, Diocese of Haiti, received a $60,000 grant to construct a center to be managed by a diocesan committee for use by all Haitian youth as a place for sharing, games, and conferences.
• The Department of Mission, Diocese of Long Island, received a $15,000 grant to hire a Hispanic missioner for this diocese that has the second largest Hispanic population in the Episcopal Church and for research and development of ministry that responds to their needs.
• The Family Counseling Service Incarcerated Women and Family Project, Suffolk County, Diocese of Long Island, received a $10,101 grant to pay for staff and program supplies for an innovation program that counsels incarcerated women and their families to prepare them for reconciliation.
• Trinity Church Enrichment Program, Asbury Park, Diocese of New Jersey, received a $14,000 grant to finance a coordinator's salary and administrative costs to expand a program offering meals and cultural enrichment to disadvantaged children from one day a week to six days a week.
• Holy Cross Church, Kingston, Diocese of New York, received a $11,617 grant to install a handicapped-accessible bathroom in a church whose Sunday attendance has risen from 30 to 115 in the last five years, including many who use wheelchairs.
• Grace Church, Bronx, Diocese of New York, received a $20,000 grant to purchase a van that will transport parishioners from the area of their church, which was destroyed by fire, to the church's temporary location. It will also be used for youth and elderly activities.
• St. Peter's Haven, Passaic County, Diocese of Newark, received a $10,000 grant to hire a case manager and purchase program materials needed to provide case management, training, and counseling to homeless and at-risk families.
• St. Philip's Academy, Newark, Diocese of Newark, received a $15,000 grant to support a strong academic curriculum by upgrading computer and audio-visual technology in a school adding seventh and eighth grades and expanding enrollment in primary grades.
• Holy Apostles Church, Perry, Diocese of Western New York, received a $6,000 grant to repair the stairway leading to the undercroft, where a thrift shop provides clothing and furniture to fire victims and those in poverty, and profits are used for assistance such as food baskets.
• Vive, Inc., Buffalo, Diocese of Western New York, received a $19,800 grant to establish a network of mental health professionals, and cover the costs of staff training, leader-facilitated and support groups for refugees who have survived great loss and often, torture.

Eleven grants were awarded in 1996 in Province II for a total of $204,118. The 1995 United Thank Offering, which funds the 1996 grants, from Province II was $300,995.12. A good portion of this offering has come back to Province II in the form of the 1996 grants.

Contact: L. Marie Williams, Province II UTO representative, 1801 Columbus Avenue, Neptune, NJ 07753.

Editor's note: The information for this article is from the United Thank Offering 1996 Grants booklet and Marie Williams.

--Return to Contents

"Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitation be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns....All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the prosperity of your children." From the New Revised Standard Version, Isaiah 54:2, 3, and 13.

Enlarge the Site of Your Tent is both the theme and the challenge that the national board of the Episcopal Church Women has chosen for its forty-second Triennial meeting. In keeping with the imagery evoked by the theme, the opening celebration on Wednesday, July 16, will be a very festive occasion. The Bible reference also speaks of children and inclusiveness. In response to the ever-increasing number of children and youth at risk, the program will focus on how our churches can and should respond to their needs. Orientation will not follow the usual format. Instead, information on how best to navigate through the myriad of meetings and workshops will be given by means of a humorous skit.

The speakers and staff needed for the Triennial meeting are pretty much in place. The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island, will be the opening celebration homilist. Other keynote speakers are the Revs. Barbara Duncan, Mary Laney, and Elizabeth Geitz (NJ). The Rev. Carol Gallagher will be the chaplain and musical director will be Sister Helena Marie, a member of the Community of the Holy Spirit.

The joint session, being planned by the Social Justice Committee with the help of the entire ECW board, will demonstrate that positive intervention can make a difference in young people's lives. A panel of two young adults will share their personal turnaround experiences with Helen White serving as moderator. Small group discussions will follow the panel presentation at the end of which commitments to reach out to children and youth at risk will be solicited.

There will be numerous workshops covering a wide range of topics including children's advocacy, women's health concerns, stewardship, and the women's conference in Beijing in 1995. In addition, there will be a resource fair where information and materials on programs serving children and youth will be available.

The worship committee chair, Jane Banning, describes the principal Eucharist for General Convention and the Triennial meeting as more elaborate than in previous years. The entire House of Bishops will be robed and in the procession. Archbishop Robert Eames of Ireland will be present. During this service the United Thank Offering contributions from the dioceses of the church will be presented. Jane goes on to say that the Triennial closing celebration on July 24 will be full of surprises and quite unlike previous Triennial closing ceremonies

Contact: Florence Bustamante; 408 Washington Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042-4321.

--Return to Contents

AROUND THE PROVINCE

*****

On January 13-14, the bishops of Province II held their annual winter meeting, hosted by the Diocese of Albany. Nine bishops were present to consider matters of justice and economics as they relate to various governmental reductions in money. H. Carl McCall, comptroller of the state of New York led a morning discussion. Thomas Hart, legislative assistant in the Washington, D.C. office of the peace and justice ministries of the Episcopal Church, was with the bishops in the afternoon. (By the Rt. Rev. David S. Ball, Diocese of Albany.)

--Return to Contents

NEW DOORS FOR THE MISSION HALL

The Mission Hall has new doors. They are double doors with nine windows each. It may not seem like a lot, but those doors are a testimony to the faith of the church and the Onondaga people.

The old doors had served us well but in the end they could not close without a swift kick and were too warped to latch. Being slammed too may times and being under the leak in the roof eventually did them in. Thus, the old door stood, peeling paint, missing glass, cocked, and bent. They let in the draft in winter and flies in summer. Yet, even in their disrepair, they continued to open and welcome. Through those doors the faithful gathered on Sunday evenings for fellowship and worship. On Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, those seeking recovery and peace of mind would come to the AA meetings. On other times there were reunions, banquets, summer vacation church camp, and Bible studies. The Temperance League, quilt and bead makers, and Easter egg hunters passed through. Even so, the time had come for new doors.

In the spring of 1995, George Dimmler Jr. died. He had lived a hard and turbulent life and died suddenly when his heart failed. A gift was given to Good Shepherd in his memory. We could have used it for many things: vestments, prayer books, chairs for the Mission Hall, but the doors seemed most pressing. George was not always able to make it through those doors, but they were always open to him. Many of those who did come through knew him and loved him.

Word spread that we were getting new doors. Shouts of "Hurray!" were heard; a great idea in need of action. The money gathered some dust until someone noticed a sale on doors at the building supply center. The three- week, end-of-summer sale would end that night. Even with the sale, pre-hung, metal, insulated double doors cost more than we had. The gift would just cover two, wooden, unfinished doors with nine windows. They came in only one height, which was about three inches shorter than the opening. To special order the correct height would double the cost. The night came with the doors propped up inside the Mission Hall.

They lay there for a few weeks, leaning against the donated piano that was too damaged to play. Eventually, a coat of primer was painted on one and then the other. Fall came and it was getting drafty. No one seemed to have the time, energy, or skill to hang our new doors.

Another death shook the congregation. Chuck was still young, only in his 40's, and was cut down by the insidious effects of alcohol. Almost 200 people came to the 70-seat church to remember, mourn, and trust in God's saving grace. It was mentioned that he was another who could not always make it through those doors, either for worship or recovery, try as he might. Still the doors remained open, for both the strong and weak, for sinners and saints. The doors knew not the difference.

A week later some activity was seen at the Mission Hall. Duffy, the husband of a cousin of the grieving mother, was a carpenter. Without anyone's knowledge he came over after work with an assistant and rebuilt the door frame, attached hinges, installed the hardware, and hung the new doors.

For the first time in years the doors to the Mission Hall latched with a click. For the first time in years they swung open on smooth hinges. The fact that they were in place was a miracle.

The story of the doors is not over. They still need a final coat of paint. Knowing that they can be locked has raised the issue of who should have keys. Yet, the new doors open to a new generation offering hope, shelter, community, and peace. They hang in witness to the love of Christ and the witness of his people on the Onondaga Nation.

Contact: the Rev. Tom Barrington, 875 Salt Springs Rd., Syracuse, NY 13224.

--Return to Contents

MIGRANT MINISTRY

Between Pine Island and Florida, New York, just above the New Jersey line, are fields of black earth. Polish immigrants saw the value of the apparently unusable bogs which they drained, chiefly to grow onions, although other crops followed. The immigrants prospered and, needing more seasonal labor than they could find locally, turned to migrant workers from the Rio Grande valley and more recently from Mexico and Central America.

These migrant workers have found a mixed welcome, from austere but decent to exploitative and abusive. Over the years the local church community has developed a ministry among the farm workers in a pattern repeated around the country. Work with the people who harvest our food, however, can be lonely and those who do it know small budgets, isolation, and often the hostility of church people with farming interests. Yet they let the sojourners know that some Americans care and honor their work.

Last fall, the work of the Rural Migrant Ministry, led by Episcopal priest Richard Witt (NY), was the focus of a national conference of the Episcopal Migrant Ministry Committee, and loneliness gave way, for a few days, to a sense of community as ministry folk from around the country gathered to share experiences and models, to uphold one another's work, to worship, and to see local programs first hand. The conference, led by this writer, included two field trips as well as presentations of other regional programs.

One visit was to an organic farm whose owners credited the ability of their Guatemalan hands with saving them from bankruptcy. The other was to the onion fields and the Independent Farm Worker Center in Florida, New York, where farm workers run a nonprofit food coop with delivery service to the labor camps. They offer advocacy and legal aid, recently winning a class suit against a big grower who had underpaid workers for several years. Be gun and aided by the ministry, the center is a model of worker empowerment. Both trips included meals shared with the farm-worker community. Conferees, from as far as California and Washington State, were surprised at the extent both of migrant labor so close to New York City and of the church's response in ministry.

Apart from the mutual learning, a chief benefit of the conference was the quick building of community among the participants and a lifting of the sense of marginality which they often feel in common with the farm workers among whom they work. Beyond the spiritual uplift, new links were added to the network and three resolutions, begun at the previous conference in San Diego, were put into final form for General Convention. Also, a migrant ministry presence at Philadelphia was planned.

One disappointment was low participation by regional ministries. The Diocese of New Jersey, which has a long record of work in migrant ministry, had two major conferences on the same weekend. The Diocese of New York was well represented, but little response was received from elsewhere in Province II. It is unclear whether or not the low response was because of an absence of migrant ministry or of diocesan communication.

The Episcopal Migrant Ministry Committee has helped form regional networks and would be glad to assist any diocese in forming a network. The next conference, in North Carolina near Raleigh in October 1997, will be hosted by The Farm Worker Ministry which has been developed by all three dioceses of that state.

--Return to Contents