In recent months various Episcopal dioceses and churches discovered unique ways to build community while supporting the ministry of EPISCOPAL Relief and Development.

The Trinity Seven and More

In the Diocese of Bethlehem (PA), for example, the seven congregations with the name of Trinity (Bethlehem, Easton, Pottsville, Lansford, Mt. Pocono, Carbondale, and West Pittston) agreed to a challenge to raise $9,600 to build houses in Honduras for victims of Hurricane Mitch.

Not only did they exceed their goal, another 10 congregations joined the effort and raised an additional $12,025 for a total of $23,318. With other congregations expressing interest, a new goal of $28,800 was set -- or enough to build nine houses.

New York Connections Via Texas

Fourteen deacons serving the Mid-Hudson region in the Diocese of New York decided they needed a way to unite their parishes around a specific ministry. The Projects for Hope program of EPISCOPAL Relief and Development offered the answer. Projects for Hope is a list of development projects from around the world that were reviewed by EPISCOPAL Relief and Development and deemed worthy, but which were not funded or not funded completely.

The deacons chose The Good Samaritan Center in San Antonio, Texas, as their project. It provides food and childcare for poor children from a largely Hispanic community.

To raise money for the project, the children in one congregation attached coins to a map in a line from New York to Texas. Another congregation displayed a "sample" lunch and asked for contributions equaling the cost of a meal.

Central Gulf Coast Mission Responds

A small mission church in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast held a Honduras lunch, watched a short video about the housing project in San Pedro Sula, and heard from a volunteer who had gone to Honduras. At the end of the meeting the junior warden said, "Why don't we pass around some pieces of paper and each of us put down what we are willing to pledge over the next 90 days?" When the papers were tallied, the small mission had committed to raising $3,450 for Honduras.

Toys for Good Sam

The Church of the Holy Cross in North Plainfield, NJ, held a "Kids' Stuff Flea Market" to raise money for the Good Samaritan Center in San Antonio, TX.

A Drop in the Bucket

At the Diocesan Convention in Pittsburgh, two buckets labeled "A Drop in the Bucket" were passed around for the Center of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Clinic and Health Center in San Pedro de Marcoris, Dominican Republic (a Project for Hope).

From State College to Sierra Leone

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, State College, PA, raised $4,950 on St. Andrew's Day to rebuild a school in Sierra Leone damaged by war.