The Episcopal Church Executive Council recently approved more than $1 million in United Thank Offering grants supporting 27 innovative mission and ministry projects focused on water-related issues around the world.
Projects range from a reverse osmosis filtration system to combat lead-contaminated drinking water in Western Louisiana to indoor plumbing at a South Dakota congregation to water-saving agricultural projects in Tanzania and California’s Central Valley.
The funds come from the United Thank Offering’s yearly Ingathering, which includes monies collected in “blue boxes” at Episcopal churches, designated as thank offerings.
This is the final round of a three-year United Thank Offering grant focus on areas of ministry based on Matthew 25:31-46. This year’s grants fund projects that address sanitation; access to water; and water education or climate change mitigation.
The 2023 and 2024 United Thank Offering grants supported 42 projects related to the worldwide incarceration crisis and welcoming “the stranger.”
“The grant awards emphasize both the physical and spiritual importance of water in our lives,” said Karin Elsen, president of the United Thank Offering board. “These funds will be used for the construction of many practical things, such as showers and wells, while also fostering service, hospitality, and renewal through the projects. Many lives will be positively impacted.”
The UTO Board received about $2 million in requests from 43 applications. It was able to fund 27 projects within The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, including three historical grants.
Grant recipients are listed below by focus category. Read details about each project.
Projects addressing sanitation ($363,022.61 total)
- Episcopal Church in Colorado: Laundry Outreach, Ascension and Holy Trinity Church, Pueblo – $8,000
- Episcopal Diocese of Maine: New Shower and Laundry Project, Trinity Jubilee Center, Lewiston – $55,000
- Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts: Updated Bathrooms for the Unhoused, Emmanuel Church, Boston – $46,230
- Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania: Showers and Laundry for Our Community, Corinth 13 Out of School Center, Philadelphia –$27,046.61
- Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota: Indoor Plumbing and Water, Church of the Mediator, Pine Ridge Reservation – $69,050
- Province of Brazil Southwestern Diocese: Bathrooms and Showers for the Unhoused, Cathedral of the Mediator, Santa Maria – $45,000
- Province of Zambia and Angola, Diocese of Zambezia: Access to Sanitation Options for Internally Displaced People – $34,960
- Province of Ceylon, Diocese of Colombo: Addressing Water Scarcity for the Marginalized – $26,136
- Province of Aotearao, Diocese of Polynesia: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Informal Settlements, Yavala and Nadrala in Sigatoka, Fiji –$50,600
Projects addressing access to water ($453,101.41 total)
- Episcopal Diocese of Colombia: Improve the Access to Clean Water – $41,848
- Episcopal Diocese of Ecuador Litoral: Rainwater Collection and Purification, Ann Stevens Elementary School – $55,000
- Episcopal Church in Western Louisiana: Community Water Filling Station, Church of the Epiphany, Opelousas – $82,000
- Province of Philippines, Diocese of Northern Luzon: Provide solar-powered water solutions to vulnerable communities – $49,722.98
- Diocese of Liberia: Access to Safe Drinking Water, Good Samaritan Church and St. Thomas Chapel – $52,760
- Province of Burundi, Diocese of Gitega: Protecting Spring Water Sources for Drinking and Improving Hygiene – $45,227
- Province of Kenya, Diocese of Mumias: Access to Clean Water, Ucheka Community – $48,385
- Province of Southern Africa, Diocese of Lesotho: Addressing Water Scarcity, Thakabanna Primary School – $23,193.50
- Province of West Africa, Diocese of Gambia: Solar-Powered Boreholes – $54,964.93
Projects addressing water education or climate change mitigation ($173,624.35 total)
- Episcopal Church in Idaho: Ripples of Opportunity, Paradise Point Camp, McCall – $11,230.35
- Episcopal Diocese of New York: Equipping Chaplains to Support the Spiritual Needs of Mariners, Seamen’s Church Institute – $45,000
- Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin: Rainwater Harvesting Project, St. Matthew’s Church, San Andreas – $16,290
- Episcopal Diocese of West Texas: Pollinator Garden and Water Awareness, St. George Church and School, San Antonio – $10,983
- Province of Tanzania, Diocese of Mpwapwa: Drip Irrigation Project, St. Philip’s Church, Milanga – $49,893
- Province of Brazil, Diocese of Rio de Janeiro: Creating a Community Center with Access to Clean Water and Water Education – $40,228
Historical grants ($91,000 total)
- Emery Trust Award: The Archives of The Episcopal Church, Records of the Women of the Church: Preservation and Digitization Project – $35,000
- Emery Trust Award: Episcopal Service Corps/Young Adult Service Corps: Resiliency, Education, and Visioning – $51,000
- Episcopal Migration Ministries: Sustaining the Rainbow Initiative – $5,000
Since its founding in 1889, United Thank Offering has awarded 5,475 grants worth more than $148 million. Learn more about this ministry of The Episcopal Church.
