Chaplain’s Message for Easter 2023

Dear Women of Province VIII,

Happy Easter to you all!  I had the honor of celebrating this wonderful day + Palm Sunday, and Holy Week at St. Jude’s in Ocean View, Hawai’i.  I will be here until the Day of Pentecost!

As we listen to the Book of Acts and see how the people of The Way experienced their new take on religion, I think it is a great time to assess how we are doing.  I love the Gospel of John ( 20:19-31) that we heard on the 2nd  Sunday of Easter.  Hearing how the disciples were hiding in a locked house, trembling with fear the evening of Easter Day, gives us a reality check, doesn’t it?  Are we that much different from them?  Of course, we have centuries beyond what they experienced, but we are still in the recovery phase of the Pandemic.  So many of our faith communities are still in shock and trying to recover.  Some people have not come back yet to worship in person, and some children have lost out on over three years of not experiencing Church on Sundays.  What is our response to this?  What is our responsibility?

If the disciples, after having lived with Jesus for over three years and heard his actual voice, saw into his eyes and walked all those roads with him, were struggling, I think we need to allow the Grace of God to strengthen us.  We are Faith Communities that stumble, fall, and rise when necessary.  We help others which, in turn, helps us.  That is also the beauty of the women of the church.  We have great models from the 1st century who continue to inspire us as we move through our own lives in the church and beyond.  The strength that we women have has always been a factor in keeping the Sanctuary Lights burning!

Let us take a moment and reflect on our life in Christ.  Are we still locked up in a darkened house, or are we out there greeting, feeding, clothing, and loving the people who come into our midst?

May we all find that moment, that ministry that allows us to follow the Way of Christ.

Mary S. Janda+

Chaplain for the Province VIII ECW Board

Mary S. Janda+

Chaplain for the Province VIII ECW Board

I am the new UTO Board Member from Province VIII, having just completed the first year of my three-year term. I was also on the Grants subcommittee of UTO, which is responsible for designing the call for proposals and checking the grant applications for completeness, analyzing their budgets, and judging whether or not they meet the stated criteria. I am also the UTO Diocesan Coordinator for the Diocese of Los Angeles, and the parish UTO Coordinator for Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Irvine, CA. Thus I welcome questions about all aspects of UTO and am very happy to help anyone in Province VIII. Simply email me at tsmecker@cox.net.

UTO grants in 2025 will have the theme of tackling water problems, for example, providing safe and reliable drinking water, building bathing and washing facilities in underserved communities, promoting water conservation and education, etc. The board recently selected the grants to be awarded, and they will be announced in June once approved by the Executive Council. The total amount to be awarded will be $1.08 million.

UTO grants in 2026 will have a focus that moves two different groups beyond dialogue across lines of difference into action that is undertaken together. UTO seeks to fund projects focused on justice and bridging divides. Applications must demonstrate how two formerly disconnected groups will come together to work on a project that produces meaningful change within a local community. The success of these projects may not solely be measured on the expected or hoped for outcomes, but also on the learning and growth that happens as a part of the collective work.

To apply for a UTO grant, see https://unitedthankoffering.com/apply for all the important information and contact your UTO diocesan coordinator to get their help and advice early in the process. Remember that each diocesan bishop can recommend only one UTO grant proposal each year, and a signed bishop’s approval form is a mandatory part of the grant application.
Thus your proposal idea may have to compete at the diocesan level before submission to UTO. Again, contact your diocese early to learn about their specific internal process and to get advice that might greatly improve your chance of success.

In 2024, UTO collected $1.08 million to award as grants, an increase of 8.0% compared to 2023. In 2024, UTO donations from dioceses in Prov VIII totaled $65,027, a decrease of 6.0% compared to 2023. Note that as a Province, we are midrange in giving with Provinces II, III and IV giving more than us, and the other Provinces giving less. Below is a chart showing UTO
donations from Prov VIII dioceses over the last 10 years. Notice that donations are slowly coming back to pre-covid19 levels, but have not quite fully recovered yet. Also following is a map showing the dioceses that increased their contributions from 2023 to 2024 colored in blue, and a table showing the amounts donated by Prov VIII dioceses in 2024 and the change (in percent) from 2023. We want to especially thank and congratulate the Dioceses of Spokane, Los Angeles and Olympia for giving the largest amounts, and the Dioceses of California, San Joaquin, Hawaii and Northern California for more than doubling their 2023 donations! Please keep up the excellent work because every penny of your donations quickly goes out to Episcopalians and Anglicans in the USA and the wider world to make much-needed improvements in their communities! We anticipate that this coming year we will see even more requests from overseas dioceses due to the cessation of funding from USAID.

 

Submitted by: UTO Board Member from Prov VIII – Tammy Smecker-Hane (tsmecker@cox.net)