RSSJune 13, Pentecost II
by the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton for ERD
6/13/2004
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15
Galatians 2:11-21
Luke 7:36-50
Psalm 32 or 32:1-8
A Second Chance To Be a Child
Twelve percent of primary school children in West Kenya are HIV positive. The overall population's infection rate is 33% -- one third. Neglect has proved as deadly a killer as the virus, leaving young people without reliable information about how to prevent infection, without essential training for the roles they must pay as very young heads of households, leaving families without available labor necessary to raise the food they need, teachers without resources to lead their students and their families in forming the community networks of support Kenya will need to overcome the epidemic.
Episcopal Relief and Development partners with the Inter-Diocesan Christian Community Service to counter the sin of neglect with programs of AIDS awareness and education for all members on the community, with an emphasis on young people and community leaders, as well as programs to support those who must care for infected family members.
AIDS in Africa is more than a medical problem: it infects every aspect of society, from farming to schools to local government. It shoves children prematurely into adult roles and robs them of the mentors they need. What devastated families can no longer do for children is graciously provided by Inter-Diocesan Christian Community Service, with the help of ERD.
We are blessed to be able to guide our children into adulthood. But those faraway sisters and brothers who have died before their children silently remind us that we have the power to help their children get what they will need in order to grow up. It is not true that there's nothing I can do about something so far away, or nothing I should we can do about the results of a sin I did not commit. As terrible as it is, and as distant, through ERD I can reach around the world as the Church we are called to be.
Episcopal Relief and Development is an effective, reliable, and vital ministry of the Episcopal Church in communities around the world. Episcopal Relief and Development provides emergency assistance in times of disaster, rebuilds devastated communities after the immediate crisis is over, and offers long-term solutions to help people sustain safer, healthier, and more productive lives.
