“I Pray that the World Will be a Good Place”

St. Clement’s Dedicates Lent to MDG Campaign

 The theme for Lent 2009 has been in the planning for a while at St. Clement’s.  Just over a year ago, a new committee was formed at this St. Paul church to discuss the Millennium Development Goals  (MDGs) and how the church should respond to the call to support needs in the developing world.  Amid the dialogue, the idea to focus a campaign on a liturgical season arose and under the leadership of Kathie Culhane-Pera, Christina Boyd-Smith, Dan Edgerton, Renee Campion, Richard Laffin, and Marsha Smith, the MDG committee members have utilized the intentionality of Lent to broaden the congregations understanding and participation in MDG efforts.

In preparation, five members of St. Clements attended a pilot project training sponsored last January by the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota. The training included leadership teams from other Minnesota Episcopal congregations as well as individuals from South Carolina and Georgia. Throughout the weekend, participants gained in-depth knowledge about the MDGs and practiced their own personal narrative – their story, based in their individual history and beliefs, about why the MDGs are important to them.

After the training weekend, the Leadership Team reconnected at St. Clement’s and a campaign was formed to embrace a sustained, multi-level approach to generating congregation-wide MDG support.

First, they set the goal of receiving pledges from half of the average Sunday attendance to commit 0.7% of their household income to MDGs. The Leadership Team sponsored five adult forums, each with a different focus. The Rev. Grant Abbott, Episcopal priest and Director of the St. Paul Area Council of Churches, provided an international perspective, members facilitated conversations based on books by Muhammad Yunus and Jeffrey Sachs, and, in the final week of Lent, the youth group presented on the ways they have engaged the MDGs.

To keep the MDGs present in the minds of the wider community, the parish hall was transformed with intriguing and creative array of posters, displays, and a special rice “vessel” to chart the progress on MDG pledges.

The MDGs have been preached from the pulpit, as well. The Rev. Beth Royalty, Rector of St. Clement’s, focused several sermons on the Gospel imperative to alleviate poverty and the Rev. Devon Anderson, who has spearheaded the MDG effort in Minnesota, served as a guest preacher. Additionally, Leadership Team members presented their personal narrative every Sunday during Lent.

Recognizing that oftentimes support for a particular mission comes through individual contact and learning opportunities, several key members hosted house parties during which there were informal conversations about the nature of poverty and what it means to support the MDGs.

Now at the close of Lent, the St. Clement’s community will undertake a collective decision-making process to determine which international programs and/or communities to support with the funds raised. Undoubtedly, as well, there will be much conversation about how to continue to capture the newfound momentum.

St. Clement’s annually commits 0.7% of its budget to MDG projects. Last year, $600 was donated to Episcopal Relief and Development, $600 to Feed My Starving Children, and $1,600 to the Fonkoze Family Branch Network, which provides microloans in Haiti.