THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE ADVOCATE & HAITI
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
THE ADVOCATE TITHE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
At the Church of the Advocate we take the Gospel
seriously.
We take seriously the Good News of God in Jesus
-- Jesus, who loved and engaged with the poor,
the sick and the outcast. Jesus, who in his parting
words to the church called his followers to do
the same. Jesus, who by his death and resurrection,
made possible a way of life that liberates us
all from the brokenness and bondage that this
world and its systems try to enforce.
As a new congregation, we were given the name
Advocate. The Advocate, named for Jesus
who is our way to God and God's ways. The Advocate,
named for the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to
knit our wills to God's will and our spirits to
God's Spirit. The Advocate, named for the ministry
to which we are called in our baptism ---
-- to seek and serve Christ in all persons,
-- to strive for justice and peace among all people,
-- to respect the dignity of every human being.
And so, from the start, we have been a congregation
that takes seriously the Gospel and takes seriously
the call to engage with the world in which we
live, especially on behalf of the poor, the sick
and the oppressed.
And rather than use the word outreach, which
suggests that somehow we are the haves who are
reaching out to the have-nots, we use the word
engaging, which emphasizes that we are all in
need of one another in order to be whole.
We try to make this plain in our hospitality
Sunday by Sunday -- that God brings us together
from our varied households, our varied stages
and phases of life and faith and doubt, and we
gather here as the people of God, each one precious
in God's eye.
We try to make this plain in our Advocate Tithe
-- through which 10% of any funds pledged or given
in the plate offering each week is then given
to the work of the Gospel in the community and
world around us -- always in ways that engage
People of the Advocate, if not corporately, then
individually.
And individually, the People of the Advocate
are certainly engaged in many, many ways.
But we also look for avenues for corporate community
engagement -- the community engagement, not of
the People of the Advocate, but of the Church
of the Advocate.
This is challenging for several reasons, three
in particular:
First, we are new, and it has taken a lot of
effort just to get us organized for worship and
the nurture of our own community
Second, we are small, and there are many things
that need to be done by a few people -- again,
just to keep us going, week by week,
Third, we are community of individuals who are
already doing a LOT in the world, and time is
scarce.
Nonetheless, we realize that there is much to
be gained by engaging as a community:
First, we are called to do so by our Lord and
by our Baptism
Second, it is a way for us to witness to Christ's
saving love and to make it known. Christians should
be known for their compassion and their passion
for justice.
Third, it strengthens us as a community.
Beginning in September 2006, the People of the
Advocate began a process of engaging with the
people of Club Nova, a program for chronically
severely mentally ill adults in Carrboro. Our
engagement included participation together in
workshops and programs, moving members of Club
Nova into their new apartments, sharing meals
together, and more.
In early 2007, the Advocate began to explore
the possibility of engaging with the people of
St. Innocents, a congregation and school on La
Gonave Island in Haiti. International engagement
in truly challenging and truly rewarding, and
we look forward to building on the relationships
begun.
How we engage as a community depends largely
on the passions of individuals within the community.
As such, our engagement will change with time,
and with the particular people leading with their
particular passions.
But always we will be a People of the Advocate
-- called to engage with the community and world
around us, called to make known God's compassion,
God's justice, and the transformation that is
ours in Christ.
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THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE ADVOCATE & HAITI
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
THE ADVOCATE TITHE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The
Millenium Development Goals, the Advocate &
Haiti
 The Millenium
Development Goals, initially
estblished by the United Nations, have been adopted
by the Episcopal Church, the Dicoese of North
Carolina, and the Epiepscopal Church of the Advocate.
Among other things, the MDGs ask governments,
organizations, and individuals to donate 0.7%
of their income to indiviudals or organizations
in developing countries of the world. The Advocate
will do this through our Advocate Tithe, this
year giving 10% of the Tithe, 1% of our pledged
and plate offering, to St. Innocents School and
Church on La Gonave Island in Haiti. Individuals
and households of the Advocate can give all or
part of their own MDG donation this year to St.
Innocents, by writting checks to ECOTA with a
memo for Haiti Partnership. Funds
will be wired to Haiti in April, June, October
and December.
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THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE ADVOCATE & HAITI
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
THE ADVOCATE TITHE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Feed
the Hungry
Each
Sunday, as we gather for worship at the Church
of the Advocate, we bring offerings of food for
those who are hungry in Orange County.
The food we collect is delivered to the InterFaith
Council in Carrboro for distribution.
We collect and offer food each week in response
to the clear imperative of our Lord that we should
feed the hungry. We also do it each week as a
reminder to ourselves – and as a symbol
in our liturgy - that the life and work of the
church does not end with our Sunday worship. Rather,
through our Sunday worship, as we experience God’s
reconciliation and God’s restorative justice
and love, we are called to carry that reconciliation
and restorative justice and love out into the
world and make it known.
Though each of us may not bring a food offering
each week, as a congregation we do make this offering
weekly. We invite you, as you are able, to consider
buying an extra can or box of food to offer in
the Sunday worship. As that food is offered at
the altar, may it serve as a reminder, as a discipline,
for us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
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THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE ADVOCATE & HAITI
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
THE ADVOCATE TITHE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The
Advocate Tithe
Each
year, the Episcopal Church of the Advocate is
committed to giving a minimum of 10% of our pledged
income and plate offering received each Sunday
to organizations in the community. In other words,
for every $10 given, $1 will be given to those
in need and those working for peace and justice
in the world. This offering is called the Advocate
Tithe for Community Engagement. Distribution of
the Advocate Tithe is determined at the recommendation
of the Community Engagement Group.
We
distributed $9,000 in 2006. The groups to which
we contributed include the following:
LOCAL
Club Nova, which provides mental health services
Interfaith Council
Project Compassion
Achievement Academy
STATE/NATIONAL
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
Mennonite Disaster Relief in gratitude for their
example of forgiveness
Southern Poverty Law Center
Habitat for Humanity
INTERNATIONAL
Education in Uganda
The Carter Center
Procedures
for Requesting Support
- A form
entitled
"Proposal for Support from the Episcopal
Church of the Advocate" is available
to the congregation and members of the community
who would like to request support from the church—whether
that support be in the form of volunteer labor
or logistical help, advocacy work, financial
assistance, or other support from the church.
- Completed
forms may be sent to the church at: Episcopal
Church of the Advocate, P.O. Box 9, Carrboro,
NC, 27510; left in the collection plate at a
church service; or emailed to cei@ouradvocate.org.
- Proposals
will be evaluated by how closely they match
the guiding principles for community engagement
developed by the group, as well as the priorities
for giving and involvement identified annually
by the congregation.
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THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE ADVOCATE & HAITI
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
THE ADVOCATE TITHE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Guiding
Principles for Community Engagement at
the Church of the Advocate
Decisions
about supporting proposals are made by consensus
among those present at meetings of the Community
Engagement group. All proposals for financial
or other support will be reviewed and approved
on the basis of their fulfillment of our guiding
principles, as well as in accordance with the
rules and restrictions delineated in the Rules
and Restrictions document.
In our decisions about how to engage with the
community around us, we prefer to:
- Direct
at least 50% of our financial and other support
to projects and organizations with a local impact.
- Support
projects that give voice to people who are marginalized
and have very little voice.
- Provide
not only financial support, but also the time
and talent of members of the congregation.
- Support
projects in which members of the congregation
are already involved.
- Support
projects and organizations that are accountable,
sustainable, and willing to teach us about their
outcomes.
- Support
projects and organizations that are willing
to send representatives to visit and help educate
the congregation about their issues of concern.
- Support
groups that promote change, as well as those
that meet direct needs.
RULES
AND RESTRICTIONS DOCUMENT
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THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, THE ADVOCATE & HAITI
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
THE ADVOCATE TITHE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
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