Episcopal Press and News
UTO Grants For $1.9 Million Approved
Episcopal News Service. November 15, 1979 [79357]
DENVER -- The women of the Episcopal Church, at their triennial meeting here in September, approved 82 United Thank Offering grants in the amount of $1,917,789.47.
The money is divided about evenly between domestic and overseas projects.
Grants for social outreach projects include prison ministry, programs for the elderly, hospices, violence-to-people concerns, and crisis intervention. Grants also fund youth, educational programs, construction projects, agricultural endeavors, etc.
The largest grant goes to the Diocese of Alaska in the amount of $75,000 for a multi-purpose building at St. Francis by the Sea in Kenai. The smallest, for $1,600, is to provide a discretionary fund for women missionaries.
The recipients of the UTO grants are all over the world, from a hospice in Florida to a girls' hostel in Korea.
The United Thank Offering is 90 years old in 1979 and a birthday celebration took place at the Triennial Meeting of the Women of the Episcopal Church in Denver while the General Convention was in session.
Over the years, Church women have dropped coins into little blue boxes for any thankfulness, large or small, during the year. More recently, men have been encouraged to participate as well. The funds collected in this modest way are impressive.
In the last three years the offering has reached $5 million. At the Denver meeting, the offerings were received at a special Convention Eucharist on Sept. 16.
A United Thank Offering screening committee receives grant requests and the final decisions were left to Triennial delegates.
The offering for 1979 was $1,763,695.27, which was added to income from interest and reallocated funds, for the $1.9 million total.
The approved grants are as follows:
- ALASKA, Kenai, $75,000 -- St. Francis by the Sea multi-purpose building: toward building the first Episcopal Church in the Kenai region, a rapidly developing area because of its proximity to the terminus of the Alaska pipeline.
- CALIFORNIA, Brentwood, $20,000 for two years -- Christian Counseling Center: a matching grant to support a ministry with Hispanic people in Costra County, California, emphasizing evangelism, education, worship and service.
- CALIFORNIA, San Francisco, $14,000 -- Good Samaritan Community Center: toward renovation of an old building which houses a multitude of ecumenical programs for Native and Hispanic Americans.
- NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, Sacramento, $9,000 -- Episcopal Community Services: a matching grant for a program training volunteers to run a new 24-hour "hotline" for ex-offenders.
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Santo Domingo, $22,000 -- Episcopal University Center for Young Men: toward an addition to the men's hostel that will provide a kitchen, study hall and library, and living quarters for a director.
- MATABELELAND, Gwelo, Rhodesia, $20,000 -- to help this black Anglican mission congregation build a rectory for their locally supported priest; the congregation has built the church.
- COSTA RICA, Guacimo, $12,000 -- toward the repair and renovation of the old Holy Cross mission house/parish hall, so a resident priest can return to this agricultural area.
- EL SALVADOR, San Salvador, $40,400 -- toward the purchase of land and the building of three small chapels in the rural missions, a visible aid to the social development program of the diocese.
- GUATEMALA, Gualan, $14,500 -- an additional grant to meet increased building costs caused by delay in beginning construction of the church for lack of building materials after the 1976 earthquake.
- HONDURAS, Puerto Cortez, $49,000 -- toward a new church building in this rapidly developing coastal town, with the space vacated by the old worship center to be converted to classrooms for the bilingual school.
- CONNECTICUT, Bridgeport, $17,200 -- Episcopal Social Services/Family Resource Center: budget support for three volunteer training programs to expand the services of this diocesan ministry to families.
- WASHINGTON, $9,500 -- St. Barnabas Mission to the Deaf: program support to allow this mission congregation to assess the needs and extend its ministry to deaf people in the inner city.
- KUCHING, Malaysia, $8,700 -- Lay Catechist Training Course: to train 14 lay catechists who will live in the remote country villages and assist parish priests who can only visit their many congregations occasionally.
- BUSAN, Masan Korea, $33,000 -- St. Michael's Girls Hostel: toward the building of a permanent hostel for underprivileged young women who come to the city to find factory work to support themselves while they complete school.
- SOUTHEAST FLORIDA, Miami, $40,000 -- The Church of the Ascension Building Project: toward a new worship center to accommodate the growing multi-racial congregation whose new membership is primarily Jamaican immigrants.
- SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, Clearwater, $5,000 -- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Hospice: to allow for the expansion of the hs piece service to families with terminally ill children.
- BUJUMBURA, Burundi, $69,000 -- to supplement local funds for building the first Anglican church in the capital city of this French-speaking African nation.
- BUKAVU, Zaire, $20,000 -- to complete the interior of the only Anglican church in the diocesan center of this new and rapidly growing diocese.
- LUSITANIAN CHURCH, Mem-Martins, Portugal, $25,400 -- to help this growing congregation purchase a storefront building in a working class community where there are no other churches of any denomination.
- DELHI, Pahewa, $6,250 -- Pahewa multi-purpose building project: to supplement the funds of a group of Christians in this small rural town, so they can build a worship/ community center, aiding their outreach to villages in the region.
- JERUSALEM & THE MIDDLE EAST - Province, $11,000 -- partial program support for a provincial continuing education training program for the clergy of this new and far-flung province.
- KANSAS, Topeka, $20,000 -- Carriage House Van Project: a new model of ministry to young people -- counseling from a mobile van at shopping centers -- will continue while on-going local funding is sought and a method for sharing this model is developed.
- LOUISIANA, New Orleans, $25,000 -- Grace House Multi-Ethnic Children's Program: to assist with building repairs and renovation so that this program for disabled children will not be closed by the State Licensing Bureau.
- MISSOURI, St. Louis, $24,000 -- to purchase a storefront building threatened by urban redevelopment, enabling its ecumenical service programs to continue in this inner-city community.
- NAVAJOLAND EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Monument Valley, Utah, $25,000 -- St. Mary of the Moonlight Mission: to provide a house for the retiring mission staff, which will enable transfer of the title of the mission property to the church and guarantee continuation of this ministry.
- NEWARK, New Jersey, $5,000 -- The North Porch Women's Center: to expand this ministry with women of the inner-city by bringing back successful women who have broken the pattern of poverty and despair.
- CENTRAL NEW YORK, Watertown, $20,000 -- Watertown Urban Mission: a matching grant for an ecumenically developed program to train young ex-offenders in job skills which can provide them immediate employment in the community.
- NIGERIA, Ibadan -- Province, $10,000 -- to assist in the purchase of equipment for the office of this province, newly formed in February, 1979.
- OKLAHOMA, Oklahoma City, $20,000 -- Indian Extension Education Project: Episcopal participation in an ecumenical program for Indian leadership, training men and women to serve in church related organizations and programs.
- EASTERN OREGON, Burns, $10,000 -- Harney County Child Care building renovation: assistance with necessary building repair, so as to augment an early childhood education program for multi-ethnic low income families.
- OREGON, Eugene/Springfield, $10,000 -- Sponsors, Inc.: toward expansion of a community based program sending volunteers as ministers to and with prisoners and their families.
- PENNSYLVANIA, Philadelphia, $10,000 -- Voyage House, Inc.: toward purchase of much needed equipment and furnishings for this program which helps disturbed inner-city youngsters learn to become productive self-supporting adults.
- NORTHERN PHILIPPINES, Sagada, $42,000 -- St. Mary's Episcopal School re-building: to assist in the replacement of nine classrooms which were lost when the entire school was destroyed by fire in 1975.
- SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES, Cotabato City, $50,000 -- Multi-purpose Diocesan Center: toward a diocesan center for holding meetings and training events, including a cafeteria, drug store and grocery which will provide the diocese with income toward self-support.
- RIO GRANDE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, $10,000 -- Vehicle for priest-trainer: for an all-weather vehicle which will enable a priest-trainer to develop local lay talent which, in turn, will provide continuing leadership in three small mission congregations.
- DAMARALAND, Windhoek, Namibia, $14,500 -- Refresher course for church workers: a continuing education program that will better equip 20 clergy and 70 lay workers in serving the rapidly growing numbers of Africans who wish to become committed Christians.
- CENTRAL BRASIL, Rio de Janeiro, $30,000 -- toward the purchase of office and classroom space to train more clergy and lay workers locally in a diocesan theological education program.
- SOUTHERN BRASIL, Arrarangua Beach, $7,000 -- St. Francis of Assisi Chapel: matching funds toward the building of a simply chapel in a low-income vacation area, which is a mission and evangelism project of Christ the Redeemer parish.
- CHILE & BOLIVIA, Santiago, Chile, $24,000 -- Iglesia Las Condes multipurpose church hall: toward a multi-purpose church building for a congregation that has far outgrown the meeting space in parishioners' homes.
- COLOMBIA, Bogota, $10,000 -- Capellania multi-functional building: to furnish a building where the diocese and the government, in partnership, plan to serve the social needs of low-income people in a large housing complex.
- ECUADOR, Guayaquil, $45,000 -- toward a permanent chapel in a new low-income government housing development on landfill at the edge of the Cuayas river.
- SOUTH DAKOTA, Rapid City, $20,000 -- St. Matthew's Rectory: toward the purchase of a new house to replace the rectory, which has been condemned.
- SOUTH PACIFIC ANGLICAN COUNCIL, $50,000 for two years -- Training of indigenous leadership: program support to continue the development of training programs for indigenous church leaders in theology, administration and planning in the Provinces of Melanesia, Papua New Guinea and the Diocese of Polynesia.
- SUDAN, Juba, $23,000 -- Bishop Cwynne College building repairs: to help repair college buildings destroyed during the civil war. Classes have continued, although buildings lacked roofs and windows.
- WESTERN TANGANYIKA, Kasulil, $17,200 -- Bus for new mission strategy: to purchase a small bus for a team of evangelists who travel throughout the diocese and lead Christian teaching seminars.
- DALLAS, $6,000 -- St. Philip's Community Center equipment: toward the purchase of playground equipment for this neighborhood center in a South Dallas ghetto.
- WEST TEXAS, San Antonio, $22,500 -- Good Samaritan Center building renovation: to match local funds for a renovation program which will provide a more economical and efficient use of space for the many intercultural programs serving the community.
- SOUTH DAKOTA, Lead, $16,000 for two years -- Thunderhead Episcopal Center program expansion: budget support for the initial stage of a program expanding the Center's work from three to twelve months.
- EAST ANKOLE, Mbarara, $35,000 for two years -- Ruharo Development Project: to supplement local funds for a rural development training program that encourages use of local resources in a diocese severely affected by the recent war.
- WEST ANKOLE, Bushenyi, $26,000 -- Diocesan Youth Training Center: toward building materials for a rural job training center for young people desperately in need of employment-skills training in this new diocese.
- UTAH, Salt Lake City, $8,400 -- St. Mark's tower ministry: to help establish a ministry of concern for the new inhabitants, the elderly and handicapped, of this lowincome apartment facility as they adjust to changed living patterns.
- VERMONT, Bristol, $10,000 -- Tap Water Project: to purchase equipment for the installation of a sanitary water supply in the homes of low-income, elderly rural families.
- SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA, St. Paul, $14,500 -- Grace House Training Center: toward the repair and renovation of a training center building which serves inhabitants of this Appalachia community.
- VIRGINIA, Richmond, $20,000 for two years -- Richmond Domestic Violence Project: partial start-up budget support for a counseling and referral program for families who experience a crisis of domestic violence.
- SPOKANE, Sunnyside, $15,000 -- Lower Valley Hospice: partial program support for a hospice ministry to terminally ill patients in a rural community which draws heavily on the professional skills of local volunteers.
- LIBERIA, Eolahun, $22,000 for two years -- Bolahun Agricultural Project: toward the initial costs of developing an income-producing coffee and cocoa farm which will support the Episcopal school to educate children in this remote rural area.
- SIERRA LEONE, Freetown, $18,000 for three years -- Theological Training Program: to provide local training of indigenous church leaders who will live and minister in communities where there is a strong Muslim influence.
- BARBADOS, $37,500 -- Codrington College Tutor's house: to build one of the three new tutor's houses needed at this provincial theological training center.
- BELIZE, Belize City, $15,000 for two years -- Youth Center Program: budget support to initiate a youth training program at the new Diocesan Education Center, in a country where half the population is under the age of 15.
- WINDWARD ISLANDS, St. Vincents, $50,000 -- Diocesan office: to assist in the building of a diocesan office since all previous administrative work has been done in a 16 x 25 foot space in the bishop's garage.
- FOND DU LAC, Plymouth, $20,000 -- partial help toward rebuilding a parish church destroyed by lightning; both the parish and diocese have contributed substantially but could not completely underwrite the construction.
- Appalachian Peoples Service Organization, $50,000 -- a block grant to fund community service projects in the 13 dioceses that participate ecumenically through the Commission on Religion in Appalachia.
- APSO Intramont Program, $7,500 -- partial funding for phase II of this cooperative ministry, a training program which emphasizes local congregational development.
- Center for Constitutional Rights, $5,000 -- Women's Self Defense Law Project: to assist in the development of written and audio-visual tools to train attorneys representing women who have defended themselves against physical and sexual assault.
- Coalition 14, $15,000 -- Tri-Diocesan Demonstration Project: to supplement local resources in three C-14 dioceses as they conduct a diocesan development program to move toward greater self-sufficiency.
- Episcopal Church Building Fund, $50,000 -- Barrier-free loan fund: to match loan monies raised by the Building Fund for the use of Episcopal congregations and organizations in creating barrier-free buildings.
- Lay Missionary Pension Supplement, $50,000 -- to assist in the payment of retirement supplements to lay missionaries who served both domestically and overseas, many of whom are former UTO workers.
- National Commission on Hispanic Ministries, $30,000 for two years -- Episcopal Hymnal in Spanish: partial funding for the development of a Spanish hymnal and to insure that Province IX representatives can participate in producing the manuscript.
- National Council of Churches/Mission Medical Office, $20,000 for two years -- Education in International Health: to assist in the development of an education and orientation program for church-related workers preparing to serve abroad.
- Resource Center for Small Churches, $10,000 for two years -- "Seedlings" Curriculum for small congregations: to further develop and expand distribution of a new Christian education curriculum for small congregations.
- Retiring Fund for Women in the Diaconate, $3,500 -- to help supplement retirement assistance to women in the diaconate (deaconesses) who were ordained before 1970.
- Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, $15,000 for two years -- Spanish language studies program: partial support for intensive Spanish language and cultural study experience for selected seminary staff, preparing them to serve in the new Hispanic ministry.
- United Thank Offering Scholarships
- Scholarship program to train women from overseas dioceses as indigenous leaders in their home countries: $55,000.
- Scholarship assistance for the training of American men and women who are asked to serve the church overseas: $25,000.
- United Thank Offering Contingency Fund, $20,000 -- for small emergency grants to UTO building projects that cannot be completed because of unanticipated cost increases.
- Incidental Expenses for Women Missionaries, $1,600 -- to provide each year a payment of $200 for the discretionary spending of each appointed woman missionary.
- Interpretive Materials, $57,000 (about 3 percent of the offering) -- for the production and distribution of United Thank Offering interpretive materials that can only be created nationally.
- Discretionary Fund, $139.47 -- a modest fund for responding to small needs that come to the attention of the United Thank Offering coordinator.
| Total Offering | $ 1,763,695.27 |
| Interest | 140,394.20 |
| Reallocated Funds | 13,700.00 |
| $1,917,789.47 |