She has a dream!

[The Crawfords]

Hi folks, I know we each receive ridiculous amounts of email and if you're like me you like to average about 10 to 15 seconds on each, but please consider the following an invitation from West Epping UCA in NSW to join with us in an exciting new venture. But first, the story.... One of our young mum's by the name of Sarah White has experienced a vision for a new initiative called 'Lent Event'.  She experienced the vision after watching an ABC report into child poverty in Africa a couple of months back.  In her vision she feels very strongly that God has called her to initiate Lent Event and we have been working over recent months to gather a committed team around her to make it become a reality. But what is this Lent Event?  Well, put simply, people participate in Lent Event by giving up something they don’t need to help those in need, and from the blurb we've developed comes the following... Lent Event Mission Lent Event is a community movement resolved to live out God’s mission to eradicate poverty and bring new life, hope and futures to the world’s neediest people. Lent Event Philosophy The Lent Event philosophy is to inform, motivate and involve privileged communities in the practice of forgoing something they enjoy during the Lenten period and giving the monetary value to the world’s neediest people. Vision for Growth It is our prayer that Lent Event will expand continuously as growing numbers of community groups take part in the event. It is set to become a popular global movement that inspires individuals to participate and draws communities together. Lent Event Values We believe that…… ·        all people are loved by God. ·        God’s gifts are to be shared with others. ·        being of service to others is the key to fulfilment. We value…... ·        prayer and spiritual reflection. ·        love and respect as the foundation for relationships. ·        the environment and the long term future of our world. ·        self-determination for local communities. ·        empowerment of individuals and communities. ·        efficiency and reproducibility of operations. ·        accountability and transparent management of funds. ·        integrity in all endeavours. ·        full and honest communication. We support projects that…… ·        support the most needy communities. ·        have the greatest beneficial impact on communities. ·        create long term sustainability for communities. <>                              ·        have tangible, achievable outcomes Because Lent Event invites participants to ‘do with less’ rather than to ‘give more’, it need not be regarded as an extra financial demand upon people, nor to be in ‘competition’ with existing projects within your congregation. Gifts will be tax deductible. So, if you've made it this far, firstly, thanks a bundle, and secondly would your community be interested in partnering with us as we launch our first Lent Event experience next easter season (2005)? The projects that will be supported next year will be through Uniting Church Overseas Aid and in 2005, Lent Event will be working through local Church communities to support needy families in three locations: ·        West Timor – a project of ‘micro-credit’ – small loans for poor people, especially women, giving them opportunity to establish viable, ongoing businesses to support themselves and their children ·        South India – establishing preschools amongst marginalised tribal communities which provide nutritional meals, clothing and health care as well as education for children and their mothers ·        West Papua – mobile health clinics and education programs to address the crisis situation in the transmission of HIV/AIDS with infection rates now the 4th highest in the world <>But wait - there's more! Lent Event is more than just another ‘good cause’ to support. We believe it can become a powerful tool for forming Christian disciples, for deepening spirituality and for raising awareness as it seeks to integrate our faith with our everyday living. We will supply participating communities with resources for use during the season of Lent including prayers, worship ideas and materials for small groups and Bible study. There will be simple resources to remind participants of what they are doing throughout Lent, and why they are doing it. So, if you're still with me, and you're interested in some more information, please reply to this email or get in touch with us at West Epping Uniting Church on 02) 9868 3574. Thanks for giving me more than 15 seconds of your time - I really appreciate it and welcome any feedback you have on any part of our plans for Lent Event. :-) Kent