Global Mission Committee

A Mandate

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, has challenged the denomination to become companions with others around the world and to love and care for one another.  Both challenges are rooted in Jesus’ response in the parable of the good Samaritan to the question: “Who is my neighbor?”

The Global Mission Committee is charged by the Chapel of the Cross with representing the parish in work outside the United States.  The committee pursues engagement with the global initiatives of the Episcopal Church, builds partnerships across geographic and cultural boundaries, and shares in the presence and work of Christ in the world.

This commitment to mission is linked with the Chapel of the Cross’s support for the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight objectives endorsed by the United Nations, the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, and other faith communities.  These goals are a framework for addressing challenges facing the world’s poorest nations.

Our International Relationships

Honduras

This nation is one of the poorest in the western hemisphere.  UNICEF reports the illiteracy rate at 16 percent and an infant mortality rate of 25 percent.  The Global Mission Committee has sent several mission teams to Honduras beginning with a 2006 trip to El Hogar orphanage and school at Tegucigalpa, a recipient of Chapel of the Cross funding.  In 2007, a three-year partnership was established with Iglesia San Patricio, a new Episcopal congregation in the agricultural town of El Progreso.  This partnership was renewed for two additional years in 2010.  Support from the Chapel of the Cross was integral to construction of the church at San Patricio and helps sustain its ongoing ministry.  Also in 2010, support was begun for La Esperanza de Jesus, a children’s home and supporting farm in the town of El Venado.  Much of the Global Mission Committee’s work in Honduras has resulted from the generous financial support of Chapel of the Cross parishioners Henry and Blanche Clark. Recognition of Blanche Clark, May 15, 2011.

South Africa

The Chapel of the Cross contributes to Kwasa Centre, a school linked to St. Peter and St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Springs, South Africa.  Most of the students attending Kwasa are from a nearby settlement of some 20,000 people created during South Africa’s apartheid era.  Some of the children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.  Indeed, some of the children themselves are infected.  In 2007, a delegation from the Parish of St. Peter and St. Paul and Kwasa Centre visited the Chapel of the Cross.  Two members of the Global Mission Committee visited Kwasa in 2010. 

Other Countries

The Chapel of the Cross shares the enthusiasm of our diocesan bishop, Michael Curry, for the Nets for Life initiative designed to combat malaria in Africa.  We have a parish goal of providing 1,600 mosquito nets for this project by the end of 2011.  The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and the Anglican Diocese of the African nation of Botswana established a companion link for ministry in 2008.  In 2010, two parishioners from the Chapel of the Cross visited Botswana and helped lead adult and youth workshops for clergy and church leaders on HIV/AIDS. 

Former Chapel of the Cross parishioner, Cameron Graham Vivanco and her husband Roberto Vivanco, serve as missionaries in Quito, Ecuador, working with Youth World.  Their ecumenical program trains youth leaders for service in Ecuador and other parts of Latin America.  The Vivancos are co-sponsored by the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, and International Teams, a non-denominational missionary agency.

Following the devastating Haitian earthquake in 2010, contributions were begun to Episcopal Relief and Development earmarked for that nation.  Other contributions to Haiti have supported the reforestation of barren and erodible land to improve self-sufficiency among people in rural areas.

Scheduled Events

August 28, 2011, Honduras Mission Trip Program
Members of the May 2011 mission trip to Honduras will relate with stories, music, slides, and video, their experiences working at La Esperanza de Jesus children's home and our sister parish of San Patricio.  10:20 a.m. in the parlor. 

October 30, 2011, Missionaries Kim and Mike Miller
Join us for an evening meal, fellowship, and inspiring stories by Kim and Mike Miller about their work at El Venado, Honduras where they established the Hope of Jesus Children's Home (La Esperanza de Jesus).  More details about this event will be forthcoming.
 

Mission Trips

Members of the Global Mission Committee and other Chapel of the Cross parishioners periodically go on mission trips to establish and affirm companion relationships with other dioceses, parishes, and missionaries.  These companionships, based upon the concept of growing together as equals, form the basis of a common community in Christ.

2011 Honduras Mission Trip (videos)

Committee Meetings

The Global Mission Committee normally meets on the first Monday of each month, September through June, at 7:30 pm in the rector’s conference room.  Meetings may be scheduled at other times and places as circumstances require.