2020 in Review: Stories of Lasting Change

“Ash Wednesday is a reminder that we are fashioned from dust, and to dust we will return. However, children are a reminder that a whole lot happens between those dusty bookends, and while we are on this Earth, we have work to do – and we can’t always do it alone,“ wrote Chad Brinkman, Director, Campaigns.

Since 2016, we’ve partnered with the Anglican Diocesan Disaster and Relief Organization (ADDRO), the relief and development arm of the Diocese of Tamale, to assist in the formation of 142 savings groups in Ghana with 3,249 members, of whom 2,971 are women. Together these groups have saved $86,673! Mike Smith, Major Gifts Officer, wrote about the formation of one of these groups in Northern Ghana called “Asongtaaba,” which means “we help each other.”

Dr. Chiseche Mibenge, Director, Gender Initiatives joined Episcopal Relief & Development in 2019. In this Q&A, she shares how a chance meeting with a bishop drew her away from a twenty-year career in academia to a staff role at Episcopal Relief & Development. 

In what we now look back on as the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Sean McConnell, Senior Director of Engagement, reflected on how Easter reminds us that Jesus made his ultimate sacrifice out of love for others and that it is our love and sacrifices that will get us through this time.

For National Volunteer Week, Kat Milligan, Program Officer for Engagement, wrote about how her work with volunteers allows her to see the best in humanity.

What is the role of a faith leader amidst the COVID-19 pandemic? Inspired by Saint Basil the Great, an early fourth-century Christian leader known for his love of the poor and underprivileged, Miguel Escobar, Executive Director of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and board member of Episcopal Relief & Development, offered his insight on the moral role faith leaders have today.

“If we are people that believe and aspire to be a just and loving society, we have a role to play in creating and building it.” – Lura Steele, Program Officer, Episcopal Relief & Development. In September, we sat down with our U.S. Disaster Program Officers to discuss how disasters are changing and who is most affected.

As all of our staff adjusted to working remotely in 2020, many looked to make small environmental adjustments in their personal lives just as we do in our programs. We collected 10 simple tips for how to go green at home. 

For Thanksgiving, Josephine Hicks, Vice President of Episcopal Church Programs, took time to reflect on all we have to be grateful for this year especially for all essential workers, our program partners and those whose financial support makes this work possible.

“As we bid farewell to 2020, there cannot be many of us who look back on the year with unalloyed joy,” wrote Rob Radtke, President & CEO at Episcopal Relief & Development in his New Year reflection. “But…despair is not an option.”