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Most of the headlines from the recently completed General Convention of the Episcopal Church were about the strained relationships
among the churches in the Anglican Communion and our varied interpretations about the inclusion of women and of gay and lesbian
Christians in our church life and leadership. But the less reported real star of the Convention was the vision for ending
world poverty in this generation.
The commitment our church made to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) was the centerpiece of the meeting. We made
the MDG's the number one mission priority during the next three years. The church appropriated an additional $1,326,000 to
new MDG related ministries and committed more than 0.7% of its budget. The 0.7% goal has been a byword of the MDG movement.
During noonday prayers one day, a chaplain led the convention in an exercise of snapping our fingers every three seconds.
Every three seconds a child dies as a consequence of extreme poverty. On Friday, people of all ages worked together to help
build a colorful cross out of 10,200 popsicle sticks as a tribute to the number of children who would die of extreme poverty
that day from the beginning of that morning's Eucharist until the end of the legislative session. People stopped to take
pictures of the work in progress and to have conversations about its purpose. My friend Mike Kinman of St. Louis who helped
coordinate the MDG effort told about a family with two small children, aged 5 and 6, who stopped to watch the popsicle cross's
construction. The parents explained very carefully to the children what the cross meant. The six-year old took it all in,
looked at the sign explaining about the cross. His eyes got wide and he said softly, to no one in particular, "This
is the coolest thing I've ever seen."
Kathy Gray, whose husband is the Bishop of Mississippi, organized a group to raise awareness about the 500,000 women who
die each year of complications from pregnancy and childbirth. More than 50 women gathered, each with a picture of a child
dear to them. Kathy told her story of their Sudanese foster daughter Tabitha, whose mother died giving birth to her younger
sister. The women then read two children's books in unison. As they read, after each line a woman would drop-out, tape the
picture of her child on a nearby window and leave. At the end of the event, all that was left was a wall of children's pictures,
no mothers, and an unfinished story.
At the Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation booth you could plan an online, interactive video game that gives players
a glimpse of what it's like to be a refugee in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players take on the role of refugees searching
for food, shelter and safety, while avoiding the wrath of the murderous Janjaweed militia. Try it yourself at www.darfurisdying.com.
One evening the Global Reconciliation group sponsored a U2-Eucharist featuring the music of MDG-proponent Bono and messages
about our world wide interdependence. Hundreds tried to get in to a ballroom that was filled to its fire-code maximum.
All of this effort was to raise consciousness about the consequences of extreme poverty and about the hopeful realization
that we are the first generation in history to have both the means and the technology to end extreme poverty. The Millennium
Development Goals are measurable, attainable goals that will do just that, if we only have the willingness to carry them out:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Create a global partnership for development with targets for aid, trade and debt relief. (read the details on-line
at www.un.org/millenniumgoals)
We can lift more than 500 million people out of extreme poverty and save more than 300 million who are hungry. The cost?
If every developed country would contribute 0.7% of its budget to MDG efforts, it would underwrite the needed work. The
money is within the bounds of the official development assistance that donor countries have already promised. Many individuals
and organizations are getting ahead of governmental goals by taking the 0.7% pledge and giving to groups like Arkansas' Heifer
International that do development work around the world.
To learn more, I recommend economist Jeffrey Sachs' book "The End of Poverty." I don't think it is a coincidence
that Sachs' world map of extreme poverty closely resembles former Naval War College staffer Thomas P.M. Barnett's map charting
the world's hot-spots where the U.S. has needed to commit military forces. Poverty breeds the insecurities that spark violence.
It is an interesting time when economists, ethicists, and defense strategists are agreeing that the most effective investment
we can make is to help people gain a foothold on the ladder of development. The Millennium Development Goals are a map to
do just that in our generation.
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