PWRDF, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, has numerous ways of informing us about its work and inviting us to participate in alleviating human need in Canada and around the world. These include: inserts in Anglican Life, articles by Diocesan Reps, video highlights on the PWRDF website, PWRDF educational webinars, the “World of Gifts” brochure, and online worship sessions called “Praying with PWRDF.”
“Praying with PWRDF” is a one-hour monthly opportunity to gather online with others to become better informed and pray for the work of PWRDF. Each Zoom gathering features a land acknowledgement, prayers, scripture readings, music, reflections from PWRDF partners, volunteers, or clergy, with opportunity for discussion. These sessions are particularly valuable for learning about the issues we need to consider “as we journey towards a truly just, healthy, and peaceful world.”
Recent presentations include one in December 2023 by Dr. Rachel Mash of Cape Town, South Africa, the environmental coordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, a movement known as Green Anglicans. One of Rachel’s concerns is about access to clean water, as its absence leads to high infant mortality rates and a higher incidence of water-borne diseases.
In her presentation, Rachel asks if high rates of child mortality will ever be a thing of the past; if inequality in life expectancy will always be based on income; if people everywhere will ever be able to build their own houses, plant their own gardens, and live in peace. She sees hope in events like Cop 28 as indigenous voices, people of faith, young climate activists, and principled business people gather to work for environmental and climate justice.
Another presenter, Robyn Sulkko, a member of the PWRDF Youth Council and People’s Warden in her parish in Ottawa, served as the reflector in September 2024. In May 2023, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she and her fellow pilgrims renewed their baptismal covenant at the Jordan River in Palestine. Although it was a place of renewal for her, seeing young armed Israeli soldiers beside the river, led her to greater awareness of the strife and violence occurring there. She returned home with a greater resolve to facilitate discussion between indigenous and settler youth and their mentors.
A third recent reflector was Canon Tom Mugford, a licensed lay minister in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, and a beneficiary of the Labrador Inuit claims agreement, who works with the Department of Education as Program Development Specialist for Indigenous Education. His presentation focused on what he had learned in several workshops on the importance of effective communication.
You can hear more about how people like Rachel, Robyn, and Tom are working for a just, healthy, and peaceful world on “Praying with PWRDF” Zoom sessions at 1 p.m. ET (2:30 pm NT) on the second Thursday of every month. The next two “Praying with PWRDF” worship sessions will be held November 7 and December 12. You can join these meetings by registering in advance at: https://pwrdf.org/get-involved/pwrdf-at-home/
