MISSIONS
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Tree Church Project When Bishop Rob Martin of the Marsabit Diocese of the Anglican Church of Kenya was in Charleston in April 2013, he spoke of the great need for buildings where newly planted church communities could worship. Currently there are many tree churches which are called that because the trees provide shade from the harsh African sun. Not only is the environment a struggle, but these first and second generation Christians are in a predominately Muslim region of Kenya and are considerably cut off from the rest of the country. The bishop was looking for partner churches to help communities build their own church. When Christ Church told Bishop Rob that we wanted to build a church, he matched us with the Game community who meet under a lovely tree beside a seasonal river. However, because the ground was being eroded it was likely that they would lose their tree. Christ Church kicked off the first Tree Church Project in the summer of 2013, and by March 2014 we had raised the funds to send to Bishop Rob in the Diocese of Marsabit. In early 2015, the first Tree Church, Christ Church Game, was consecrated. The people were overjoyed to be able to thank Christ Church for their gift of the church building for their congregation. One woman, witnessing the love of brothers and sisters in Christ, was so moved that said, "Thank you for not forgetting us." Christ Church has committed to continue to raise funds to build churches in Kenya in order to fulfill the vision to "Go and make disciples." La Gonave Partnership with Churches in Haiti For over 20 years, Christ Church has played a role in helping the people of La Gonave, a part of the country of Haiti. It is an island just off the west coast of Haiti. Christ Church is an active part of the La Gonave Partnership where we provide funding to meet many needs in a small village on La Gonave called Gros Mangles. Our contributions pay for half of all the teacher salaries for a parochial primary school in Gros Mangles as well as assisting with the school lunch program, helping to support programs at Church of the Holy Spirit (an episcopal church in the village of Gros Mangles), and sponsoring a variety of types of mission trips over the years. Through Christ Church’s involvement in the life of Haitians in Gros Mangles, we work to make their lives better through increased access to education, food, water, and medical attention. Malnutrition plagued the children of the Gros Mangles primary school until the recent La Gonave Partnership’s School Lunch Program virtually eliminated it! Also the incident of infant mortality and other major health issues were a devastating way of life for many Haitians. Through the partnership’s efforts in creating and supporting a medical clinic on La Gonave, access to healthcare is now available to Haitians throughout the island. Other initiatives include support for teaching sustainable farming techniques within several villages and sponsoring a goat husbandry program that provides much needed resources. Christ Church is working to be as active a member of the La Gonave Partnership as possible, and stepping up to support many of these initiatives.Christ Church’s future vision for Haiti includes assisting in making water and food more readily available throughout La Gonave, as well as improving the scope and availability of medical services to remote areas of this island. We are working to accomplish these goals by broadening our partnerships with agencies such as Water Missions International (WMI), increasing our church community’s financial support, and conducting more frequent and extensive mission trips to La Gonave. For information about opportunities to get involved with Christ Church’s outreach to our brothers and sisters on La Gonave, please contact the church office. |
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