Friends,
It’s starting to feel like we have always been in a pandemic. We’re well into the second year of COVID-19, and we’re used to things like wearing masks, curbside grocery pickup, and of course, online worship services.
But for us here in Canada, hope is on the horizon. I’ve had my first vaccination and I expect to get my second one soon. My boys will be going back to their school building in the fall. If things go well, our congregation—and yours—may even be able to celebrate Christmas in person.
As I’m sure you know, though, things are not going well in many other parts of the world, and we’re asking for your help to change that.
First, let me say that we’re very grateful for the gifts we have received for our Mission & Service partners in the global South and East. Because of the generosity of compassionate members of the United Church of Canada family, our partners have been able to provide desperately needed help to people who were already living with hunger, lack of access to water, crowded living conditions, and limited healthcare even before the devastating effects of COVID-19.
But experts are predicting that the pandemic may continue in some places until 2024. The UN World Food Program estimates that because of COVID-19, the number of people needing urgent food assistance globally will more than double. And now, as the more transmissible Delta variant becomes the primary global strain of the virus, the number of people in need of assistance of all kinds will almost certainly increase.
So we’re not in a sprint, we’re in a marathon. Our partners are going to continue to need our help.
On July 5, we’re launching an appeal that aims to provide support for our Mission & Service partners who serve people across the world who see no end in sight to the effects of the pandemic. We’re asking for help to make sure that COVID-19 doesn’t completely reverse the development gains the world has made in the past decade—to help people in the global South and East hold on to the stability they’ve achieved through hard work.
Take a look at these resources:
- Video message from Moderator Richard Bott (on this page)
- A Prayer for a World in Pandemic
- A Prayer for a World in Pandemic PDF (see Downloads on this page)
- Gift of a COVID vaccine shot through Gifts with Vision
Note the donation page is COVID-19 Global Response. If you give online, please credit Aurora United Church so your donation will be added to AUC's Mission & Service total. You may also mail a cheque made out to AUC (15186 Yonge St., Aurora, ON. L4G 1L9).
As urgent as the need to stop COVID-19 is, it is far more urgent in countries that are experiencing economic crisis, unrest, and climate disaster. Please consider making a donatin so that our Mission & Service partners can continue to help the people who feel the impact of the pandemic the most.
Because this isn’t going to be all over until it’s over for all.
Thank you so much!
In Christ,
Sarah Charters
Acting Director of Philanthropy
United Church of Canada