The Rev. Joy Daley, vicar of Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, Texas, was one of several Episcopal Church leaders who joined a recent Episcopal Relief & Development study tour to Ghana. This post is the first of several by the Rev. Daley that describe her experience in visiting our partners and programs.
Jesus sends out his disciples with the words, “Go on your way, carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.” Well, Lord, how about this: One purse, three bags, two pairs of sandals, waterproof shoes and an extra pair of sneakers? These, among many other things, are what I carried on my trip to Ghana, northwest Africa, with Episcopal Relief & Development from June 19 to 26.
I had such a detailed packing list in comparison to Jesus’s nonexistent one for the disciples. Jesus does not want his disciples to be distracted by stuff, so they can move freely as they spread his message of peace, as they proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. Most of all, I think Jesus wants them to know that they can trust God to provide everything that is needed as they spread the Good News. This was a good message to remember as I prepared for my trip and as I became immersed in the experience of it.
I had been invited to take the journey to Ghana with seven other church leaders to see firsthand what Episcopal Relief & Development is doing in Africa with the money so generously donated by church partners to care for God’s people. Most of us know that Episcopal Relief & Development is one of the first organizations to respond with aid in a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti or the oil spill off the Gulf Coast. That work is the relief part of their mission to heal a hurting world.
But much of what I saw on this trip was the strength and consistency of their development emphasis. Episcopal Relief & Development is a ministry that helps us to live out our baptismal covenant in many ways. But the primary promise I saw being lived out is “respecting the dignity of every human being.”
Episcopal Relief & Development heals a hurting world by going into small communities throughout the world and first of all listening to what people need, not telling them what they should do. The organization then provides the tools for communities to become healthy, independent and strong. It is good for us to remember our own call to use our freedom to empower others—to use our gifts so that others may live more fully and freely as who they are called to be.
Photos courtesy of the Rev. Joy Daley
Jesus sends out his disciples with the words, “Go on your way, carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.” Well, Lord, how about this: One purse, three bags, two pairs of sandals, waterproof shoes and an extra pair of sneakers? These, among many other things, are what I carried on my trip to Ghana, northwest Africa, with Episcopal Relief & Development from June 19 to 26.I had such a detailed packing list in comparison to Jesus’s nonexistent one for the disciples. Jesus does not want his disciples to be distracted by stuff, so they can move freely as they spread his message of peace, as they proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. Most of all, I think Jesus wants them to know that they can trust God to provide everything that is needed as they spread the Good News. This was a good message to remember as I prepared for my trip and as I became immersed in the experience of it.
I had been invited to take the journey to Ghana with seven other church leaders to see firsthand what Episcopal Relief & Development is doing in Africa with the money so generously donated by church partners to care for God’s people. Most of us know that Episcopal Relief & Development is one of the first organizations to respond with aid in a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti or the oil spill off the Gulf Coast. That work is the relief part of their mission to heal a hurting world.But much of what I saw on this trip was the strength and consistency of their development emphasis. Episcopal Relief & Development is a ministry that helps us to live out our baptismal covenant in many ways. But the primary promise I saw being lived out is “respecting the dignity of every human being.”
Episcopal Relief & Development heals a hurting world by going into small communities throughout the world and first of all listening to what people need, not telling them what they should do. The organization then provides the tools for communities to become healthy, independent and strong. It is good for us to remember our own call to use our freedom to empower others—to use our gifts so that others may live more fully and freely as who they are called to be.
Photos courtesy of the Rev. Joy Daley
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