Justice and Compassion

Vote on the new catalogue cover…

Joanne — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:57:54 +0000

Congratulations Canadafood Grains Bank- 30 years of Global Food Provisioning!

Joanne — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:51:16 +0000

The C&MA is so excited to celebrate with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) an
organization that has been around a long time investing in the fight against global hunger.

30 years ago, on April 13, 1983, Canadian Foodgrains Bank was founded. Since that time, the Foodgrains Bank—a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies (including C&MA)—has provided over half a billion dollars of assistance to people in 78 countries, including 1.1 million tonnes of food. For more information, visit foodgrainsbank.ca/30

To support our food programming click DONATE NOW and make a contribution to Food Aid. Money donated to this account will be transfered to our CFGB-C&MA account in order to access the CIDA matching funds.

40 Days of Faith and Hope in Action

Joanne — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:02:56 +0000

We invite you to enter into a journey of daily prayer and reflection on Scriptures that focus on God’s heart for poor, oppressed, hurting and marginalized people. We pray that God will draw us into a deeper commitment to living his mission as we unclutter our lives and fill them with his purpose.

At http://40days-faithandhope.com/, you will find Scripture, blog posts and resources. View the 40 Days Inspire Video!

Goodbye Pennies, Hello Goats!!

Joanne — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:47:18 +0000

It all began with a small goal. Could the children of Mission Alliance Church collect enough pennies to earn fifty dollars to buy a goat for a poor village in Africa? It seemed like a great idea with the penny now going out of circulation, and it was hoped that people would give generously so that the kids could earn enough for a goat.

To make the challenge more interesting, the boys competed against the girls to see who could raise the most pennies. A collection was taken each Sunday morning, as well as on Tuesday nights at Club 57 (the kids club for grades 5 – 7). The penny buckets were hauled out, and the boys and girls rushed with their bags, jars and piggy banks to deposit the pennies they had collected.

There was great excitement when the children came forward to put their pennies in their five-gallon buckets. For the first couple of weeks, the girls were winning, but soon the boys’ bucket was piled higher with pennies than the girls’.

Midway through the period of collection, it became obvious that there would be enough pennies to buy more than one goat. The buckets were getting so full that it was difficult for an adult to move them! The community of Mission was extremely generous when the children came to their doors. Jordan and Madison thought it was fun to go door to door asking for pennies, and were able to collect a lot for the girls’ bucket. Quentin and his brother Riley set out in their neighbourhood in a quest for pennies. “We went to our neighbours and they gave us three goats worth of money. We were amazed by the amount.”More for the “boys” bucket!

On the final day of the collection, the very heavy buckets of pennies were weighed. Everyone held their breath as both buckets were full nearly to the top. The scale revealed that the girls had 74 kg of pennies and the boys had 78 kg. Cheering exploded as the boys claimed victory. They were thrilled to be treated to ice cream sundaes. The girls also received ice cream sundaes, though they had to pay 25 cents for theirs.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance has a program where goats are purchased for village women in Niger, West Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world. These women care for their small herds, their children drink the milk and the women sell the rest, enabling them to better care for their families. We are excited to report that the penny collecting project raised $718.96, and that not one, but fourteen goats were donated to a poor village in Niger. A big thank you to the kids for their hard work and to the many people who gave away their pennies when children came to the door.

(Written by Mission Alliance Club 57 Leader, Kathy Reimer & edited by International Worker, Lisa Rohrick)

Defending Dignity

Joanne — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:44:03 +0000

Defend Dignity is a national C&MA initiative addressing the issues of sex trafficking and prostitution in Canada. We are working towards the abolition of prostitution by raising awareness through education and acting as a catalyst for individuals and churches to get involved in various levels of engagment; from advocacy for law and policy reform in government, to front line ministry with those entangled in the sex industry. Check out the Defend Dignity website: www.defenddignity.ca

To support this ministry click DONATE NOW and make a contribution to Defend Dignity.

Combatting Global Hunger

Joanne — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:13:00 +0000

The C&MA is a member of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). CFGB is a
partnership of 15 church-based agencies that work together to combat global
hunger. Each member agency has an account to receive donations that enables
them to do food aid and food security programs. The Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) provides funds to CFGB for member agencies to access
for their projects – up to a 4:1 match.

Here are recent ways we have used the funds from our CFGB-C&MA account:

**Our C&MA three-year school feeding program in Niger.

**In response to the East Africa Famine, we contributed $105,000 (plus our CIDA
match allotment making the contribution $525,000) to support projects that
other CFGB members are programming in Ethiopia and Kenya.

**We are supporting four multi-year World Relief projects in Sudan,
Tanzania, DR Congo, and India.

**We are supporting a two-year food security project in Afghanistan with
Presbyterian World Service and Development

**We partner with Samaritan’s Purse in Niger on several projects: Two multi-year
food programs. (One food security program and one child nutrition program.)
Also, in response to the Niger famine we recently committed $200,000 (plus our
CIDA match of 4:1) to fund a million dollar food aid project that is providing
food for 2,600 households which represents over 18,000 people!

Tosupport our food programming click DONATE NOW and make a contribution to Food Aid. Money donated to this account will be transfered to our CFGB-C&MA account in order to access the CIDA matching funds.

For more info on the Canadians Foodgrains Bank: http://foodgrainsbank.ca/

Providing Hope for a Child’s Future in Costa Rica

Joanne — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:26:05 +0000

There are many Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica who live in extreme poverty. Even though schooling is free, many children do not attend because they cannot afford the cost of a school uniform and school supplies. Our International Workers, Curtis and Linda, are working alongside the local church in Costa Rica to minister to these families by providing things like uniforms, education materials, vitamin supplements for nutrition, and a Bible in their own language. They also provide a lunch feeding program.

To support this ministry click: DONATE NOW and make a contribution to the Patarra Project

Loving Marginalized Kids in Mexico

Joanne — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:10:25 +0000

The marginalized people groups of Mexican society, like the Otomi, live on the outskirts of Mexico City and are often overlooked or ignored. Their opportunity to receive quality education and nutrition is minimal. The C&MA team believes that investing in the kids will have long term impact on this community. Through tutoring, food programs, Bible studies, and children’s clubs, this initiative gives dignity to families and provides hope for their future.

To support this ministry click: DONATE NOW and make a contribution to Brave Heart Kids

Giving Rejected Teen Mom’s a New Start

Joanne — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:15:31 +0000

C&MA International Workers, Rich and Lisa work with Alliance churches in Ecuador to minister to young pregnant women and their babies who have been rejected by their families. Ecuador has the highest teen pregnancy rate in South America. Through this Inca Link project, we come alongside these young ladies to offer them housing, prenatal counseling, vitamins, diapers and other necessary items. Our dream is to not only take care of pregnant women and their newborns but to educate them, their families, and society so as not to repeat the cycle.

To support this ministry click: DONATE NOW and make a donation to Inca Link-Prenatal and Infant Care.

Tricked, Trafficked, Treasured

Joanne — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:50:36 +0000

This project in the Asian Spice region seeks to help those who are trapped in the sex trade and bring healing to those with drug addictions. Through this ministry, our International Workers have an opportunity to express God’s love in tangible and practical ways. The counseling, discipleship, skills training, and employment opportunities created by this project are vital to help women and men heal and reintegrate into society with dignity and hope. It is amazing to see the growth and transformation that occur when these people come to realize that they are treasured by God.

To support this ministry click: DONATE NOW and make a contribution to Tricked, Trafficked, Treasured.