On Sept. 24, Sunday morning churchgoers at Epiphany Anglican Church planted a tree, learned about the work of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) and held a fundraising multicultural potluck lunch — all in support of the Branches of Hope project.
Some 25 of us gathered at 10 am to pray and sing our joy as we took turns shoveling soil onto the roots of the one-metre tall white spruce.
Planting that small tree at Epiphany, one of the program’s pilot churches, was only a first step. The Branches of Hope project aims to plant 500 native trees in Ottawa and 500 in Uganda in cooperation with St. Jude’s Family Projects and others. St. Jude’s has already started planting mango, moringa and other trees to help with reforestation and to provide charcoal for cooking.
During the 10:30 am service, Epiphany’s own Valerie Maier, president of PWRDF’s board of directors, told us about the work that PWRDF is doing in Canada and around the world — and helped us understand how vital this work is to sharing God’s love with those in need.
The morning wrapped up with a lively fundraising lunch, a delicious spread of flavours from around the world provided by parishioners.
Is your parish interested in connecting to plant trees and be a part of a worldwide effort to address climate change? Find out how you can participate in this program in spring 2024 by planting trees in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa (ADO) region: send an email to [email protected]. Did we mention the trees will be provided free of charge? One tree planted in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa (ADO) region equals one tree planted at St. Jude Family Projects, Uganda.
St. Leonard, Rockingham — Deanery of the Northwest