Half the Sky
In 2011 over 40 members and friends of Immanuel read and discussed Half the Sky, a book by Nicholas Kristof and Shery WuDunn, describing the oppression of women in the world today, along with many concrete ideas for how to turn the oppression into opportunities. The Half the Sky Group were inspired and decided to devote their energies to two projects, one in India and the other in Hartford.
In 2011 over 40 members and friends of Immanuel read and discussed Half the Sky, a book by Nicholas Kristof and Shery WuDunn, describing the oppression of women in the world today, along with many concrete ideas for how to turn the oppression into opportunities. The Half the Sky Group were inspired and decided to devote their energies to two projects, one in India and the other in Hartford.
The Half the Sky Group chose to contribute to a new educational center established by Apne Aap in Calcutta, India. Apne Aap rescues girls and young women from sexual slavery and places them in their centers where they learn sewing and other skills that allow them to be financially independent. Members and friends raised more than $6000 for Apne Aap and continue to remain in contact with the Center.
The Half the Sky Group also chose to host monthly birthday parties for the homeless residents of Marshall House, located on S. Marshall St. in Hartford. The Shelter is a temporary home primarily to women and children.
The Half the Sky Group is committed to affirming the dignity and infinite value of every member of the human family.
For more information or to volunteer for the monthly birthday parties, contact Immanuel member, Stan Maticka.
Heifer Project International
More than 65 years ago, Dan West herded 17 heifers onto a boat in Mobile, Alabama, and shipped them to Puerto Rico, where they were given to families whose children had never before tasted milk. This was the beginning of Heifer International, a relief organization that from the beginning has been about giving the world’s rural poor what is necessary for them to support themselves rather than making them dependent upon short-term relief.
Heifer International gives poor rural families in the developing world pigs, goats, geese, donkeys, water buffaloes, chickens, rabbits, and beehives, all with the requirement that the first offspring of these animals be donated to neighbors. Over the past 10 years, members of Immanuel have raised over $40,000 for Heifer International to assist families around the world in their efforts to become self-reliant.
In 2013, Immanuel stepped up its support for Heifer International. We committed $10,000 to a project for women in Cambodia that provides pigs, poultry and fish to a total of 700 families in four communities in Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Takeo, and Battambang provinces. Thirty-two self-help groups (SHGs), comprised entirely of women, were formed in the targeted communities. Heifer staff trained the women in leadership, finance and accounting systems, improved animal management, gender and domestic violence, home gardening and organic farming and advocacy.
Additionally, 1,056 women project participants received Literacy Education over the course of the project, which also aimed to train 80 Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) in Cambodia, with women accounting for at least 50 of those selected. Along with livestock, each family received agricultural support such as forage seeds, saplings and vegetable seeds for
Each year, we visit a Heifer Farm to see the animals and learn more about the Heifer Project.
For more information and to volunteer to help, contact Immanuel staff member Tracy Gormley. For more information on Heifer Project, visit www.heifer.org
Church World Service
Each
Each year, Immanuel members and friends purchase blankets, often in the name of loved ones, to be sent to those in need through an initiative of Church World Service which works to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world.
For more information, visit the CWS website: www.cwsglobal.org
UCC – Our Church’s Wider Mission
Through the United Church of Christ/ CT Conference, Immanuel supports Our Church’s Wider Mission.
Through the United Church of Christ/ CT Conference, Immanuel supports Our Church’s Wider Mission.
Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) provides funding for the work of UCC Conference and National ministries. OCWM changes lives by strengthening our ecumenical relationships and global partnerships, by imagining and embodying a better world through prophetic witness and work, and by providing resources and programs to nurture the vitality of our United Church of Christ congregations.
Connecticut UCC congregations send thousands of dollars to Wider Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ to fund disaster relief. The Justice Action Network keeps participants informed about important issues and actions that are taking place around the world.
Our Church’s Wider Mission keeps the church strong, even as it engages in mission and outreach to others. The church has a unique and important role to play in our society and the world today and for future generations. Immanuel Congregational Church helps sustain the church and its ministries by supporting Our Church’s Wider Mission.
For more information, contact Immanuel member, Cecile Gilson or the UCC website: www.ucc.org/ocwm