Press Releases

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Financial Grants Available to United Church Ministries Responding to the Economic Crisis

Toronto: Tough economic times call for generosity. That is why this past March the Executive of the General Council of The United Church of Canada set up a $500,000 crisis response fund to address the economic crisis gripping Canada and the world.

The recently created “Sharing Bread” Crisis Response Fund will be making grants of up to $15,000 to United Church congregations and community ministries that submit proposals describing how they are addressing situations of need caused or worsened by the current economic crisis.

“The economic crisis gripping Canada and the world is wreaking havoc in the lives of individuals and households, neighbourhoods, and communities,” explains The United Church of Canada’s Moderator, the Right Rev. David Giuliano.

He says the “Sharing Bread” initiative will result in a total of $210,000 being distributed in Canada. Another equal amount will be distributed through global partners of the United Church. And a further $80,000 is being made available to provide ministry staff training and support related to responding to this crisis.

“While we recognize that the dollar value of this contribution may be humble, it feels important that we all do what we can as a sign of hope in the world,” says Giuliano.

United Church community ministries include camps, campus ministries, seniors’ facilities, chaplaincies, and social justice (outreach) ministries located across the country. It is hoped that grant recipients will use the “Sharing Bread” seed-money to leverage additional funds from within their communities.

More information about the “Sharing Bread” Crisis Response Fund is available on The United Church of Canada’s website at www.united-church.ca.

For further information, please contact:

• Mary-Frances Denis
  Communications Officer
  The United Church of Canada
  Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
  E-mail: Mary-Frances Denis