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Call to action and incarnation February 21, 2010
Voices of Hope Pew Bulletin Story
Anniversary story from 1971
In 1971, refugees flooded into camps seeking sanctuary in India during the struggle for independence in Bangladesh, and the global relief effort was enormous. But when it came time to return to their shattered homeland, there were very few voluntary agencies working within the new country. However, Cathedral Relief Services operating out of Calcutta was there. From building homes, schools and health centres to buying water pumps, cows and power tillers, the organization’s members were helping families rebuild. They were witness to love incarnate in the time and place where it was most needed. Canon Subir Biswas, the vicar of St. Paul’s Cathedral, described the clarity of their call to action: “Some people in India would be quite happy to see the church just keeping to itself, maintaining the beautiful grounds in the midst of violence and tension. Yet we ourselves who are within this feel we can’t do it. We have to expose ourselves, to put our property and our church in jeopardy. It is a way of asking repeatedly, what does the incarnation mean in our lives?” It was this same desire to be present in a time and place where help was most needed—the collapsing of the Springhill mine—that moved the Anglican Church of Canada to create an ongoing fund that could act quickly and effectively in times of disaster. From the first grant of $10,000 for displaced people in the Belgian Congo in 1960 through the next 50 years, relief and rehabilitation have been and remain vital tasks of the PWRDF.
Call to action and incarnation PDF Version
