June 13, 2009

Dear Bishops and North Carolina's Deputies to General Convention:

The Diocesan Committee on Millennium Development Goals was devastated to learn Executive Council's proposed budget to General Convention eliminated the .7% line item support for the MDGs. As we all know, one of the requirements for MDG funding is to begin new programs in undeveloped countries to help alleviate poverty. Their reasoning that they were already supporting programs for this purpose through various other budgeted items fails to meet the stated goal of NEW programs.

We believe that this lack of stated support in the budget shows a lack of leadership on the part of the Episcopal Church. We feel it is a poor example of our Church's commitment to a program to begin new ministries to help the world's poorest and suffering people rise from poverty, attain education, receive medical help, and care for God's creation.

We also think it is a dreadful statement to the Christian and Interfaith communities that the Episcopal Church will no longer support this ministry. We deplore the example it sets for our own Church - its Provinces, Dioceses, Churches and Congregants who have responded to the call to support the MDGs with line items in their budgets and the resulting new programs of ministry meeting its goals that have made a difference in so many lives. We invite you to visit our web site to learn of Diocesan funded MDG programs. We are fearful that without a statement from General Convention and its support through a line item in the budget that many will end their programs because they will reason that it is no longer a priority of the Episcopal Church.

We ask each of you to support the effort that will be made to restore the MDG line item figure to the budget. The good news is that General Convention has this authority. It is our prayer that all of you will attend the PB&F hearings addressing the restoration of the line item to the budget and some of you will be moved to speak in support of it. Please remember it will help insure that a child does not continue to die every 3 seconds from malnutrition. We thank you for your consideration of our request and look forward to a positive outcome.

Be assured you will be in our prayers during General Convention as you face the difficult issues before our Church. May God bless you all.

Faithfully,

Millennium Development Goals Committee