St. John's Gives Bishop $35K for Tanzanian Orphans

by John J. Edwards, III

(May 22, 2008) On Sunday, May 18, the congregation of St. John’s Church on Sunday presented the Rt. Rev. Catherine S. Roskam, bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, with a $35,000 gift to benefit Carpenter’s Kids, a program that provides supplies to HIV/AIDS orphans in Tanzania so they can go to school.

The Rev. Thomas E. Nicoll, Rector of St. John's Church, the Rt. Rev. Catherine S. Roskam and Carolyn Millstein, co-chair of Carpenter's Kids at St. John's.

Children in Tanzania are promised a free public education, but only if they have their own shoes, books and uniform. In the Carpenter’s Kids program, established in 2006, 54 parishes of the Diocese of New York have linked with 63 parishes of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika to give orphans and other needy children those items and enable them to get an education.

“This gift is really crucial for the impact of Carpenter’s Kids,” Bishop Roskam said. “It keeps the staff safe as they distribute the uniforms, shoes and books, and means that they can do their work even more efficiently.”

The funds, which St. John’s raised from its 2008 Easter Appeal, will provide a new Toyota Land Cruiser to replace a 20-year-old vehicle. The partnership has been using two unreliable vehicles in traversing the 15,625 square miles (with only two paved roads) of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika to assess children and deliver school supplies.

“I think this custom of expressing our Easter joy in a specific and concrete way is a great new tradition at St. John’s,” said the Rev. Thomas E. Nicoll, rector of St. John’s.

The campaign in support of Carpenter’s Kids is St. John’s fourth annual Easter Appeal. Previous campaigns have supported Episcopal Social Services’ Paul’s House early-childhood center in the South Bronx; the Barth Syndrome Foundation, supporting research on the genetic disorder; and the Nets for Life program, providing insecticide-treated mosquito nets to reduce the incidence of malaria in Africa.

During her Sunday visit, Bishop Roskam also confirmed St. John’s 2007-2008 confirmation class and recognized the 25th anniversary of Father Nicoll’s ordination to the priesthood.

For more information about St. John’s, please contact Father Nicoll at 914-834-2981. For more information about Carpenter’s Kids, please visit carpenterskids.net.

John J. Edwards, III is a member of St. John's vestry.

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