Once in a while, I’ll get a phone call out of the blue that winds up being a great story.  I have the Rev. Dr. Erin Kirby to thank for this one. Reverend Erin, as she is known in her parish, was a...

Throughout December, I can be found walking through my neighborhood to observe the Christmas lights.  I live in New Jersey, so trust me when I say that this is time well spent.  The displays are...

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2-7) There are many forms of darkness that we can experience...

In New Mexico, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church in Los Alamos hosted their annual Children’s Christmas Bazaar on December 1.  For the past 10 years, the church’s thrift store has been setting...

Goats are at the top of my Christmas giving list this year. I’ve also been encouraging family and friends, especially children, to add a gift selection from the Gifts for Life Catalog to their...

It’s been another ‘all hands on deck’ kind of year.  I’m deeply grateful to our Church partners at home and abroad.  They have worked closely with our staff and alongside members of their communities...

I am in Myanmar this week on what is my twelfth visit to the country.  And each of my dozen trips has been unique.  Despite what seems to be a visit to an animal husbandry project and a micro-finance...

  The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always a blur.  Between food, friends, shopping, traveling and – oh right – work, I have to confess that the whole Advent thing about “waiting” and...

World AIDS Day on December 1st brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. Between 2011-2015,...

Episcopal Relief & Development has been working with Church partners in the Caribbean and along the US East Coast to mobilize local resources and provide immediate relief to those most impacted by...

In mid-October, I traveled with Katie Mears, our Program Manager for US Disaster Preparedness and Response, to the town of West Pittston, Pennsylvania.  West Pittston had suffered severe flooding...

November 12 is World Pneumonia Day, established in 2009 to raise global awareness and advocacy around a disease that is the leading killer of children under age five worldwide. The event is led by the...

Most disasters have three distinct, if sometimes overlapping phases: Rescue, Relief and Recovery. The Rescue phase is focused on saving lives and securing property, and is most acute in those parts of...

We face a difficult and cold weekend here in the Tri-State area. The initial devastation of Hurricane Sandy has been shocking.  Now, however, we are entering a slow-motion disaster as much of...

It was “In-House" this week at Episcopal Relief & Development, which is when all of our staff, including from the Ghana regional office and satellite locations around the US, get together at...

Last week, World Food Day was internationally recognized in a number of ways . However, the biggest celebration (to my knowledge) kicked off in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday, with the World Food Prize...

October 15 is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is “The Power of We.” I can’t think of a better example of the power of collective spirit than an agricultural initiative in the Solomon Islands....

My family visited the Museum of Natural History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. yesterday. Afterwards, they regaled me with tales of sublime butterflies resting on their shoulders, along with...

Last week, the streets around our office were buzzing with all of the action from the 2012 United Nations General Assembly. Walking outside, you could run into anyone from the President of Haiti to...

I ate rice every day during my recent 10-day visit to the Philippines. Most days, I ate it two or three times. So when I think about my trip, rice is one of the first things that comes to mind. But...