MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori defines the Church's first priority as "the kind of deed-based evangelism that shows the world the good news of God's love through the actions of Christians. We cannot speak much in the way of good news to people who are starving or dying of preventable disease or living in slums." She adds that the work of achieving the MDGs is "intimately wrapped up in the promises we make in the baptismal covenant to engage in God's mission."

ONE: the Campaign to make Poverty History

Since 2006, the Episcopal Church in the United States has made the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals a priority of the national church. This ambitious project plans to cut global poverty and AIDS in half by 2015. Up to 180 countries have signed on to direct resources to the campaign.

The church has joined forces with One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History as part of a united effort to achieve the following goals:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

The campaign includes a call for the United States to give an additional ONE percent of its budget each year to the goals.

The One Campaign never asks for individual contributions-it calls for individual voices to advocate for the goals by bringing pressure on governments to fulfill promises to achieve the end of global poverty. Episcopal parishes are encouraged to provide educational opportunities to the congregation about the Millennium Development Goals and to support Episcopal Relief and Development's efforts to achieve the goals. Episcopal Relief and Development supports three specific categories toward which the organization will work: food security, primary health, and AIDS.