Millenium Goals group makes its report

On Sunday evenings this winter, ten parish members have gathered to discuss the Millennium Development Goals, a set of integrated objectives, agreed upon by 191 nations of the world, to end extreme poverty. We used a study guide developed by the Episcopal and Lutheran churches written with the conviction that extreme poverty is the central moral dilemma facing Christian communities through the world.

Over I billion people in the world live on less than $1 per day.
For those more than I billion people living in extreme poverty, hunger, lack of sanitation, disease, lack of opportunities for education and work, are all realities. Children, especially, suffer--orphaned, malnourished, sick and dying in numbers that if it occurred in our own communities would be considered an emergency. This disaster is occurring around the world, every minute. The purpose of learning about and advocating for the MDGs is to develop a sense of urgency in the global community to work toward these goals through individual actions, the work of non-governmental agencies, and through government policy.
The Millennium Development Goals are:

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Create a global partnership for development with targets for aid, debt relief and trade

Listen for brief "MDG Moments" during announcements in coming weeks, and watch for the other ways in which we hope to share what we've learned from you and together, join the effort to pursue the MDGs. Also, feel free to contact anyone of us with questions or thoughts about the MDGS.
St. John's MDG Study Group are: Patrick Abegg, Bill Braunlich, Nancy Harrison, Gwen Kopka, Sue Lupo, Maureen
MacGregor, Elizabeth Redmond, Susan Richardson, Carole Secrest, Sarah Wetzel.