Solar power for Phebe: $100 Christmas Challenge
by Cheryl Dwyer *
With a time-sensitive opportunity to share in God’s work with our hands, the Metro D.C. Synod’s Synodical Women’s Organization (SWO) wants you to know about an initiative that is strengthening women and communities in Liberia.
Phebe is a small hospital in Liberia which has been slowly recovering from decades of civil war. This war destroyed many things, like power infrastructure, leaving rural hospitals like Phebe to rely entirely on generators. Running diesel fueled generators comes at an incredibly steep price, but this use of scant resources is necessary to make essential hospital functions possible.
The Synodical Women’s Organization has contributed $500 to help bring solar power to Phebe Hospital and encourages you to do so too while a matching grant is available.
In 2014, the Ninth Triennial Convention of the Women of the ELCA adopted a resolution initiated by Northeastern Minnesota SWO efforts to work with the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) project and the National Lutheran Church Women Fellowship of Liberia to develop a proposal for providing solar power to the Phebe hospital in Liberia (1). The 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly received a memorial from the Northeastern Minnesota Synod related to the “PV for Phebe” project, called “Supporting Mission Phebe Hospital through Photovoltaics,” and reaffirmed related commitments of the ELCA (2).
The Northeastern Minnesota SWO with partners continues to lead the initiative to bring photovoltaics (PV) energy to Phebe Hospital in Liberia (3). They challenge ELCA congregations to give $100 this Christmas to match a National Geographic Challenge Grant and provide hope for Phebe’s future through the sun.
By taking the Phebe $100 Christmas Challenge, it should assure success in the near future. The Metro D.C. Synod SWO has donated $500, and while the matching grant incentive is active you can contribute too.
It is easy to take the challenge by using a credit card. If your church unit does not have a credit card, perhaps an individual could use their own card and then be reimbursed by the church unit/congregation.
We all have an opportunity to change lives, strengthen lives and save lives through our faith in the One who gives us all that we need to accomplish great things.
- Phebe $100 Christmas Challenge donation page
- Informational flyer (pdf file)
- Video (3-minute) describing initiative
- RREAL’s resource page for PV for Phebe
Share this information with your congregation and support our effort. Thanks for your support!
*Our guest blogger, Cheryl Dwyer, is the president of the Synodical Women’s Organization of the Metro D.C. Synod
3 http://www.nemnsynod.org/pv-for-phebe.html