Hey Everybody!
With great excitement and anticipation Waters of Hope brings you the 2009 ride around the Diocese of Missouri! Waters of Hope is coming off a successful first year in Iowa after raising over sixty thousand dollars for clean water projects in Swaziland and Sudan. After just returning from Sudan I can personally give witness that the fundraising efforts in and stretching beyond the Diocese of Iowa have made clean water and new life a reality in communities that struggled to live without access to clean water in their life.
So it is with immense gratitude and optimism that we continue Waters of Hope as we strive for clean water for all. By riding, volunteering, or giving, we invite you to participate in the 2009 Waters of Hope ride around the Diocese of Missouri taking place May 25-31. The route, which can be found here: http://watersofhope.org/map.pdf will be seven days of riding, 630+ total miles, with stops in 8 communities. With the host churches included we will pass a total of eighteen Episcopal Churches along the way.
We need riders, volunteers, and donors to make this a success so come along for the ride!
If you are interested in riding, we have multiple options for you this year. We hope that you would take on the challenge of the full 7-day ride, but if you are unable to commit, then you can ride part of the route everyday, or ride as much as possible as many days as you are able. It is our hope that leaving it open like this will generate more rider interest, so we hope this fits your needs! Please register on the website as soon as you possible so we can know how many riders to expect. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!
If you are interested in volunteering, we absolutely need you! We need super domestiques (cycling term for helpers) to take care of the riders as they take on the task of pedaling through some grueling miles. If you would like to volunteer for the ride and have more questions about your possible role, I would be glad to answer your questions. Even if you can only offer yourself for a day, we would love to have you.
Fund raising is at the heart of this project, so we encourage all people to think creatively about raising money for water wells and purification supplies. I will be sending out ideas how to creatively raise money as individuals, riders, and churches, and I welcome your ideas to send to others.
Expect to receive updates to this list every couple of weeks until the week of the ride. Topics will include rider preparation and fund raising. This project only happens with your help and the people of the Diocese of Missouri, so please keep us in your thoughts, prayers, and actions as we strive to save lives by providing clean water!
For all information please go to http://www.watersofhope.org
God’s Peace and happy riding,
Joe Chambers
The Rev’d Joe Chambers
Director, Waters of Hope Missouri
Episcopal Campus Ministry in Columbia
573-529-0762
director@watersofhope.org
TheRevJoe@ecmbia.org
PO BOX 76
Columbia, MO 65205
- UM-Columbia University of Missouri Episcopal Campus Ministry, 123 S. Ninth St, Columbia, MO 65201, ph 573-529-0762, www.ecmbia.org
Tags: Mission, Waters of Hope
