Extra Commitment Opportunities

There is a channel through which gifts can be designated for specific items that support the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s work around the world. These are called Extra Commitment Opportunities (ECOs). You can give directly to an ECO account online or by mailing your check designating the name and account number of the particular item you have chosen to:

PC(USA) Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

Your gift will go directly into the ECO Account designated, and you will receive a letter indicating that your gift has been received and will be used for the purpose intended.

Below are some ECOs related to Croatia. For a complete listing visit Mission Funding's Web site and type Croatia into the search box.

Agriculture and Hunger

Agape/Food Relief, Reconstruction and Development

Agape, a well-respected evangelical and Reformed relief organization, is working hard to ease the suffering caused by war in former Yugoslavia. Priorities for Agape's work include food and clothing distribution at 21 sites in Bosnia and Croatia as well as livestock replenishment for local farmers. Smaller gifts will be directed to specific needs.

Education

Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek, Croatia

The school is the largest residential Protestant School in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, offering fully accredited Master of Divinity instruction with affordable tuition and scholarship assistance.

Evangelism

Bosnians (PFF)

One of the very few blessings that came out of the highly destructive wars in Bosnia was the emergence of new Christian witnesses. At the height of the fighting in 1992–1995 the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia, started a humanitarian aid program called Agape. Some of the Agape students are now full-time missionaries living in Bosnia and starting new churches. Gifts to this fund support their efforts.

Human Rights, Justice and Peacemaking

Osijek Peace Center

Huddled in a basement during the 1991 bombings of Osijek , a group of intellectuals realized how little influence ordinary people had on the development of society. Their discussions gave rise to what is now the Center for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights. One of the largest projects the Center supervises is the Peace Building Project. Five multiethnic teams were placed in locations regarded as having a high likelihood of violence. Striving for sustainability, the teams collaborate with volunteers to offer a continuum of activities ranging from cross-community events that bring different ethnicities together, ecumenical work, educational/personal growth workshops and forums that address topics such as election issues and post-traumatic stress syndrome.