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 Egypt. For a complete listing visit Mission Funding's Web site and type Egypt into the search box.

Agriculture and Hunger

Together for Family Life and Development

Gifts to this account provide general support for program activities of the Joining Hands partner network in Egypt focused on rights of children, especially those with disabilities.

Camps and Conference Centers

Beit el-Salam Conference Center, Alexandria, "Meeting Christ by the Seashore"

A major ministry of the Synod of the Nile is carried out at Beit El-Salam Conference Center at Agamy, on Alexandria's Mediterranean coast, where more than 12,000 persons "encounter Christ by the seashore" each year. It was started as a work camp 50 years ago on the remote outskirts of this legendary coastal city and became a legend in itself. Since that time, hundreds of campers have become leaders not only in the Egyptian church and society but also in the world church. The facility itself has miraculously grown, but is in need of further expansion. The vision is to expand it not only to accommodate the demand but also to embrace new opportunities for Christian witness in that land and region.

Development

Egypt — Vision 21, "The Whole Gospel for the Whole Person"

There are nearly 100 remote village and small town churches in Egypt without a pastor/church worker. New churches are being planted in a growing number of new cities built up to meet the needs of Egypt's growing population. The Synod of the Nile of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has adopted a comprehensive plan to prepare, over the next seven years, a cadre of commissioned lay people who will at once serve as evangelists, literary trainers and community development workers. As it seeks to meet the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, the Synod, in cooperation with the Evangelical Theological Seminary at Cairo, will work with its eight presbyteries to implement this vision of "The Whole Gospel for the Whole Person," reaching out to hundreds of thousands of the unchurched.

Education

Cairo Evangelical Seminary, General

The Evangelical Theological Seminary at Cairo serves the majority of Middle East countries, with nearly 160 students enrolled. A significant change in theological education philosophy and approach has recently taken place to better prepare leaders for the churches of the region. Faculty development is a high priority.

Evangelism

Assistance to Developing Churches  

The Evangelical Church in Egypt is seeking to expand into new cities the government is building throughout the country. The government will give land to the church if it will build on the land. Help is needed while the doors are open.

Health

Cairo Geriatric Center 

The Cairo Geriatric Center provides institutional care and support of those aged who are no longer able to live alone. Funds are needed for medical supplies, training costs and to subsidize care for those who are too poor to pay.

Human Rights

Working Together to End Religious Intolerance

Ending religious intolerance and rebuilding the human community is an urgent priority for Christians living as minorities in many countries. It is also a serious concern for all people of faith where other religious minorities face prejudice, discrimination and sometimes persecution. The PC(USA) works with other institutions to build a human community free from misunderstandings, suspicion and fear. Such institutions include, for example: SABEEL Center in Jerusalem, Christian-Buddhist Relations Institute in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Henry Martyn Institute in Hyderabad (India), Rajpur Center (India), Interfeidi in Yogijakarta (Indonesia), Intercultural Forum of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services — CEOSS in Cairo (Egypt) and other centers in Africa and Europe. Those centers bring together religious leaders, intellectuals, writers and grass-root participants to share expertise, develop strategies and generate positive approaches to deal with religious intolerance. They build peace through interfaith and intercultural dialogue and action.

Other Support

Egypt YAV Program

Young adult volunteers serving in Egypt experience a year of developing Christian community through spiritual formation and volunteer service. Serving at several sites across Egypt, young adult volunteers live together in Christian community and serve neighborhood ministries. Gifts to this ECO will be used for programmatic site support or to directly support young adult volunteers through reimbursement of outstanding student loans, housing and food allowances and/or a travel subsidy.

Mobility for Mission in Egypt           

Mission workers Dustin and Sherri Ellington struggle to meet the demanding challenges of balancing family needs and mission service in Cairo, Egypt. Finding safe and reliable transportation has hampered their effectiveness, creating hardships and stress as their young family's needs have grown. These funds will be used to purchase an automobile and will help cover the cost for insurances in a country with the highest rate of travel fatalities per mile driven of any country in the world. The automobile will be owned by the seminary but designated for their commuting to and from the seminary and for other ministry-related needs.

Mission Personnel

Nancy Collins divides her time between two ministries involving social justice issues. She works in the International Relations Department of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) and is facilitator for Together for Family Development, Egypt’s Joining Hands network related to the PC(USA)’s Hunger Program. CEOSS publishes Christian educational materials and trains pastors and lay leaders and is renowned for its community development work. The Joining Hands network, a group of Egyptian non-governmental organizations, works in partnership with a network of churches from the Presbytery of Des Moines in Iowa.