Sunday Offerings
Harvest Hope
June 2009 recipient
Transylvanian girls
Did you know that Transylvania is home to the world’s oldest Unitarian churches, which date back to the 16th century? Yet when the Iron Curtain arose after World War II, the Unitarians in this region were oppressed and isolated by the Ceausescu dictatorship. Ministers were imprisoned; villages and churches destroyed. The area fell into poverty, joblessness, ethnic violence, and despair.
Not until the early 1990s did the newly emerging Unitarian leaders (e.g., Levente and Éva Kelemen) reach out for partnership in rebuilding their communities.
Project Harvest Hope's mission is to provide assistance for sustainable rural development and the strengthening of civil society in the Székelyföld region of Romania. The goals of the project are
- to preserve family farming and protect village life
- to protect ethnic lands and provide jobs to young people
- to inspire and assist other economic partnerships across Transylvania
By working alongside local partners, Project Harvest Hope has provided funding for the establishment of local initiatives such as mills, bakeries, and a model dairy project.
Reverend Cecilia Kingman Miller
We would like to honor Reverend Cecilia Kingman Miller, our Interim Minister of these past two years, by contributing the Sunday Offering for June to this cause which is so close to her heart. More information about this worthy project is on the website for Project Harvest Hope.
Nominated by April Cook
Unitarian Church in Transylvania, Romania
Would you like to nominate a charity?
Fill out a nomination form and place it in the Sunday Offerings mailbox.