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Canadian Covenanters Raise $69,178 for Food Relief
NORQUAY, SK (November 3, 2005) - Covenant "farmers" recently raised $69,178 to
help displaced people in the African nation of Liberia.
Members of Evangelical Covenant Churches across Canada "bought" 55 acres
of wheat for $160 an acre for their "Kernels for Hope" project. The
money covered the cost of farming the land, which was done by the farmer
who owns the land, Dale Peterson.
The 55 acres yielded 92.5 net metric tons, or 3,398 bushels, says Ray
Baloun, who developed the idea with Jeff Anderson, the superintendent of
Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada. Extra funds were donated and the
final price of wheat was matched four to one by the Canadian
International Development Agency. The money will be distributed through
the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and World Relief Canada.
"It's been a fun project, and a lot of people have learned from it,"
Baloun says.
Delegates to the Annual Meeting bought an initial target of 38 acres.
The target was set by the words of Proverbs 30:8, which reads, "Feed me
with the food I need."
At the Saturday night banquet, host pastor Arden Gustafson reported that
32 of the 38 acres had been sold. "He also told them I was locking the
doors until we hit 38." Baloun says. "That part wasn't true, but by the
end of the banquet, we had exactly 38 acres booked."
Then the target was enlarged. After the 38 acres were booked, Peterson
said the field actually contained 55 acres. He planned on donating the
crop from the unsold acres.
That quickly became unnecessary. As delegates returned home across
Canadian provinces, they informed their local congregations about the
project. "Soon, we were at 55," Baloun says. Money that continued to
come in after the 55 acres were sold was added to the revenue that was
generated from the sale of the wheat. Stan Unger of the Evangelical
Covenant Church in Norquay purchased hail insurance.
The "new farmers," as Baloun refers to them, actually include people
from Oregon, Michigan and even Ecuador.
"I could not imagine at the start that we would get that many people to
give that much money," says Baloun who is a member of the conference
executive board.
The idea of selling the acres developed during a quick lunch between
Anderson and Baloun, who were attending a meeting of Canadian World
Relief and the Foodgrains Bank in Winnipeg. Anderson and Baloun, a
member of the nearby Minnedosa Covenant Church, were invited to attend
because Canadian World Relief is supported by the conference.
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