Anglicans meet with Minister to hand over Big Hearts messages
In December, as part of the Big Hearts campaign, our diocese wrote over 300 messages to ministers and Members of Parliament asking them to boost our funding for overseas aid. On Friday, Bishop Eleanor and others hand-delivered those messages to Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, one of the key decision-makers setting the government's budget.
L-R: Olivia Hartfield, Bishop Eleanor Sanderson, the Minister of Finance Hon Grant Roberston, Jo Spratt.
Bishop Eleanor was joined by Olivia Hartfield from our Island Bay whānau, as well as Jo Spratt from Oxfam, which is one of the partner organisations behind the Big Hearts campaign. Their meeting with Minister Robertson follows other meetings by parish leaders who have delivered our Big Hearts messages to their local MPs.
Bishop Ellie tells us that the Minister appreciated the work we had done. She told us this demonstrates the importance of us continually speaking up for the vulnerable, reminding our elected leaders of their mandate to be generous and kind.
"These meetings come at an important time," says Kate Day, our diocesan Advocacy Enabler. "Decision makers are currently setting priorities for the budget. Our hand-written messages remind them of the needs of the most vulnerable communities and our opportunity as a country to be generous." Kate tells us that along with the hand-written messages we have delivered, there is also a petition that will soon be delivered to ministers. "Signing and sharing this petition is an easy way you can support this campaign," Kate added. Go to bighearts.org.nz to sign the petition.
The Big Hearts Campaign:
As the Government looks to set our overseas development aid budget for the coming three years, the Big Hearts campaign calls on the government to:
boost overseas aid by 20%
double funding for climate finance, and
establish a timeline for getting aid spending to 0.7% of gross national income by 2030.
Let's keep praying that God would impart generosity and kindness into the hearts of our leaders, as they decide how much of the abundance we are blessed with in this nation is given to our global neighbours in their time of need.
