For the last number of years, the Parish of the Valley has been pleased to partner with Impact Zambia. Many of you will have heard Rev. Allan Studd and Wendy Wilker-Blakley speak about their work with Impact Zambia, including visits to Zambia over the last two summers.

Impact Zambia is dedicated to empowering communities and fostering sustainable development. They do this primarily through leadership and skills training with rural churches and communities. 

Impact Zambia offers a number of different programs to address a varitey of community needs. They offer sewing initiatives that have enabled many women to gain skills, earn a livelihood, and achieve financial independence. They also facilitate knowledge-sharing programs in sewing, carpentry, and counselling. Finally, there are formal programs at the Life Impact Training Centre that focus on educational and vocational training in addition to offering personal development, and health and wellness workshops.

The leaders of Impact Zambia, Daniel and Florence Mayapi, are visiting Canada from Zambia this spring. While they are here, they are travelling around Ontario to visit and thank those who have supported their ministry through the years.

They will be with us in the Parish of the Valley over Easter: from April 17th to 23rd. In addition to joining our parish for worship from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday, all members of the parish are warmly invited to join in a luncheon for Daniel and Florence on Tuesday, April 22nd from Noon to 2pm at Holy Trinity, Pembroke. This will be an opportunity to hear directly from Daniel and Florence about their work in rural Zambia. The Holy Trinity ACW is graciously catering the luncheon. In order to help with meal planning, please RSVP to ACW President Maggie Jacques by Thursday, April 17th if you plan to attend and/or if you have specific dietary needs. You can call Maggie at 613-401-1100 or email her at jacquesp@nrtco.net.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Impact Zambia; we look forward to joining together to meet Daniel and Florence in April! Although this is not a fundraising visit, but rather a thank you visit to acknowledge our parish's ongoing support, donations to assist with the work of Impact Zambia are always appreciated and can be made by visiting their website at the link below.

For fifteen years, St. John's Eganville and Ascension Killaloe / St. John's Tramore have been partnering with Kenneth Kasule and Wide Smiles for all Through Education to extend education to children and young people in Uganda who might otherwise have missed out on a formal education.

This spring the Parish of the Valley is pleased to host Kenneth, and to hear directly from him about the work that Wide Smiles is undertaking in Uganda. We shared a bit of the history and future plans of Wide Smiles for all Through Education a few weeks ago, and if you missed it, you can read that newsletter here.

The clergy team, together with a visit planning group, have put together a schedule of opportunities for us all to hear a little more from Kenneth about Wide Smiles, their work so far, and their future plans, at a series of post-worship Sunday coffee hours across our parish. We know that we cannot get a visit to every single congregation in the parish, but we hope that you will take the opportunity to join in one of the post-church coffee hours at one of the following locations, or to join in one of the week-day gatherings.

Sunday, April 27: St. John’s, Eganville
Sunday, May 4: Epiphany, Barry’s Bay
Sunday, May 11: Holy Trinity, Pembroke
Sunday, May 18: All Saints, Petawawa
Sunday, May 25: Visiting in Toronto
Sunday, June 8: St. Paul’s, Cobden
Sunday, June 15: St. John’s, Eganville
Wednesday, June 18: Farewell Potluck at St. John’s, Eganville

Some additional dates are still being confirmed: more opportunities to hear from Kenneth may arise as we get closer to his arrival. If you would like to host Kenneth at your home while he is with us please continue reading to learn more about billeting. 

In addition to joining in fellowship and hearing Kenneth speak across the parish, we are looking for households willing to host Kenneth as a guest in your home for at least 4 nights.

While he is with you, we hope that you will be able to offer him meals and fellowship, perhaps some sight-seeing in your area, bringing him to church if he is with you over a Sunday, making connection with the next host, and offering the opportunity to do laundry etc. as needed.

If you would like to know more about hosting Kenneth, or to sign up for a period of time as a host, please contact Carol Clark of St. John’s Eganville at 613-625-2755. Thank you to those who have already responded! We are still seeking to identify more hosts, so thank you for prayerfully considering this ministry of hospitality during the Season of Easter as we welcome Kenneth to our parish community.