VeNews — Vesper Society’s Newsletter

Exploring Vesper Society’s Work with Laity
October 2007
Research is being conducted in preparation for a publication that will narrate the role of Vesper Society in relationship to ecumenical laity movements, both in its programs and its leadership.

Society Partners with Global Peace Center to Strengthen African Health Care Systems
September 2007
Vesper Society is collaborating with The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, founded by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik in 2006 to combat global poverty and disease and to promote interreligious dialogue.

Working for a Better World: Reflections on the 2007 Kirchentag
July 2007
Mary Baich, President of Vesper Society, reports on her trip to Cologne, Germany, for the biennial gathering of the German Protestant Church, an event known as the Kirchentag.

Vesper Society Launches Network to Connect Leaders with Faith-Based Organizations
May 2007
Connecting people of faith with faith-based, not-for-profit organizations needing assistance is the mission of Vesper Service Network, a recently launched joint venture of Vesper Society and KDM Consultants, Inc. of Milwaukee.

Religious Health Assets Key to Fighting Aids in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 2007
Vesper Society, WHO, and ARHAP are calling for greater collaboration among ministries of health, health agencies, donors, religious entities and their partners in order to provide universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment by 2010.

Vesper Society Helps Youth Succeed
November 2006
In the Adolescent Health Consortium, three agencies are coordinating services to meet the physical and mental health needs of students at an alternative school in Hayward, California.

Gifted by God in the Mission of Health and Well-Being
September 2006
An interview with one of our partners: the Rev. Dr. Steve de Gruchy, South African theologian and leader in the African Religious Health Assets Program (ARHAP).

International Training Program Equips Peacemakers
June 2006
Vesper Society’s work in Dialogue for Peaceful Change, an international project, is equipping leaders with the skills to understand and resolve conflict.

ARHAP Participates in the 9th General Assembly of the WCC
March 2006
Vesper Society’s African Religious Health Assets Program (ARHAP) participates in the ‘Mutirao’ sessions of the Ninth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, February 9–24, 2006.

Vesper Society Celebrates 40 Years
November 2005
Vesper Society’s 40 years of devoted service to communities around the world were celebrated on Sept. 24, 2005, at the Stanford University Faculty Club in Palo Alto.

Faith Leaders Train in Domestic Violence Prevention
July 2005
To help strengthen lines of communication between secular and faith-based organizations, the Community Healing Network and Vesper Society sponsored an interfaith workshop on domestic violence prevention.

Lives Can Be Saved . . . AIDS Is No Longer a Death Sentence
May 2005
Vesper Society support the Masangane HIV/AIDS Treatment Program in rural South Africa. The program pairs those who are HIV positive with family members or friends trained as treatment supporters.