West Tennesseans support Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), a collective response of Episcopalians to help people in need around the world. In the U.S. ERD provides emergency assistance. Overseas, ERD concentrates programs in the areas of Food Security and Primary Health as well as disaster response with a focus on ongoing emergency relief work and on long-term development and rehabilitation. For information on ERD, visit the national website at http://www.er-d.org.

Read Diocesan ERD Coordinator Betty Johnson's update on the rebuilding efforts on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. The update is a follow up to her article in the July edition of Church News.

You can support ERD by:

• Making an individual contribution to ERD
• Assisting with a parish-wide collection effort for ERD
• Volunteering as an ERD parish representative in West Tennessee
• Purchasing Bishop's Blend Coffee, premium line of Certified Fair Trade, organic, and shade-grown coffees from Central America and Indonesia that is available for sale at the Episcopal Bookshop
• Organizing a parish mission trip to work in another country