West Tennessee Haiti Partnership
The West Tennessee Haiti Partnership is an agency of the Diocese of West Tennessee that began in 2005 as an initial commitment of the Rev. Joe Porter and Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Memphis. During the 29th Annual Convention of the Diocese of West Tennessee in 2010, a presentation and resolution about the new relationship as companion dioceses was offered and unanimously approved. Since then, it has grown into a diocesan-wide effort, with commitment to help the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti expressed in five ways: education, food, healthcare, learning and water. The purpose of the West Tennessee Haiti Partnership is to bring hope and healing to the poor children of St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children in Port au Prince, Haiti. The center has children who suffer from physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or missing limbs or other crippling physical deformity. The West Tennessee Haiti Partnership sends medical teams twice a year to provide medical care to the children and staff, supporting the established clinic run by local Haitian doctors and nurses. Since the devastating earthquake of January 2010, the partnership’s work in Haiti is more important than ever.
The Gideons International
The Gideons International is an association of Christian business and professional men and their wives dedicated to telling people about Jesus through sharing personally and by providing Bibles and New Testaments. While they are known worldwide for their work with hotels, they predominantly share Scriptures in schools and colleges, prisons and jails, hospitals, and medical offices. Founded in Wisconsin in 1899, The Gideons International is the oldest association of Christian businessmen and professional men in the USA. In 1898, John H. Nicholson of Janesville came to the Central Hotel at Boscobel for a night. The hotel being crowded, it was suggested that he take a bed in a double room with Samuel E. Hill of Beloit. The two men discovered that both were Christians. They had their evening devotions together, and on their knees before God the thoughts were given which later developed into an association. The two men met again at Beaver Dam, where they concluded to band Christian commercial travelers together for mutual recognition, personal evangelism, and united service for the Lord. They decided to call a meeting in Janesville, Wisconsin on July 1, 1899, in the Y.M.C.A. Only three men were present at that meeting: John H. Nicholson, Samuel E. Hill, and Will J. Knights. They organized with Hill as president, Knights as vice president, and Nicholson as secretary and treasurer. After prayer that God might lead them to select a name, Knights arose from his knees and said, “We shall be called Gideons.” He read the sixth and seventh chapters of Judges and showed the reason for adopting that name. Almost all of the Gideons in the early years of the association were traveling men. The question arose regarding how they might be more effective witnesses in the hotels where they spent so much of their time. One trustee suggested that the Gideons furnish a Bible for each bedroom of the hotels in the USA. This plan, which they called “The Bible Project,” was adopted at Louisville, Kentucky in 1908.
The West Tennessee Haiti Partnership is an agency of the Diocese of West Tennessee that began in 2005 as an initial commitment of the Rev. Joe Porter and Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Memphis. During the 29th Annual Convention of the Diocese of West Tennessee in 2010, a presentation and resolution about the new relationship as companion dioceses was offered and unanimously approved. Since then, it has grown into a diocesan-wide effort, with commitment to help the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti expressed in five ways: education, food, healthcare, learning and water. The purpose of the West Tennessee Haiti Partnership is to bring hope and healing to the poor children of St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children in Port au Prince, Haiti. The center has children who suffer from physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or missing limbs or other crippling physical deformity. The West Tennessee Haiti Partnership sends medical teams twice a year to provide medical care to the children and staff, supporting the established clinic run by local Haitian doctors and nurses. Since the devastating earthquake of January 2010, the partnership’s work in Haiti is more important than ever.
The Gideons International
The Gideons International is an association of Christian business and professional men and their wives dedicated to telling people about Jesus through sharing personally and by providing Bibles and New Testaments. While they are known worldwide for their work with hotels, they predominantly share Scriptures in schools and colleges, prisons and jails, hospitals, and medical offices. Founded in Wisconsin in 1899, The Gideons International is the oldest association of Christian businessmen and professional men in the USA. In 1898, John H. Nicholson of Janesville came to the Central Hotel at Boscobel for a night. The hotel being crowded, it was suggested that he take a bed in a double room with Samuel E. Hill of Beloit. The two men discovered that both were Christians. They had their evening devotions together, and on their knees before God the thoughts were given which later developed into an association. The two men met again at Beaver Dam, where they concluded to band Christian commercial travelers together for mutual recognition, personal evangelism, and united service for the Lord. They decided to call a meeting in Janesville, Wisconsin on July 1, 1899, in the Y.M.C.A. Only three men were present at that meeting: John H. Nicholson, Samuel E. Hill, and Will J. Knights. They organized with Hill as president, Knights as vice president, and Nicholson as secretary and treasurer. After prayer that God might lead them to select a name, Knights arose from his knees and said, “We shall be called Gideons.” He read the sixth and seventh chapters of Judges and showed the reason for adopting that name. Almost all of the Gideons in the early years of the association were traveling men. The question arose regarding how they might be more effective witnesses in the hotels where they spent so much of their time. One trustee suggested that the Gideons furnish a Bible for each bedroom of the hotels in the USA. This plan, which they called “The Bible Project,” was adopted at Louisville, Kentucky in 1908.
Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church
106 Walnut St., Collierville, TN 38017 P.O. Box 626, Collierville, TN 38027 901-853-0425 Phone 901-853-0423 Fax Weekend Schedule Healing Eucharist Saturday: 5:00 pm Holy Eucharist Sunday: 8:30 & 10:30 am Christian Education Sunday: 9:30 am |