A recent meeting between representatives of the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP)and United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) in London laid the groundwork for potential future partnerships with a shared focus on the same projects, said Guilia Bonoldi, the Convocation’s chief welcoming officer.
USPG is an Anglican mission agency that provides financial support and partnership with Anglican churches worldwide. Bishop Mark Edington, Bonoldi, and Audrey Shankles, the Convocation’s canon for programming and communication, met with the Rev. Cannon Dr. Duncan Dormor, general secretary of the USPG, and Carol Miller, the USPG’s regional managerfor Britain, Ireland, and Europe. “We were very happy to be hosted by USPG and to have
conversations about projects that are important to both of our organizations,”Bonoldi said. “Getting to know partners in ministry from around Europe helps us understand how our work is
broadly connected and having a wide impact within communities and networks” Shankles added. “We highly enjoyed learning more from USPG about their goals and discussing where the CRGP might be a possible fit to expand the work of both organizations.
About 37 percent of the Convocation’s grant money is going to programs that are chaplaincies within the Diocese of Europe, and part of the conversation was looking for ways that USPG could add their support to existing CRGP projects. “USPG is currently focusing on human trafficking and modern-day slavery, and we think there is a great deal of convergence between their priorities and our emphasis on migration and refugees,” Bonoldi emphasized.
“Both our agencies are the means by which very good work is being done in countries across Europe and we look forward to continuing conversations with USPG,” she added, noting that CRGP and USPG have already demonstrated that their combined support can contribute significantly to the growth and success of church projects. Between 2022 and 2023, the two organizations collaborated with several churches working with refugees, including St Margaret’s in Budapest, the Anglican Church in Warsaw, the Church of the Resurrection in Bucharest, and Holy Trinity in Brussels.