Two grants had a particular focus on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, in the United States and across the world.

The Diocese of Swaziland will receive $130,758 over three years to fight HIV/AIDS. The smallest country in the Southern Hemisphere, it has the world's highest rate of HIV/AIDS with 42 percent infected and 200,000 dying of HIV/AIDS or related illnesses annually. The country has only six hospitals with a total of 2,000 beds. Infection is particularly high among people ages 15 to 45.

Trinity's funding will support a program covering all three archdeaconries of the Diocese of Swaziland and will fund production and distribution of HIV/AIDS prevention materials and workshops throughout the country.

In accepting Trinity's grant, the Right Reverend Meshack Mabuza, Bishop of Swaziland, said "Thank God for Trinity Wall Street, because it has demonstrated that the body of Christ is universal: the distance between Swaziland and the U.S. is not so material. I am grateful that our sisters and brothers at Trinity Church have identified themselves with our challenge, HIV/AIDS, which is of great magnitude in Swaziland. The grant will enable us to go a long way in responding to the challenge."

Domestically, a grant of $36,000 will support San Juan Bautista Mission's "Hablando Claro" program in its educational activities for HIV/AIDS prevention among Latino residents of the Hunts Point-Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx. This neighborhood has one of the highest HIV infection rates in New York City and the church's prevention efforts have a particular focus on at-risk Latino women living in the area. An evaluation program coordinated with the Columbia University School of Public Health will help share the lessons of these prevention efforts with other programs.

"For more than twenty years, the Trinity Grants Program has helped local communities battle the AIDS pandemic," said the Reverend Canon James G. Callaway Jr., Trinity-St. Paul's deputy for faith formation and development. "Congregations have the trust that is crucial for effective prevention efforts, if they have the tools they need."

Other Trinity grants include $171,000 to support the second year of the "Feed the Solution" initiative that is helping the Episcopal Church expand its responses to hunger in New York and New Jersey, and support for interfaith networks between Christian, Muslim, and Jewish groups in New Jersey; telecommunications equipment throughout the Episcopal Church of Brazil; and the Anglican Web Portal in London. Grants announced today are the second of three cycles annually by Trinity to meet four objectives: strengthening the Church in the Global South, social transformation in metropolitan New York, spiritual formation and development, and strengthening telecommunications in the Anglican Communion.

A complete grants list follows.

Trinity Church is one of America's oldest philanthropies, for over three centuries identifying new leaders, innovative ideas, and exceptional opportunities to transform the Church and help the Church change the world. The Trinity Grants program uses the tools of philanthropy to strengthen the Church's witness, both locally and globally.

Firmly rooted in the history of the city of New York and the nation, Trinity Church was established under royal charter in 1697 from King William III. The parish, consisting of Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel, has a diverse congregation drawn from the New York region and offers 18 worship services during the week as well as daily interdenominational prayers for peace at St. Paul's Chapel.

###

For more information on Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel, go to www.trinitywallstreet.org.

PARISH OF TRINITY CHURCH GRANTS – MAY 2005
Church in The Global South

Primary/Preventive Health Care Diocese of Swaziland, Mbabane, $130,758. Over three years to fund the establishment of an integrated and comprehensive HIV/AIDS program in the Diocese of Swaziland. Theological Education by Extension The Pacific Theological College, Suva, $23,601. Over two years to fund the translation into French of text books and other materials for the francophone section of the Pacific Theological College Education by Extension. Metropolitan New York

Building Systems Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment, New York, NY, $60,000. Over two years to change New York State policy on employment licenses for formerly incarcerated persons.

Creating Coalitions The Apostles' House, Newark, NJ, $36,000. Over one year to increase Episcopal congregations' policy advocacy on hunger issues in New Jersey through the Feed the Solution Initiative.

Cathedral Community Cares - Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY, $80,000. Over one year to coordinate program activities for the Feed the Solution Initiative.

Episcopal Charities, New York, NY, $55,000. Over one year to increase the number of Episcopal feeding programs providing "beyond emergency services" through the Feed the Solution Initiative. Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, New York, NY, $30,000. Over one year to engage Episcopal faith communities in advocacy on issues of affordable housing and homelessness. Interweave Interfaith Network, Summit, NJ, $45,000. Over two years to create a network of communication and cooperation between the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities in northern New Jersey. Strengthening Leaders Community Action Project (CAP), Brooklyn, NY, $30,000. Over one year to organize against immigration fraud in the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn. East Brooklyn Congregations, Brooklyn, NY, $35,000. Over one year to coordinate the construction of eight hundred units of affordable housing in the Spring Creek neighborhood of Brooklyn.

San Juan Bautista Mission - The Bronx, Bronx, NY, $36,000. Over one year to continue a project reducing HIV/AIDS infection rates among Latino residents of the Hunts Point-Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx through Hablando Claro.

St. Mary's Manhattanville Episcopal Church, New York, NY, $30,000. Over one year to create an urban service-learning internship program for young adults.

Spiritual Formation/Development

Coherent Congregational Spirituality Church of Saint Martin in the Fields, Philadelphia, PA, $90,000. Over three years to fund the Visio Divina Parish Program in collaboration with the Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA) at the Church of St. Martin in the Fields. Deep Leadership Spirituality Consultations, New York, NY, $12,500. To reimburse funds expended for the March 2005 consultation on the Spirituality of Young Adults.

Strengthen Telecommunications Anglican Consultative Council, London, $55,000. Over one year to continue to support the infrastructure of the official Anglican Web Portal, a telecommunications ministry of the Anglican Consultative Council and its Anglican Communication Office.

Network Development Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion, Montreal, Quebec, $20,000. To cover most of the costs of travel, housing, and hospitality for the African and Caribbean participants in the July 2005, Montreal, Canada meeting of the Francophone Network of the Anglican Communion.

Igreja Episcopal Anglicana Do Brasil, Porto Alegre – RS, $43,217. Over one year to fund the purchase and installation of modern telecommunications equipment in the eight dioceses and two missionary districts of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil.

Total grants: $844,926.00