LAKELAND — When Bishop Cornelius L. and Dorothye Henderson visited Mozambique, Africa, in August 1998, they were deeply affected by the plight of the children there, said Keith Ewing, the bishop’s administrative assistant.

When they returned to Florida, they brought a renewed sense of urgency about the Council of Bishops’ Initiative on Children and Poverty (BICAP) and its partner ministry, "Hope for the Children of Africa."

Now, Henderson is asking all conference churches to set aside Feb. 13 as a day to create awareness of the initiative, including collecting a special offering to go toward the denomination’s fund-raising goal of $12 million prior to General Conference 2000. The Florida Conference’s share of that goal is $474,933, which will be used to build a school in Africa, according to Ewing.

Hope of the Children of Africa was approved by the Council of Bishops in November 1997 and began during the 1998 Lenten season with a special denomination-wide offering. The initiative’s goals are to provide relief and aid to children and families affected by decades of war and to rebuild United Methodist churches and ministries, especially those working with children, according to the General Board of Global Ministries’ (GBGM) initiative web site.

Bill Walker, director of the Florida Conference Council on Ministries, said the appeal is not just "one more thing being mandated to the local churches."

"We have done a good thing with BICAP," he said. "This is an opportunity to do what we’re already doing on a global basis."

Ewing said the appeal is in addition to and in conjunction with BICAP, which has raised more than $360,000 and given $256,700 in grant money to 95 churches and ministries throughout the conference. "The BICAP grants serve churches here in our conference that serve the needs of children in poverty situations. Hope for the Children of Africa helps us serve children in needful situations in Africa," he said.

The Council of Bishops has also asked for 100 "Missioners of Hope" to serve in Africa for two to five years. United Methodists are asked to pray for Africa, highlight the appeal in their churches and make contact with United Methodist churches in Africa.

Offerings for the Council of Bishops’ appeal for Hope for the Children of Africa should be submitted to the Florida Conference Treasurer, P.O. Box 3767, Lakeland, FL 33802, with "Advance #101000-4" in the memo line.

United Methodist Communications offers free resources, including leaflet/offering envelopes (#842291) in English, Spanish and Korean; a full-color poster (#842303) in the three languages; an eight-page Biblical and theological foundations document (#842314); and a "Celebrate Hope" package (#842198) with stories, prayers, worship litany and promotional ideas for the appeal. To order, call 1-800-862-3242.