With such a devastating tragedy we could no longer keep silent. We turn
to our sovereign and merciful God in prayers. May I at this time call
all our Intercessors in our Province to have a special day of prayer and
fasting on Friday, 31st December, 2004.

May I also request that special prayers to be offered during the Services on New Year's Eve, 2004 and New Year's Day 2005. Please remember all the people who have been afflicted by this disaster. Please pray that effort for rescue, relief and re- habitation can be properly coordinated and effectively carried out so that all people, lands and nations afflicted may be speedily recovered and healed.

On behalf of our Diocese and our Province, I want to thank all Christian
brothers and sisters and friends from around the world for praying for
us and have phoned or sent us messages of concern either by email, fax etc. It is times like this we know we are not alone. We are so thankful to all of you. Please continue to pray for our areas.

In our Province, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore have not been affected.

However, some areas in West Malaysia, mainly Penang and Phuket in
Thailand have been greatly affected. I have been in contact with the
Bishop of Singapore and the Bishop of West Malaysia. They reported that all the churches are safe but extensive damages have been inflicted in these areas. More than 1,000 people died in these areas.

As a Province we would like to offer practical help to as many affected
people and areas caused by this dreadful disaster as possible. Our
Provincial Crisis Relief Fund is now open to receive donations from our
churches and friends for this purpose.

Please send your donations, clearly labeled "Crisis Relief Fund", to the
Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia by cheque or by bank transfer to Account No: 392-357448-011 HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. I will also contact churches in other areas outside the Province to see how we can help.

We do not always understand everything that happens in this world.
However, I know that our God is Sovereign. He wants us to love and to share. In Him we trust.

May the Lord bless you all!

The Most Revd. Datuk Yong Ping Chung
Primate of Province of South East Asia.

PITTSBURGH: Episcopal Bishop urges churches to aid tsunami recovery

Bishop urges churches to lend hand in tsunami recovery efforts

To support recovery and relief efforts in the nations of Southeast Asia in the wake of the earthquake and tsunamis on December 26, Bishop Robert Duncan is urging all parishes of the Diocese to hold a special offering on Sunday, January 2.

"This summer, the floods in our region gave us a small taste of what millions are now facing in Malaysia, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other nations. We have a Christian responsibility to help them," said Bishop Duncan.

Bishop Duncan noted that many charities are sending financial and material relief to the damaged areas. Two locally-headquartered organizations, Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) and World Vision would be especially appropriate giving channels for Diocese of Pittsburgh Episcopalians, he added.

According to ARDF Executive Director Kerk Burbank, ARDF is working directly with the Anglican Province of South East Asia, the Anglican Church of South India and the Anglican Church of Ceylon to provide immediate assistance in the region. Checks to help with this effort should be made payable to "Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes." and sent to ARDF, 905 Oliver Building, 535 Smithfield St. Pittsburgh, PA 15222 with a note on the memo line: ARDF - Asian Crisis.

World Vision which has acted as the conduit for Diocese of Pittsburgh Episcopalians' sponsorship of more than 700 Rwandan children, is also collecting donations for relief work. To financially support their work, go online to http://www.worldvision.org or call 888-561-4453.

END