Special thanks to all who sent in their pictures during this trip.

LOCAL FOUNDATION PRESIDENT SPEAKS
AT UNITED NATIONS

Dr. T.L. Lowery, president of the T.L. Lowery Global Foundation, was recently a guest speaker at a United Nations gathering to review progress on the world body’s Millennium Development Goals.

As a member of the International Association of Economic and Social Councils, a group selected from the top tier of 2,700 non-governmental organization leaders, Lowery was invited to address the council leaders November 3 and 4. In addition, he was asked to conduct a chapel service for UN staff and guests during a lunch hour. That voluntary meeting was attended by more than 200 people, who sacrificed their lunch time in order to take part.

The Millennium Development Goals are based on the United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed by world leaders in September 2000. They commit the international community to combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and gender discrimination, and set goals for 2015 in order to achieve milestones toward the goals. The meeting last week looked at progress toward target dates for key provisions of the goals.

“I was honored to receive the invitation, and I could not have imagined the regal treatment that was accorded to me,” Lowery said. During the two days he spent in New York, he spoke to the members of the Economic and Social Council and met with three other committees of which he is a member by virtue of his council appointment, including the Millennium Goals Committee, the Business Administrative Affairs Committee, and the Peace and War Committee.

Dr. Lowery was also greeted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and invited to a meal with him. Ban stressed the importance of the Millennium Development Goals. He told the council members, “Your work is crucial to strengthening the participation and engagement of civil society in government at the national and international levels. Your workshops and meetings foster dialogue and focus much-needed attention on promoting social justice, deepening democracy, and advancing development.

“Your contributions are especially important to ECOSOC, where civil society voices and perspectives play such an important role in ensuring that our agenda and goals are balanced and well-coordinated. This hard work is vital, especially now.
Economies are still suffering from the financial, food and energy crises. Millions of people are jobless. Millions more have been pushed into extreme poverty. Natural disasters have demanded higher levels of financial and logistical coordination. Ongoing wars, conflicts, and humanitarian crises command our attention,” Ban challenged the group.

Dr. Scott Moore, assigned as Lowery’s host for the visit, commented on the effectiveness of Dr. Lowery’s remarks to the groups with whom he interacted, and especially on the chapel service. “It is unusual for world leaders to gravitate toward these meetings, but I observed the ambassador from Haiti and the ambassador from Nigeria in particular were strongly moved by Dr. Lowery’s prayers for them.”

T.L. Lowery presently leads the locally-based Global Foundation. He formerly served on the Executive Committee of the Church of God, and earlier was pastor of the National Church of God in Washington, D.C., and the North Cleveland Church of God.