January 2009

Connecting Points

East Central District

Florida United Methodist Church

Dear Michelle,

As we begin the new year, the financial news is bleak. Food pantries and the agencies that provide community assistance are being overwhelmed. This presents us with an incredible challenge to respond more fully to the needs of the communities around us. Please read below for information on a new Hunger Ministry Team for the District and other connections for mission and ministry.

Rev. Bob Brown, Pastor of Coronado Community United Methodist Church in New Symrna Beach, shared a story recently from a member of his congregation, who is a firefighter . . . "We had a man lose his home and all his belongings in a mobile home fire in Edgewater on Tuesday morning. The Red Cross was able to provide 4 nights in a local hotel as well as some funds for food and clothing.

He came to our office today seeking guidance on where to go from here. We assisted him in contacting his insurance company, set him up for some food from the Gifts of Love and gave him a voucher for the (Coronado Community United Methodist Church) Boutique for warm clothing. He heard me on the phone when I called them to let them know he would be coming over in the next day or so. He heard me identify myself as a Coronado Methodist Church member to the person answering the phone.

Before he left, he asked me what church I belonged to. I told him and he commented that of the several people who have helped him in the days since the fire "with the same attitude" all attend Methodist churches. He said he has been so impressed by that and intends to attend a Methodist church service when he is back on his feet."

We often do not know the effect we have when we are serving others, but the light of Christ always shines.

Grace and peace to you for 2009,
Marilyn

In This Issue

UMVIM Leader Training

Citrus Gleaning Time

Helping the Homeless

Hunger Team Starting

Office Volunteer Needed

Summer Interns Needed

F.O.C.U.S. Tours

ACCESS Training

Children's Week

Volunteers In Mission Team Leader Training - Jan. 23-24

Beginning at 1pm Friday and ending by 5pm Saturday at First United Methodist Church of Fort Myers, 2466 First St., Ft. Myers, FL 33901

INSTRUCTORS from UMVIM Southeast Jurisdiction in Atlanta will train anyone wishing to become a Mission Team Leader. $50/person includes training, food, lodging, and a t-shirt! Team leader training is conducted only 3 times per year in the Florida Conference.

[CLICK HERE] to register and learn more details!

Citrus Harvest for the Hungry - Society of St. Andrew

The Gleaning Network is a project of the Society of St. Andrew that coordinates volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to salvage food for the needy. Tens of thousands of volunteers participate each year and tens of millions of pounds of produce are salvaged and given to the poor at no cost to them. Gleaners are people of all ages and income levels who want to give of themselves. Within 48 hours of picking the produce, hungry Americans are usually eating the gleaned food.

The Society of St. Andrew's annual Citrus gleanings in the East Central District will take place as follows:

January 31: Greater Orlando Area [Click for drop sites]

February 21: Deland Area

To Donate or Volunteer:
Orlando Area Citrus Harvest
C/O Society of St. Andrew
P.O. Box 536842
Orlando, FL 32853
Phone: 407-650-1956

Volusia/Flagler County Hospitality for the Homeless - Jan. 28-29 Survey

Rev. Troy Ray, Executive Director of Halifax Urban Ministry, is asking churches to participate in the annual Point in Time Survey done by the Volusia/Flagler Coalition for the Homeless. The survey counts the number of homeless persons in a community and federal funding is then distributed based on the results of the survey. You can partner with HUM and other groups to provide something to the homeless that they do not often receive: Christian hospitality and presence.

Between noon January 28th to noon January 29th can you open your church building to be used as a temporary shelter for homeless people to come, receive meals, interact with your people, play some games, perhaps watch some TV and be counted for this survey by your volunteers. HUM and the Coalition will provide the surveys and training and will have representatives from their organizations available to you. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate the irresistible grace of God through your acts of caring to people who rarely see true Christianity in action.

If you are willing to be a host site for the survey, please contact Halifax Urban Ministries by phone at 386-252-0156, by e-mail at PeopleMatter2God@earthlink.net, or through our website at halifaxurbanministries.org . We need your help to make this work!

New District Hunger Team Starting

A new ministry team is being put together to focus on hunger issues. The team will have the immediate tasks to:

create a support system for our United Methodist congregations that sponsor food banks and thrift stores so they can serve more people;
communicate information about community groups doing excellent work in feeding the hungry so that churches can connect for volunteers and donations;
find churches that would like to become sites to assist people who need to apply for food stamps or other services;
work with congregations interested in becoming sites for summer feeding for children.

Other ministries and connections may emerge for the long term, but these starting points let us have an immediate impact for those who are hungry. This will be a working team with monthly meetings at a central point in the District or by conference call when possible. If you are interested in learning more, please call Marilyn Beecher at 407-896-2230 x 105 or mbeecher@flumc.org.

Justice For Our Neighbors - Office Volunteer Needed