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Monthly Mission
Project
for February
We will be
collecting boxes of cereal for Son Light House. Place donations at
the blue mission tub in the narthex. For March we are
participating in the Williamsport District Project for Lent "50
Miles of Canned Food". That is 1,056,000 cans! "Can" we do
it? Yes, we can but we need the help of our church also. All the
churches in the Williamsport District will be helping to feed the
hungry. The district will be gathering canned food to be given to
local food pantries in our three county area. We will be taking our
cans to the Sonlight House in Muncy. Bring them to the blue mission
tub."Can"
we help? Yes we "can"!
Volunteers In Mission and Haiti Earthquake
Relief The
purpose of Volunteers In Mission is to share the love and hope
offered by Jesus Christ through the work that we do. At this point
in time our “work” is to lift the people of Haiti up in prayer, to
promote financial offerings through Advance Special # 418325, and to
support the efforts of Mission Central in their assembly of disaster
kits and collection of relief supplies. Our “work” is not to form
teams and travel to Haiti. Because the infrastructures are
shattered, and there is little access to water, food, power, and
fuel such teams would only add to the scope of the disaster. There
will be great need for Volunteers In Mission teams in Haiti in the
future, especially as rebuilding efforts are begun. We will, in
cooperation with the UMVIM NEJ Coordinator, make you aware of
volunteer opportunities as they become available in the coming
months.
John Best, Chair, Central PA
Conference Volunteers In Mission Council
Health Kits for
Mission Central. Our church youth will be collecting items or
donations to make health kits for the people of Haiti through
Mission Central. The items needed are:
Hand Towels, 15" x 25" up to 17" x
27", (no kitchen towels please)
Washcloths, Combs (large, sturdy,
not pocket-sized please)
Nail file (no emery boards), or
fingernail clippers (no toenail clippers please)
Bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
Toothbrushes (single brushes only in
original wrapper, no child-size brushes)
Adhesive plastic
strip sterile bandage ("band aids")
Change the World, an Impact
Community Event - April 24-25, 2010
What if...on
one weekend all around the world, 11 million United Methodists came
together to work in their local communities?
What if...we
unite globally to eliminate a preventable, treatable disease that
kills one child every 30 seconds?
Would you help?
Join faithful Christians to
impact their community, as well as help to raise funds for the
Imagine No Malaria campaign. World Malaria Day is April 25, 2010.
Build
Community Locally - Fight Malaria Globally.
There will be more on this in the
near future.
VIM Team Leader Training
Training for persons wishing to lead
Volunteer in Mission (VIM) teams will be held on April 17
from 9AM to approximately 3:30PM at McElhattan UMC. McElhattan, east
of Lock Haven near Rte 220. Cost of the training is $20 per person,
which includes the training manual and lunch. The form is available
on the www.cpcgbm.org web site. Click on "Forms and Downloads",
scroll down to VIM Team Leader Training Registration Form. Send form
to Ken Mengel along with the registration fee. Checks should be made
payable to CPCUMC.
It is strongly recommend that if you
feel called to lead or assist in leading a VIM journey in the
future, you should participate in this training. If you have
questions or want more information, please contact Ken Mengel or
John Best.
Volunteers In Mission, Williamsport
District - Central PA Conference
Spring
2010 Opportunities:
March
21-27, 2010, North Georgia; $200
Flood-related construction and
rebuilding
May 2-8, 2010, Gowanda, NY; cost
$150
Flood-related construction and
rebuilding
For more information or an
application, contact John Best, 570-326-1943 or jmbest@comcast.net.
Talk to Denny Hammond about Gowanda, as he has been there.
Sojourner Truth There
are Saturday dates still available to make lunch for 80-100 on a
Saturday or two during 2010. Please see Joanie Castlebury if your
group, or a few church friends would like to help.
Red Bird Mission Trip, July 17-25. Anne Knox and Joanne Castlebury are the team
leaders. The cost of the trip is $280.00. There will be
scholarships of $140.00 to the first 20 persons who sign up (10 women and 10 men).
There are nine spaces open. This
is a work mission, and there is something to do for all ages from
those who have completed the ninth grade on up.
A meeting will be held
March 7 at 12:15 in Room 200. See Anne or Joanie for
the form to be filled out for scholarships.
“Missions Near and Far” presentation Saturday,
February 27. The agenda is as follows: 1-1:45 Bethesda Mission
Presentation; 1:45-2:15 Warehouse Tours; 2:15-3:00 Arms Around
Africa Presentation. Registration is free and not required except
for groups over 4 people. Donations will be accepted for these two
missions. For more information contact Wanda Jacobs at 717-939-2993
or buddy.beetle@verizon.net.
Neighborhood Center
is registered with the Giant grocery
stores' APlus Rewards program, which runs from October 4, 2009 to
March 13, 2010. If you shop at Giant and have a Bonus card
you can benefit the Neighborhood Center at no cost to yourself by
simply opening their web site, www.giantaplus.com, and entering the
Center's School I.D. code 02571, your name and Bonus Card number.
Then each time you shop, and show your card, the Center will earn 1%
of your purchase price. Please register yourself, and tell your
friends, family, and church people.
Mission trip to
Rosebud Sioux Reservation
in South
Dakota, May 22 to May 29. There is room for 25 people. The
cost will be around $850 per person. If you are interested, contact
Rev Larry Siikanen at 570-524-9070 or
larsiik@dejazzd.com.
Trip to Kerch, Ukraine
Our congregation has been
supporting the Kerch, Ukraine congregation. On behalf of the
Ukraine Initiative, a trip there is tentatively planned for
August 31 to September 8, 2010. If interested contact Rev. John
Godissart at jgodissart@comcast.net.
Flood Recovery in
Georgia
The long-term recovery will take months. There are
thousands of homes affected. For United Methodists, the
long-term recovery is largely done by UMCOR (United Methodist
Committee On Relief) and UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In
Missions.) These two organizations have been at work from the first
moment of the flooding in North Georgia, and they'll be here until
the work is completed.
Aid Victims Of Typhoon Ondoy
The Manila Episcopal Area:
Alay-Liwanag, Alay-Buhay para sa Iglesia at Sambayanan is calling on
all United Methodists to help and support our brothers and sisters
who are victims of typhoon Ondoy which submerged the National
Capital Region especially those living in Cainta, Marikina, Pasig,
and Payatas in Quezon City. September 28, 2009 tropical storm Ondoy
left the country, and 86,313 families were affected. Donations for relief
for the Philippines should use the International Advance number and
specify "Philippines". That number is: 982450, and it is
CRITICAL
that the correct number be used on the remittance checks, made
payable to Central Pennsylvania Conference, UMC - PO Box 2053,
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.
Operation Military Outreach
Sue Moon, new chairperson of
Operation Military Outreach, would like to be involved in meeting
any unmet needs of people in the military and their families. If
anyone in the church family has a need we could possibly help with,
please contact Sue at (570)437-3170 or lilfordgirl99@hotmail.com.
Prayer Shawl Ministry You are
invited to make prayer shawls and lap robes for those in the
hospital, nursing homes and shut-ins. If interested, call Phyllis
Strasburg (940-0150) or the church office (546-8030).
WE ARE ALL INVITED!
We are all
invited to join any mission trip that the conference has on their
web page. If you are interested this is how to find them:
www.cpcumc.org
Click on Board of Global Ministries box on the left side of the home
page, and then click on Mission Opportunities. If you don’t have a
computer, Karen can run the page off in the office.
Our Newest
Outreach: Russian Initiative
At the last
Administrative Council, it was voted to support the Russian
Initiative which involves the countries of Russian, Belarus,
Moldova, and parts of Ukraine. The Russian Initiative is
a program of the General Board of Global Ministries. The heart and
soul of the mission is in the encouraging relationships with young
and growing churches. The General Board of Global Ministries
receives contributions and transmits them to the United Methodist
missionary in Moscow who manages the transfer of the funds to the
Eurasia United Methodist Church Treasurer. The treasurer distributes
the funds to the Eurasian pastors and churches under the guidance of
their bishop. The Council voted to support the Initiative with
$1,000 a year for the next three years, with decision to continue
after the three year commitment is complete in 2011.
RUSSIAN/UKRAINE INITIATIVE-
UPDATE (10/09) We’re supporting the children’s orphanage in Kiev,
but the Kerch Church was in dire need of finances, and a decision
was made to support them. They will receive our $1000.00 initiative
giving this year.
The Central PA Conference Ukraine Initiative
is
in the midst of its
15th year of ministry and outreach in Ukraine. One current area of
the Initiative's focus is to provide Bible study and Sunday School
materials in the Russian language for the Istochnik UM Church and
for the Cerebral Palsy Center, both serving Kyiv.
To reach out to help our sisters and
brothers in Ukraine understand more about God's compassion and love,
you may send your donations to:
The Rev. John Godissart, UI treasurer,
121 North Second St.,
McConnellsburg, PA 17233-1163
jgodissart@comcast.net
or contact:
The Rev. Michael Gingerich, UI Chairperson,
mgingerich@hotmail.com
District Volunteers in Mission Under
the leadership of John and Sue Best, and the blessings of our
District Superintendent, Rev. Arlene Beechart, a Williamsport
District VIM Ministries has been organized.
Our mission: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world.
Our purpose: Volunteers in Mission share Christ’s love in ways that
make a difference. We witness through work by: Honoring God in all we do, Living in community, Experiencing the
people, Caring and Listening,
Being flexible and patient.
Our task: Our task is what we do (or physical work we do) with our
abilities and is always secondary to our purpose of making a
Christian difference. Although our task is distinct from our
purpose, the two are joined together so that Christ may be lifted
up.
We are looking for work that needs to be done in the Williamsport
District. If you know of someone in need of repairs, and cannot do
them their selves, please contact Kathy Burkhart, so help can be
arranged.
If you would like to be on the list of Volunteers, also contact
Kathy. If you would like to donate, please send your checks to the
Williamsport District Office, 2420 Nottingham Rd.
Williamsport, PA 17701, and mark it for the Williamsport District
VIM Ministries.
Computer Ministry, Inc Needs Help
Since
January 2008, we have donated nearly 550 PCs to Zimbabwe, Puerto
Rico, Ghana, and various local churches and non-profit organizations
helping people in the region and even up to Maine. We need at least
20 for a theological seminary in the Philippines, and 200 more for a
health ministry in Kyrgyzstan. But our shelves are bare. Perhaps the
Lord is giving us a brief vacation, but the requests continue to
come in. Although our next recycle day is not until August 9, we are
making an appeal for your unused PCs and related equipment now. If
you have a PC you aren't using and want to dispose of, please
consider Computer Ministry, Inc. Even if you don't have a PC to
donate, talk with co-workers, neighbors, or other family
members. We are in the Mission Central building, 5 Pleasant
View Dr, Mechanicsburg PA. Our e-mail is:
computerministry@comcast.net, our website is
www.compministry.org, and our phone is 717.766.6373. We are open
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 am till 4:00 pm, but if you
can't make it on those days, Mission Central will accept PC
donations for us any day they are open (Mon-Sat). If you wish, we
can give you a donation acknowledgement for tax purposes. |
