November 4 - 17, 2007

Cover Story

LIVING OUR FAITH DAILY by Rachel Eaton, Missions Council

On Sunday, October 21, we celebrated Laity and Mission at both worship services. The Mission Council’s aim was to highlight how anyone can do the work of God. We thought about our congregation and quickly drafted a long list of individuals who could serve as fantastic examples of this idea. From the very simple humanizing gesture of saying “Good Morning” to the life choice of a career in service - we had many laity to choose from! We wanted to re-energize the church for mission and service and show that there are many ways that we can work for God’s great kingdom in our everyday lives - not just on a periodic basis. Hopefully those in attendance on October 21 left with a renewed sense of purpose and ability. The Missions Council would like to thank our generous and willing laity who spoke during worship and shared their personal stories and experiences. They are true examples of persons who “live their faith” and we are greatful for their time and continued efforts.

Ellen Polamero shared with us how it is so easy to get bogged down in the “bad news” of life and how the things we do, even in a regular day, can be uplifting and for the greater good. She works for the Department of Children and Family Services as an adoptions social worker. Her work involves preparing families, children and youth for the joys and challenges of creating new family ties, and helping people understand what adoption will mean to them. She is married to Alex who works for the Palisades YMCA. They are active members of the bridge young adult group and have worked with our youth program.

Anson and Leslie Nordby talked about their work with two programs which they feel is a response to Jesus’s call. They are part of a team that shows God’s love to incarcerated youth through a weekend retreat and ongoing reunions in two California Youth Authority institutions. They are also engaged in a new ministry, Project Our Home, to develop transitional housing and mentoring opportunities for youthful offenders designed to reduce recidivism. Leslie and Anson have also been a loyal part of the Gulf Coast Partnership.

Gale Williams shared his personal story of becoming paralized at 18 and the transformation he went through when he realized that his disability couldn’t and wouldn’t hinder his work for God. This realization began when he was asked to be a teacher for 2nd grade Sunday School at 19. He then went on to work with countless organizations including the Scouts, various committees and groups of the church, and many organizations working for accessibility. He is retired from Citibank and is married to Dorothy who volunteers at Cedars-Sinai. They have 4 children and 7 grandchildren.

Jim Krause talked about how he is often laughed at (even by his own children!) because he constantly says “Good Morning” to anyone he passes. It doesn’t matter the state that passerby is in - Jim always shows the human courtesy of acknowledgement and love. He shared with us how this small gesture can mean so much. He went on to share his experiences with “adopting” families and with the Gulf Coast Parnership. Jim is a consultant to nonprofit organizations. He is married to Janet who is the Legal Administrator of the Century City and Los Angeles offices of Goodwin Procter. They have two grown children.

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Highlights

FUMC FINANCES
Sunday, November 4 @ 10 am
Do you have an interest in the finances of FUMC? Do you want to know where our revenue comes from and how our funds are spent? If so, please join us for a Stewardship Information meeting conducted by our Finance Committee Chairman Tracy Edwards, at 10 am on Sunday, November 4 in the Simkins Hall alcove. All are invited.

CHURCH CHARGE CONFERENCE
Sunday, November 11 @ 12:30 pm
Church Charge Conference 2007 will be held on Sunday, November 11, in Simkins Hall. Our District Superintendent Grant Hagiya will convene the Conference at 12:30 pm. Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate. Lunch will be served at 11:45 am. If you plan to have lunch, please RSVP to Linda Burch in the church office by November 7.

ANNUAL HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE
November 16 & 17
The UMW Holiday Boutique is here! This event is put on each year to raise funds for the many missions projects and programs that the United Methodist Women organization supports locally and globally. It’s the “Year of the Ark,” meaning there will be lots of animal-inspired gifts, toys, holiday decor, sweet and savory treats, jewelry and more! Don’t miss Premiere Night on Friday, November 16 from 5 - 8 pm including complimentary refreshments and beverages. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door or from any of our UMW members on Sunday morning. The Boutique will also be open on Saturday from 9 am - 1 pm and entry is free! If you would like to help, donations of baked goods are needed. Contact the church office for more information.

HOLIDAY TREE ON THE HORIZON
November 18 - December 9
The Holiday Tree Project is vamping up for another year of service to Family Place. Selections may be taken from the tree during coffee hour on Sunday mornings starting on November 18. Stay tuned for more details.

RESPONSE TO THE FIRE DISASTER: WAYS TO HELP
• Gifts designated for the “Bishop’s California Fire Appeal” will be used directly and immediately at the district and local level—they will be able to bring relief as soon as gifts are received. Make checks payable to the local church and put “Bishop’s California Fire Appeal” in the subject line.
• Gifts given to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) will go directly to UMCOR and be combined with gifts from people from across the country: this will be the basis for their in-depth and long-term response in the months ahead. Make checks payable to FUMC with “Advance Special #901670” (Domestic Disaster Response California Wildfires) in the subject line. One hundred percent of every donation to any appeal, including appeals for California wildfires, goes to support the designated program.

NO SHORTAGE OF FLU VACCINE THIS YEAR
We are hosting The Public Health Department’s Flu Clinic this year on Wednesday, November 7, 9 am to 12 pm in the Fireside Room. The flyers are available and are up on the Bulletin Boards. Due to the abundance of vaccine this year any adult may receive this free vaccine. This clinic is not for children under 18 as children require a different dose and under 4 years of age should have the vaccine without the preservative thimerosal. Contact your pediatrician to get your child immunized to the Flu. Children with a respiratory chronic disease or any other chronic disorder are at greater risk for contracting the Flu and should receive the vaccine. Seniors and those with respiratory illnesses and other chronic diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes are most susceptible to Flu and should receive the vaccine. For more information on the Flu Vaccine go to www.cdc.gov or contact Mary Jo Dalton in the church office.

FORUM ON HOMELESSNESS - NOVEMBER 18
In the Los Angeles basin, you do not need to travel very far in any direction without coming into contact with a homeless person. Lack of adequate housing, overwhelmed social service agencies, and a somewhat apathetic public who fight against having a homeless shelter or service “in their backyards” have led to a crisis for the homeless in Southern California. As Christians, we need to be asking: what is it we are called to do? Throughout the Bible, God places a rather significant emphasis on helping those who are in need – the stranger or “alien,” the orphan, the widow, the poor, the sick, the hungry – these archetypes in the Scriptures mirror our modern day homeless population. On Sunday, November 18, the Social Concerns Committee will be hosting a forum on homelessness at 12 noon in the Fireside Room. The panel will include Dr. Suzanne Wenzel, Senior Behavioral Analyst at RAND Health, Bill Schwabe, former RAND Analyst and Consultant, David Snow, Executive Director of Upward Bound, and Elka Gilmore, Social Service Coordinator for Upward Bound. This discussion will focus on the broader issues related to homelessness and also look at ways in which we as a church and a society can address homelessness effectively.

BE A FAMILY IN MISSION THIS THANKSGIVING
Since 1982 various faith organizations, Educational institutions, corporations, and individuals have come together to reach out to those in need, and your family can be a part of it. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium will once again be the host to one of the largest Thanksgiving meals in Southern California, and your entire family can participate. Anywhere from two to five thousand people will be fed through your efforts on Thanksgiving Day. Whether you want to help decorate the auditorium, bake pumpkin pies, or serve up the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, there is an opportunity for you and your family to make a difference in the lives of those in the community who have needs greater than our own. Here is an opportunity to teach your children how they can have a positive impact in their community. Immunizations, blankets, haircuts, and, yes, turkey, will all be available to so many in our community that are in need. Won’t you and your family come be a part of it all? Be a Family in Mission. To sign up please come to the Westside Thanksgiving tables during coffee hour or contact Paul Deveaux at the church office, (310) 393-8258 x103. You can also volunteer through the volunteer hotline at (310) 394-3153.

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A couple weeks ago, electricity in our neighborhood was off for 14 hours so that equipment could be updated. Because the power company’s announcement of this had made it sound like it might be off intermittently, my neighbors and I were quite surprised when it stayed off all day and well into the evening.

For me, there were many up-sides to the day. I read several books. The beautiful silence made me realize how much noise there is in the background of our lives at all times from appliances and so forth, noise you’re not aware of until it’s not there. I also realized how much I’m multi-tasking even when I don’t think I am. A day without power forced me to slow down and focus—not a bad thing for a spiritual person! And, on the practical level, I discovered how NOT prepared we are for an earthquake or other disaster. I scrambled to find batteries for our one battery-operated radio and sufficient candles to light the evening darkness.

All of that pales, of course, to the disruption and devastation brought by the recent fires all across our area. We grieve the loss of homes, businesses, farm land and fruit trees, the loss of life and dreams. We applaud the work of firefighters. And we join together to face the work of rebuilding, through our contributions to UMCOR and through our shared prayer.

At one point in the week, as the Malibu fires raged, I heard an announcer say that the fires were moving towards Santa Monica. In all my years here, I’ve not heard “fire” and “Santa Monica” in the same sentence. I heard another announcer say: “Everyone living in Southern California should be prepared to evacuate.” Again, something I’d not ever heard.

All of this has given me a great deal to reflect upon. On that practical level, we have all been urged to have provisions on hand to support ourselves, homes and families for a minimum of seven days. Are we prepared? We have all been urged to store our most precious belongings safely and in a form that we can quickly take with us if necessary. Are we prepared? We have all been advised to have an evacuation plan and a family/friend communication network pre-arranged. Are we prepared? And heaven knows, Scripture reminds us over and over again to pray unceasingly and have our priorities and our spiritual house in order at all times. Are we prepared?

For all of us fortunate enough to not be spending these days sifting through ash and organizing to rebuild, let’s heed the wake-up call and pay attention to the things that matter most. Let’s reach out to those in need. And let’s look deep within to take stock. After all, more Santa Ana winds are in the forecast. And as for the Lord and our time on this earth—no one knows the hour or the day.

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Community

CONGRATULATIONS
-We congratulate and wish Alex Brideau III and Ginny Marie Case the very best on their engagement!
-We congratulate Chris Ruud on the marriage of her daughter in Baltimore on October 20. We wish Jennifer and her husband a lifetime of happiness!
-We congratulate Ermie Leonard and her daughter Shannon on the opening of their new Beadniks Shop at 2nd and Arizona in Santa Monica! They invite everyone to stop by, do a little shopping, plan a party there and find out more at www.beadniks.com.

A GREAT WIN
Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all our Upward Bound House Board members, friends and supporters who organized, showed up, and spoke at the meeting of the Culver City Planning Commission. By a vote of 3-1, our Conditional Use Permit for the new Emergency Shelter Housing in Culver City was approved. Thanks to UBH Board members from FUMC: Booker Pearson, President; Kris Andresen, Dick Davis, Kim Defenderfer, Cindy McQuade, Jane Spiegel, Russ Whittenburg; and to FUMC members Dick and Mary Crawford, Mary Davis, Mike Eskridge, Pat Gordon, Howard Hackett, Phyllis Johnson, Janet and Jim Krause, Daniel Palo, Peggy Palo, Terry Pearson, Jeff Pelton, Katherine Stanfill, Tom Wilson. And thanks to Rev. Rich Bolin and the many members from Culver Palms UMC who came out, to Rabbi Jeff Marx, and to United Methodist Bruce Rankin, Director of the Westside Food Bank. You were brave, bold, eloquent and faithful! Thanks be to God.

ESPERANZA MIDDLE SCHOOL THANKS
I want to thank the congregation and all who believed in this mission. As a teacher at an inner- city school it is heart wrenching to see the living conditions of these children. They come wearing the only clothes they have; ripped, foul smelling and often too small or too large. As bags of clothes began to arrive I was able to clothe the most needy children immediately. As word spread of this mission, teachers began bringing their entire classrooms into the auditorium where we had the clothes sorted in boxes by size and gender. Every child received something. One class proudly wore their new outfits the next day and we were able to capture that moment on camera. With the recent weather change to colder mornings I have been able to spot children without jackets or sweatshirts, and fit them with a new jacket just their size! We all have students in our classrooms that we had been worrying about and being able to provide them with this simple necessity was just amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you for thinking of us at Esperanza and for giving our students some pride and hope. Sincerely, Nicole Reich, First Grade (daughter of Carol Reich)

Service Update

Upcoming Worship