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Alternative Christmas is a way for you to honor a friend,
relative or colleague by giving a gift in his/her name to
any of these mission projects - during the holidays. The Alternative Christmas Fair is set up during Coffee Hour each Sunday during Advent (November 30 - December 21, 2008) in the fellowship Hall. There you will find displays and more information about each project being supported to help you make your decision. Brochures are available at the fair and in the church office throughout the week. You may also print out a copy of the brochure here. |
1.)
Youth Service Project: The Youth Service Project this Summer (2009) will be to ASP (Appalachian Service Project). ASP is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that fosters human development by addressing the housing needs of Central Appalachia. Each year through the ASP ministry about 15,000 volunteers repair homes for 400-500 low-income families in rural areas of Central Appalachia. The goal is to make homes warmer, safer and drier for families in need, while offering transformational experiences for families, volunteers and staff alike. ASP's theme for this year is "Putting Faith Forward" (Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."). Our youth team will be helping to repair homes in a poor community. Donations given to YSP will support our youth team in their transportation to and from ASP as well as supplies and equipment they will need while they work on homes. Help make this valuable service trip possible!
2.) United Methodist Hanhane Women's Shelter in Massinga, Mozambique: This shelter opned in 1992 to serve and shelter older women who are displaced by their families. Mozambique does not have a good retirement system. The elderly rely on their children to take care of them in their old age. Many end up living with their children who are beginning their own young families. The economic hardships in Mozambique make it difficult to provide for extended families. Many children end up forsaking their mothers. The children of these elderly women conclude that the best way of driving them away is to accuse them of witchcraft and take their homes for their own families.
The South Mozambique Conference of the United Methodist Church has taken it upon themselves to care for these women by providing shelter. The women living there are part of a close knit community. They grow their own food and help support each other. The conference helps with medical assistance when needed and a nurse visits twice a week. The women have generous hearts and a willingness to share what they have. The graciously welcome strangers into their community although they have been turned away from their own.
3.) The
Children, Youth and Family Collaborative (CYFC): Los
Angeles has the highest population of foster youth in the state
of California. The Children, Youth and Family Collaborative is committed
to making a difference in the lives of those youth in the Los Angeles
County foster care system. Children in foster care need your support
because:
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50% of youth in foster care do not graduate from high school
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40-60% of foster youth become homeless within one year of leaving
the foster care system at age 18
The
goal of Children, Youth and Family Collaborative (CYFC) is to help
these young people make a successful transition to independent living
when they emancipate from the foster care system at age 18. CYFC
has several ongoing projects that encourage and empower foster youth,
providing role models, training and encouragement with a variety
of services including tutoring, mentoring, life skills training,
college and vocational counseling, and employment preparedness programs.
CYFC partners with several organizations including the United Methodist
Church to develop a network of community support for youth in foster
care.
4.)
Upward
Bound House's Family Place: That homelessness is an
enormous
and ongoing problem in Southern California can come as a surprise
to no one. What everyone may not realize, however, is that homelessness
is often a temporary condition, brought on by various misfortunes.
Prompt, effective intervention can mean the difference between personal
tragedy and a future of hope. Family Place provides this sort of
assistance. Family Place is Santa Monica’s only transitional
housing program for children and their parents (most of whom are
single women). It offers 22 apartments and a variety of supportive
services, both on and offsite, including: case management, parenting
and life skills classes, job training and placement, childcare and
after-school activities, mental and physical health services, substance
abuse counseling and domestic violence support groups.
5.) Epiphany:
Epiphany is a national ecumenical Christian ministry designed
to show Christ's love to incarcerated juveniles. Through talks,
skits, music, prayer, food, celebrations and more, " the least
of these" grow in faith and commit to or renew a commitment
to live as Christians. The ministry has been active in the California
Youth Authority since 1994 and currently serves both young men and
women, providing three-day short courses in Christianity and on
going monthy reunions. Donations go to provide Bibles and crosses
for the "stars," as well as for other agape gifts such
as snacks and crafts.
6.)
Harvest
Home: Harvest Home is a nonprofit, non-denominational, fully
programmed residential home that is Christ centered and dedicated
to meeting the needs of women in crisis pregnancies, regardless
of race, religion or nationality. The purpose of Harvest Home is
to provide love and care to each woman, offering a stable environment
where her physical, emotional and spiritual needs can be met. The
ultimate goal is that each woman will leave Harvest Home spiritually
strong, with a newfound sense of self-worth and better prepared
to support and care for herself and her child.
7.) Heifer
Project International: Heifer Project
International is a worldwide program to combat hunger and poverty
with over 600 active projects, including 76 in the U.S. Heifer teaches
people how to care for livestock appropriate to their region and
then provides them with a “living gift.” This gift of
a cow, goat, yak, camel, hive of bees or flock of baby chicks provides
food, clothing, draft power and extra income for better housing,
education and health care. As recipients promise to “pass
on the gift” by sharing their animals’ offspring and
knowledge with their neighbors in need, they become links in a network
of hope, dignity and self-reliance that reaches around the globe.
8.) Central Asia Missions: Visit our Alternative Christmas fair during coffee hour after each worship service during the four weeks of Advent to learn more!
9.) InnerChange: LA with Paul Smith develops inner-city leaders with the vision and
commitment to transform their communities. InnerChange staff move
into impoverished neighborhoods and start building relationships
through outings, tutoring, helping people navigate the legal and
medical systems, and just “hanging out.” Community development
projects flow naturally from these bonds of trust. Paul has lived
and worked in an immigrant neighborhood near MacArthur Park since
1990, focusing on youth who are caught between cultures. At that
time, few of the youth graduated from high school. Now, Paul is
mentoring college students from the neighborhood who have become
role models and tutors for the younger children.
10.) Iware District, Nigeria: For the past three
years FUMC has been engaged in a partnership with the Iware District
of the United Methodist Church in northeastern Nigeria. This past
year has been one of great change in the Iware District. These changes
include a new bishop in Nigeria as well as a new District Superintendent
in Iware. Also new is the foundation of a school building that was
made possible through our ongoing partnership. During this time
of transition, communication with our partners has been difficult.
In the coming months we expect a renewed relationship and more opportunities
to partner with our fellow United Methodists in Nigeria through
financial, moral, and spiritual support.
11.) Nothing
But Nets: The entire process of purchasing and distributing
insecticide-treated bed nets to children under the age of five,
as well as providing education and follow-up surveying on their
use, is accomplished at the cost of just $10 per bed net. Although
$10 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out
of reach for most people at risk of malaria in Africa, where many
people survive on less than $1 a day. Malaria has been brought under
control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe and the
Americas. Yet in Africa, malaria infections have actually increased
over the last three decades. Malaria is a leading cause of death
of children in Africa, killing nearly one million children each
year. Every day 3,000 children die from the disease. Join us and
Send a Net, Save a Life.
12.)
OPCC:
Established in 1963, OPCC (formerly
Ocean Park Community Center) is a community-supported organization
in which staff, volunteers, and clients work to overcome poverty,
abuse, neglect, and discrimination. OPCC is the parent organization
for a variety of projects that strive toward these goals. The Access
Center helps homeless persons meet basic needs and offers a point
of entry into the homeless services system; Campion provides quality
mental health care to children, teens, and adults; Daybreak meets
the immediate and long-term needs of mentally ill homeless women;
K-9 Connection partners shelter dogs with at-risk youth who train
the dogs in basic obedience enabling the dogs to become adoptable;
Night Light provides emergency services, support, and resources
to runaway, throwaway, and homeless youth; Safe Haven temporarily
houses and serves chronically homeless persons with the goal of
placement in permanent housing; SWASHLOCK gives homeless persons
access to restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, and lockers to
store belongings while looking for work and stable housing; Sojourn
offers shelter, counseling, and legal services to battered women
and their children; Turning Point shelters homeless men and women
and provides job counseling, money management, and independent living
skills.
| To
find out how you can be a part of any of these, or other outreach-mission
projects, just contact the
church office. We will be happy to assist you! |
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