Trinity UMC Mission Projects

Trinity UMC Mission Projects

Trinity UMC Mission Projects Introduction... 1 The United Methodist Church and Connectional Giving... 2 Statistics to Celebrate... 3 Central City Café... 4 Children s Gift Tree... 5 Church World Service: Blankets Plus...6 Church World Service: Cleaning Buckets...7 Crop Walk... 8 Haiti... 9 Heifer Project... 10 Military Morale... 11 Oaxaca, Mexico - Prison Ministry...12 Operation Christmas Child... 13 Pink Bags for Lady Vets... 14 Project 5000... 15 Refugee Work... 16 Seneca Street Reading Camp... 17 Seneca Street UMC... 18 Water for Mankind... 19 Youth Missions... 20

Introduction The Mission Committee for Trinity United Methodist Church of Grand Island has put together this booklet to celebrate all of the wonderful Mission Work being done through our church. We could not be so successful without the heart, soul and helping hands of all project leaders, volunteers and the Trinity family. This booklet is an opportunity to share more about our mission efforts with the Congregation, Family and Friends of Trinity, including project summaries, current needs, contact persons, and how you can get involved. Mission Committee: Larry Baird, June Crawford, John Harbison, Linda Harbison, Jessica Mazgaj, Ellie Robinson, Evie Swarts, Laurie Yarnes Empowered by God, Trinity Church will Follow Jesus, Develop Disciples and Transform the World 1

The United Methodist Church and Connectional Giving We are the body of Christ called United Methodists, people who send missionaries, and ourselves, into the world, to live as servants for Christ. We are the body of Christ who minister in 109 United Methodist schools, colleges and universities, as well as support 13 theological schools to educate our pastors. We are the body of Christ that bear others burdens through reaching out in times of need and disaster. We are the body of Christ connected together. We do more than express a concern for the worker, the sick and the poor. We do more than express a concern for the poor, the aging, the impaired and the oppressed. We, the body of Christ, participate together. We struggle together to help those in need. This is important to our faith. By this connection we do more than any single individual, church, district or annual conference could ever do by itself. We are together. United Methodists identify with the need to be in mission. As United Methodists we desire to be in mission together, and as United Methodists the mandate is to be in mission together everywhere. A charge to keep I have, our calling to fulfill. Funding is mission, an expression of our stewardship, and an expression of our connectedness. Apportionments provide for us avenues for giving in order that we not only can be strong local churches and annual conferences, but that we can be connected together, seeking to be in mission together, seeking to be God s people at home and around the world. As a United Methodist Church this missional giving is our first priority in our mission work. From a Theology of United Methodist Giving, The United Methodist Church. 2

Statistics to Celebrate Trinity has a long history of participation in many different mission efforts. Project leaders have been asked to quantify aspects of their projects in order for us all to share in their successes, and continue to support the various needs that arise. Some stats to celebrate from 2013: $8,300 raised for various mission organizations 650 hours of volunteer service 17 youth & adults went overseas for mission work 75 bags of food donated to fight hunger 159 shoe box gifts filled 23 cleaning buckets completed 1,000s of supplies donated Over the last 3 years, 1 medical clinic in Haiti was constructed and opened, totaling 13,800 volunteer hours and $78,000 raised through Trinity and the Rotary Club. 3

Central City Café Trinity Church has helped at a food kitchen through Asbury UMC since 1982. That kitchen closed and the Central City Café (CCC) was opened around 1990. We have sent volunteers to CCC the 4th Friday of each month since then. As of Sept. 2013, Trinity UMC s involvement has changed; currently, an offering is taken monthly to support the Food Bank of WNY, at which CCC has an account to purchase needed items for their ministry. Contact: Phyllis Lange at 773-2812 Current needs: donation plate available as you leave the sanctuary each 4th Sunday of the month 4

Children s Gift Tree For about the past 5 years the Children s gift tree has been linked with a Buffalo Public School which has a support team from an outside agency that provides services to the neediest of the families in the school. The goal of the project is to help the children through the winter by providing hats and mittens/gloves and to provide a gift to the child. It is not just a gift but it is the fact that someone cared enough to pick out an item just for that child. For some of the children, these may be their only gifts. Contact: Barbara Snyder at 773-5661 Current needs: a tree with tags indicating a child s name is available in late November to choose/purchase a gift for children in need. 5

Church World Service: Blankets Plus For many years, Trinity UMC has collected money for blankets (to honor Mothers on Mothers Day) and tools (to honor Fathers on Father s Day) through Blankets plus, a project of Church World Service (CWS). Donations are used by CWS to purchase blankets and tools for needy individuals across the world. Families can honor their mothers and fathers by supporting this mission effort. The gift givers and honorees are listed in the church bulletin on Mothers Day and Fathers Day. Most recently this project has been organized through United Methodist Women s group (UMW). Contact: Ellie Robinson at 773-3550 Current needs: Blanket Sunday and Tools for Hope efforts will be active this Spring. Donations will be collected at a table in the family room on: 4/27 & 5/4 for Mothers Day, and 6/1 & 6/8 for Fathers Day. Volunteers are needed to assist with collecting these donations. 6

Church World Service: Cleaning Buckets Cleaning Buckets (formerly referred to as Flood Buckets) is a way that Trinity members can assist persons whose homes have been affected by severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes or flooding. Each 5 gallon bucket contains specific materials for a clean up including various cleaners, trash bags, dust masks, gloves and scrubbers. Buckets are taken to a UMCOR receiving center and transported to a storage site where they are ready to be distributed after an emergency. This is an on-going effort so that the storage facilities are full of cleaning buckets when the sudden need is presented. Members can bring specific items for a bucket or join with others to create an entire bucket. Some members like to contribute funds to purchase items or put toward the transportation costs. Trinity creates Cleaning Buckets several times each year. Contact: Ellie Robinson at 773-3550 Current needs: individuals willing to assist with organizing this project; contribution of needed supplies to fill buckets; monetary donations to buy extra supplies to complete the buckets. 7

Crop Walk The annual CROP Walk for hunger is a program of Church World Service, (CWS), a mission arm made up of dozens of denominations whose goal is to bring emergency aid and long-term healing and rebuilding to areas of disaster, poverty and general need. The CROP Walk has been an annual fixture on Grand Island since the late 1980s, typically held on the last Sunday of September, raising an average of $4500 a year. One quarter of those funds are returned to Grand Island and divided between the Neighbors Foundation and Trinity s fund for hunger. Every year the call goes out across the Island for walkers who raise money from family, friends and co-workers, turning it in at the beginning of the walk, presently carried out within the Beaver Island State Park. Those wishing to walk or serve on the planning team may contact the church office for names of current leaders. Contact: Paul Robinson at 773-3550 Current needs: in August/September walkers can sign up to participate and raise funds through sponsors; monetary donations needed to sponsor walkers 8

Haiti This project started in 2003 when Andy Harbison was asked to be the doctor on a mission trip to Haiti with a team of 15 other medical professionals from Whitehaven Rd. Baptist Church. The presentation on their return inspired nine additional trips to Les- Cayes area of Haiti. That resulted in a new medical clinic in Cavillion 20 miles east of LesCayes. It became apparent that we were not helpful to people that suffered chronic health needs because they needed attention on a regular basis. We needed to provide medical care on a daily basis instead of one day per year. As a result, we built a clinic in Maniche, a small village of 8,000 persons in the mountains 20 miles north of LesCayes. The clinic operates 5 days/ week with nurses and lab technicians. The doctor is available 1-2 days per week. This allows local patients to walk to the clinic daily. The cost of the visits ranges from $1.50 to $2.50 and includes seeing a doctor or nurse, lab work, and medications. No one will be turned away because they lack funds to pay. Public latrines are available, clean water from a new water well is also available. The most important aspect of the clinic project is that it is affordable and accessible. Contact: John Harbison at 773-7002 Current needs: persons willing to go to Haiti to begin building wells, monetary support, building collaborations with other local churches or organizations to continue to work being done with this medical clinic 9

Heifer Project Heifer International serves people around the world with farm animals, training and the opportunity to earn income and develop their skills. Trinity members can buy an animal and give it as a virtual gift. Often this project is offered around Easter or Christmas as opportunities to give. Contact: Ellie Robinson at 773-3550 Current needs: animals are for sale around Easter and Christmas time to donate to a family in need. 10

Military Morale This project was begun in about 2010 by Judy Maurer, as her son and daughter-in-law were serving in the armed forces. Realizing how much care packages meant to them and their friends, she continued to send them even after her relatives were back home. She then involved her church family in the endeavor. This project endures, even as Judy moved out of state, as a continued encouragement to support our troops who are serving in harms way. The funds donated go towards buying goods requested by servicemen and women, as well as postage to send out these care packages; personalized notes of appreciation, support and encouragement are included, written by Trinity congregants. Many soldiers have limited access to these supplies, and we often hear back from soldiers that they truly appreciate the boxes and messages. Anyone can contribute to this project through donation of goods, money, or time for packing and mailing these care packages. Contact: Elaine McLanaghan at 775-3424 Current needs: weather specific supplies such as warm socks, foot and hand warmers, blankets, sunblock, fly strips, lotion, chapstick; other supplies such as hygiene items, reading material, snacks; monetary donations to defray shipping costs; personalized notes to add to the packages. 11

Oaxaca, Mexico - Prison Ministry In 2012, The Upper NY Conference of the United Methodist Church agreed to accept the Oaxaca, Mexico Prison Ministries Project as an official project of the church. The Rev. Spencer Thompson became a member of our Trinity congregation upon his retirement from the conference, and was made responsible for conducting the mission program. The program provides pastoral care to the prisoners within the State Prison of Oaxaca where Rev Thompson conducts services and administers the sacraments with the assistance of a paid translator. In addition, any contributions received are used by Rev Thompson to provide items not provided by the prison, such as soap and medicines, fresh fruits and vegetables, used clothing and shoes, specialized medical attention, and small gifts for the holiday season. This project also helps to care for children who have been abandoned in the Oaxaca area by organizing the American community in Oaxaca to provide books, food and treats for holiday parties at the home where they live. Contact: June Crawford, jjc1945@aol.com Current needs: Contributions can be designated for the Mexico Mission. 12

Operation Christmas Child Since 1993, more than 100 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have experienced God s love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan s Purse works with local churches and ministry partners to deliver the gifts and share the life-changing Good News of Jesus Christ. Contact: Tracey Swartzmeyer at 828-5095 Current needs: beginning in mid-october, materials are available designed to instruct someone how to fill a shoe box gift. Supplies used to fill boxes, empty shoe boxes, wrapping materials, and monetary donations to help with the $7/box shipping rate are needed. 13

Pink Bags for Lady Vets This project start in 2008-2009 as a result of speaking to Dan Brown about the lady vets at Buffalo s Veterans Hospital. A new area in the hospital was being designated for women. Jill LaMantia, RN, MSW, the Women s Veterans Program Manager was contacted about what Trinity could do for the women. It was suggested that bags with basic toiletries specifically for women would be helpful, as the standard toiletries provided tended to lack needed items. As a result, 100 such pink bags were donated from Trinity and the community. Since then, the UMW group has sought donations to continue the project, donating about 100 bags annually. Contact: Nancy Hayes at 773-7127 or Pat Shaw at 773-4439 Current needs: hygiene supply donations; individuals to help assemble the pink bags; monetary donations to our chase more supplies. 14

Project 5000 I have results from Project 5000 going back to 2006, but it may have been happening longer. Project 5000 helps to feed the poor and elderly of Western NY. Non-perishable food and money are collected for the food pantry at the Buffalo Network of Religious communities in the city of Buffalo. Everyone is asked to contribute food and volunteers are needed to advertise, obtain and hand out bags, announce the project during all services the first week in November, man the table after services and drive the food to the pantry every week. Contact: Terri Bellanca at 773-6356 Current needs: volunteers to assist with project tasks, including advertising the project and driving donations to the food bank; non-perishable food, paper product, or hygiene item donations; monetary donations for the food bank to purchase perishable food items. 15

Refugee Work Trinity Church has a very long history of helping with refugee resettlement. Multiple families have been assisted by Trinity, including the Wesleys in 1998, and the Abukars in 2005. Most recently, Trinity has been assisting two families originally from The Democratic Republic of the Congo, who arrived in Buffalo in 2009. These families had been living in refugee camps in Kenya or Tanzania, waiting for safe harbor to somewhere in the world. Initial efforts were designed to provide material support and guidance for these families to adjust to American society. Currently, volunteer efforts are centered on educational support and community outreach, such as through tutoring, choosing a high school, enrollment in Cradle Beach summer camp, college exploration, and community outings. It is our goal to help refugees continue to learn how to independently use community resources to manage their own affairs, whether medical, education, employment, or housing. These families have many barriers to living successfully and independently in a new country, although everyone is making progress. It is the hope of the volunteers working with these families that our former refugee friends can be empowered, self-reliant, independent, and productive citizens of the US as their future continues to unfold. Contact: Evelyn Swarts at 773-7385 or Jessica Mazgaj at 462-9789 Current needs: volunteers to assist with education/homework help, assistance with transportation to and coordination with medical appointments 16

Seneca Street Reading Camp Seneca Street Reading Camp has been held for about 15 years at the Seneca St. UMC. This camp serves children of mostly poor, single-parent households in the city of Buffalo. It was started in response to complaints from Buffalo city teachers that the reading levels of students would drop 1-2 grade levels each summer due to the lack of exposure to books and learning opportunities. The camp began with about 10 children from age 4-19, and now serves around 90 students. Curriculums are presented for students in kindergarten to grade 3, grade 4-6, middle school and high school. Most adult teachers or shepherds are volunteers, and all books and supplies used for the camp are donated. Children that complete the 2 week camp program go home with a backpack full of school supplies, individualized for their school, in order to set them up for a successful school year. Most of the parents cannot afford school supplies come fall and this is just another way the reading camp assists children with their education. Contact: Mary Jane Fonte at 773-6310 Current needs: volunteers to teach at summer reading camp; monetary donations to purchase books and school supplies. 17

Seneca Street UMC Various opportunities arise for Trinity members to participate in mission efforts at Seneca St. UMC in Buffalo. In the past, Trinity volunteers have run Sailing Camps, run Reading Camps, donated coats, adopted a family in need around Christmas to provide gifts, and performed maintenance projects, just to name a few! 18

Water for Mankind Bethanie Missions has been at partner with Trinity UMC in building a medical clinic in Maniche, Haiti. Through this project, it has become clear that there is a high need for clean water throughout many villages in Haiti. Of the 62 churches associated with Bethanie Missions, half are still in communities with a need for a clean water source. This can be a starting point for this project, to develop resources and gain support for drilling clean water wells in these communities. Project leaders have aspirations of growing this mission project to other needy communities around the world. Contact: John Harbison at 773-7002 Current needs: persons willing to go to Haiti to begin building wells, monetary support, building collaborations with other local churches or organizations 19

Youth Missions Trinity Youth Ministries has a long history of summer mission trips, serving locally and around the country. This past year, 17 youth and adults from Trinity spent one week on their first international service trip to the Dominican Republic with Score International. The group traveled to many communities, serving in various ways to meet the needs of the local people. They worked in three different villages where they presented the Everything skit by Lifehouse to share the Gospel, gave testimonies, and handed out bags of food. In San Jose they painted and did some heavy lifting such as delivering pew benches to several local churches, as well as spending time with the women and children of Lily House: a place for former prostitutes to learn a trade craft and provide for their families. The group was able to minister to children in Pasitos De Jesus through playing with the children, making necklaces and bracelets, coloring, and painting nails. On Sunday they attended church in San Jose where they were able to worship with the Dominicans and hear the word preached in Spanish. Throughout the trip, the mission team found time for fun, fellowship and team building as well as their mission projects. The Youth experienced many eye-opening and challenging experiences that helped them grow through their mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Current needs: volunteers to help the new youth ministry coordinator provide programming for middle and high school age youth 20