Mission News for February 20, 2012
HOOSIER UNITED METHODIST Mission Opportunities
For Monday, February 20, 2012
This newsletter is paid for through your annual conference connectional ministries tithe.
Edited by Dan Gangler, dan.gangler@inumc.org, director of communication.
The Rev. LeKisha Reed, Associate Director of Mission and Advocacy, would like to hear what your congregation is doing in mission and advocacy. Contact her at lekisha.reed@inumc.org or call 317-924-1321. Follow on Facebook at Indiana Mission & Advocacy.
Deadline for submissions is 10 a.m. on Mondays.
DEADLINE COMING SOON
Deadline nears for UMCOR Disaster Preparedness Academy planned for March 14-17
Wednesday, Feb. 29, is the last day to register for the North Central Jurisdiction Disaster Preparedness Academy, Koinoina Retreat Center, South Haven, Minn., to be held March 14-17. UMCOR consultants lead the workshops and discussions. Come and learn and get training and questions answered. Classes that could use more students are Children's Disaster Services and the Ministry of Care classes. Please consider joining us to learn about these ministries. Preparedness Academy for the North Central Jurisdiction will be held at the Minnesota Conference Koinoina Retreat Center in North Haven, Minn. The event invitation and registration information is posted on the UMVIM-NCJ website. For more information, contact Lorna Jost at umvim-ncj@brookings.net or call her at 605-692-3390. This opportunity is provided through your conference tithe.
PLAN NOW
One Great Hour of Sharing resources to assist in special offering, March 18
One Great Hour of Sharing is just weeks away. Be sure to order your free offering resources for this offering that supports the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), so that it may respond immediately and effectively to emergencies around the world. Read more. If you cannot celebrate this offering March 18, you can observe this Special Sunday on any day of the year. Give now.
Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent is Feb. 22
Free Lenten devotion offers ‘Living Proof’
BIG ISLAND, Va. (UMNS) – The Society of St. Andrew’s free 2012 Lenten devotion and giving program, “Living Proof,” provides a program of spiritual reflection, prayer and giving for congregations, challenging church members to take seriously the scriptural injunctions to care for the poor, while also providing an opportunity to feed hungry neighbors. Learn more.
Register for Change the World before April 16 and score a free reusable lawn banner
Register for Change the World before April 16 and receive a free lawn banner, sermon series bundle and T-shirt. In 2012, the church will come together, not only for General Conference, but also to change the world. United Methodists will extend justice and compassion in community on May 19 and 20. We will chart your event on the rethinkchurch.org map. National advertising will draw thousands of visitors to our website. They will see your church on the map and know how to join your event. 2,000+ events registered worldwide 2011 Change the World. Dive deep this year with Change the World. It is a wonderful opportunity to connect mission-minded disciples with the global impact of our worldwide connection. Go to www.umcom.org/changetheworld.
MISSION AND ADVOCACY NEWS
Your help is needed to back Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2011
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act was signed into law in 2000 and has been reauthorized three times since. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011 (TVPRA) was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representative during summer 2011. On Oct. 5, 2011, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed TVPRA unanimously out of committee. The bill still needs to be considered by one more committee before heading to the House floor for a vote. On Oct. 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed TVPRA by a vote of 12-6. The Senate bill S.1301 is now ready to be voted on by the full Senate. The original TVPA of 2000 established the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, authorized the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, and established a global minimum standard for confronting trafficking and slavery. The original legislation in 2000 was designed to combat trafficking in the US by establishing it as a federal crime and providing assistance programs for survivors. The TVPRA of 2011 will extend this life-saving law for at least two more years. The best way to ensure Congress passes this bill and gets it to President Obama for his signature is to generate maximum political support. You can help in this effort by contacting your U.S. Senators (www.senate.gov – click on “Senators”) and Representatives (www.house.gov – search by ZIP Code) TODAY to urge you Congressional representatives to co-sponsor TVPRA (S.1301 and HR 3589). So far, there are no Indiana Senators co-sponsoring the bill. For more information, contact Linda Todd at ljtodd@gmail.com.
A missionary in the snow
NOME, Alaska (UMNS) – Nome usually has long, cold winters and Christopher Steppe, a United Methodist young adult missionary assigned to the Nome Community Center, thought he had packed enough heavy gear when he headed there from his native Virginia last September. But he needed more. Read more.
Ethnic groups offer ideas for vital church
HOLDENVILLE, Okla. (UMNS) – Leaders of five groups that represent the denomination’s ethnic constituencies have some suggestions for increasing the number of vital United Methodist congregations. The Inter-Ethnic Strategy Development Group made the recommendations in its second statement regarding the Call to Action initiative and the proposed consolidation of nine of the denomination’s 13 general agencies under a 15-member board. Read full story and post a comment.
Free surgical pack contents available
The Element Materials Technology Corporation in New Berlin, Wisconsin, has several hospital surgical packs available for donation. These packs have been opened so that the instruments could have metallurgical testing completed on them but are otherwise unused, though no longer sterile. Each pack is approximately the size of a pillow case and contains items such as drapes, plastic bowls, gowns, gauze and dressing materials, as well as basic emergency instruments such as kelly clamps and scalpels. There are also some birthing kits available. The contact person, Milt Wilson, can facilitate shipping via your UPS # or C.O.D. to your location, also available for pick up in New Berlin, Wisconsin. If interested, please contact Milt Wilson (milt.wilson@element.com), 262-782-6344.
Response groups in Haiti need to listen to real needs says hunger relief coordinator
WASHINGTON, D.C. – “Haiti’s reconstruction process will only be a success when the Haitian government and international donors begin to listen to the real needs of the Haitian people,” said Pierre DouDou, national coordinator of RENHASSA (Network for Food Sovereignty & Food Security). DouDou works closely with ActionAid as a member of the growing “Je nan Je” or “Eye to Eye” land and housing rights platform. “Expert farmers must be involved in the reconstruction,” DouDou stressed. “Women’s groups. Poor people living in the camps. Only then will we start to see sustainable results.” DouDou made these remarks when the Haiti Advocacy Working Group (HAWG) recently conducted a “Haiti Advocacy Week” on Capitol Hill examining the status of U.S. aid to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. More than two years after the devastating earthquake, conditions in Haiti remain dire. Over half a million displaced Haitians and the lack of food, clean water and other necessities are an ongoing crisis. HAWG consists of U.S. organizations, including the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society, devoted to a fair, more effective reconstruction process in Haiti, whose government estimates that 316,000 people were lost in the 2010 earthquake. The briefings included candid looks at gender-based violence, the cholera epidemic, aid accountability, land and housing, and democracy in Haiti. “The U.S. government has taken important steps in prioritizing the recovery and reconstruction process in Haiti, such as setting a clear housing strategy with quantifiable goals,” said Elise Young, senior policy analyst, ActionAid USA. “Now, it must fully honor those commitments by meeting its number targets and supporting the Haitian government in its land reform and housing development efforts.” Learn much more at Haiti reconstruction.
Healthcare documentary to air on Public TV Thursday night, Feb. 23 at 9 ET
The documentary All Healthcare is Local: The Emergence of Healthier Communities will air on WFYI-TV this Thursday night, Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET. In November 2011, Better Healthcare for Indiana held a statewide conference sponsored by health and faith organizations including the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, linking community leaders with state and national healthcare experts. All Healthcare is Local: The Emergence of Healthier Communities allows the viewer to be a part of this lively exchange as we explore the questions: Are there measures we can take on a local, community level to help control our healthcare and its costs? What if we decreased our healthcare costs by decreasing our healthcare needs? Could it really be as simple as changing ourselves to become more healthy? View it on WFYI, Channel 20, Thursday night at 9 p.m. See the WFYI promo.
NEWLY LISTED MISSION OPPORTUNITIES
Mission Team offers Volunteer in Mission Leader Training, March 24 at Rensselaer
The Indiana Conference Mission Resource team offers a United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Team Leader Training session on Saturday, March 24, at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 107 East Angelica Street, in Rensselaer in the Northwest District from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Contact Bonnie Albert (bonkay@hotmail.com) for registration details at 219-464-1447. There’s a $15 registration fee plus a training manual per church ($25). If Rensselaer is too far away, a UMVIM Team Leader Training event will come to your church. Bonnie Albert just needs an invitation to get one organized, advertized, and materials prepared. The UMVIM training team seeks a location for those living in the eastern part of the state. Contact Bonnie Albert if you are interested or know of someone interested in preparing a mission team for serving beyond the community to get one scheduled near soon.
Tilli to speak at 2012 Rx Consultation, May 4-6 near Detroit
Shannon Trilli, Assistant General Secretary for UMCOR Health, will be our Friday evening Plenary speaker for the 2012 Rx Consultation. Shannon has many stories to tell about the GBGM campaign against Malaria and their community-based health programs around the globe! The event will be at Highland UMC, 680 W. Livingston Road in Highland, Michigan in the Detroit Conference. Dates are May 4-6. Please put them on your calendar! There will be many workshops dealing with the ins-and-outs, nuts-and-bolts of leading and volunteering on a medical team. Registration will soon be online. Team leader training will also be offered by John Walls, Detroit Conference UMVIM coordinator.
FOR THE LATEST IN DISASTER NEWS AND RECOVERY
VISIT www.disasternews.net, www.umcor.org and www.churchworldservice.org.
DISASTER RECOVERY UPDATES, LINKS
Dakotas ERTs needed
Dakotas ERTs needed. The Dakotas Conference is in need of Early Response Teams (ERT) teams and Volunteers in Mission. Teams should contact the Dakotas Conference Office at 605-996-6552 and ask to speak with Barb Myers (barb.myers@dakotasumf.org).
For more information on how you can help;, visit www.dakotasumc.org/Contents/DisasterRelief.aspx.
UM Volunteers in Mission Haiti Response website
For more information about the latest in Haiti relief efforts by UMCOR, visit www.umc.org/haiti, www.umc.org and www.churchworldservice.org.
CAMP MINISTRY NEEDS
Men and chainsaws needed at Pine Creek Camp near Lafayette
Pine Creek Camp (near Lafayette, IN) is looking for volunteers with chainsaws that would be willing to provide some clearing assistance. There will be two dates this spring, March 17 and April 21, both days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch and beverages will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Trey Clayton at 765-385-2260 or tclayton@impact2818.com. Pine Creek Camp is one of the seven camp sites that comprise Impact 2818, the outdoor ministry of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church.
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For more UMVIM opportunities, visit www.gbgm-umc.org/northcentralvim.
For more information about these opportunities, listings of ongoing projects and contact information, please visit http://inumc.org/volunteeropportunities/category/10.