The Committee for Mission & Outreach meets on the third Monday of the month. The next meeting will be on April 19 at 7 PM in the Fireside Room.
Alternative Gifts Eyeglasses Collected Human Race May 8
See's Candy Sales to Benefit Local Habitat Builds
Mission & Outreach: Help for New Orleans
International Crafts Sale Help for The Living Room
Hat & Mitten Tree Shoebox Ministry
Paper or Plastic? Habitat for Humanity in Sebastopol
Thanks to you, Habitat Pledge Fulfilled Recycle Inkjet & Laser Cartridges
We continue to collect your donations of used eyeglasses. Look for the Eye Glass Box located in the church entry area, just below the shelf with the collection of printed sermons. Your donations of eyeglasses, frames and eyeglass cases are appreciated.
Mission & Outreach will again participate in the Human Race on May 8. We will be looking for sponsors and invite you to become a participant – look for more information and sign up sheets coming soon!
The Adult Summer Mission Trip is set for July 11-17 to New Orleans to help with continued hurricane recovery efforts. Information packets, registration and release forms are in the church office for you to pick up and return by March 7 with your $400 deposit. The entire trip will cost approximately $800 and scholarship and fundraising opportunities are available.
The trip is open to anyone age 16 years and older. Both skilled and unskilled workers are welcome. You need to be able to work in a hot, humid environment and tolerate group living. “Flexibility and patience are key for a successful experience” says the UCC Website. For more information visit www.ucc.org/ministries/volunteer/hurricane.htm. to learn more about the UCC Disaster Recovery teams.
If this sounds like a Mission Trip you would like to be a part of, fill out the registration forms and include your $400 deposit before March 7. There will be a meeting of all interested participants after church on Sunday, March 7 to continue with planning details. If you have any questions, please contact Joyce Cox.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SEE’S CANDY SALES
Thank you for your faithful support (and your sweet tooth!) Your purchases of the See's Easter Candy netted another $571 towards our contribution to the local Habitat for Humanity build projects. To find out more, visit www.sonomacountyhabitat.org.
Hat & Mitten Tree (scarves & underwear too!)
Thanks to YOU for your contributions to our Mitten & Hat Tree and the Shoe Box Ministry – we gathered 193 items (hats, socks, gloves, scarves, underwear) and 100 Shoe Boxes filled with life’s little necessities to give to both The Living Room and the Homeless Services Center. Your generosity has helped make Christmas brighter for those struggling this winter.
International Crafts Sale a Success!
Thanks to you and your generous support, Mission & Outreach was able to send a check to Ten Thousand Villages for $2332.75. Ten Thousand Villages is an organization of the Mennonite Central Committee that pays artisans a fair market value for their wears that are sold by churches and other non-profit agencies. As a mission project, Mission & Outreach returns all of the proceeds to Ten Thousand Villages to continue helping Third World artisans. Thank you for your generous support!
submitted by Nancy C. Dougherty
Now back from our third mission trip to New Orleans, here is some more work we can all do from afar to speed along the recovery efforts: support and advocate an important piece of legislation, The Gulf Coast Civic Works Act of 2007 (H.R. 4048). This bill would provide a comprehensive plan to create 100,000 jobs for residents and evacuees to rebuild the public infrastructure. The bill empowers residents to realize their right to return with dignity and safety, revitalizes the local workforce and helps create more sustainable communities.
The origins of this bill are to be found in our own state at San Jose University, where in 2006 Professor Scott Myers-Lipton and his students developed the idea for the bill based upon the WPA of the New Deal. Now they lead a national campaign of students, faith-based and human rights organizations and others to support this bill. Here is what you can do to help:
Contact the Obama and McCain campaign offices to create a Gulf Coast Civic Works and ask for the new administration to sign an executive order, and re-direct federal money meant for recovery ($40 billion total, only half has been used) toward the GCCW Project.
Contact our representative, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, and ask her to use her influence on the Education and Labor Committee to hold a FULL Committee for this bill hearing rather than just in her sub-committee. This would expedite its progress, by not having to go through three sub-committees.
Right now is the critical time to be lobbying for this bill. It has to get enough sponsors - around 75 - in order to get Nancy Pelosi's attention. Right now there are 16 sponsors, Rep. Lynn Woolsey is one of them
There may be additional ways our local church can endorse this piece of legislation. On the national level, a number of churches are working together on an interfaith statement in support of Gulf Coast recovery based upon human rights principles. Stay tuned!
The Mission & Outreach Committee is recruiting committed individuals to volunteer at The Living Room program in Santa Rosa. Our goal is to form a team to work on a regular basis over the course of the next year at this daytime shelter for homeless women and children.
Here are a few of the volunteer jobs:
¨ serve breakfast (8 - 10:30) Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays
¨ serve lunch from (11 - 1:30) Tuesdays, Thursdays
¨ kitchen chefs and sous chefs needed on an on-call basis
¨ work at the front desk from (8 - 11:15 or 11 - 1:30 or all day) Mondays or Wednesdays
¨ work with the Mother and Child program (9 - 1 pm) Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
The Mission & Outreach Committee has chosen to support the Living Room program because of its importance as a resource for the homeless women and children in our community. Besides offering food and a comfortable place to be during the day, The Living Room provides many resources and great support to homeless women; from counseling, to guidance on job hunting, bus tickets, and classes on finances and budgeting.
If you are interested, or have any questions, call Nancy Dougherty at 829-3761 or Joyce Cox at 829-0750.
Collections for the Living Room
Mission & Outreach is asking for your help in their efforts to assist The Living Room, A Daytime Shelter for Homeless Women and Children, collect items from their Urgent Needs List. If you can help with any of these items, please bring them to the church office and Mission & Outreach will make sure they get to The Living Room where they will be greatly appreciated:
Backpacks for women Diapers, all sizes
Cloth grocery bags Baby wipes
Women’s underwear Boys & girls underwear, size 4-8
Sleeping bags Children’s socks, sizes 5 and up
Sanitary supplies
Habitat for Humanity ReStore is on the Move!
On April 15, 2010, our ReStore Retail Thrift Store will move to a new location
at the intersection of Piner Road and Industrial Drive in Santa Rosa. The 17,000
square foot warehouse will offer an expanded inventory featuring cabinets,
furniture, and appliances in addition to our already extensive selection of new
and used building supplies. We will need volunteers to help us move in the
coming month. If you are interested in volunteering, or have questions about the
new or current ReStore location, call (707) 568-3228 or
email
our ReStore Manager David Bailey.
A Word to the Wise from Mission & Outreach
|
We cannot all equip our homes With brand new energy stars. For some, a hybrid can’t be bought With salaries like ours. |
And paper ones are not too good. They must be strong and so They’re made of mostly new paper – Recycled content’s low. |
|
We cannot quit our jobs ‘cause We commute too many miles. And yet we know the earth is going Through many climate trials. |
And they don’t break down in the dump Cause that takes oxygen. And when they’re covered up with dirt It’s anaerobic then. |
|
But hark! There is one little thing - A different grocery sack To make our carbon footprints shrink And put us right on track! |
And in the making of both kinds Pollutants must be used. And then our streams and air and earth Are sorrowfully abused. |
|
We can supply ourselves with those Reusable bags we see In every store where we buy food So cheap they’re almost free! |
And both must travel many miles From where they’re made and then We’re back in carbon-laden land And using gas again! |
|
Because if we use plastic ones Recycling has a catch. Plastic comes in several types - Their resins have to match! |
So when we’re at the check stand and They ask us whether either We want paper or plastic? Our answer can be “neither!” |
Janet Minton
The Sebastopol builds are up and running! Find out how you can work on site at www.sonomacountyhabitat.org. Volunteers are needed for the Faith Build and the Women’s Build, both on Johnson Street in Sebastopol.
Volunteers are invited to help build, assist in the office, work in the ReStore, serve on committees, and help with special projects that benefit the organization. Time commitments vary; some volunteers dedicate every day of the week and others spend just a few hours each month working on projects or in the ReStore. As a volunteer for Habitat, you can choose to volunteer as little or as often as you would like. All of these positions are a tremendous help that directly or indirectly result in the construction of simple, decent homes
Habitat for Humanity
The Family Resource Committee is looking for speakers for our Family Education Program. Habitat offers classes to new Habitat families as they transition into homeownership. Some suggested topics for classes include: yard care gardening/ landscaping, pet care and decorative painting and wall treatments. If you have expertise in one of these areas, or you have an idea and would like to teach a class, please call Darlene at the Habitat office (707) 578-7707 ext. 104.
Our classes are fun, informative, and a wonderful way to give to your community. This is an opportunity to share your experience with others. We hope you will join our team of mentor teachers.
Community Church fulfills $5000 Pledge to Habitat!
Once again, the congregation of the Community Church has stepped up to the plate (or candy dish?) with tremendous support for the Mission & Outreach See’s candy sales to help fund our Habitat for Humanity pledge. The Easter candy was a sell out and we are pleased to announce that with your generous help, the Community Church of Sebastopol has fulfilled our Habitat for Humanity Faith House build pledge of $5000. The faith build Habitat project will begin this summer in Sebastopol and information will be available soon on how you can participate in the actual construction project
Recycle your inkjet cartridges at church! Mission & Outreach is now collecting your empty cartridges to help support Habitat for Humanity and their local build in Sebastopol this summer. Bring your empty inkjet cartridges to the church office and help Mission & Outreach recycle and raise funds at the same time! In just over one year we raised $900 for SOL just by collecting empty cartridges – let’s top that as we collect for the Sonoma County Habitat for Humanity.
Please note: we are no longer able to take laser cartridges - just the smaller inkjet cartridges at this time.