Monthly Mission Well
The Mission Well welcomes your donations to help support the offering of the month. Our offering for May will support the Minnesota Annual Conference Love Offering. The theme for this year’s June session is “Jesus. Waymaker.” The Love Offering provides the opportunity to experience the joy of doing way-making work with Jesus: feeding the hungry, reaching out to the migrant, and providing ongoing opportunities to touch lives with God’s compassion and grace. Our 2021 Love Offering is dedicated to feeding the hungry and ministering to migrants. The funds from this year’s offering will go to four projects: The Method-ist Border Friendship Commission (50 %), host churches of Ruby’s Pantry (20 %), the Matthew 25 food distribution (20 %), and Volunteers in Mission scholarships (10 %). For more info, visit https://www.minnesotaumc.org/loveoffering.
The Faith Church Garden Project
The tenth season (2020) of gardening has ended See pictures here.
Covington Court
Due to COVID-19, we will not be holding events at Covington this year. One of the goals identified by the visioning team for our church is community outreach. In 2013, we sponsored three inter-generational community events at the Covington Court Apartments. This program has continued, and we are now in our seventh year and will hold events in June, July and August. Pictures are available in the 2019 Photo Album. Pictures from the 2018 events are available in the Faith UMC 2018 Photo Album.
Walk to End Hunger
Congratulations to FaithWalkers2019! The annual walk is held at the Mall of America on Thanksgiving morning.
Summer Meals Program at Garlough Elementary School
In partnership with other neighborhood churches, Faith UMC is once again participating in the Neighbors, Inc., Summer Meals Program— again at Garlough Elementary.
As we’ve done in the past, Faith UMC volunteers served breakfast and lunch for one week. Thanks to our willing volunteers for helping to feed the children. Pictures are available in the Faith UMC 2018 Photo Album.
Emma Norton Services
Emma Norton Services helps women, children, and families achieve victory over homelessness, mental illness, and chemical dependency. The Twin Cities-based nonprofit provides safe, affordable housing through Emma Norton Residence, which supports 50 women in transition at any given time, and Emma’s Place, which houses 13 families on a permanent basis. In addition to housing, Emma Norton Services provides case management, peer and individual support programs, youth pro- grams, life skills and out-of-poverty training, mental health support, and advocacy for women with disabilities. Through Emma Norton Services, families receive resources and coaching to equip them on their path toward stability.
Volunteers in Mission Scholarships
Mission trips transform the lives of participants by giving them an opportunity to grow in faith and gain a new perspective of the world. Through the United Methodist Church’s Volunteers in Mission program, teams spend up to two weeks working on mission projects domestically or abroad. Most teams from Minnesota are engaged in hands-on projects that build infrastructure to ensure that nutritional, medical, and educational programs in developing countries become sustainable and locally run. Team members pay their own way, and the Love Offering helps offset the cost for first-time participants.
Be The Tool
Be The Tool is a non-profit organization that got its start through the support of Faith UMC and four other United Methodist churches in the area. Typically, Be The Tool sponsors two or three trips per year which adult volunteers can join. They focus on home repairs and rebuilds for disaster recovery, but are not limited to “natural” disasters. They believe in serving where the need is and allowing the families in need to share as much or little as they wish about How their circumstances came to be. If you would like more information, contact Rod Scofield for information. You can also visit their website.
First Sunday Food Drive
The first Sunday of each month we encourage people to bring food for the Neighbors, Inc., food shelf. Children can help a child or children in need by bringing their own favorite food item to give, whether it’s Spaghetti-O’s, Hamburger Helper, Mac ‘n’ Cheese, a favorite cereal or pancake mix and syrup. Cash donations are also welcome. We do this on Communion Sunday to remember that while we are fed we are to help feed others.
Imagine No Malaria
Faith is involved in supporting Imagine No Malaria, a program of the United Methodist Church to help eliminate malaria in Africa. We sponsored a Hoops and Nets day where we shot basketball baskets, ate together and raised money for Imagine No Malaria.
Visiting the Homebound
Our church has a visitation group that regularly visits the homebound. The church also gives poinsettias to the homebound at Christmas.
The Gathering
Faith UMC continues to play an active role in the Southeast Consortium of The Gathering, a community outreach program of Lyngblomsten Care Center in St. Paul, MN. The Gathering provides a day of stimulating activities for those experiencing early- to mid-stage memory loss, and gives five hours of respite to caregivers who desire a break. The program is offered through Lyngblomsten Community Services in collaborative partnership with more than 20 churches across the Twin Cities, seven of which provide the facilities and host The Gathering.
As one of three congregations (Faith UMC, Salem Lutheran in West St. Paul and Amazing Grace Lutheran in Inver Grove Heights) making up the Southeast Consortium, Faith UMC contributes $200 to the program at Salem Lutheran to supplement the financial support of Lyngblomsten. For 2018, the Southeast Consortium recommends a contribution of $300 from each member congregation. Faith UMC members Gil Kinnunen and Judy Pfenning volunteer with the program at Salem Lutheran Church, one of two sites in West St. Paul. Gil represents Faith UMC on the board of the Southeast Consortium.
In July 2017, Lyngblomsten received a music education grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to provide seven one-hour sessions of classical music performance and education at the Salem Lutheran Church site during 2017-18. Carrie Vecchione and Rolf Erdahl of OboeBass!, the world’s only oboe and double bass duo, will present “Tchaikovsky and The Nutcracker” and “Stories of the Carols” in November and December 2017, followed by five other programs in January, February, March, April and May 2018.
In October 2017, the Brookdale Foundation Group presented the Rose Dobrof Award to Lyngblomsten Community Services. Each year, the Rose Dobrof Award honors an organization that has demonstrated leadership and excellence in the delivery of supportive services to people with dementia and their caregivers. For the past 17 years, Lyngblomsten has served the Twin Cities community through The Gathering. The $10,000 that accompanies the award will be used by the Lyngblomsten Foundation “to provide ongoing financial support for the continued offering of dignified, enriching programming through The Gathering.”
It is a joy and honor for Faith UMC to be a vital part of serving people in our community with dementia and their caregivers.
For more information about The Gathering, go to www.lyngblomsten.org/thegathering