January 2016

HERE I AM, LORD, SEND MEmissions ministry

HERE I AM, LORD, SEND ME

For more information on McCurdy, please contact Mary Engelhardt or Donna Sutton, engelhardt.mary@yahoo.com, rsutton212@outlook.com

Upcoming EventsArt & SoulMonday & Thursday weekly

Brightmoor Free StoreSaturday weekly 10am-1pm

StreeThreads to Pontiac2nd Monday monthly

Pie Day January 31

StreeThreads to DetroitFebruary 22, April 25

Empty Bowls Dinner February 10

Focus Hope January 16, March 12

Upcoming VIM TripsCosta RicaFebruary 6-20

HaitiApril 7-14

McCurdyMay 22-June 2

HendersonJune 19-25

Join us for the next Volunteers in Mission [VIM] trip to McCurdy School Ministries. Attendees will fly to Albuquerque on Sunday, May 22, and immediately participate in a three-day intensive spiritual retreat at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM. This will be followed with a few days of touring Abiquiu and Santa Fe around a Georgia O’Keeffe focus. Time will also be spent in Taos, visiting the Taos Pueblo and some art galleries.

We will then attend the McCurdy Charter School High School graduation on Saturday, May 28. We have made a new commitment to provide one scholarship to a graduating senior. Then participants can create any level of work they desire at McCurdy School Ministries for three days. We will fly back to Michigan on June 2.

Your prayers are welcomed. Your financial support is welcomed for this new scholarship.

Please join us to be God’s hands and feet at McCurdy School Ministry.

Retreat and ServiceMcCurdy School

By Mary Engelhardt

It’s A CommunityRedford Brightmoor Initiative

“Community, connected, social interaction” ...all words that came to my mind on December 5, 2015. The occasion was the annual “One Stop Shop” at Brightmoor Campus of Redford Brightmoor Initiative. Such excitement as families from the area came for their appointments to shop for new toys, small appliances, children’s coats, hats, and gloves.This annual event was started over 20 years ago by women of what was then the West Outer Drive United Methodist Church. Over time, “One Stop Shop” has received additional support from the Detroit Partnership, an organization made up of U of M students, who raised funds ($4,000 in 2015) and donated their time to become personal shoppers for participants. Today, many other

By Jean McKeehan

For more information about the Redford Brightmoor Initiative, please contact Mary Pickett at DetroitBrightmoor@gmail.com or Jean McKeehan at jeanmckeehan@comcast.net

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“....this was the real Brightmoor community in action. ”

Jean McKeehan

organizations and churches, including First UMC, Birmingham, contribute goods and dollars to make “One Stop Shop” a success. This year 241 families shopped, which means that 414 adults and 583 children had a brighter Christmas because of the store.

What was especially significant to me was that “One Stop Shop” was managed mostly by residents who live in Brightmoor. From Frances and Kathy who were greeters, to Daisy in the Free Store, to Tony who made popcorn all day, to the youth who wrapped presents and helped prepare lunch, to the clean-up crew, to all of the department managers...this was the real Brightmoor community in action. What happened at “One Stop Shop” on December 5 goes far beyond the local media reports of buildings being torn down or crimes committed. Brightmoor is the people who live there... good people who struggle with many aspects of their lives but who are always willing to give to others.

For more information about the Methodist Children’s Home, please contact Nancy Overman, 248-646-5360

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“Thank you so much to all the donors and volunteers who helped to make this season merry and bright for all of the kids at Methodist Children’s Home Society! ”

Methodist Children’s Home Society

In 2015 a trip to the Michigan State Fair replaced the end of the summer “Family Fun Day.” Both the foster and residential children were invited to attend. They were able to ride all the rides they wanted and see the many animals. The children thoroughly enjoyed the outing and, for most, it was their first trip to the fair.

A Summer Bridges Picnic celebrated the accomplishments of the residential boys in the Summer Bridges Summer School. The boys received awards for best behavior, attendance and course performance. At the picnic they enjoyed an obstacle course, a huge bounce house and a barbecue lunch.

Fairs, Picnics and BowlingMethodist Children’s Home

By Nancy Overman

In late November, Christmas wish lists from the foster children were made available to our congregation. Thanks to our many generous members, all of the wish lists were selected and fulfilled which made many children happy on Christmas day.

In December, MCHS held the annual bowling party for the foster care children and their foster parents. The participants bowled, ate a pizza dinner, and saw Santa.

In addition, this year one Boy Scout from our Troop 1032, Drusha Zinchook, did his Eagle Scout project at MCHS. He planned and directed the building of a trail through the woods. His helpers were many of the other scouts from Troop 1032.

Angels Among Us

201was another very successful year of Angel Tree at FUMC Birmingham. We served another 300 “Angels” and also gave gifts to 150 children living in the same household. At one point Runkel Chapel was holding over 800 individual gifts! Thanks to UMW, Hunger and Fantasy Football, we were also able to give out 155 food bags.

By Kirsten Layer

We had lots of busy helpers from our congregation on Angel Tree Sunday and the week before delivery working in Runkel Chapel and the Martin Room. Delivery day involved 30 drivers from FUMC and beyond who visited five families each to present the gifts and food bags to the families and children. In many cases our busy deliverers came home with a warm heart. Families often opened their homes and shared their gratitude. Thanks to the generosity of our congregation, we were able to deliver five bikes to children who wished for nothing more and had a family enjoy a catered Pistons game last Monday! As happens every year, we also had some interesting stories and last minute hiccups like a lost gift card left

Angel Tree

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For more information on our Angel Tree ministry, please contact Kirsten Layer, layerbunch@gmail.com

150 Children300 Angels800 Gifts

155 Food Bags30 Drivers

in a gift bag with no name and the frantic search for the recipient out of 300 wrapped gifts. The gift card was located. Thanks be to God!

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Golf, Games and StockingsCass Community Social Services

After Labor Day, Cass held its Annual Golf outing out at Fox Hills. Our attendance was down but we could not have asked for a more beautiful day for a round of golf. All those who participated had chances to buy mulligans and string to help improve their game! Let’s improve the numbers for this year by marking your calendars today for September 12!

For six weeks in the fall a group of church volunteers headed down to Mom’s Place to spend some time with the children and moms who were staying there. We enjoyed an afterschool snack and provided an art project and some fun time playing in the toy room. And if the weather permitted we spent much time outside playing basketball, doing chalk art or rope jumping.

Our church brings such joy during the Christmas season to our Cass residents. One of our wonderful women’s groups put together close to 300 stockings that put smiles on so many faces.

We also had a wonderful Christmas party at FUMC with volunteers and residents enjoying a picture with Santa Claus and a delicious shared meal. Later we went to the CLC to decorate cookies and picture frames as well as play games and sing Christmas Carols. Before leaving, all of our Cass guests were able to pick out some wonderful Christmas presents, books, hats and mittens!

For more information on our Cass Community Social Services ministry, please contact Mark & Karla Bole, 248-723-2881

By Karla Bole

The 8th Annual Cass Christmas Store took place this year in the new World Building location. Change can often be scary but the new location worked wonderfully, and with the generous gifts and time from our volunteers and the amazing organizational skills of Amy Bouque, we were able to provide gifts for over 650 children! Thank you to all who donated their time to make this a very special Christmas for everyone.

High School Students Take ActionBy Kelly WillianStudent Missions

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Twenty-three high school students and adults assisted with the Cass Christmas Store on Monday, December 21. They helped take care of children so parents and grandparents could shop, they served as “salespeople” in the store, and cleaned up the entire clothing section of the store at the end of the evening. Following our time at Cass,

For more information on our High School Ministry, please contact Kelly Willian, 248-646-1200

we enjoyed fellowship and dinner in Greektown. A great way to celebrate the season!

The High School Ministry students were hard at work in the fall dreaming up a new mission opportunity they can call their own. This November a leadership team presented their idea to the FUMC Missions Ministry team and the Administrative Council and received overwhelming support to move forward. The high school students have decided to focus on caring for the men, women and children in Zimbabwe, focusing first on the area of Mutare. The United Methodist Church has many connections in this area and the students feel called to be the hands and

feet of Christ to the people of Mutare. The need is great: medicine, education for orphans, food, water and building repairs. The mission is called FEED: The Body, The Soul.

As the students begin to further develop this mission keep watching Steeple Notes for more information and to see how you can be involved.

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Holiday Baskets and StoreBaldwin

The Baldwin Center in Pontiac has two major Christmas programs: Holiday Baskets and the Holiday Store. Holiday Baskets provides a turkey and a two weeks’ supply of other food and paper products to about 250 families. FUMC Missions Ministry financial contributions help support this program.

The Holiday Store serves more than 250 families with a total of more than 1,000 individuals. It is for Pontiac families with at least one child under the age of eighteen. Pre-registration is required and this information is shared with other local human service agencies to insure that duplicate services are not offered so that many families with need may be served. There is no charge to the family.

One adult member of each family shops by appointment with a volunteer escort. All gifts are new. Each member of the family receives a coat or outfit, undergarments, and at least one item that is not clothing. There are games and toys for the children. The store is set up in five rooms, one each for younger boys, younger girls, teenage boys and men, teenage girls and women, and very young children.

Once again Mary Jane Russell organized Merry Mates social group efforts to support this program. First there was a gift collection drive. One

hundred eighty-one clothing items and seventy-one other items including such things as toys and cosmetics were donated. Second, on Saturday, December 19, she led a group of fourteen from Merry Mates to staff a four-hour shift at the store. They either staffed one of the five rooms, keeping it stocked and organized, or led the family member from room to room, helping with selections using the supplied form listing family member names, gender and ages. This is a rewarding activity that lets the volunteers meet some of the neediest in our society and to understand that they are not all the same. Some may

For more information on our Baldwin Center ministry, please contact Bob Everson, reverso@sbcglobal.net

By Bob Everson

display their thankfulness to God and to the Baldwin Center openly; others may be far more reserved. What they all have in common is their need for help.

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Eagle Scout Creates “Artists’ Alley Gallery”Art & Soul

An “Artists’ Alley Gallery” has been created in the Art & Soul studio at Central UMC in Detroit. Designer and creator is church member Ross Simpson, a junior at Bloomfield Hills High School and member of Boy Scout Troop 1032, who earned his Eagle Scout Award with the project. Ross organized the building and hanging of 96 feet of shelf space for the Art & Soul artists to display their artwork. Having the display space is very important not only because many of the artists cannot take their work with them but especially because it gives them such pride to see their work displayed in such a prominent way. Prior to the shelf hanging, the walls of a 24 foot long hall were prepared and painted.

By Shirley Klipfel

Funds to cover expenses were raised by a returnable can drive and donations from friends, neighbors and FUMC members. We are very grateful for Ross’ help for this Art & Soul Mission and we are especially proud of his accomplishment in attaining the Eagle Scout Award. “I’m glad that my Eagle Scout project helped such a good cause. I really appreciate the help of everyone who donated funds, built shelves, painted, and brought this project to reality. It was a real team effort of friends from church, school and Scouts working together”.

In the fall, the studio was visited by an Indiana church mission group. They commissioned two offertory plates for their church. Denise Dotson and Twiana Odom each volunteered to make one and they were bright and beautiful.

In late November, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our annual Thanksgiving feast. What a wonderful feast it was! All invited were asked to bring something to share. There was a full table including two donated turkeys. The highlight of the event was the announcement of the Collard Green Contest. Once again, Papa Smurf (Ronnie) was declared the winner. It was agreed that everyone was a winner on that day.

On November 29, Art & Soul was invited to participate in an Art Show at the Plymouth UMC. A good representation of the artists attended with their work. Twiana Odom did the Mission Moment at the Plymouth church that Sunday, thus inspiring buyers and others who wanted to see our work.

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Warm Meals and RidesStreeThreads

By Kirsten Layer

StreeThreads concluded a very successful year with its monthly visits to HAVEN, where they usually serve around 40-50 people, and two more visits to NOAH downtown. One of the highlights was serving a warm turkey lunch for 250 people the day before Thanksgiving at Central United Methodist. A few members of the team have also been helping out Jimmy, a homeless client of NOAH who has cancer and has had a hard time getting to and from his doctor’s appointments and treatments. The StreeThreads team has been blessed to have been able to help him out, providing transportation, food and some basic household items. He is doing better now, which is an answer to many prayers.

In 2016, StreeThreads is excited to serve monthly at HAVEN, which has recently moved to its new location. They have also secured four dates to serve at Central United Methodist, the first being on February 22. There is always a need for helping hands and food donations. Please visit the “Here I Am Lord” kiosk on Sunday mornings to sign up to volunteer.

For more information on StreeThreads, please contact Kirsten Layer, layerbunch@gmail or Jan Peabody-Kratt, peabodykratt@comcast.net

“There is always a need for helping hands and food donations.”

Kirsten Layer

Eagle Scout Creates “Artists’ Alley Gallery”

There are many exciting plans for the future. Please join us on either Monday or Thursday, between 10:30 am and 3:00 pm, to visit the studio and meet our artists. We hope that you will find it so full of fun and interest that you might decide to continue to join us. Come and help us spread joy, peace and hope through creativity.

For more information about our Art & Soul ministry, please contact Susan Greenhalgh, sbgreenhalgh@gmail.com

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Student Stuff Stockings with LoveMiddle School Student MissionsThirty-one middle school students gathered in Fellowship Hall for a youth group mission event. Heather, Amanda and Janelle Hubert organized the mission activity and provided the supplies for the youth to make 100 Christmas stockings for the Brightmoor One Stop Shop.

After volunteering at the Brightmoor Free Store on multiple Saturdays, they recognized the need for additional personal items provided for the guests at the store. The Hubert family would always take a bag of items to donate when they visited, but realized that if they reached out to the youth group, even more items could be donated.

It was so fun to shop for age-appropriate goodies to fill the stockings. Some of the items included were crafts, stuffed animals, school supplies, trading cards, small sport balls and, of course, candy and candy canes. The youth at FUMC met and filled the Christmas stockings with the items purchased. In addition, the youth brought donations of personal items and household cleaning products, greatly needed each week for the guests of the Brightmoor Free Store.

As a part of the missions night for the middle school youth group, students were asked to bring in toiletries such as toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper,

deodorant or soap. Everyone was so generous and brought in many items.

The students had a great time assembling the stockings with love!

We hope this is not a one-time event and the youth group can participate again soon.

Brightmoor wanted to surprise the children in the community with the filled stockings! The stockings were given to the kids at Brightmoor with a surprise visit from Santa.

For more information on our Student Missions, please contact Laura Dickerson, ldickerson@fumcbirmingham.org

By Janelle and Amanda Hubert

For more information on Henderson Settlement, please contact Deb Roy, 248-338-7582or Sue Walters, 248-879-6239

Soup’s On!Henderson Settlement

Henderson Settlement had a birthday recently – its 90th! On October 5, 1925, Rev. Hiram Frakes, a Methodist preacher from Indiana, gave the first sermon at Uncle Scott Partin’s store, which was situated close to the settlement’s current administration building. There were no schools in the mountains in 1925, and Rev. Frakes was gifted a large amount of land by a local moonshiner (and worse) to build a school. As unsavory a character as Bill Henderson was, he wanted his daughter to have an education. So, 90 years later, Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky is living out its mission: “Creating Opportunities for Better Lives through Christ-Centered Service.”

Now there are public schools for children living in the mountains (albeit long bus rides), so the log cabin school at Henderson is no longer a school. However, opportunities to learn abound, from a new class for adults called Faith and Finance to nutrition classes for mothers with new infants.

By Sue Walters

Soup’s On! Any day now a call is expected from the Chrysler dealer in nearby Middlesboro (30-minute drive over the mountains) telling the people at Henderson that their newest minivan has arrived. Vans are purchased with Campbell soup labels (Labels for Education) that we and hundreds of others save and send in. You can place your soup labels (or other qualifying labels) in the small red container on the kiosk counter during coffee hour or in the church office. How easy is that? Those vans are a critically important part of their senior and youth ministries and wear out quickly. you may also place Box Tops for Education in these receptacles.

Our church’s mission team will continue to provide opportunities for children and youth who live in the settlement’s service area. We return for the eighth year from June 19-25, teaching life skills, but more importantly deepening relationships with these kids we have learned to love. Just think! You could share this most meaningful experience with us. It’s really all about caring and affirming.

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BREAD Pepperidge Farm® Breads, Croutons, Rolls & Stuffing

COOKING Campbell’s® Condensed “Great for Cooking” Soups Swanson® Broth, Canned Chicken & Cooking Stock Campbell’s® Beans

FROZEN PRODUCTS Pepperidge Farm® Frozen Garlic Breads, 3-layer Cakes, Turnovers and Puff Pastry

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Qualifying Products

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said,

“Here I Am, Lord... Send Me”

Our Purpose: To gather, nurture and equip disciples of Christ for ministry and mission in the world.

1589 West Maple RoadBirmingham, MI 48009

248-646-1200fumcbirmingham.org

Missions Ministries, Co-LeadersPaul and Jackie Keller, 248-535-4441 Laura Dickerson, 248-539-1925

For more information on any of our Missions Ministries, please contact:

Bev Richardson, Missions Coordinatorbrichardson@fumcbirmingham.org248-646-1200 ext. 3156

The projects in this newsletter and many more are supported by your generous contributions to the Partners in Mission fund. Please consider making a donation today by filling out a deposit envelope at church or going to our website and choosing Partners in Mission.

Our Missions Ministry equips disciples of Christ to share God’s love through gifts and service, creating hope and sustainable opportunities for those in need.