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AUMC Mission of the Month
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March 2009 - AUMC Day School Scholarship Fund
The Mission of the month and recipient of offerings made to the Celebration Basket in March is the Arapaho UMC Day School Scholarship Fund.
The Day School uses these scholarship funds to help any child at the day school. This helps families who may be having financial difficulties keep their students in the day school and covers the tuition for other youngsters who would otherwise not be able to attend preschool at all.
The Day School is a wonderful ministry of education and outreach. Please think of giving to honor an event in your life.
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February 2009 - Seniors.net
The Mission of the Month for February will be Seniors.net. Seniors.net provides multiple services for those 60 and over, including financial counseling, friendly visitors, family support, home maintenance, transportation to and from doctor appointments and weekly bread distribution. While Seniors.net shares space and some administrative functions with Network of Community Ministries, it is solely responsible for its own fundraising. Like Network, it serves the community living within the boundaries of the RISD.
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January 2009 - Pastor's Discretionary Fund
The Mission of the Month for January is the Pastor's Discretionary Fund. This money is available for immediate use by our pastor to aid those in need. We appreciate your contributions in this important ministry.
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December 2008 - NETWORK
The Mission of the Month for December is NETWORK of Community Ministries, Inc. NETWORK was founded in 1985, as a nonprofit charitable organization supported by businesses, individuals, and a coalition of religious, civic and social organizations. It provides health and emergency services to children, low-income families, and senior citizens in need within RISD. The mission is “caring, coaching, and empowering our neighbors in need as they seek an improved quality of life.”
The organization serves its clients in four ways : Emergency Services, Adolescent and Children’s Clinic, The Seniors’ Net, and Trinity Wellness Clinic. Since its founding, NETWORK has assisted almost 125,000 families. NETWORK has a small paid staff and hundreds of volunteers who actualize its mission and vision to promote self-sufficiency for the needy. If you are celebrating a special occasion in your life, please consider making a donation to Network.
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November 2008 - ZOE Ministry
ZOE Ministry is the wonderful ministry founded by a United Methodist minister from North Carolina in 2004. In four years, the ministry has grown quickly into a successful model of how powerful God’s message of reconciliation can be. Pastor Jack’s recent sermons have so effectively described the horrific events of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that resulted in so many orphans and displaced children and how the ZOE ministry works in several ways to bring these orphans together to form new families, who can provide shelter and safety to one another. ZOE Ministry is focused on providing skills and training so that these new family groups can have appropriate housing, food security, health and hygiene awareness, as well as success in farming and raising animals. Jack’s trip to Africa was an amazing expression of how Arapaho can be involved in loving and caring for others so far from our own neighborhood. By supporting the ZOE Ministry as our Mission of the Month we can continue to foster this life-changing work.
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October 2008 - Transition Service Center
Transition Service Center (TSC) serves adults with disabilities providing a safe place to gather, have activities, share meals, and gain life skills.
On Sunday, Sept. 28, TSC marked a special anniversary in the life of our church. Transition Service Center celebrated its twentieth anniversary at Arapaho. During the worship service at eleven o’clock, we remembered TSC, started by Hal and Sally Strater in 1988, was organized so that their son, David, and other adults with disabilities would have a safe place to spend the day. The clients share activities, lunch while building a sense of community. Additionally, the service also recognized Scott Saucier’s nineteen years of service with TSC. Scott’s dedication and service to the clients of TSC is truly a remarkable achievement. After the worship service, a reception with cake and cider concluded the celebration. The Missions Committee wanted to recognize the program’s important milestone and its continued importance in the life of our church and community. The Missions committee will continue its efforts to expand the ways in which we can volunteer and enrich the Transition Service Center. The United Methodist Men are also honoring TSC, by donating the proceeds of the upcoming breakfast, October 12th.
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September 2008 - The Bridge
The Bridge is the newly opened, multi-purpose facility in downtown Dallas for homeless men, women, and children. The new center is a unique public-private partnership funded largely by the City of Dallas 2005 bond program. In cooperation with the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, the new center encompasses many best practices from cities across the nation. The new resource center provides emergency care and emergency housing provisions, as well as transitional care and transitional housing assistance. This covers a wide range of services including health care, mental health care, meals, mail, laundry, storage facilities, job seeking services, legal aid, care management, and Veterans and Social Security Benefits assistance. All of these and other services are available at a single location to make it as easy as possible for people to access the services they need most. It costs around $25 per person daily or almost $1,600,000 quarterly to provide this level of aid to the homeless in our community. Churches and community groups across the city have joined together to support The Bridge. It has already reached its projected capacity. Please join the Missions Committee in supporting The Bridge as the Mission of the Month for September.
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August 2008 - Open Door Preschool
The Open Door Preschool was established in 1971 at Grace United Methodist Church in Old East Dallas. The Mission of The Open Door Preschool is to provide a nurturing, developmentally appropriate preschool for children in East Dallas for whom English is not the primary language. Initially, there was one room of four-year old children whose language was Spanish. In the early 1980's, a large influx of Asian families moved into East Dallas and the Open Door Preschool met this need by expanding its services to this population. The presence of two language groups provided an additional incentive for the children to learn English in order to communicate with each other. In response to increasing need, a third classroom was added in 1998 to bring enrollment to 46. The school now serves children from many different language backgrounds. The motto for the Open Door Multilingual Preschool is “ I am Special”. Arapaho member Joyce Patton has had a long-standing relationship with the preschool and has served its the board of directors. The Missions Committee is planning a workday in November to refurbish the preschool’s playground.
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July 2008 - Nueva Vida
The Mission of the month and recipient of offerings made to the Celebration Basket in July is Nueva Vida (which means New Life) is a fellowship congregation at Spring Valley. Led by Rev. Carlos Nascimento, this Fellowship of Believers represents 12 different countries: Venezuela, El Salvador, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico, and the USA. This diversity is reflected in all activities of our Church, from singing to the enjoyable moments of fellowship, including the rich culinary heritage of all the represented countries.
Nueva Vida believes that our faith and hope should be centered in God through Jesus Christ. Everyone is encouraged to attend Bible studies, prayer meetings, and worship led by Rev. Nascimento.
The Hispanic Council is a 15 member body formed by members of Spring Valley and Nueva Vida. It serves as a liaison between both congregations.
For more information visit: http://www.svumc.org/nuevavida.html
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June 2008 - Nothing But Nets
The Mission of the month and recipient of offerings made to the Celebration Basket in June is Nothing But Nets, which is a grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. While the UN Foundation has been working with the UN to fight malaria for years, it was a column that Rick Reilly wrote about malaria in Sports Illustrated, challenging each of his readers to donate at least $10 for the purchase of an anti-malaria bed nets -- and the incredible response from thousands of Americans across the country -- that led to the creation the Nothing But Nets campaign.
Malaria kills more than 1 million kids a year. For just $10 we can buy a net, distribute it to a family and educate them on its use. You can save a family. Your friends, school, church, or team can save a village.
For more information visit: http://www.nothingbutnets.net/
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May 2008 - AUMC Day School Scholarship Fund
The Mission of the month and recipient of offerings made to the Celebration Basket in May is the Arapaho UMC Day School Scholarship Fund.
The Day School uses these scholarship funds to help any child at the day school. This helps families who may be having financial difficulties keep their students in the day school and covers the tuition for other youngsters who would otherwise not be able to attend preschool at all.
The Day School is a wonderful ministry of education and outreach. Please think of giving to honor an April event in your life.
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April 2008 - Africa University
Africa University is the only institution of higher learning in Africa supported by The United Methodist Church. Founded in 1993, Africa University has over 1,300 students from twenty five African countries, enrolled in six undergraduate degree programs and five graduate level fields of study. Alfred Norris, Bishop of the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church has challenged North Texas Methodists to raise, $1M through a special Lent/Easter gift. This special offering will support improvements to the campus health clinic and the Department of Health Science to train more public health workers. Our April Celebration baset offerings will be dedicated to this purpose.
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March 2008 - World Vision International
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by Christian values, World Vision is dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.
World Vision is an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God.
World Vision does community development, disaster relief and advocacy:
• Helped the populations of 64 countries through large-scale emergency responses
• Distributed 440,000 metric tons of food to 12,000,000 people
• Weather-related disasters have increased by some 50 percent since 1980. World Vision responded to major disasters in 64 countries in 2007, quickly providing food, water, shelter and other essentials to the people affected.
World Vision works to identify at-risk locations, pre-position resources and personnel in high-risk zones, and build capacity and resilience among communities to help them protect themselves and rebuild.
Each financial year, World Vision ensures that up to $6 million USD is available for urgent disaster responses. For large-scale emergencies, $100,000 USD can be allocated immediately to save lives. Much larger funding can be mobilized within hours.
World Vision is both local and global, working at the grassroots in 98 countries around the world. World Vision is dedicated to working with children, families and communities, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender, to overcome poverty and injustice.
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February 2008 - Seniors.net
The Mission of the Month for February will be Seniors.net. Seniors.net provides multiple services for those 60 and over, including financial counseling, friendly visitors, family support, home maintenance, transportation to and from doctor appointments and weekly bread distribution. While Seniors.net shares space and some administrative functions with Network of Community Ministries, it is solely responsible for its own fundraising. Like Network, it serves the community living within the boundaries of the RISD.
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January 2008 - Pastor's Discretionary Fund
The Mission of the Month for January is the Pastor's Discretionary Fund. This money is available for immediate use by our pastor to aid those in need. We appreciate your contributions in this important ministry. Transition Service Center (TSC) serves adults with disabilities providing a safe place to gather, have activities, share meals, and gain life skills.
On Sunday, Sept. 28, TSC marked a special anniversary in the life of our church. Transition Service Center celebrated its twentieth anniversary at Arapaho. During the worship service at eleven o’clock, we remembered TSC, started by Hal and Sally Strater in 1988, was organized so that their son, David, and other adults with disabilities would have a safe place to spend the day. The clients share activities, lunch while building a sense of community. Additionally, the service also recognized Scott Saucier’s nineteen years of service with TSC. Scott’s dedication and service to the clients of TSC is truly a remarkable achievement. After the worship service, a reception with cake and cider concluded the celebration. The Missions Committee wanted to recognize the program’s important milestone and its continued importance in the life of our church and community. The Missions committee will continue its efforts to expand the ways in which we can volunteer and enrich the Transition Service Center. The United Methodist Men are also honoring TSC, by donating the proceeds of the upcoming breakfast, October 12th.
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