Mission

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There is but one calling, in religion and out
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Mission Trip to Ukraine    About a dozen persons are planning the seventh mission trip from Christ's Church in the last eight years. In the past the trips have been to Alaska, California, Mexico and right here in Oregon. This year one trip will be to Chernivtsi (churn-ov-CEE), Ukraine. A second trip will again be local.
      The invitation came through Terry and Ev Erbele, missionaries for the Methodist Church in Moscow from Dmitri and Suzanne, a young couple from the congregation in Chernivtsi who are attending seminary in Moscow. They thought that a group of American Christian would energize the growing church.
      The trip is scheduled to leave Portland mid-morning on July 8 and arrive in Kiev on KLM at 2 in the afternoon of July 9. Some of the team from Atlanta, Georgia will join the rest of the team in Amsterdam. The group will be returning to Portland July 19 mid-afternoon. All ground transportation and accomodations will be arranged by the host church.
      Chernivtsi is south and west of Keiv, south and east of L'viv, just east of the Carpathian Mountains and just north of the Romanian border. We understand from a Ukrainian resident that the Chernivtsi area is quite beautiful. There are several links on the page which give some information about the city and area.
      The possible tasks for the team are to lead or be involved in worship, lead and support Vacation Bible School in Chernivtsi and also in a small growing church about sixty miles away, lead and conduct Bible study groups. Language will be a challenge however the host church will provide an interpreter and some young people are learning English. While the Ukrainian language is different from Russian, it is similar and most Ukrainians use Russian as a language. There are several sites on the Internet that introduce one to the Ukrainian language. We expect to also do some construction.
      The culture and customs are different, perhaps what we might consider old fashioned or similar to those of the midwest a century ago, but common sense hospitality works well. As guests we hope to share of ourselves with time, energy, stories and gifts. It is with the gifts to the host families and the host church that everyone can be involved with ideas and donations. Our hope is that we will exemplify Christanity before we exemplify Americanism.
      The team will be meeting regularly until the trip to plan activities, make preparations of supplies and logistics and learn about what they may encounter. We encourage all to participate to support the process and learn about our fellow Christians eleven time zones around the world.

Dental Clinic in Independence    During the summer about 80 pre-school and early elementary children participate in the Headstart program conducted by Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC). Last year a mission team from Christ's Church worked with OCDC to bring the Northwest Medical Team's dental unit to the program for free dental screening of all children and two days of treatment for the the more serious cases. Throughout the summer all children who needed dental treatment received treatment often free because the process was started with free screening.
      On July 9 free screening will again be sponsored by a mission team from Christ's Church which will include encouragement, support, gifts and dental hygiene education for the children and parents. A week later on July 16 two dentists, Dr. Michelle Hasbrook in the morning and Dr. Kenneth Winokur in the afternoon will offer free treatment to the most needy. Denny Sanders, coordinator of the Northwest Medical Team dental unit will bring the dental van that day along with all the equipment, supplies and enthusiasm to support good dental health. The mission team supplies the love and energy to make it happen.
Mission Trip to Independence and Monmouth    Built on the successes of last summer and the many local needs, plans are formulating for a special time to gather together to support meeting the needs of our friends and neighbors just around the corner. While we're not certain what God is calling us to do we do know that God calls us. The call may come through senses a needs and shares that idea with others in the church. God speaks through each of us as God speaks through the Bible and the burning bush. Return to top
Second Annual CROP Walk Returns to Polk County    While the planning and implementation of the CROP Walk works quite independently of the mission trips, we consider it a part of the overall effort to allow the team members to develp teamwork and support each other. The date for the walk in 2004 is May 1 and will replicate many of the details from last year to build on those strengths and successes.
      CROP Walk is an event to develop awareness of the problem of hunger througout the world and in our local community and to raise funds to support projects that bring food to the needy. CROP Walk is internationally sponsored by the World Council of Churches, a consortium of many denominations, and is locally corrdinated by students from the Fellowship House and several churches from Polk County. Three-fourths of the money raised is sent to the World Council of Churches for their efforts to feed the hunger throughout the world and one-fourth is divided between the two food banks in Polk County. The goal this year is to involve more churches, more organizations, more students, more community members and raise $3500.
      Contact persons for the CROP Walk is the Fellowship House at 152 Main Street in Monmouth or call 503-838-6301.

Links

Letter from Erbeles
Letter from Seckels

Trip to Ukraine
Dental Clinic
Local Trip
CROP Walk

About Chernivtsi
About Ukraine
Letter from Seckels
Letter from Seckels
Letter from Seckels
Letter from Seckels

Christ's Church Methodist and Presbyterian United
412 Clay Street West, Monmouth, Oregon 97361
503-838-1724
christmp412@yahoo.com