|
At
Fairhaven our outreach programs are suffused with a joyous sense of
togetherness. Recognizing that we are beloved children of God, we look
out with compassion at our brothers and sisters near and far away who we
can help. Our multi-faceted approach involves most of the congregation
in one way or another. Each project has its own team of leaders who
organize, publicize, and set the direction for the particular program.
And members who feel moved to bring outreach opportunities to our
attention are encouraged to do so.
Here are a few
of the projects we enjoy working on together:
|
Robyn DeBustos Visits from
Costa Rica!
It is nice and warm in beautiful Costa Rica, but our friend in mission, Robyn
DeBustos, took time to come share her experiences there with Fairhaven in
January while visiting her family in the Gaithersburg area for the first time in
over 2 years. Her husband Eduardo and their 2 year old daughter Kaleena also
came, bringing samples of the crafts projects made by some of the women Robyn
works with, photographs of the country and the people she serves, and a
description of a new project being developed which will allow the women to make
inexpensive building materials for their homes and to sell to raise funds to
help support their families.
It is truly exciting to hear about the women making the most of their limited
opportunities – learning how to quilt and make dolls, carving fascinating
creatures out of a fungus which grows on trees, and looking to make the future
better in their country. The new building material is made much like
papier-mâché, using recycled newspaper, locally available starches, and some
concrete. The resulting product is light-weight, an excellent insulator (which
is very important to keep the homes from seeming like ovens under the tropical
sun), and it can be formed to the shape most useful for the particular
structure. Rectangular shapes can be held together with glue and either allowed
to weather naturally or sealed and painted for a longer life. One particularly
promising use for this material is to make it in a mold with a bottom made from
the ubiquitous corrugated tin roofing sheets. The resulting panels can then be
inverted and attached to the ceilings of homes both to act as insulation and to
deaden the noise of the heavy rains beating on the roofs.
Robyn’s trust in the Lord led her to move out
of a comfortable life here and follow His call to raise the standard of living
for the people in Costa Rica. Her life is a witness to us all that living in
faith produces much joy.
Return to top
Our Super Sandwich Makers Excel
Outreach at some churches may be painful or
boring, but here at Fairhaven our love of the Lord, love for each other, and
love for all of God’s children makes for joyful times. As soon as the service
was over on January 13th, worshippers came flooding into the Fellowship Hall to
nab some of the delicious coffee hour goodies supplied by the Trustees, then
formed into teams. The P.B.& J. teams seemed to have the most independent
workers, with most making entire sandwiches, then passing them to the bagger.
The turkey & swiss groups seemed to prefer the assembly line approach, with
designated condimenters, meaters, and cheesers. On the other hand the ham &
cheese teams settled into a hybrid mode with some individual work and some team
action. The supply team was kept busy scurrying around making sure everyone had
enough of the raw materials and clearing the full boxes to the side table where
the finished sandwiches were counted. The time passed so quickly that, when the
final loaf of bread was used, barely an hour had gone by and 630 sandwiches had
been made! Several of the workers then settled into a well-deserved lunch of
sandwiches on bread heels (having used all the good bread for the project) while
others cleaned and folded up the tables and loaded the boxes into the
refrigerator.
After spending Sunday night in the church’s
refrigerator the sandwiches were taken down to Manna Food Center in Rockville,
which is an organization which accepts donations from area grocery stores and
organizations and makes it available for people who cannot afford to buy food.
When the sandwiches arrived the Manna personnel had already set up their food
distribution boxes and put in some fruit and other items. Our sandwiches were
to be added quickly to the boxes so they could be handed out by noon. All the
meat sandwiches went out on Monday, with the P. B. & J. held in reserve for
another day.
Great work, Fairhaven! Your enthusiastic
participation made it possible for every person who got a sandwich to eat a
little better that day and to know that there are people who care about their
situation.
Return to top
Lent – A Time to Reflect and
Reach Out
Lent comes early this year, with Ash Wednesday
coming on February 6. As we reflect on the meaning of Christ’s willingness to
lay down His life for us, we realize that God’s love surrounds us every day.
John 3:16 summarizes the amazing reality that, “For God so loved the world that
he sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.” And as we take these weeks to think about how
precious every person is to the Lord, we realize that we should also value the
people around us and show them love. So this year Fairhaven is offering you an
opportunity to act upon the call to “love your neighbor as yourself” by
simplifying or reducing one meal a week and using the money which would have
been spent on that meal to purchase canned goods for Gaithersburg HELP or the
Lord’s Table soup kitchen.
If you would like your contribution to go to
the soup kitchen, please purchase the large institutional cans and quantities,
which makes it easier for the volunteers there to prepare large meals. Since it
gives food to single families, Gaithersburg HELP needs to have smaller cans and
boxes of supplies.
This canned food collection will continue from
February 10 through March 16, which is most of Lent. You may bring your
donations in each week or save them up to bring in at the end. If you would
prefer to just keep track of how much you have saved and then make a financial
contribution, just make a check out to Fairhaven with “Gaithersburg HELP” or
“Soup kitchen” on the memo line, then put the check in the offering plate.
When describing the final judgment Matthew
reports Jesus as telling some people “for I was hungry and you gave me something
to eat.” And when they, in confusion, asked him when they had done that for
him, he replied, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of
mine you did for me.” As we gratefully reflect upon the Lord’s amazing love for
us during this Lenten season, let’s take the opportunity to meet the needs of
the God’s children.
Return to top
One Great Hour of Sharing on March 2
Once a year the Methodist churches across the
nation join together to share the goodness of life with those who hurt. Our One
Great Hour of Sharing offering goes to support UMCOR, the United Methodist
Committee on Relief. This internationally recognized leader in disaster relief
is ready to deliver aid anywhere in the world when catastrophes threaten to
destroy people’s lives. UMCOR also feeds school children, establishes medical
clinics in remote areas, re-educates soldiers so they can contribute positively
to their communities, and much more. By working together we can make a huge
difference in the world.
This page was last updated
01/18/2008
This page has been visited
times since May 21, 2007
