WILSON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Weekly Report for 11/28/2008 from Trinity UMC

Here's this week's food pantry needs:

Pasta sauce, spaghetti, toilet paper, bar soap, sugar, flour, pasta, cereal, jelly, beans

Food Pantry- Family - 62 People - 171

Commodities - Family - 51 People - 145

Thanksgiving Food Baskets

Once again Westside CARES will put together 40 Thanksgiving baskets to give to our neighbors in need. Westside CARES gives vouchers to 20 area schools who will determine the recipients, and then those neighbors come to the WSC offices during Thanksgiving week to pick up the basket. Each basket contains the food items that will make a traditional holiday meal for a family. Wilson has been asked to provide 80 cans of canned fruit and a turkey or ham.

General Membership Meeting

All Member Churches are reminded of the General Membership Meeting of Westside CARES. The General Membership Meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 19, at 12:00 noon at Wilson United Methodist Church, 6460 Flying W Ranch Road, 80919, 598-0407. Voting members (one clergy member and one lay representative) and any other interested church members are invited to attend.

Annual Community Thanksgiving Service

The annual Westside CARES Community Thanksgiving Service will be held on Wednesday, November 26, at 7:00 pm at Gateway Presbyterian Church, 731 Castle Road, 80904, 473-3430. Pie Social to follow. Please bring a favorite pie to share!

Christmas Adopt-A-Family

It is not too early to let Westside CARES know if you are interested in making someone’s Christmas a bit brighter. This year, Westside CARES will be organizing the effort to adopt 60 needy families from our Westside neighborhoods. If you are interested, please call us at 389-0759, ext 103.

3rd Annual Silent Auction and Musical Performance

Make plans to attend the 3rd Annual Silent Auction and Musical Performance of "I Do, I Do" to benefit Westside CARES at Bethany Lutheran Church!

Saturday, November 1
- 6:00 pm: Silent Auction opens
- 8:00 pm: "I Do, I Do"
- 10:30 pm: Event closes for the night

Sunday, November 2
- 11:00 am: Silent Auction opens
- 1:00 pm: "I Do, I Do"
- 4:00 pm: Silent Auction closes

Admission is a free-will donation and two non-perishable food items. Bethany Lutheran is located at 1401 S. 8th Street (south of Motor City, north of Brookside, on the east side of 8th street).

Habitat for Humanity

Construction is well under way on the Apostle's Build house in Woodmen Vistas near Woodmen and Powers. Volunteers from Wilson UMC teamed up with volunteers from Relevant Word Ministries on Saturday, October 4. The volunteers worked on roofing and installing windows. The exterior of the house is almost done now. There is now an Apostle’s Build webpage; to go to the page, click here or go to www.pikespeakhabitat.org under the "Current Projects" tab at the top, click on "Apostles Build 2008". Wilson will next be participating in the building with volunteers from St. Franci in February. Look for more information in the coming months. Thanks go out to all the people that have supported this mission through their donations or their labor.

Heifer Project International (HPI)

With the advent of Rally Sunday just around the corner and the beginning of a new Sunday School year, I would like to emphasize the importance of your donations to the Heifer Project. Aside from the fact that your generosity ensures the most effective means of fighting poverty and hunger across the world, it also provides critical support in terms of natural disasters and catastrophe--the May 12 earthquake in China is one case in point.

Heifer’s influence in China began in the mid 80s with only three projects. Since then, it has grown into serving more than 60,000 households with over 4.5 million animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbit, and poultry. In May 2008, however, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake caused severe damage; impacting thousands of people (Heifer’s central office located in Chengdu was just 50 miles from the epicenter of the quake). When disaster hit, HPI was ready. In spite of the fact that HPI is a developmental agency rather than a relief agency like the Red Cross, HPI personnel quickly implemented nine rehabilitation projects to help restore the lives of thousands of Chinese families impacted by this catastrophe. (More than 8,000 families participating in Heifer development projects were in the region hit by the quake). The fact that HPI promotes sustainable agricultural practices will help prepare these families to withstand any future cataclysmic events by remaining self-reliant. Probably one of the most heartening aspects of this incredible human effort comes from the number of other Chinese Heifer Project families outside of the disaster area that provided relief aid to the quake victims. In the truest sense of HPI, both money and livestock were sent in order to help others help themselves.

What can you do to help? Ensure the success of the aforementioned Heifer initiatives by donating funds. While donations can be provided a variety of ways, the easiest is through Sunday School (adult, youth, or children). During every class, a yellow envelope is passed around for collection. Just place your donation in the envelope, and the funds will be set aside for HPI. Wilson children can also use "Ark Banks" to help save money for Heifer. If your son or daughter would like to have some "extra banks" around the house, they can be found on the tables located in the narthex area as you come into the church. Looking for a gift idea? Donations can also be made on behalf of individuals celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, graduations or any other special occasion. In fact, Heifer Project International donations make great gifts throughout the year for everyone in the family.