The Mission Board continues to collect:

Bibles and used printer cartridges - for United Campus Ministries

Old eye glasses - given to a local doctor to be used in third world countries

Old cell phones: These phones are re-programmed with 911 and given to battered and abused women who are being housed by Mission Yaweh - a great cause.

Household items - bedding, towels, dishes, kitchenware - for Westside Homeless Partnership

These items may be placed in the Missions Bin on the wall next to the kitchen door in the Assembly Room. 

Furniture is always needed - Contact Sue Earl to arrange pick up or delivery of these items.

 

Back Bay Mission
FCC supports a community ministry in Biloxi, Mississippi -- a living witness to the social concerns of our denomination and a great service to the poor of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Through the leadership of the BBM board (which is comprised of UCC clergy, laity, local citizens and a small staff of professionals), BBM creates separate programs that are not dependent upon continued UCC funding.

In the past, these programs have included.
· Coastal Family Health Center (health care for the poor)
· The Women’s Center (for abused women and children)
· Thrift Shop (resale shop benefiting the needy)

· Work Camp Program (instilling mission-mindedness in young adults

          while benefiting the underprivileged)
· Emergency Relief Program, and Center for Community Service  (trains ministers and lay people on how to develop mission programs patterned after Back Bay).
 

All of these programs have separate funding – FCC’s monies to BBM go only to the staff who identify needs and establish programs to address these needs. Each year, millions of dollars in vital services go to the needy, but the Mission’s budget is less than half a million; thus all our dollars sent are “leveraged”.

 

Back Bay Mission was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina last summer and is operating under temporary conditions, attempting to furnish as many of the services listed above as possible. Currently there is a serious need for SKILLED WORKERS to volunteer and work with previously scheduled work groups.  If you can help, contact the Volunteer Coordinator by phone at 228-432-0301, ext. 205, or by email.  Right now they are in need of funds and volunteers to help rebuild their facilities. Six of seven buildings were destroyed

 

Memorial Assistance Ministries
Our ministry to the needy on the west side of Houston is Memorial Assistance Ministries. MAM is supported by 28 churches in the Spring Branch/Memorial area. Its Emergency Services Office provides help and referrals by volunteer counselors to those facing eviction, utility termination, and/or persons who need help securing health care, clothes, food, and assistance in finding job training and/or job opportunities. MAM’s resale shop raises money to finance its services and programs.

 

A big thank you for those who responded to the MAM food pantry appeal.  You have a direct hand in helping some of our 35,000 plus neighbors who receive help from MAM every year.

 

MAM success has created a problem.  There is a huge, huge mountain of clothing waiting to be sorted, priced, etc. so it can be sold in the resale shop.  They would welcome a work day of FCC volunteers, or volunteers who could give a day or part of a day every week for a while.  For more information, call Peggy Croke, Director of Volunteers at 713-574-7540

 

ESL adult classes need teachers - no foreign language needed. Language is a rewarding ministry and volunteers make a difference in their student's lives by opening up a future for them.

Two locations are available:

                 * John Knox Presbyterian Church - 2525 N. Gessner

                    Monday and Wednesday mornings 9:00 AM - Noon

 

                *  MAM - 1625 Blalock Road

                    Tuesday and Thursday mornings  9:00 AM - Noon

 

Classes: September through May on a school calendar.

 

For additional information, call Wendell Zumwalt, ESL Volunteer - 713-464-1724 or Peggy Croke, MAM Volunteer Coordinator - 713-574-7540"

 

Honduras Update

 

Dear Friends,

My daughter and I are back from another successful and heart-warming trip to Honduras.

 

The little playground for the school in La Esperanza was just finished and the children waited in line for their turn of swinging and using the see-saw. 

 

The newly founded church in Subirana finally has its baking oven and we hope it will create some extra income for the congregation. These people are dedicated: every Sunday some of them walk 60 to 90 minutes to catch a ride that takes  one hour to go to church. Afterward 15 of these women are taking a knitting class given free of charge by one of the first knitters. They finally reach their houses in the dark, often carrying little children. - Unfortunately, we lost the store we had furnished with a nice little bathroom with running water in the original old village school since the government decided to start a high school there. Our room is now used as a computer lab.

 

Visiting Belen in the mountains we found 50 nicely knitted sweaters with matching hats which I had ordered a few months back. The five knitters were overjoyed when they received the money and their smiling faces said more than words. The nun who is part of this group works mainly in the community and will distribute these sweaters to the very poor. Income for some  - warmth for others! Last fall we lost the room which we had rented as a work-place for the women in Belen. Although we had a written contract the owner wanted the room for a relative. But as it turned out the change was for the better. One of the women has a little restaurant where they can knit and exhibit their products. This gives them some public exposure and a chance to sell a little. There are even occasional tourists who purchase some of their wares.

 

We also attended the inauguration our fifth school. Since the access road is impossible to drive, animals had to bring the materials the last 1 1/2 miles to the building site. The blocks and tiles were mostly carried by women and girls. I saw a photo where even very small girls were carrying a tile on their heads. The team work of the population in this tiny village was outstanding. - They have nine kindergarten kids and 18 children going from first to sixth grade. Two friendly young male teachers enjoy working with them. One of them has to walk 40 minutes from his home to reach the school.

 

Another of our projects is building "Dona Justa" wood-saving stoves. ODECO, the organization in Corquin with which we work, has already built 400 of them and 300 more families are waiting to get one. What is so special about this stove? 1. It needs only 30 % of the wood used in traditional stoves, 2. it produces more heat, 3. it comes with a stove pipe (no more smoke in the kitchen and therefore fewer respiratory illnesses, 4. it needs to be cleaned only once a month instead of once a week, 5. it reduces the number of burns, mainly of little children, since the fire is contained and not open like in some places (especially in Guatemala where these stoves are also built). Our five knitters in Belen each got one for Christmas as a 'Thank-you' for their hard work. We visited a few of the poor families which the nun and ODECO had chosen to receive such a stove. It is hard not to cry when one sees the unbelievable poverty! But all are full of praise and thankfulness. I hope in the future we will see less adults bending over under the weight of their collected fire wood coming home in the dark and even little children with huge bundles walking along the highway. Thanks to this invention, some women have now more time for a other activities which will add to the family income. These stoves never needed much advertisement, and I hope many more will be built, not only to help the people but also the environment.

 

I want to thank all of you who helped us in different ways to make the hard life of these lovable people a little easier.

Suse Jahns         

For more information and history of this Mission and Previous Photos: Click here

 A Greater Gift
For three Sundays in the Fall, the Missions Board sponsors 'A Greater Gift' sale of craft and gift items. A Greater Gift is a non-profit program formally called SERRV. SERRV stands for Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation Vocation. Tens of thousands of artisans and family members in 35 developing countries are provided supplemental or total annual income from the sale of these handcrafted, unique items.

Once again we have topped our previous record in raising money for artisans in need around the world via our annual sale of goods for A Greater Gift. This year we raised an impressive $3,67.27 for this worthy cause.

Eden Home
FCC endeavors to support a broad spectrum of mission activities, and Eden Home (EH) is our mission to the elderly. Located just north of New Braunfels, Texas, on a beautiful wooded hilltop, Eden Home provides many activities for the residents – crafts, current events discussions, group games, Bible study, a choir, a library, and more. It provides different levels of care. Entertainment often includes our church young people from Slumber Falls Camp nearby, another FCC mission project.

Houston Habitat for Humanity
First Congregational has been involved with Houston’s organization of Habitat for Humanity since its inception. Habitat is a housing program for low-income people who have a minimum income but cannot qualify for bank loans.

These selected people donate 300 sweat equity hours toward building houses for others and ultimately for themselves and purchase their new home, interest free, from HHH.

Donors make the original investment and when owners repay, additional houses can be financed. FCC has helped finance and build four homes to date. Former FCC member Carl Umland was one of the founding fathers of HHH.

In June 2007 a large tract of land was dedicated for building 125 new houses, and the area has been named Umland Park, honoring Carl Umland.  On July 16th representatives from the Mission Board met at the Habitat office with Algenita Davis, Executive Director; Ellen Efsic, Director of Development; and Mike Firenza, Faith-based and Youth Advocacy Manager, to hear new information about Habitat. One goal is to learn more about volunteer opportunities and to learn how we can fit into their program.  Their 20th anniversary is coming up, and it would be special to have a connection from the past to the future in this wonderful Houston program which has produced 650 homes for families who were living in unacceptable conditions.  Express your interest by contacting Bill Fairchild or David Lewallen.

Settegast Heights Village
Settegast Heights Village (SHV) is a low-income subsidized apartment village which helps needy families on their journeys from

Crisis Intervention
FCC has supported Crisis Intervention of Houston (CIH) as a mission activity since its beginning.  The mission of CIH is to help people in crisis. The principal service provided by CIH is the Crisis Hotline which has operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since 1970.  Members of FCC were among those instrumental in starting CIH and our own Mary Smith who recently passed away answered the very first crisis call. FCC members have been telephone counselors and board members for CIH.  Drex Martin and Phil Hardy have been volunteers and board members with Phil serving as president for two years.

CIH also provides links to community resources and community training and education.

SEARCH
Downtown Houston has many homeless people, and one facility to which we provide support is SEARCH. SEARCH provides food, showers, shelter, job training, assists with job applications, and provides an address for those homeless who are seeking employment

Associated with SEARCH is the House of Tiny Treasures, a quality children’s day care facility for those participating in the SEARCH program. This is the only day care facility in Houston for homeless children.

Westside Homeless Partnership
Westside Homeless Partnership (WHP) serves families with children within the Spring Branch I.S.D. who are homeless or who are facing eviction. These families are stabilized through a housing program with assistance for rent and utilities for a limited period. The children are encouraged to stay in school for the remainder of the calendar year. During this time, the assisted parent(s), WHP staff and volunteers work toward a self-sufficiency program (including job training and placement). This program is designed to empower families with children within the Spring Branch Independent School District area to achieve self-sufficiency and permanent housing through personal effort, education, and growth.  They have an 80% success rate.  Ten percent of these clients also become homeowners!  Their office is located in the back of the MAM building on Blalock.   FCC members Dianne Bub and Barbara Woodard (deceased) founded WHP.

Financial support is needed to ensure the success of this program.  There is a need for donated items, such as household furniture, house-wares, and clothing.  Many of these people start out as truly homeless and have NOTHING.  They also have a need for volunteers, either in the office, mentoring or simply picking up donated furniture and delivering it to a client.

The Metropolitan Organization

TMO is an organization of congregations, schools, and other institutions dedicated to developing power and leadership among schools and other institutions dedicated to developing power and leadership among ordinary citizens to transform democracy in the City of Houston.

Special Offerings
Each Year six regular special offerings are taken:

One Great Hour of Sharing (world need for disasters, UCC National Office, Conference Administration)
World Wide Communion - Honduras Project and Neighbors in Need (Native American Churches)
The Christmas Fund (for pastors with no retirement and no insurance)

Also on Christmas Eve, our offerings go the homeless in Houston. As other needs arise, the church responds generously and compassionately.