Category: Outreach

North Liberty Summer Lunch and Fun Program

Food donations Needed

Monday, August 3 is the last North Liberty Summer Lunch and Fun program date that our church is responsible for providing. The men’s group has volunteered to serve lunch. Dani and Breeyn Gryp have volunteered to do an activity with the kids.

The lunch menu includes: Iowa Maid Rites on a bun, corn and fruit. If all the menu items are donated, then dessert items will be added. The lunch will feed approximately 125 kids.

To donate items sign up at Sign-Up-Genius or email kirschte@hotmail.com.

To arrange a time for drop-off or pick up your food donation, email kirschte@hotmail.com.

Feeding our Community

First United Methodist Church North Liberty is responsible for The Community Meal on June 27 at noon. The meal will be served at Meal at North Liberty Living Center. Volunteers are needed to serve the meal.  Donations of food dishes are needed. Contact Laura Bibby at laurahawkeye@hotmail.com or use the info stub in the Sunday bulletin to volunteer.

Photo from Freedigitalphotos.net

Calling All Volunteers

We at First United Methodist Church have an exciting opportunity to once again participate in the Summer Lunch and Fun program in North Liberty. This program provides free meals and activities to children in the area so they are able to get a nutritious meal each week day while school is out for the summer. This is a great ministry to be a part of.  I am looking for volunteers to help with meal prep, serving, and activities. Mark your calendars for June 15, June 24th, July 6th and August 3rd! Please contact Terri Davies at kirschte@hotmail.com if you have any questions.

June 15th Sign-up Genius

June 24th Sign-up Genius

Thanks!

Terri Davies

Welcome to Our Church

I am excited to announce that we are beginning a new welcome team to help make guests feel at home here at NLFUMC. I am excited because this means that when new people walk through the doors of the church, we can direct them to smiling faces that are willing to help them feel at home as well as ask any questions they may have. This provides a personal experience and helps make people feel at home.

I know many of you do a great job of greeting guests when they walk through our doors and I encourage each of you to continue to do so, the team will provide even more assistance as well as give people the opportunity to ask questions.

We have a great team who is ready to get started, if you would like to help during the service you normally attend, please contact one of the people listed below from each service. We will be ordering special badges to wear so people know who they can come up to and ask questions.

This is vital to help make people feel comfortable, pointing them to where the restrooms are to knowing all the ministries of the church.

First Service: Jolyn Morgan and Elaine Hernandez

Second Service: Dani Gryp and Terry and Robbie Donahue

Third Service: Karen McRoberts and Mario

In Christ,

Pastor Josh

photo:Freedigitalphotos.net

“She’s Worth It”

Rapha House has been in the midst of the “She’s Worth It” campaign – funding and building new safe houses. The last few months have been very busy, and exciting things are happening. Please pray for the success of these projects, for the girls who are rescued, and for those who are involved in all phases of this ministry.

Celebration! Rapha House received the funding to complete the safe house building project in Thailand. The land was purchased, a well was drilled and an encircling wall was constructed. Then an international partner donated $550,000 to finish the compound, which will include five cottages for the girls, a dining area, and two administrative buildings. This will provide the initial capacity to care for 50 girls.

The second phase of the building project is to fund construction of a new safe house compound in Haiti. The current rental safe house is small but secure. After the earthquake in 2010, many children found themselves orphaned, alone and terrified, living on the streets, and slavery and sexual exploitation followed. The rescued girls’ stories are shocking. One girl is permanently marked from being used in voodoo ceremonies. The need in Haiti is great, and it is difficult and dangerous work.

In Cambodia, another safe house compound is under construction. This house is in the province of Siem Reap, which contains the ancient ruins of the Angkor Wat temple complex. Although millions of tourists visit the area each year, Siem Reap is one of the poorest provinces in the country. Because of the poverty, the influx of wealthy tourists makes the children especially susceptible to exploitation and abuse. The current safe house in Siem Reap is a rented facility where 25 girls can be housed, but the plan is to slowly add buildings to the new compound so more girls can be added to the program.

Please continue to bring a quarter every Sunday for the Tower of Quarters, located in the narthex.

Our goal is 25 quarters a week – $25 a month – and we have more than met that goal. When we join together to fight human trafficking – human slavery – we can make an impact on this ruthless multi-billion dollar industry.

photo: Freedigitalphotos.net

Old Made New

One of the best ways to enjoy the beautiful Iowa weather is on a bicycle. The neighborhoods and bike trails are teeming with children and adults on bicycles.

Imagine, if you will, a child without a bicycle due to family finances or an adult in need of a bicycle to get to work. Gordon Doak is self taught in bicycle refurbishment. He started The Bike Ministry in 2005 as a way to provide bicycles to customers of the food pantry, to people in the community and to local charities.

The bicycles that Gordon uses can be salvaged or donated. Donations come from church members or people in the community. Gordon refurbishes them in a workshop-like station in the Ministry Outreach Center (MOC) at the First United Methodist Church in North Liberty. Several hundreds of bikes have been donated since Gordon’s mission began.

Bike-project-265x300

Gordon states the “ministry gives me a chance to meet many people in our community. I enjoy a sense of accomplishment by turning something broken into something useful. I feel that this ministry is one small way I can demonstrate my faith by reaching out and helping people in our community.”

Cleaning out the garage? Have some bicycles that would be useful to this ministry? Do you or someone you know need a bicycle?  Want to find out more about this ministry? Contact Gordon Doak at gbdoak@yahoo.com

Serving our Community

The Community Meal is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 at noon.  The meal will be held at North Liberty’s Liberty Center on Ashley Court.

Do you feel a calling to help serve our community?  Are you skilled in the kitchen?  Volunteers are needed to serve the meal and to provide meat or vegetable dishes and desserts.

Laura Bibby coordinates the volunteers and donations.  Contact her at laurahawkeye@hotmail.com or call 319-331-3866  or sign up on Sunday Morning using the info stub found in the program.