Mission ! Annonucement

I would like to share with you a very exciting project of the United Church of Christ that will take place next month.  I am doubly excited to tell you about it after that wonderful service that our youth presented two weeks ago  about their mission trip to Nicaragua.  They were wonderful.  They set a level that I hope we all can achieve.

Because on

Nov. 1-11, 2011...  I hope our church will be part of  ONE UNITED CHURCH on a shared mission for 11 powerful days to feed the hungry and confront food-related injustice. 

This is MISSION: 1

•  In 11 days, the United Church of Christ will collect more than 1 MILLION ITEMS

OF HEALTHY FOOD and other household items for local food banks and outreach

services.

Imagine 5,300 UCC churches converted into storehouses of meat and bread, fruits and vegetables, soap and diapers for neighbors in our local communities. Conjure an image of overflowing baskets of peanut butter, cereal, tuna and beans waiting for delivery to shelters and pantries. Envision hundreds of UCC members purchasing pounds of food online for the most vulnerable across our nation and world. 

This is MISSION: 1

I hope to  invite the directors of the local food banks to speak to us about the need.

Another aspect of Mission I is:

•  In 11 days, the United Church of Christ will offer more than 11,111 LETTERS to Congress asking our government to reform U.S. foreign assistance in a way that more effectively benefits hungry and poor people worldwide, helping to provide a major final push to Bread for the World's 2011 "Offering of Letters" campaign.

I will bring in sample letters and e-mail addresses of our congress  people so that you can send them.  For those without e-mail you can snail mail them.

Finally

·        In 11 days, the United Church of Christ will make an extra-special push to gather

 contributions of more than $111,111 DOLLARS for Neighbors in Need food-related ministries, offerings that will be shared for hunger-action purposes with  agencies of justice and compassion throughout the United States.

I am working with the Board of World Fellowship to see if some SOS funds can be used for this purpose.

So this is the charge to you.  What do you think you can do to reach this goal?

  How about 1,111 items of food, for starters? 

I hope that we can engage the community in this effort.  On   Nov 13 we will celebrate   bring a friend to church day.   WE  hope you can bring a friend and some food.

I will be blogging about this all this month and hope to enlist some volunteers in this effort.

In all my years as UCC Representative this is the biggest effort that the UCC has mounted and the first time I have asked  You to  help.

Jeannette Brown

UCC Representative

.