Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you will meet and eat with your family and or extended family tomorrow and enjoy a family feast.  As pastor Rush says just be calm and have pleasant conversation.  Thanksgiving is no time for family arguments or to discuss politics or even route for different football teams.  Well, you can do the latter, but quietly if you are not in your own home.

I received the following Langston Hughes quote from the Princeton Center for African American Studies.

Remember Christ Church Summit will meet on Sunday November 25 for our regular Sunday Services 9:30 and 11:15 AM Hope to see you there if you are in town or just drop in if you are visiting in town.

We are collecting food for the Food Bank so bring a bag of food. Check with what is needed from previous posts.

Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative

All are Welcome!

Christ Church Summit 561 Springfield Ave. Summit, NJ www.ccsnj.org     "Thanksgiving Time" Langston Hughes, 1921   When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down, When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round, When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground, It's Thanksgiving Time! When the pantry jars are full of mince-meat and the shelves are laden with sweet spices for a cake, When the butcher man sends up a turkey nice and fat to bake, When the stores are crammed with everything ingenious cooks can make, It's Thanksgiving Time! When the gales of coming winter outside your window howl, When the air is sharp and cheery so it drives away your scowl, When one's appetite craves turkey and will have no other fowl, It's Thanksgiving Time!"

Mission 1 Repreive.

You can't get away from hunger.  If you listen to as much TV news as I do it is always there. ( Have the TV on in the background because of tinnitus).  So ABC News has a program in which you can donate help the hungry called Feeding America.  It was the Thanksgiving news.

In our family we only hosted my extended family, my neighbor and three of her six kids.  We had hoped her son with come.  He is 16 and we bought enough food to feed him!  In fact he had planned to eat at my house and his girl friend's house, but he did not make it to my house.  We wanted to invite, and we did invite people who needed a dinner, but they did not come. Some of the leftovers went to my neighbor yesterday.  She is not proud and young enough to be my daughter (46).  So her kids are my honorary grand children!  Yeah!

The reason for this blog today is that the director of Bread for the World was on "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" today. Combating Hunger. This is a PBS program on Channel 13.  It will be rebroadcast on Sunday afternoon ( November 27.) if you want to see it or else follow the link to see it online.

As I said I will be collecting food monthly.  Next collection date December 13.!  I will take it to the Somerset county food bank on the Monday after that.

Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative

Mission 1 Letter from UCC General Minister

Geofry Black the UCC General Minister posted a letter about Mission 1.  I have copied it below:

Dear Friends,

I believe Mission: 1 will change the lives of individuals and families throughout our nation and around the world through direct food aid, program grants, improvements in governmental policy on foreign aid and local efforts to combat poverty. Our lives will be changed in the process, as our awareness of poverty-related hunger increases and our resolve to advocate for change in government policy grow ever stronger.

It is about this opportunity that I am writing you today. If we are going to meet our ambitious Mission:1 goals, we need the involvement of the whole United Church of Christ. Over the next nine days you are going to read stories of wonderful efforts undertaken by our members, our congregations, national ministries, conferences and associations, colleges and seminaries. What will your story be?

This Sunday, I hope you and your congregation will join together with faith communities across our nation to write letters, collect food and take up special offerings. It is our collective action that will make the difference. This coming Sunday, November 6, will be our only Sunday during Mission: 1 -- I hope you won't let this special opportunity pass by.

I believe we will reach and even exceed our goals. Together, let's work hard, pray fervently, give generously and write passionately, all to the glory of God. Let's see what God will do with and through each and all of us as we seek to serve God in Jesus' name.

Blessings,



The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black
General Minister and President

Mission 1 e-mail from Dr. Black
Jeannette Brown
UCC Representativ

Mission 1 Send a letter to Congress

OK This is day five of Mission 1.  I know we got side tracked because of the October snow storm, but we can play catch up.  Also we are extending the program until November 13 because of the school holiday.  Remember hunger does not take a holiday.  People have to eat every day at least three times a day.

I thought I was going to have to give you the information about your congress people for the letter writing campaign and today I opened the UCC website and voila the letter was written for me.  Not only is the letter written but if you put in your name and address the system knows who your congress people are and then you just click send letter and it is gone!  Yeah! Here is the link to the Mission 1 letter website. Mission 1 - Letters

So everyone should be able to do this either at home or in the computer room of the church.  I will write a draft letter and print it on paper for those of you who prefer not to send by e-mail.  I will have this ready for you next Sunday November 13 when we will be donating food.

I also would like you to submit pledge cards to pledge to either donate food to the food bank all through the year or participate in the Check Out Hunger campaign at your local supermarket.  I posted the ad from the Food Bank next to the Mission 1 poster.  As I said before hunger does not take a holiday.

The pledge cards will be ready next Sunday November 13 as well.  Remember bring food and a friend to church on that Sunday.

Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative.

Mission 1 Cost of Peanut Butter going up

"A staple of school lunches nationwide may soon be in short supply and what is available will cost more, the result of good cotton prices and bad weather, according to an article on the website Harvest Public Media. 

"We have quite a peanut shortage this year," agricultural economist Tiffany Arthur is quoted as saying. Arthur works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency, which makes emergency loans to farmers. "Things are snowballing and prices are sharply rising.""

The shortage also comes at a tough time, Arthur says, adding that peanut consumption normally increases during hard times, like now. Since the recession started in 2008, peanut butter consumption has jumped by 10 percent, the USDA says. Peanut butter consumption usually goes up just 1 or 2 percent in a regular year.

Source: harvestpublicmedia.org/article/787/pricier-pbjs-forecast-thanks-peanut-shortage/

Why do I feature this article?  You can probably afford to pay the increase in cost to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your children's lunch box.  But think of the people who live in poverty as the article above says peanut butter consumption goes up during a recession since it is a cheap source of protein.

It is one of things on the  list that the food banks want.  But if you decide to donate peanut butter make sure it in unbreakable plastic containers.  Also since we want healthy food make sure that the oil and sugar content is low which makes it even more expensive.

 Here is the list of the most wanted items for the food bank.

Peanut Butter (no glass please)

Jelly (no glass please)

Canned Meats (tuna, chicken, ham)

Canned Vegetables

Canned Fruits

Pasta

Pasta Sauce (no glass please)

Cereal

Rice

You may start bringing food to church and place it in the boxes starting the beginning of November.

Remember November 13 is the big food donation day.  Bring food and a friend to church on that day.

Jeannette Brown

UCC Rep