Thank you for your Donation to the FoodBank

 

Here is a story about a woman who worked in corporate America.  The company decided to run an early retirement plan and it was suggested that she partake in this plan.  She took the offer.  She then found out that because she had a loan on her 401K the company would have to take back the loan money out of her last paycheck.  This happened to be the month of December so that she had very little money for Christmas.  She happened to be a HomeSharing provider  and client so she was able to take the food basket that HomeSharing  donates for Christmas.  Someone had donated Christmas trees that year so that she was able to have a Christmas tree that year.  It was a sad Christmas but made better because she had access to food and a Christmas Tree. 
Note: The Board of World Fellowship currently supports HomeSharing and the agency is active in Union County.  The agency will be giving out food baskets and donated items at a lunch for clients that have requested them tomorrow at the office.

As you may have guessed by now I was that woman.  But I shed a tear as I remembered that year.

I thought of this as I delivered the food  to the Somerset County Food Bank in Bridgewater New Jersey.  This was the food that you had donated and had been sitting in the atrium for about a month.
I guess I jumped the gun as Pastor Chuck said they were to deliver the food to the Hillside Food Bank.  But I heard from the volunteer who helped me deliver the food that Hillside Food Bank is the main Food Bank.  The one in Somerset County would have to BUY food from them when the run out of food.  It would be a a low rate but their funds come from monetary donations.  They prefer direct food donations to the local food bank.  They also take monetary donations because they can purchase food at a lower rate than a regular person could.  They also need volunteers to help stack the shelves.

 While I was there I saw several clients coming in to shop.  They had shelves with food and bread and even some fresh fruit.  I saw oranges on the shelf.  In the parking lot there were Christmas Trees free for the taking that someone had donated.

As we were unloading the car an older African American woman was driven in by a car service.  The driver got her walker out for her and she was wearing red shoes.  The volunteer and I commented on her read shoes and called her Dorothy (Wizard of Oz).  She made a quick trip into the Food Bank to "shop" and came out and got into the car and was driven away.  I waved goodbye to her.

I was wished Merry Christmas by the volunteer who helped me who was also a retired chemist and his wife is also a Shawl Ministry knitter.

All in all it was a good experience and I am glad I jumped the gun and was able to help people who need food.  As I saw on a sign in the Food Bank, "Hunger Does Not Take A Holiday"

The manager of the Food Bank was surprised that I came from Summit.  I told her I go to church in Summit but live in Hillsborough.  Christ Church Summit got the credit for the donation.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR DONATION!

Jeannette Brown
Christ Church Summit
UCC Representative.

 

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 Census Data

This is the poster that you may have seen in the hall in Christ Church.  Mission 1 is based on the UCC motto That they may all be one.

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"One in seven Americans are living in poverty, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today -- the highest level since 1994.
But the increase in the federal poverty rate, to 14.3 percent last year from 13.2 percent in 2008, was notably smaller than the 15 percent many experts had been predicting as the country has struggled to emerge from a painful recession.
"The bad news is that poverty is high and it's going up, but not as dramatically as we had feared," said Sheldon Danizger, director of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan.
An estimated 43.6 million Americans in 2009 were living off incomes below the federal poverty line, or around $11,000 for an individual under 65 or $22,000 for a family of four.
The total number, an increase of 3.7 million over 2008, is the largest in 51 years, since the government first started tracking poverty data. "

The above is a quotation from one of the ABC TV stories about Hunger in America.  For the full article go to   http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/poverty-rate-increases-recession-highest-level-1994-census/story?id=11652753


This is another reason for the need for food. 


Jeannette Brown
UCC Rep.

Mission 1 Hunger in America

When I was at  the UCC General Synod I first heard about Mission 1.  The presentation struck me and also the concept.  So after I left Tampa I was ready to start this program and some churches did.  So in order to be really prepared to launch it now I kept tuned to the media about stories about hunger in America and the world and I was not disappointed.  If you read the daily papers as I do or even if you get your news on line or on television there have recently been a lot of stories about hunger.  Maybe you skipped over them in order to read the "real" news.  But even in the headline news about the economy and joblessness and unemployment and underemployment if you drill down to the human factor you will find people who are either going hungry or eating unhealthy fast food because it is cheap.

This is the idea behind Mission 1.  At Synod there was a fitness drive which was inspired by Michelle Obama  We signed up for pedometers and were asked to record our steps every day.  They handed out information about healthy food and life style.  The church nurses (yes some churches have nurses and they are an organized group) took blood pressures and weight.

Just recently ABC TV Nightly News featured a special on Hunger in America.  It is up on the ABCTV web now.

I will be featureing exerpts from this series as well as information from the UCC in future blogs.  Stay tuned!

Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative,