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Pony Express District Potato Drop, St. Joseph, MO, Saturday,
December 10 Saturday, December 10th found
the Pony Express District bagging potatoes for the poor and hungry
of their district. All in all they made available 44,000
pounds of good eating potatoes which otherwise would have been
thrown away. The rescued potatoes were distributed by churches
and food pantries of the area. The Second Harvest Food Pantry
provided the work space. The Society of St. Andrew provided
the potatoes. The district paid for the transportation cost
for the potatoes to be trucked from Minnesota to St. Joseph. For
information about how you can sponsor a potato drop contact, Joe
Bartelsmeyer, at the Office of Creative Ministries. Email:
bartelsmeyer@umocm.com
Phone: 573-474-7155
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Gleaning Turnips for the Hungry near Fayette
Pictured above are members of Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist
Church and Prairie Chapel United Methodist Church who gleaned
turnips near Fayette, Sunday afternoon, October 30. The two
churches along with the Russelville UMC gleaned 3,576 lbs of turnips
on Saturday and Sunday with a total of 28 volunteers. The
turnips were delivered to three different agencies including the Central Missouri Food Bank in Columbia and
will be used to feed those who need food in Central Missouri.
The gleaning was organized by Rev. Kathy Morrison, pastor at Wilkes
Boulevard UMC.
The turnip harvest was a
weighty (6006 pounds) success. An
enormous thank you goes to each group that helped get the
turnips out of the ground and into bags. A total of 64
individuals worked on the harvest this year.
Thanks to Russellville UMC,
the Successful Neighborhood Resource Center in Columbia,
Prairie Chapel UMC, Linn Memorial UMC, Nelson Memorial UMC,
First UMC in Jefferson City, Wilkes Boulevard UMC and to the
Central Methodist University Zeta Tau Chapter of the
national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.
The Central Missouri Food
Bank in Columbia weighed in 4716 pounds of turnips. Based
on the average weight of the bags, another 1290 pounds of
turnips went to: Santa Fe Trails Food Pantry and the
Harvest House, both in Boonville; the Samaritan Center, the
Missouri River Hospice and the Salvation Army, all in
Jefferson City; the Russell Chapel CME Food Pantry and the
Successful Neighborhood Resource Center, both in Columbia.
This last group also harvested 30 bags of turnip greens for
their agency.
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Union Wright City United Methodist Church VIM
Team Serves in Oaks, Oklahoma
 
We stopped along the way and picked up other CCYM
team members on our trip to Oklahoma. We stayed the first night in
Springfield and attended a show in Branson for fun. We took one of
our special needs church members for a first time trip, which seem
to be enlightening to everyone. It was very life changing for him
and our youth team. We were adopted by one of our project families,
and now keep in touch with Grandma and Grandpa. We hope to pay to
have them visit early next year to share our church with them..
Having made several trips over the past few years, this one seemed
moving to al who attended not just our team. A trip I will never
forget, and always remember since it touched my heart in a way words
will never be able to explain. If you would like photos let me know
and I will forward our power point from the trip.
Ralph Jennerjohn
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Volunteers in Mission to Cuba
Clicking on the
above pictures will enlarge them
Pastor in
Cuba: Eduardo Rodriguez Martinez
All Pictures of
Cuba were taken by Scott Sasser, Independence.
Team members for the Cuba mission Sept 10-24, 2005:
Pictures:
1. The Missouri team worked side-by side with the Cuban
church members to pour the footings for the new church.
2. Rev Lin Stern shares leadership in Communion service
with Pastor Eduardo and interpreter Ahmed Otero.
3. Logo of the Methodist Church in Cuba. The Conference
office is in Havana.
4. Interpreter Ahmed Otero shares information with the
UMVIM team from Missouri. The team is visiting the
Methodist Women’s Division in Havana, Cuba.
5. Pastor Eduardo shows the model for the new church.
The current building was damaged by Hurricane Dennis
June 2005.
6. Lay and clergy participate in lively worship in this
Methodist Church in the rural town of Caonao, near
Cienfuegos. Music is a central part of life and worship
in Cuba.
7. Transportation is precious in Cuba. A lucky few have
inherited US model vehicles from the 1950’s.
SALTA! SALTA!
The phrase Salta! Salta! was sung
in passionate worship at the services in Caonao, Cuba
where the Missouri conference-sponsored team worked,
worshipped and visited September 10-24, 2005. The
12-member team led by Rev Lin Stern and Barbara Stone
experienced the radical hospitality of the Caonao
congregation and clergy family, Pastor Eduardo and
Osvevi Martinez. Upon arrival, we were given beds that
were brought to the parsonage from the congregation so
that we could each have a bed in the parsonage. We
joined in worship the first night and as the
congregation sang “Salta, Salta!” the song leaders,
teenagers, children, parents and even grandparents began
jumping! Musicians with trumpet, guitar, and drums kept
the rhythm lively. Later we learned that they were
singing of the river of living water that “jumps” (salta).
Together with the congregation
members, the team’s task was to dig a new foundation and
to knock down the walls of the current building that had
been damaged by Hurricane Dennis. Because there is a
scarcity of building materials in Cuba, we saved all the
old materials: sand, boards, nails, tiles, and even
mortar to be reused by the congregation or for families.
To knock down the damaged walls we took turns with the
sledge hammer (no bull-dozer available). We worked
until 1:00 pm, and then rested during the hot
afternoons. We enjoyed meals of “Moors and Christianos”
(black beans and rice), chicken, soups, tomatoes and a
delicious dessert of flan. One evening we enjoyed a
fiesta with fresh coconuts.
While we worked together to break
down the walls of the building, we also shared our
stories, meals, worship and recreation to break down the
walls of our separate cultures. Many team members
practiced their Spanish while our Cuban brothers and
sisters practiced their English. Most Cuban church
members we met had not had a chance to grow up in
Christian homes, but had, through the Methodist church,
come to know the love of God, the story of Jesus, and to
experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives
in a country where they have little power in economics
and politics.
Twelve UMVIM teams from the USA are
permitted to travel to Cuba annually. The next Missouri
team is scheduled for October, 2008. For more
information, contact Barbara Stone, Office of Creative
Ministries,
stone@umocm.com.
TEAM
MEMBERS: Rev Lin Stern (Grandview UMC), Marti and Mona
Kanne (Platte woods UMC), Jeanne Mathieson (Platte Woods
UMC), Marcia Clifford and Joe Himes of Cassville UMC,
Ronald Krieger of Kirkwood UMC, Scott Sasser of
Independence UMC, Janet Wreath and June Holman of
Schweitzer UMC, Barbara Stone, Office of Creative
Ministries, and Gladys Camber of Salem UMC in the state
of Oregon. Gladys found us online, attended team
training in Missouri, and joined us in Mexico enroute to
Cuba.
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2005 FESTIVAL OF SHARING WAS HELD ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
Sacking Beans and Rice
Quilt Auction
Saturday, October 15th, drew several thousand
people from over 20 denominationS to the Missouri State Fairgrounds,
in Sedalia, Missouri. Final reports will not be available
until the first of the year. However, from all indications it
was a record year for gifts for those in need. Usually only
one semi-truck is loaded with Church World Service Kits. This
year two semi-trucks were loaded to capacity with extra kits brought
back to the Office of Creative Ministries for a later shipment.
Pictured above is the bustle of activity as rice and beans were
sacked, kits were boxed and distributed and beautiful quilts were
auctioned.
Click here
for more pictures and the prelimary 2005 Festival of Sharing report. |
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First United Methodist Church,
Jefferson City, Repairs Damaged Home in Century, Florida, October
2-9, 2005
There are many, many damaged homes like this in Northwest,
Florida that need VIM teams.
First UMC, Jefferson City Team
Mark Dumas, Team Leader
Before
After
Mark Dumas, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church,
in Jefferson City, is the Office of Creative Ministries Major
Project Leader for disaster response for the Alabama-West Florida
Conference. If your church can put a disaster response VIM
team together to respond to the destruction brought on by Hurricane
Ivan over a year ago please contact Mark. The people of the
conference have been living in damaged homes for a long time and
need our help. For more information contact Mark Dumas.
Email: dumas@fidnet.com
Phone: (573) 635-6886
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Missouri United Methodist Disaster Response Team
Left to right: Don Covington, Tom Fogarty, Steve Cox,
Richard, Mark Dumas, Marny Meserve, Bob
Carpenter, Karen Benson, Greg Olsen, Max Marble, Jim Mills, Karen
Gordy-Panhorst, Joe Batelsmeyer
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The Missouri United Methodist Disaster Response
Team participated in National Preparedness Month Celebrations at the
State Capital, on September 21st, where Governor Blunt honored the Disaster Response
Teams from across the state. |
| September 25, 2005
Karen Benson at SEMA
For the past two weeks Karen Benson, our United
Methodist Missouri Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, has
been coordinating the Katrina Response for the State of Missouri.
When Dante Gliniecki, who usually sits in the chair where Karen is
sitting here, was deployed to Mississippi, the Director of the
Missouri State Emergency Management Agency asked Karen if she would
take over until Dante returned. In this role Karen has been
coordinating the response of the various voluntary agencies, faith
based groups and government agencies. We are fortunate to have
a person like Karen, with her knowledge and experience serving as
our Conference Disaster Response Coordinator. Karen is a staff
member of the Missouri State Hospital in Mt. Vernon. She also
serves as co-chair of the Governor's Partnership in Disaster
Response. In the photo Karen wears her Missouri United Methodist
Disaster Response Team shirt while serving the State of Missouri in
Jefferson City. |
Laurel Mississippi - Missouri UM's First
Responder Team at Work
Joe Bartelsmeyer and first responder team from Schweitzer UMC are hard at
work in Laurel Mississippi. They say you can sweat just standing still,
which they are not doing. They are sleeping on the floor of the West
Laurel United Methodist Church.
Bishop Schnase in Mozambique
Bishop Schnase poses with the United Methodist Living Water Society well drilling
team and then pumps some well water during his recent trip to Mozambique.
First Missouri VIM Team to India
Max Marble will lead a VIM Team to work at Woodstock School (Pictured above) in
Mussoorie, India. Max was born in Mussoorie and attend Woodstock School
from kindergarten through high school. The team will work on a research
garden and green house to help with improved crops in the surrounding villages.
For more information click on the picture above. (If you have a dialup
connection it may take a minute or two for the page to download and open.)
* * * * *
Latin American Biblical Seminary Extension Campus in
Limon, Costa Rica
(Before and After Pictures)
Office of Creative Ministries, Director, Max Marble took the before picture on
the left several years ago. The building was dedicated June 4, 2005. Several
Volunteers in Mission teams
from Missouri, including teams lead by Joe Bartelsmeyer and Paul Winnermark, helped to make this project a reality. The building will
serve as a seminary campus and community center.
Conversational Spanish Camp
Barbara Stone, from the Office of Creative Ministries welcomes
participants.
VBS Crafts
Making Salsa
Thirty-eight people attended the Conversational Spanish Camp sponsored by the
Office of Creative Ministries. It was held at Wilderness Campground near
Kansas City. The camp emphasized learning about basic phrases for transportation, foods,
Vacation Bible Study crafts and other basic Spanish phrases used on VIM teams.
VIM CELEBRATION - UMCOR Director - Keynote Speaker
Paul Dirdak, Director, UMCOR
Paul Dirdak was the keynote speaker at the VIM Celebration in Columbia, Missouri
on Saturday, March 5. He spoke about his recent trip to the tsunami
disaster area and shared how the United Methodist Church is responding.
During one of his workshops he lifted up the need for IMA Medicine Boxes.
At Annual Conference this year the "Bring It Forward Offering" will include
requests for IMA Medicine Boxes. We are also receiving health kits and
school kits for tsunami relief.
Click here to receive information about this Annual Conference Offering and make plans
for receiving it in your local church sometime between now and Annual
Conference.
Downing United Methodist Church Tsunami Relief Benefit
Rev. David Hartsfield Prayers Over Tsunami Relief Offering
The Downing United Methodist Church sponsored a community-wide Tsunami Relief
Benefit on Sunday afternoon, April 11, 2005. Several churches
participated. Office of Creative Ministries Director, Rev. Max Marble was
the speaker. After the service church members provided a Chinese dinner
for all who attended. Downing is a town with a population of 396 in
northern Missouri.
DISASTER RESPONSE TRAILER GETS NEW CABINETS
Bishop Schnase and Joe Bartelsmeyer
Bishop Schnase was among the first to see the Office of Creative Ministries'
disaster response trailer's beautiful new oak cabinets made by Sass Tracy, a
member of Community United Methodist Church. The trailer is currently being
equipped with a generator and all of the tools and equipment necessary for
disaster response. The newly equipped trailer will be ready to roll by the
end of the month. The trailer was purchased with funds provided by the
United Methodist Foundation.
Missouri Disaster Response Team Returns From
Florida
Four team members led by Tony Sanders, from the Centralia United
Methodist Church, just returned from helping with cleaning up debris and
securing roofs in Vero Beach, Florida. They were invited and hosted
by Asbury United Methodist. Their pastor is Rev. Wes Ummel, a former
Missouri United Methodist pastor. Other team members were Bob Trask also
from Centralia and Ken and Alice Rice from the Hale United Methodist Church.
Currently other churches are making plans to send teams to Florida and Alabama.
Below are some pictures of the team at work. Click on any pictures to
enlarge it and feel free to use the pictures in your Sunday morning power point
presentations.
Click on the above pictures to enlarge them.
"THE BEAN TEAM"
OCM Bean Team Staff: Back row - Barbara Stone, Ann Moreton, Max Marble
Front - Cleo Kottwitz, Carol Oliver, Joe Bartelsmeyer, Audrey Phelps
The Festival of Sharing beans have arrived. The rice and about 20,000
boxes of kits are soon to arrive and be distributed all over Missouri and the
world. Attend the Festival of Sharing, at the Missouri State Fairgrounds,
in Sedalia, on Saturday, October 16. Bring your much needed flood buckets
to any of the Festival drop-off sites or to Sedalia.
Wesley UMC, Sikeston, Recognized for
Hospitality
Left to Right: Max Marble, Office of Creative Ministries
Director; Rick Lasley,
Sikeston, Wesley UMC pastor; Michel Harris, House of Liberty Board President;
Janie Pfefferkorn, Mission Missouri Director
The Sikeston Wesley United Methodist Church enabled a two million
dollar contribution of labor to the House of Liberty Volunteers in Mission
project in Sikeston, Missouri. They provided housing and hospitality for
24 Volunteers in Mission teams over a three period. The 323 volunteers in
mission from these teams provided a total of 178,457 hours of labor. The
value of the labor at $10 an hour (FEMA formula) amounts to $1,78,575.
The General Board of Global Ministries values such labor at $16.30 an hour which
comes to $2,908.857. The Office of Creative Ministries presented Wesley
UMC with an appreciation plaque for their great contribution to the House of
Liberty project. The House of Liberty was an abandoned, condemned former
nursing home in Sikeston, Missouri. The teams rehabbed it for a residence
for homeless persons coming out of the Southeast Missouri drug rehabilitation
program. Joe Bartelsmeyer from the Office of Creative Ministries
coordinated the VIM teams.
Missouri
Churches Transform Condemned Adabdoned Nursing Home in Sikeston
Some of the
churches that worked on the House of Liberty project (see above) were
First UMC, Mt. Vernon, MO; St. Clair UMC, St. Clair, MO; Jefferson City
First UMC, Jefferson City, MO; Lake Creek UMC, Smithton, MO; Trailside
Parish UMC, Eudora, KS; Cheviot UMC, Cincinnati, Ohio; First UMC, Canton,
Ill; Community UMC, Naperville, Ill; Mexico UMC, Mexico, MO; Marshfield
UMC, Church of the
Shepherd UMC, St. Charles, MO; First UMC, Rolla, MO; Waynesville UMC,
Waynesville, MO; First UMC, Jackson, Tennessee; Jackson UMC, Jackson, MO;
Blue Spring UMC, Blue Springs, MO; Farmington UMC, Farmington, MO; LaCroix
UMC, Cape Girardeau. MO and Wellsville UMC, Wellsville, MO.
House of Liberty Before and After Picture
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This sign appears on Hwy 11 between Mendon and Brookfield.
Mendon UMC, Community UMC, and Missouri UMC have joined hands in growing a field
of beans as a response to Christ's appeal to feed the hungry. The beans
will be harvested and sold. The money from the sale will be used to feed
the hungry through UMCOR and the Foods Resource Bank. For more information
about the Food Resource Bank email Fran Schnarre, our
Missouri contact person. Fran lives in Centralia, Missouri.
(fran@foodsresourcebank.org)
The Office of Creative Ministries has produced a short video about a recent
growing project in Higginsville, Missouri. Click
on the above picture for information on starting a growing project in your
community.
Falmouth, Jamaica, Cabinet
Volunteers in Mission Team
Pictures of Each District
Superintendent as VIM in Jamaica - Find Yours
(CLICK on any picture to enlarge it)
(CLICK
here for many more pictures of the Cabinet VIM Team)
While in Falmouth the Cabinet VIM Team split
up into several working teams. The medical team saw 360 patients and dispensed
over $40,000 worth of medications. The Education team provided tutoring
for around 50 children from the school. The Construction team smoothed
down the concrete walls for the new nursing home and painted them. They
also finished building a 9' by 9' home for a man in a slum area of the town,
painted the front of the Methodist Church and built some shelving for the infant
school in town. On Sunday Bishop Sherer, Elmer Revelle, Steve Breon and
Kevin Kosh preached in the four churches of the Falmouth circuit. Steve
Cox trained about 60 Disciple Bible Study leaders from a four district area in
the first ever Disciple Bible Study training session in Jamaica. All in
all a great deal was accomplished.
Dr. Surya Bajracharya, from Heifer International, in Nepal
Dr. Surya brings a message of hope for people in Nepal, during the Festival of
Sharing 2004 worship service. You may click on the picture above to veiw
other pictures of the 2004 Festival of Sharing and Youthfest.
* * * * *
This sign appears on Hwy 11 between Mendon and
Brookfield.
Mendon UMC, Community UMC, and Missouri UMC have joined
hands in growing a field of beans as a response to Christ's appeal to
feed the hungry. The beans will be harvested and sold. The
money from the sale will be used to feed the hungry through UMCOR and
the Foods Resource Bank. For more information about the Food
Resource Bank email Fran Schnarre, our Missouri contact person.
Fran lives in Centralia, Missouri.
(fran@foodsresourcebank.org)
The Office of Creative Ministries has produced a short video about a
recent growing project in Higginsville, Missouri. Click on the
above picture for information on starting a growing project in your
community.
* * * * *
The special Heifer Project offering at Annual
Conferece received over $20,000 in cash for gift animals for Nepal. Over
360 representative animals were also received in the offering. The stuffed
animals will be distributed to children in Missouri.
* * * * *
Heifer Project 60th Anniversary
Missouri Kick-off
Dr. Bidur Pakhrin, Diretor of
Heifer Nepal and Cleo Kottwitz.
Click above picture to see more
pictures of the HPI Celebration.
Dr. Pakhrin was the
speaker for the Heifer Project International celebration held at
Community United Methodist Church in Columbia on Saturday, November 14.
The celebration kicked off the year long 60 year anniversary of Heifer
Project International. The special Heifer Project emphasis for the
Festival of Sharing this year will be "Animals for Nepal."
Retirement Celebration
for Irmgard Jones
Jones has served as the Director of
the Office of Creative Ministries' Wardrobe Ministry in Hayti, Missouri
since 1973. She retired in October and was honored by members of
the Office of Creative Ministries Board/Staff and the Hayti community.
She received a plaque which reads: "The Office of Creative
Ministries Board recognizes and honors Irmgard Jones for 30 years of
extraordinary service to the Bootheal Community through the Wardrobe
supported by the Office of Creative Ministries and the Festival of
Sharing."
CLICK HERE
FOR IRMGARD JONES TESTIMONIALS
The arena at the State Fairgrounds, in Sedalia,
Missouri was a busy place during
the 2003 Festival of Sharing, on Saturday, October 18. Beans and
rice are being sacked
in the foreground and boxes full of kits are stacked for distribution in
the background.
Click on the Festival Of Sharing
Picture above to see more Festival Pictures
Front
Row, Left to Right: Ann Knott, First UMC, Mt. Vernon, MO, Georgia
Mattenlee, Ozark Chapel, Laurie, MO, Karen Benson, First UMC, Mt.
Vernon, MO, Martha Bartelsmeyer, Community UMC, Columbia, MO, Lisa
Bartelsmeyer, First UMC, Mt. Vernon, MO, Madeline Wilcox, Community UMC,
Columbia, MO.
Back Row: Roy Knott, First UMC.
Mt. Vernon, MO, Doug Mattenlee, Ozark Chapel, Laurie, MO, Neal Blount,
Neosho UMC, Neosho, MO, Joe Bartelsmeyer, Community UMC, Columbia, MO,
Stan Richert, Webster Hills UMC, St. Louis, MO, Larry Wilcox, Community
UMC, Columbia, MO.
Joe Bartelmeyer's VIM just returned from Limon, Costa
Rica where they work on the new seminary building for the Extension
Campus of the Latin American Biblical Seminary. The building is to
the left, a soccer field is to the right, and you can see the Caribbean
Ocean in the background.
Left to right: Kevin & Carol Seckel, Steve Cox,
Bishop Sherer, Max Marble
Carol and Kevin Seckel, missionaries in Latvia, visit
about a new VIM Project. The project involves the refurbishing of
a building built toward the end of the 19th century. A part of the
13th century city wall forms part of the basement. The building
will greatly expand the work of the church in eastern Latvia. More
information on the project will soon be available.
Stockton United Methodist Church members stand where
their sanctuary stood before the tornado destroyed it. On Sunday,
September 7, Karen Benson, Missouri Conference Disaster Response
Coordinator, presented, Dean McElroy, chair of the Board of Trustees,
with a check for $65,000 from the disaster response special offering
received from the congregations of Missouri. On the same Sunday,
the Carl Junction UMC was presented with a check for $45,000 and the
Canton Immanuel UMC was presented with a check for $12,000. Thanks
to all our congregations for responding to the needs of these three
churches and hundreds of individual and families effected by the spring
tornados.
Cleo Kottwitz, Office of Creative Ministries Associate
Director for Heifer Project International, was married to Judy Parsons,
at Missouri United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 15.
