Missions
The Operation Christmas Child goal this year is 2000 boxes. To make that possible there is a weekly shopping list on the OCC page of the ambassador. The list will also be in the narthex and on the Facebook page each week. If everyone gives a little, we can all give a lot.
February Last summer our VBS made lap blankets (with a little help from the congregation after the fact). On February 15 those blankets were donated to Dogwood Forest of Dunwoody, assisted living home. Some went to the seniors in the art class and the rest went to the memory care unit. Everyone loved them.
March
Our UMW will be hosting the AROS (Atlanta Roswell) district Lenten Time Apart at our church on Saturday, March 16. Shandra Dawkins, the executive director, of Family Haven will be the guest speaker. Along with ladies from other churches, we will pack Play/Snack bags for the children at Family Haven.
March -April
We will be working on a special mission project for Lent through Heifer International. Heifer International began seventy-five years ago, when Dan West began outlining a simple but groundbreaking plan to help the hungry. West, a Midwestern farmer and Church of the Brethren member, had recently returned from volunteer service in the Spanish Civil War where his job was to provide weary refugees with a single cup of milk. He knew American farmers had resources many others did not: cows and the steady supply of nutrition from their milk.
This “not a cup, but a cow” thought was the driving force behind West founding Heifer International. Today this approach is still used. Our donations will be used to buy livestock to help lift a family out of poverty.
Here is how it will work. Beginning on Ash Wednesday (March 6) and continuing through Easter, each family in the congregation will receive a giving calendar and a collection box for Heifer international. Each day the calendar will tell you what to put in the collection box. For example, “GOT milk? Add 15¢ if you have chocolate milk in your refrigerator, 20¢ if there is white milk”.
We will be collecting for a “Knitter’s Gift Basket” to provide a llama, an alpaca, a sheep and an angora rabbit to a family to provide wool to sell or to knit. We send the money to Heifer International, they send the animals to a family and teach the family how to care for the animals, collect and use the wool and create a business to pull themselves out of poverty.
April
Our next time to host for Family Promise will be April 21-28. Look for the Signup Genius to come out next month. If you would like to attend a training session to be able to be directly involved with the families, please check with Wanda Garmon for more information.
May
The UMW will be having a Book Drive for the children at Family Haven during the month of May. Look for the article in the March Ambassador. They are asking for new or gently used children’s books.
May
The tentative date for Family Promise Cardboard City this year is May 3-4. This is a fun event to help raise awareness of the homeless situation in Forsyth County by building your cardboard home, eating soup, playing some fun games and sleeping outside overnight.