Tuesday, January 21, 2014

2014 ANTI-RACISM EVENT: SING-A-RAINBOW

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!
SING-A-RAINBOW 
CHARTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EVENT
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014
FIRST UMC OF SALADO, TEXAS
 9-9:45 a.m. 
Registration, Breakfast Treats
Also Silent Auction, UMW Resources

Program 9:45 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Keynote speaker--Deaconess Clara Ester

 Racial Justice Topics
* Maternal Health – Healthy Families Healthy Planet Advocacy
* Immigration and/or Domestic Violence
* Legislative Update and Priorities; Presentation of Charter Club members

Bring "Food for the Road" to share

  YOU MAY REGISTER ON-LINE AT WWW.CTCUMW.ORG, EVENT REGISTRATION

CRITICAL SHORTAGES OF UMCOR RELIEF KITS

The following piece can be copied and prepared for a three-column, two-sided landscape sheet for distribution to UMW and the congregation.
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Critical Shortages of UMCOR Relief Kits
UMCOR—United Methodist Committee on Relief—sends emergency relief kits to disaster scenes all over the world.
Now they desperately need our help with this vital ministry.  Please support them by giving generously to Material Resources, Advance #901440, or by working with your congregation to assemble much-needed relief-supply kits for UMCOR depots.
You may contribute online at umcor.org or you may make out a check to FUMC with a note that it is for Advance #901440.

Last year, UMCOR had sent a total of 536,946 relief kits to 12 countries and to 12 states in the U.S. That was an increase of 28.5% as compared to any previous year. As a result, both UMCOR depots now have critical shortages of relief-supply kits to meet the increased demand for supplies around the world.
                  <second page>
These kits include—
* birthing kits: soap, latex gloves, plastic sheeting, cotton string, razor blade, blankets
* cleaning buckets: bucket, laundry detergent, cleaner, dish soap, air freshener, insect repellent, scrub brush, cleaning wipes, sponges, scouring pads, clothespins, clothesline, trash bags, dust masks, disposable gloves, work gloves
* school kits: blunt scissors, pads of paper, pencils and sharpener, ruler, eraser, crayons, cloth bag  
* health kits: hand towel, washcloth, comb, nail clipper, soap, toothbrush, bandaids, plastic bag, $1
*sewing kits: fabric, needles, thread, buttons, scissors, plastic bag
*layette kits: diapers, onesies, wash cloths, sleeper, diaper pins, jacket, receiving blankets
* bedding kits: flat sheets, pillows and pillow cases

There are strict requirements for all of these kits; detailed instructions are online at www.umcor.org.  Whatever way you give, PLEASE HELP.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

2014 TEXAS LEGISLATIVE EVENT

The Legislative Event will be January 25-28 and it is still open for registration! I'm including in this blog an article that can be made into a three-up piece and handed out to UMW and other women of your congregation--as well as to other women's groups. The event is open to all comers this year for the first time!

As before, you can copy this text, adjusting as necessary, put it into a landscape format for three columns and then copy again for the additional columns. Then you could put Unit information on the back side.
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REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN FOR--
2014 TEXAS
LEGISLATIVE EVENT
January 25-28

As usual, Legislative Event 2014 will be packed with expert policy presentations, practical advocacy training, conversations with top Texas lawmakers, and time at the Capitol.
The Event will be held at the Austin Holiday Inn Midtown (at the old Highland Mall). Registration is not capped, and there's plenty of room for everyone. You don’t have to stay for the whole three days. We are offering day passes again, and this year for the first time we are offering a tour of the Capitol led by Texas Impact staff on Saturday afternoon before the event. 
You’re guaranteed to learn a lot about Texas issues and how to address those issues…. Plus you will meet 200 or so of the most active and informed laywomen in the State.
You may register online at -- http://txumw2014.eventbrite.com







Wednesday, January 1, 2014

UMW CALENDAR YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I''m sure I posted this calendar already, but apparently it's somewhere in the wide blogisphere!

The information was taken from the UMW Prayer Calendar, so if you use your P.C. daily, you can easily keep up with the observances. However, if you need a concise resource, I think this will help. By staying in touch with what's coming "next month," you can prepare handouts or articles for your Unit.

Notice that January is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. I think you will still have time to contact Homeland Security, ICE Headquarters and Refuge City: 781-733-8430 or send an e-mail to refugecity@refuge-city.org, which are detailed in the information below.
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Monthly Calendar of Observances (daily dates not yet available)
According to UMW Prayer Calendar
Ideas for Social Action Emphases 2014
(Events listed in right column are staged by Texas or NTC UMW)

January                                                                      NTC Spiritual Life Retreat, Jan. 10-11
                                                                                    Texas Legislative Event, Jan. 26-28
Human Trafficking Awareness Day  
Human Relations Day

February               Black History Month
UMW and Charter for Racial Justice
Racial Justice Event

March                    National Women’s History Month
World Day of Prayer
International Women’s Day
One Great Hour of Sharing

April                       National Child Abuse Prevention Month                                                                                                                                                     UMW Assembly, Apr. 25-27
May   
National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
National Day of Prayer
United Methodist Heritage Day and Aldersgate Day
Peace with Justice Sunday

June                                                                            NTC UMC Annual Conference, June 1-3
World Day against Child Labor

July                                                                             NTC UMW Mission U and weekend U

August           
International Day of World’s Indigenous People

September
International Day of Prayer for Peace

October                 Domestic Violence Awareness Month
                              Breast Cancer Awareness Month
                                                                                   NTC UMW Annual Conference/Celebration
World Food Day
United Nations Day

November      Native American Heritage Month

December      
World AIDS Day
International Human Rights Day
International Migrants Day



NTC UMW 2014 Annual Mission Project:
“Get to Know Our National Mission Institutions”
Further information from Debra Oldham, NTC E&I Mission Coordinator;
12919 FM 981, Blue Ridge TX 75424




RESOURCES
This list provides agency information that you may find useful for yourself and also to gather material to distribute among your Unit membership and church women. It is not by any means an exhaustive list. Most of the publications listed here are available from the agency, without charge.
Human Trafficking:
Contact Homeland Security Blue Campaign: www.dhs.gov/humantrafficking
            Refuge City: e-mail to refugecity@refuge-city.org; www.refuge-city.org
Racial Justice:
UMW publication “The United Methodist Women Racial Justice Time Line”
UMW Publication “Charter for Racial Justice”
                                    www.missionresourcecenter.org or 1-800-305-9857
Children’s Advocacy:
Children’s Advocacy Center for your county
Darkness to Light, an international nonprofit committed to educating communities on ways to
             protect children from sexual abuse: www.D2L.org
Hunger:
Church World Service has all kinds of materials—from text-like brochures to placemats, many of which are free:  www.churchworldservice.org
Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger-relief organization and is an Advance Project of the UMC, #982795; www.stophungernow.org; local contact is Billy Taylor, community development director DFW, btaylor@stophungernow.org.
Social issues:
Information about issues that are being addressed—or that need to be addressed—by our Texas legislature can be found at Texas Impact.org on-line. Most of you are familiar with this faith-based agency that leads our annual Legislative Event in Austin. They have up-to-date information on all social issues in Texas and many resources, including knowledgeable speakers. 512-472-3903; www.texasimpact.com.
International Day of Prayer for Peace: There is always a great deal of information online about this observance, specific facts as well as prayers written for the day. Just type the title in your browser.
SOCIAL PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: booklet available from Cokesbury. There is a charge for this small book but it is an excellent tool for individual reference and group study with official text and teaching exercises plus Our Social Creed. (I have prepared an abbreviated piece that is available on my blog.)
WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED IN SOCIAL ISSUES?  Brochure available from UMW Mission Resource Center.
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS:

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD.  Both of these declarations can be found through the University of Minnesota human rights store on-line:
 
https://hrstore.law.umn.edu/catalog/. And both can be purchased in packets of 50 (passport size) for around $15. (The text of Rights of the Child can be found on-line by typing the title into the browser window. This document isn’t prohibitively long and could be reformatted for a single page.)