Wednesday, February 26, 2014

UMCOR : CRITICAL SHORTAGES

All of you know about UMCOR and its relief work all over the world, and you probably know that they are in dire need of contributions of money and/or the various kits. I am including another three-up, two-sided piece that I plan to distribute at my church for the next few weeks. As usual, it will require some tweaking but nothing major, I hope......Perhaps you would find it useful.

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Critical Shortages of
UMCOR Relief Kits

Following is a list of the kits that UMCOR distributes.
You may contribute online at umcor.org or you may write a check to FUMC with a note that it is for Advance #901440.

$8 buys a birthing kit: soap, latex gloves, plastic sheeting, cotton string, razor blade, blankets
$12 buys a health kit: hand towel, washcloth, comb, nail clipper, soap, toothbrush, bandaids, plastic bag
$18 buys a sewing kit: fabric, needles, thread, buttons, scissors, plastic bag 
$35 buys a school kit: blunt scissors, pads of paper, pencils and sharpener, ruler, eraser, crayons, cloth bag   
$55 buys a cleaning bucket: 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


 
Critical Shortages of
UMCOR Relief Kits

Following is a list of the kits that UMCOR distributes.
You may contribute online at umcor.org or you may write a check to FUMC with a note that it is for Advance #901440.

$8 buys a birthing kit: soap, latex gloves, plastic sheeting, cotton string, razor blade, blankets
$12 buys a health kit: hand towel, washcloth, comb, nail clipper, soap, toothbrush, bandaids, plastic bag
$18 buys a sewing kit: fabric, needles, thread, buttons, scissors, plastic bag 
$35 buys a school kit: blunt scissors, pads of paper, pencils and sharpener, ruler, eraser, crayons, cloth bag   
$55 buys a cleaning bucket: 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


 
Critical Shortages of
UMCOR Relief Kits

Following is a list of the kits that UMCOR distributes.
You may contribute online at umcor.org or you may write a check to FUMC with a note that it is for Advance #901440.

$8 buys a birthing kit: soap, latex gloves, plastic sheeting, cotton string, razor blade, blankets
$12 buys a health kit: hand towel, washcloth, comb, nail clipper, soap, toothbrush, bandaids, plastic bag
$18 buys a sewing kit: fabric, needles, thread, buttons, scissors, plastic bag 
$35 buys a school kit: blunt scissors, pads of paper, pencils and sharpener, ruler, eraser, crayons, cloth bag   
$55 buys a cleaning bucket: 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



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.
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.
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.


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

February is Black History Month. Carter G. Woodson began Negro History Week in 1926; it was later expanded to a month. In 1976 it was changed to Black History Month. It is held every February and celebrates the achievements and contributions of African Americans throughout our history. The 2014 theme is the civil rights movement that commemorates the 50th year anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.  (Taken from Southeast Denton <TX> News)

 “The years, the months, the days, and the hours have flown by my open window. Here and there an incident, a towering moment, a naked memory, an etched countenance, a whisper in the dark, a golden glow—these and much more are the woven fabric of the time I have lived.”  (Howard Thurman, influential African American author, philosopher, theologian, educator and civil rights leader)

If you have on hand copies of the "Charter for Racial Justice," it would be singularly appropriate to distribute them this month. If you don't yet have copies, you can order them from UMW Mission Resource Center and they are free. This distribution would satisfy a requirement for your unit to be a 5-star unit as well as a member of the Charter Club. You may also copy this post and revise it for distribution.

Notes on the back of the Charter brochure spell out the significance of racial justice:
* Racial Justice is a biblical issue.
* Racial Justice is a leadership issue.
* Racial Justice is a community issue.
* Racial Justice is a public-policy issue.

There is also a free brochure entitled "Racial Justice Time Line" that notes important moments of racial justice history in the U.S. and United Methodist Women. 

It is unfortunate that racism is still an issue in our country, but there's no denying its presence. United Methodist Women stands staunchly opposed to any display of injustice--race, gender, ethnicity. Always we are counted among those who earnestly try to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

REPORT ON 2014 UMW LEGISLATIVE EVENT

The following document reports on the Event for 2014. With some changes for the writer's viewpoint, the entire document can be formatted into two columns, manipulated a bit for spacing, and printed as a back-to-back hand-out.
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The 2014 LEGISLATIVE EVENT, while not quite as exciting as in a legislative year, was still very good. This was my first year to work on the planning team, and I can tell you: Texas has some energetic, creative, generous, intelligent women. In other words, Texas has some powerful Christian women!

Our theme was A Thousand Voices: Telling the Story of Texas. Total attendance was around 180; the conference hall was full on Monday! We did sing “The Women Must Be Gathering” to start the busy first full day. Our speakers included a director of the Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy; director of the Texas Water Foundation, and other leaders in . Keynote for Sunday was Froswa Booker-Drew, national director of WorldVision, who focused on the importance of everybody’s story in building a loving society..

The agenda that came from our studies and through consensus deal with the same topics that we see year after year. The players have been pretty much the same for the past 12 years, with some new faces coming in after last election. However, these elements form the fabric of our society and will always need our steadfast attention: Health Care; Education; Criminal Justice and Mental Health; Water; Predatory Lending.
Trivia: Do you know Texas’s largest school district? It’s the Windham School District, which is comprised of people incarcerated in our jails and penitentiaries. It was established by the Texas Legislature as an entity separate and distinct from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), with the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) serving as the Board of Trustees for the WSD. It is the policy of the Board that the WSD shall provide academic, as well as career and technology education, to eligible offenders incarcerated within the TDCJ. Certainly this education is a step toward rehabilitation, but how sad that the prisons contain  our largest school population.
The following document spells out the 2014 agenda developed by the UMW at the Legislative Event.


Medicaid
The Legislature should extend Medicaid to adults under 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. We encourage legislators to recognize the financial benefits that would accrue to local governments, medical providers, the Texas economy and Texas taxpayers.

Education
The Legislature should affirm its constitutional obligation to provide high quality public education for the benefit of all of its residents. Critical legislative actions include restoring cuts, funding enrollment growth, and increasing teacher compensation to competitive levels. We strongly reaffirm our historic opposition to any movement toward allowing the flow of public money to private schools.

Criminal Justice and Mental Health
We call on legislators to guarantee humane treatment for all Texans subject to the state’s criminal justice system, especially the most vulnerable, including women, children and youth. We strongly urge the Legislature to increase access to mental health services, substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation, educational opportunities and re-entry programs. We believe sentences should be fair for all regardless of race, gender or ability to pay. We believe legislators have a special duty to prevent wrongful convictions and to protect those in the criminal justice system with mental health concerns and individuals facing execution.

Water
We support lawmakers as they continue to address Texas’ long-term water needs. We urge lawmakers to create structures that ensure all stakeholders are included in discussions around the primary principle of fair access to clean water for all Texans. We acknowledge the interaction between water and energy resources and encourage lawmakers to plan comprehensively for our water and energy future.

Predatory Lending
The Legislature should build on the foundation of sensible regulation of payday and auto-title lending established in 2011, and eliminate the cycle of debt through strategies such as limiting rollovers, regulating fees and allowing partial payments.


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