Outreach
Servers and Greeters Needed - Breaking Bread Monday Meal
Can you spare just 3 hours a month to serve as a server or greeter at the Breaking Bread Monday Meal?
Every Monday night our church, in cooperation with the Innvision, hosts a meal in our Kohlstedt Hall for the homeless in our community. This meal is part of Innvisoin's Breaking Bread program.
Breaking Bread currently offers a free hot meals every day of the week, six in Palo Alto and one in Menlo Park. The meals are at the same church on the same day each week, and are intentionally spread out among various locations so that people with transportation issues will always have at least some services near their home.
Their staff members deliver food for each meal from various food storage areas. There, a team of volunteers prepares the meal, then serves it and cleans up. Each of the meals has five teams of volunteers that rotate, so that each team cooks and serves once every five weeks.
The Outreach committee of First Palo Alto provides two volunteers to monitor the our building during a time when the building would otherwise be closed, and also a team to help serve meals.
We are asking you to volunteer just 1 Monday a month from 4pm to 7pm.
For more information, please contact the Church Office 650-323-6167
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D'vora Deeds
On Saturday, July 23, the D'vora United Methodist Women's circle volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos. Afterwards, we headed downtown to enjoy a delicious brunch together.
Second Harvest is one of the largest food banks in the nation, feeding an average of nearly one quarter of a million people each month. Volunteers are an integral part of the success of Second Harvest's ability to help provide food to people in need in our community. Individual and group volunteer opportunities are available for those who are 14 years of age or older. If you would like to learn more about ways you can support Second Harvest or volunteer your time, please visit their website at www.shfb.org.
D’vora is a United Methodist Women’s cicle that meets once a month for dinner, fellowship and to plan activities that will enrich our church and community. D'vora's next gathering will be on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 6:30 pm. If you would like more details about our September meeting or would like to be added to our D'vora e-mail list, please contact Valorie at valorie@hamachek.com.
We hope to see you there!
A Letter From Our Missionary
The missionary we support, Paul Jeffrey, recently sent us this update.
Dear friends in my supporting churches,
It’s a rainy Sunday morning in Malawi. Rainy season, when the rains fall on the just and unjust. Also the well-fed and the hungry. I’m here to document the response of faith-based organizations to a persistent food security crisis in this part of Africa. It’s a complicated story, in that the Malawi government has done several things right, and the country has enjoyed bumper corn harvests that reportedly meet the needs of all. Yet look more closely and it simply turns out not to be true, and faith-based organizations are among those working at the grassroots to help the most vulnerable–households headed by children or single mothers, for example–produce enough food to make it through the year, particularly the current “hunger season” when family resources run out while waiting for the time to harvest.
I write to thank you once again for making possible what I do. In 2010, congregations and individuals contributed over $49,000 to Global Ministries in support of my ministry. In troubling economic times, that’s remarkable. Along with the support you offer through both prayer and advocacy around issues of justice and peace, your enthusiasm for mission–both locally and globally–helps sustain me through long days of jet lag and interminable four-wheel drive journeys across the African bush.
Get a Life - Rick Eaton (Audio)
Rick Eaton was our guest preacher on Sunday, January 16, 2011.
to his message.
View the slides which accompanied his sermon here.
The reading was John 1:29-42.
Rick Eaton is the director of the Sierra Service Project. SSP is a non-profit organization providing life-changing experiences through acts of service repairing homes in Native American and urban communities and building homes in Honduras. They invite high school age youth and young adults to experience the profound power of serving people who have a culture and life experience different from their own.
Each summer, approximately 1,500 teenagers, 250 adult volunteers and over 40 paid summer staff live, worship and work together on six different project sites. Together, their work results in over 130 safer, drier and more comfortable homes.
For the last few years a group of First Church youth has participated in an SSP project. If you are interested in going on this year's SSP trip, please contact our youth director, Keri Onan-Levy 650-323-6167.
New Outreach Blog
Check out Imani, our new Outreach blog. You can read Imani here.
The Outreach Committee of First UMC Palo Alto provides opportunities to support and serve others in the local community and around the world. These opportunities are grouped into local, regional, global, education, and church and community activities. We are associated with a variety of organizations, including InnVision, Opportunity Center, United Christian Campus Ministry, Volunteers in Mission, Sierra Service Project, and more.
Read about what we are doing. We hope you will be motivated to reach out and make a difference in your own life and in the lives of others. We recognize and honor each person’s unique understanding of God’s call to service.
Imani is a Swahili word for faith, for hope, for belief in possibilities.
Hotel de Zink
Hotel de Zink is a shelter for the homeless in Palo Alto. In partnership with InnVision, twelve churches in Palo Alto take turns hosting the homeless. Each of the twelve churches provides shelter for a month for up to 16 guests, and June is our month. Our church houses the shelter in Kohlstedt Hall and its kitchen. Individual families and groups of the church take turns providing a hot meal each night throughout the month of June.
In 1987, Jim Burklo visited Church shelter programs in Santa Cruz and Berkeley and began planning for a homeless shelter with Urban Ministries of Palo Alto. After many community and planning committee meetings the first homeless shelter on the peninsula opened in May 1989 in Palo Alto. Programs in Mountain View and San Jose were then modeled after ours.
How did Hotel de Zink get its name? In the great depression of the early 30’s many people were homeless. Tents were put up near the railroad tracks, where the Sheraton on El Camino Real is now, to house the homeless of that era. The local police chief spent a lot of time there to make sure that nothing untoward happened and to help provide the services that the tent people needed, and, as is the custom in the jails, the tent city was named after their keeper by the residents. Thus, Police Chief Zink was so honored, and is honored today with the present manifestation of the homeless shelters.
During the month of June we need our church members to provide hot meals each night. Each evening an Urban Ministries staff person and the participants in the Hotel de Zink program will arrive by 9pm. Volunteers bring a meal to serve up to 18 adults. Dinner is served from the kitchen in Kohlstedt Hall. Meal volunteers may stay and socialize with the guests, as each feels comfortable. Volunteers may also provide food for breakfast (e.g., juice, milk, bread, cereal) and food that can be used to pack lunches (e.g., sandwiches and fruit).
To sign up, contact Chuck Hebel.
Haiti Earthquake - How You Can Help
A major earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010, causing widespread destruction. Millions of people are affected and thousands are feared dead. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has close ties with the Methodist Church in Haiti and is responding to the devastating earthquake with funding, material resources and prayers.
UMCOR executive, Melissa Crutchfield says, “We are working with our partners on the ground to provide immediate relief to the people in Haiti. UMCOR has worked in Haiti for many years. We anticipate that there will be years of rebuilding needed and are prepared to work with the people to help them through that process.”
Working with partners, Action by Churches Together, Church World Service, Global Medic and the Methodist Church, UMCOR is channeling its resources to respond effectively to the people most in need.
How You Can Help
Gifts to support UMCOR's Haiti Relief efforts can be online. Go to http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?code=418325&id=3018760 to donate.
You can also donate by check. Checks can be made to UMCOR with Advance #418325 Haiti Emergency in the memo line. Checks can be put in the church offering plate this Sunday or mailed to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087.
UMCOR Sager Brown is coordinating a shipment of health kits to provide individuals with basic necessities. Instructions for assembling and shipping health kits are available at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/getconnected/supplies/health-kit/.
Please pray for all of the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Thank you for your faithful support for all of God’s children. 100% of gifts made to this advance will go to help the people of Haiti.
Breaking Bread Hot Meal
Some travel light, one has a bike with trailer loaded. A woman carries several bags. I sit by the door, welcoming people and watching over the church, will lock it when they leave. Tonight I decide to surreptitiously draw the scene and some of the characters, but they look over my shoulder, recognize people they know, and encourage me.
I’m beginning to know them now, I have seen on University Avenue, others in front of stores begging and often stop to chat. One fellow, who I knew well before the Coop grocery failed, recognized me before I could place him. I know few by name. It’s getting to be fun. Our watch is only once monthly, but we always look forward to it."
Clint McClintic, one of our parishioners who wrote the text and drew the graphic above, is one of many volunteer greeters for Innvison's Breaking Bread Meal. Every day Innvision serves a hot meal at a different church, to the area folk in need of food. First Church hosts the Breaking Bread meal every Monday evening.
Innvision has one paid staff member here each week. This staff member is in charge of five or six volunteers who cook, set up, serve and cleanup. We provide the use of Fellowship Hall and kitchen plus two greeters. The greeters will need to be at church from 4-7 pm to the area of our reception desk. They will greet those who come to eat; giving directions, answering questions and representing our church.
To become a greeter, please contact the church office.
Special Mission Visitors
Special Mission Visitors are a new Outreach initiative based on a suggestion by Pastor Michael Love an Outreach Committee Meeting. The purpose is to better acquaint our congregation with the extensive range of mission activities being conducted to help fulfill the broad mission of the United Methodist Church, namely, to witness to and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
The visitors will come from across the spectrum of missions associated with the United Methodist Church and nominally funded in part through a variety of UMC sources such as Apportionments, General Board of Global Missions, etc.
Special Mission Visitors are being planned throughout the year. In conjunction with their witness/sermon on a Sunday morning, our First UMC Finance Committee has approved an opportunity for our congregation to make a “plate offering” to further the work of that particular mission.
Food Drive
Help feed and clothe the needy in our community.
The Outreach Committee is collecting canned food for the Food Closet. Every Monday morning we deliver the collected food to the InnVision Food Closet.
Please bring items to the collection bin in the Narthex .
Centennial Endowment Funds
In 1988 a group of church members had an idea to start a fund to raise money to support mission projects around the world, as well as providing an ongoing source of funds to support projects around the church.
The money that was raised wouldn't be spent all at once, but would be invested, and a portion of the funds would be made avaialble each year in the form of grants. With an eye to having the fund up and running for First Palo Alto's 100th anniversary, the Centennial Endowment Funds were born.
Almost 700,000 in grants have been distributed since the inception of the funds.
Click here to learn more about the Centennial Endowment Funds
Contact Nancy Glaser:endowment@firstpaloalto.com
Campbell Soup Labels - UPC Codes
Please collect the UPC (bar codes) from Campbell products (including Pepperidge Farms) for a UMW mission project at McCurdy School.
A container is in the lobby of the Education building with a poster showing various products that qualify. It will be greatly appreciated if you cut or tear off only the section with the UPC code - please do not submit the entire label. This will be a great time saver.
Thank you for your help.
Nancy Olson, UMW President
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Listen to Pastor Michael's January 29th sermon. Listen to Pastor Laurie's January 22nd sermon.Apply online here
Listen to Pastor Michael's January 15th sermon. The First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto, California - A Welcoming Church spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties since 1894. We're conveniently located in downtown Palo Alto near the Stanford University campus. Whether you're in the Silicon Valley or on the Peninsula, we want to be your Church home.
We invite you and your family to worship with us any Sunday morning.
Our members come from all over the San Francisco bay area including Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, Campbell, Castro Valley, Cupertino, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Fremont, Gilroy, Half Moon Bay, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Newark, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Stanford, Sunnyvale and Walnut Creek.
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