Quick hits: Mission opportunity, scholarships available and celebrating a longtime knitting ministry

• By RJ Walters, Editor •

Mission opportunities at God’s Country Cooperative Parish
God’s Country Cooperative Parish in the Upper Peninsula is looking for one or two mission teams of 5-20 volunteers to help repair homes in Paradise, Mich. the week of July 10-16.
The Parish is seeking people who want to share God’s love with their feet and hands while enjoying the natural beauty of Whitefish Bay.
The cost is $153.50 per person for the week and an additional $30 per person to stay in the local church for the week.
Those interested in the project should contact Katie Peterson at ktpete@gmail.com or 906-492-3680.

Conference Merit Scholarships available
Do you know United Methodist students attending or planning to attend Albion or Adrian colleges? If so, refer them to the 2011 Conference Merit Scholarships available to all United Methodist students attending United Methodist related schools.
Merit-based scholarships are available utilizing funds from the annual Student Day offering and applicants are required to fill out several forms, write a short personal statement and include a high school transcript.
To download materials log onto the West Michigan Conference website at www.westmichiganconference.org and type in “Merit Scholarship” in the search bar.
The deadline for submission of this application is June 25, 2011.

Knitting Ministry celebrates 10 years of spreading love
More than 650 people in the Tri-Cities region of the state have been blessed over the course of the last decade through the loving creation and distribution of afghans, prayer shawls and scarves from a committed group of women at the United Methodist Church of the Dunes.
The Grand Haven church started a leisurely “craft circle” 10 years ago and has seen it expand into a full-blown ministry for people experiencing life-changing illnesses, death and unforeseen circumstances.
“What makes the prayer shawls is not the pattern or yarn that goes into them but, rather, the prayers and love that are shared,” said Mary Kay Alguire, Knitting Ministry co-founder.
The group also makes pillows, hat, slippers and more and during their knitting sessions they take time to worship, share stories and provide gratitude to each other.
Each gift is blessed with a prayer and a signed card is included.
Recipients are selected from the church prayer list, suggestions from pastor the Rev. Dan Duncan and through special requests.
“We do this because we are faithful followers, letting God work through us,” said Knitting Ministry member Helen Beers. “Again and again, we hear about the comfort the prayer shawls, afghans and other items are providing to those who receive them and it is these stories that help strengthen our faith.”
Anyone interested in receiving further information about the Knitting Ministry at UMC-Dunes’ should contact Beers at the church at 616-842-7980.

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Ministry with UMC connections making a difference in Haiti

• By Pam Mettler, Correspondent •

Faith in Action International (FIAI), a Christian-based mission program in Verrettes, Haiti, has been quietly serving the poorest-of-the-poor for 13 years.

With each tree sapling planted, every meal delivered, and every water filter installed, the Haitian people have come to say “Mesi,” Creole for “thanks for making a difference.”

Michigan native Tom Braak founded FIAI in 1998.

Braak made an initial mission trip to Haiti in 1997 to see the country’s needs first hand. Upon hearing God’s call, he set up headquarters in the hills north of Port-Au-Prince and married a Haitian woman named Ficilta. Together, they have a 16-month-old son, Ryan.

It was when Braak was asked to present on FIAI at the United Methodist Church of the Dunes (UMC-Dunes) in Grand Haven, Mich. that he made a longstanding connection to the United Methodis Church.

At the conclusion of Braak’s presentation, one of the UMC-Dunes church members organized a mission trip to Haiti in April 2007. It included 16 people who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with FIAI missionaries.

Braak is also connected to the Michigan Area through Dr. Bill Cansfield, a strong advocate for Haiti and member of UMC-Dunes.

Cansfield is a member of the Michigan Haiti Task Force, which works through United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to support churches, schools, orphanages and agricultural improvement projects in Haiti.

Cansfield also serves as the chairman of the FIAI board of directors.

As its sole missionary, Braak, 48, has brought FIAI to the people day-by-day through teaching sustainable development.

A tree nursery was established; animal husbandry programs were introduced, providing goats and chickens to help Haitian farmers learn how to start a business, sell milk and eggs at market; literacy programs also help children and adults learn to read the Bible.

Currently, the FIAI fruit tree nursery has 12,500 saplings growing in plastic bags.

Soil is mixed with bat guano and the plants are thriving.

“Some 23 species will bear fruit that can be a source of $80 of increased income potential each year.

This $80 is a welcome addition to the annual $200 income the farmers currently earn,” Braak said.
Trees are set for distribution in May, with each Haitian villager receiving 20 plantings.

FIAI’s tree nursery species include: Mango, avocado, lemon, kenep, sour sop, lamapen, guava, orange, cacoa, apricot, pumelo and chocolate pudding plants.

“We also started growing five children’s tree nurseries and we anticipate over 350 kids will benefit from this aspect of our ministry,” Braak said.

Recently, the mission has also made headway with continued distributions of goats, food and water filters.

“We took delivery of two more buck Boer goats this week,” said Braak. “The 19 bucks we gave out last year are now all producing offspring, which will help create income for villagers at market.”

Braak also received 47 boxes of food, which contained 36 meals each — to be distributed to the homeless, elderly and handicapped.

Rice, soybean flour, corn protein and dried vegetables are at a premium to many people.

A chronic problem is the need for clean water. Cholera continues to spread through contaminated water and food.

FIAI is addressing this epidemic by providing 300 water purification systems to schools and villages throughout the Artibonite Valley, some 40 miles north of Port-au-Prince.

“In January we gave out 74 water filters throughout six communities and each filter will provide clean water to 60 people,” Braak said.

In February, Tom’s father, Larry Braak, M.D., brought 200 Sawyer Point One filters, one of the fastest, most cost effective ways to deliver clean water.

Each filter system will clean up to 100 gallons of portable water every day. The filters remove the protozoa and viruses using technology adapted from kidney dialysis filters.

“People are still dying in the mountains and all around Verrettes and Port-au-Prince because of the cholera pandemic,” Braak. said “We are praying for continued support throughout 2011 to help us sustain our brothers and sisters throughout Haiti.”

FIAI has faced several major challenges in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, hurricane and cholera pandemic. Rocky roads left with huge potholes by the disasters have taken their toll on the FIAI truck used to transport supplies and people to and from the regional hospital. Funds are being sought to help purchase a new vehicle.

Homes that collapsed have left people without shelter and FIAI has helped with the reconstruction process.

Braak has grown FIAI through donations from family, relatives, friends and supporters attending largely United Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian Reformed, Reformed, Baptist, Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches in Michigan, California, Iowa, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

People can donate by sending checks made payable to: FIAI, P.O. Box 171, Spring Lake, Michigan or by donating electronically on the FIAI website at www.faithinactionint.org.

A spring mission trip, led by Braak, is planned for March 29 through April 5 to the FIAI mission in Verrettes, Haiti.

Another one is being considered for September.

Participants will work in the tree nursery, deliver water filters to schools and homes, plus participate in church services with Haitian villagers.

To contact Faith in Action International reach Tammy Davison at tammy@faithinactionint.org or 616-842-8951, or Pam Mettler at pmettler@iserv.net or 616-402-3144

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Ushering in a Season of Purpose and Hope: Michigan Area ministries go outside 'the box' to touch lives, share hope

By RJ Walters, Editor

Advent by Candlelight
Think of “ladies night out” — with a little time for much-needed reflection, some soulful singing and of course dessert and plenty of female hysterics.
Ten years ago women at the FUMC of Birmingham decided they wanted some type of festive, non-threatening evening that would appeal to a broad range of women and invite in the spirit of Advent and Christmas.
They have struck gold.
On Nov. 29 and 30 the church celebrated the season with nearly 1,000 attendees total at two evenings that included Christmas music and carols, several testimonies and beautifully decorated tables in the Christian Life Center.
Each table had a host, who was responsible not only for adorning the table where the ladies shared dessert, but also for making sure the seats were filled by the way of invitations.
“Clearly the prime purpose is to gather people evangelistically and to invite women from across the community and to hopefully, invite women who might, if they don’t have a home church, be interested in this one,” Birmingham Pastor Rev. Jack Harnish said. “One of our goals is radical hospitality and we work on that in many different ways. I see this as one of our primary, kind of flagship events.”
This year’s theme was “And the angel said…” focused around when angels visit mortals in scripture.
Emily Everson, part of Birmingham’s programming steering committee, said each year the event also raises money for a charity. This year’s beneficiary is HAVEN, a crisis and recovery center for sexual assault.
While it’s a night away from the men in their lives, the male influence is not totally ignored.
“You know what the clergy do?” Harnish quipped. “We work in the parking lot — we manage the traffic in the parking lot. We’re out there with flashlights and everything. It’s great.”
So great that Birmingham members have initiated smaller services of a similar purpose at city churches like Conant Avenue UMC, Central UMC and People’s Church.
Harnish said churches of all sizes can benefit by “setting the tone for what quickly becomes a hectic time of year.”

“Christ Inspired Christmas”
Are you looking for a bit different perspective on gift-giving this Christmas season?
Or something that doesn’t include the words “black” or “Friday” and doesn’t require four-hour long lines of agitated pedestrians?
Then try an idea of the UMC of the Dunes on for size.
In December the Grand Haven church is hosting “Christ Inspired Christmas” where 20 human service agencies from around west Michigan will be displaying goods and services from the organizations they represent.
The agencies will provide visitors with an opportunity to take tags from their booths and supply items needed by the organizations.
Attendees can also purchase gift cards, which will be sent to persons in need in other countries where they can purchase basic living items.
“These gift cards will be used by people in third-world countries to purchase the things that will simply help them start up their own businesses, share basic necessities with others, or help send their children to school,” said Sondra Metzler, member of the UMC of the Dunes.
SERVV has a booth where people can purchase fair trade crafts and gifts, and coffee and cookies are provided by the church.

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Church makes skullcaps to go in military stockings

By Pam Mettler, UMC of the Dunes

Members of the United Methodist Church of the Dunes (UMC-Dunes) in Grand Haven recently knit and contributed nearly 100 hand-made acrylic and wool skullcaps as part of a nationwide effort known as “Operation Shoe Box Skullcaps for Our G.I.’s.”

The skullcaps will help fill Christmas stockings for all branches of U.S. military members currently on duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“These skullcaps have been made by a number of people in our congregation. They supplied both the yarn and the labor, which takes approximately two-to-three hours to make just one hat,” said Joy Shimp, UMC-Dunes Skull Caps project coordinator.

Each skullcap contributed by UMC-Dunes members had a scripture tag attached from Psalms 91:15, which read: ”He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

The idea for the church members at UMC-Dunes’ involvement arose from Shimp’s interest in and attendance at cribbage tournaments throughout the country.

In Green Bay, Wisc., a cribbage friend told Shimp that she had made hats as part of “Operation Shoe Box Skull Caps” and asked Joy if she was interested in bringing back the idea to her local congregation.

Shimp brought the idea back, made the pattern and put out a plea to church members for help in making the hats. All conform to the pattern, which calls for four-ply yarn in acrylic or wool ― and there are both knit and crochet patterns available.

“The idea for making hats just blossomed. Our members have made all 91 of the hats, which I am shipping to my contact at The Villages, Florida. From there, the hats will go to our active G.I.’s in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Shimp said.

All hats were blessed and prayed over by senior pastor Dan Duncan and the UMC-Dunes congregation members at a Sunday service.

“As I knitted the hats I made, I also blessed them,” Shimp said, adding, “I feel the idea of adding the scripture tag will help military men and women want to hold it in their pockets as they go about their active duties.”

Anyone interested in receiving further information about “Operation Shoe Box Skull Caps for Our G.I.’s” should contact Donna Miller, Wisconsin project coordinator, at 715-832-8934 or via e-mail at dcmiller2104@hotmail.com.

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