News

Stop Hunger Now, Change the World Day (Youth and Young Adult Event)

A "Stop Hunger Now" event for youth and young adults will be held on the denomination's "Change the World Day" on Saturday, May 18, at Asbury United Methodist Church, Livermore, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with lunch provided. Groups that would like to participate need to collect pledges/donations to pay for meals. Cost for the meals are $.25 each and the goal is for 10,000 meals. To learn more about the program, download flyer here or log on to www.stophungernow.org....

Congregrations Team Up to Throw Super Bowl Bash for Homeless

  By Mary Ann Ford   BLOOMINGTON — On Feb. 3, people across the nation will go to their friends' houses for Super Bowl parties, watching the big game on a big screen and eating lots of snacks. The congregations of Moses Montefiore Temple and Wesley United Methodist Church want that same opportunity for those in the Twin Cities who are without homes — so they're having a Super Bowl Party for the homeless.   "We want to do something that gives them the...

Campbell UMC Commits to Stop Hunger

By Gail Jacobs, Campbell UMC   On January 12 Campbell United Methodist Church collaborated with Stop Hunger Now, (www.stophungernow.org), with the goal of bringing together 40 to 50 volunteers to package 10,000 meals in two hours. To the church's surprise, more than 120 people showed up ready to work resulting in 10,212 meals packaged in about 90 minutes. The meals will be distributed around the world to those in need.   Carol and Don Laucella, members of the church's Church and...

Inveneo Partnership Benefits Haiti School

Nashville, Tenn. -- A Methodist school in LeVeque, Haiti has been chosen as one of 40 schools in rural Haiti to receive a solar powered computer lab as part of the Haiti Connected Schools (HCS) Program. The HCS program, created by Inveneo, is one of the largest post-earthquake education-based information and communications technology (ICT) deployments in rural Haiti, providing improved learning tools for teachers, students and local communities. Each school receives a solar-powered computer...

Society of St. Andrew Lenten Devotional Program

 During Lent make feeding the hungry your mission  In keeping with the traditions of Lent, the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA), a domestic hunger-relief ministry that provides nutritious fresh produce to hungry Americans, invites your congregation to participate in its 2013 Lenten devotion and giving program, "How Beautiful" — a program of spiritual reflection, prayer, and giving.   Based on Romans 10:15b, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good...

SoSA Emergency Sweet Potato Appeal

The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is a national nonprofit hunger-relief ministry that rescues 25-30 million pounds of fresh, nutritious, excess produce each year that otherwise would go to waste for various marketing reasons. This food then is distributed to critical feeding agencies across the country – at no cost to the agencies or the hungry people they serve. To date, well more than 1,000,000 pounds of sweet potatoes (about 29 truckloads) already have been delivered by Society...

Campbell UMC Tackles Hunger at Rosemary School

By Dave Foyle, Campbell UMC Outreach Committee Since March of this year, a dozen volunteers from Campbell (California) United Methodist Church have been conducting a "Healthy Snack" program at Rosemary Elementary School, located just around the corner from the church.   Rosemary Elementary School has a predominantly Hispanic student body, and the school primarily serves lower-income families. In the Healthy Snack program, volunteers from Campbell UMC provide nutritious...

Free Lenten Devotions Program from SoSA

The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) invites your congregation to participate in its 2012 Lenten devotion and giving program, "Living Proof" – a program of spiritual reflection, prayer, and giving, in keeping with the traditions of Lent. SoSA's Lenten devotion program challenges the reader to take seriously the Scriptural injunctions to care for the poor, while also providing an opportunity to feed our hungry neighbors. Each day during Lent, through Scripture and prayer, gifted and...

Order 'Bread for the World' Christmas Cards Today

Don't miss your chance to order Bread for the World Christmas cards! Order today to make sure you receive your cards in time to send them out before the holidays. Packs of 10 cards and envelopes are just $15, which includes shipping.   Sending Bread for the World cards to your friends and family is a great way to show you care for them and for hungry people. Proceeds from the cards support the Bread for the World Institute's work to end hunger.   This year, a special card without...

SOSA Offers Advent Study, Alternative Gift Card Program

Society of St. Andrew (SoSA), the national gleaning ministry, has two Advent programs for you and your church. Passing the Peace   This booklet is an Advent devotions and giving program to help keep us focused on Jesus' coming while we provide a meaningful gift to feed hungry children and adults here in the United States.      During the season of Advent, the Society of St. Andrew devotional booklet asks participants to reflect prayerfully on the Scriptures and...

Guest Speaker for 2012 ACS Is Featured in Latest Edition of Interpreter

The guest speaker for the 2012 California-Nevada Annual Conference Session will be the Rev. Rudy Rasmus – who is featured in the November/December 2011 issue of Interpreter, the official ministry magazine of The United Methodist Church. The article, "A Season of Hope; Will We Sing with Mary," examines the concept of finding hope in tragedy, in hunger, and in homelessness during Advent.  "I am often trying to offer a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Don't...

Third Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner Planned at Valley Faith UMC, Sunnyvale

For the third straight year, Valley Faith United Methodist Church and San Jose Tongan Fellowship, both in Sunnyvale, have teamed up to provide a free Thanksgiving dinner for the community – complete with music, food, and fellowship. This year's dinner will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 23 from 3 to 9 p.m. The churches make a practice of reaching out to groups in the community – the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) of Northern California, the Filipino Workers...

Society of St. Andrew Advent Programs

The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA), the national gleaning ministry, has two Advent programs for you and your church. First, the free Advent devotional booklet, "Passing the Peace," will guide you toward Christmas with daily readings to aid in preparation for Christmas Eve.   During the season of Advent, the Society of St. Andrew devotional booklet asks participants to prayerfully reflect on the Scriptures and devotions, and also to join in the ministry of feeding America's...

Will You Be Counted? Register to Change the World, May 14-15

There truly is power in numbers. Doing one, two, or 20 things for the Change the World event, May 14-15, makes it possible for any church – urban or rural, large or small – to make a difference in the local community or the world. Last year more than 100,000 people from 1,000-plus churches united with a common purpose over a 48-hour period: to make a world of difference in ways both large and small, locally and globally. From California to Washington, Alabama to Mozambique, United...

An Ordinary Meal

By Kat Teraji Gilroy UMC "In the way of God, thoughts count for little, love does everything. And it is not necessary," he continued, "to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God; when it is finished, if I have nothing to do, I prostrate myself on the ground and adore my God, Who gave me the grace to make it, after which I arise, more content than a king. When I cannot do anything else, it is enough for me to have lifted a...

'Drive-by Giving to the Homeless': A New Ministry in Action Story

"Miracles happen all the time. I had the privilege of witnessing a couple of them myself this holiday season," writes Kat Teraji of Gilroy United Methodist Church, as she begins a Ministry in Action story just posted to the California-Nevada Annual Conference website. Teraji tells an inspiring story of the impact everyday people can have, through taking simple steps in faith. Read Drive-by Giving to the Homeless.   Highlights of all Ministry in Action stories are viewable in...

Lenten Program Available From Society of St. Andrew

In keeping with the traditions of Lent, the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) invites your congregation to participate in a program of spiritual reflection, prayer, and giving. The hunger-relief organization is making its annual Lenten devotion program available, which challenges readers to take seriously the Scriptural injunction to care for the poor, while providing an opportunity to feed our hungry brothers and sisters at the same time. Each day during Lent, a gifted writer will describe how...

Learn About Hunger Through Harvest of Hope Summer Program

Harvest of Hope is the ecumenical study, worship, and action mission trip program of the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA). This summer, there will be several opportunities for you to learn about hunger and about gleaning – which SoSA calls "a commonsense solution to the issue." Participants will: Glean fresh fruits and vegetables which will immediately, through the help of local feeding agencies, find their way onto the tables of those in need;  Experience a...

Thousands in Area of Billboard on Thanksgiving Morn

More than 27,000 people ran, walked, ambled, or moved along in some other fashion for 5 to 10 kilometers on Thanksgiving morning, to support the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services – and all had a chance to see a billboard suggesting that Sac-area United Methodist Churches can be a source of spiritual fulfillment. For the entire month of November, the billboard was located on "H" Street (150 feet west of 57th Street) at the starting point of the 17th annual Run to Feed the...

October 16 Pajaro Valley CROP Hunger Walk Invites Walkers

The call is out to all area churches, schools, civic organizations and individuals: Will you walk with us? The Pajaro Valley CROP Hunger Walk will be held Saturday, October 16 at 9 a.m., starting and ending at the Second Harvest Food Bank in Watsonville. The purpose of a CROP Hunger Walk is two-fold: To raise awareness by walking as people do around the world in search of food and water; and to raise money to combat hunger both locally and wherever there is need.    All...