Christian Mission

Local

The Walk-In Ministry of Hope provides an entry point to essentially all of the physical and emotional social services that are available for those less fortunate members of our community who need immediate assistance and help in finding continuing assistance. The Walk-In Ministry of Hope is open from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 6:30 - 8:15 p.m. Monday evening, and is located in our church building in room 610. Visit the Walk-In Ministry of Hope website to find out more information.

San Lucas United Church of Christ: Ministering to neighbors in the Humbolt Park area in Chicago, this church sponsors youth programs, after-school tutoring programs, family counseling, day laborers' advocacy, a thrift store, and several times a week serves hot meals for the homeless. They work with the Latino Coalition for Better Public and Community Services and other groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

Advocate Child Trauma Center, Bolingbrook: The Child Trauma Center provides individual, family and group therapy and diagnostic assessments. The center acts as the liaison between DCFS, courts, and the family in cases of sexual abuse. Training for professionals, as well as education for parents and schools, is promoted by this UCC-sponsored agency.

St. John United Church of Christ: St. John's UCC is an inner-city church that provides area people with a food and clothing pantry, as well as a home for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Spiritual leader, Charlotte Nold, has been an inspiration to those less fortunate folk who come to this church.

Access DuPage: Many families in DuPage County cannot afford health care. Access DuPage, thanks to area doctors, offers basic, low-cost health care to those living at poverty level.

National

National Farm Worker Ministry: NFWM is an interfaith organization that supports farm workers as they organize for empowerment, justice, and equality. Farm workers are among the poorest workers in this country with an average annual income of less than $8,000. NFWM brings together national denominations, state councils of churches, religious orders and congregations, and concerned individuals to act with the farm workers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions that in many places is still terrible.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Will Fast Food be Fair Food?
On Saturday, Feb 1, seven members of our church stood with National Farmworker Ministry allies from around the country with farmworkers from Immokalee in front of the Miami headquarters of Burger King. We stood there with in a prayer service because:

There is a human right crisis in the fields of Florida. Tomato pickers who harvest tomatoes for the fast-food industry face subpoverty, stagnant wages. To earn miminum wage for a 10-hour day, a tomato picker in Florida must harvest over two and a half tons of tomatoes.
Five cases of modern day slavery in the field, involving over 1,000 workers have been brought to the federal courts since 1997. Last November farmers workers were found chained in a U-Haul vehicle.
Fast food giants contribute directly to poverty through high-volume purchains practices, demanding cheap tomatoes but never demanding fair treatment or just wages. Taco Bell and McDonalds have already united to directly improve wages and working conditions in their tomato supply chains.
Now we stand in front of Burger King for the dignity of workers, consumers, and all communities desiring a more humane agricultural industry in Florida. SEE www.ciw-online.org for more information and pictures of our group (Char Wild, Elizabeth Smalley, Linda Steed, Olgha and Bob Sandman, Joanna and Laura Hoglund) learning and witnessing in Florida.

International

Heifer: Heifer International is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization dedicated to ending world hunger and saving the earth by providing livestock, trees, training and other resources to help poor families around the globe become self-reliant, even those in Chicago. We will be asking the Sunday School children to collect for chicks. They will be getting their own special egg with a surprise inside.

Honduras Scholarships: Our Honduras missionary, Lisa Armstrong, has rescued two teenage girls that have been taken by the Honduras authorities from their abusive families. Lisa is requesting assistance in order to provide living expenses for the girls and send them to be educated in the public school system. It is anticipated that these two girls may become nurses in the mission's medical clinic in a few years, if all goes well. The only alternative is to return them to the streets of Honduras where they are likely to become the lost and forgotten of Honduran society.

Green Parrot Gets A Face Lift

Our Honduran missionary, Lisa Armstrong, has finally gotten approval from the governments of Honduras and the United States to package and ship Green Parrot Coffee through normal channels. This has been a long and expensive process but it allows them to affix a barcode which means we can now sell Green Parrot Coffee in stores.

The new packaging is quite an improvement as it is a heavy, dark green vinyl bag with a reopen top. It also has a vacuum seal which will enhance the freshness of the coffee. This new packaging has been introduced at the Alternative Christmas Faire at our church on November 20, 2005. In order to cover the cost of the shipping and new packaging the price will increase from $7.00 to $8.00 per pound. This price is still considerably below coffee of equal quality sold in specialty coffee shops and supermarkets.

We have several families who are currently Green Parrot users but we encourage others to try it and make it a part of your day. Every day that I make a pot of Green Parrot Coffee I think of the children in Honduras that will benefit. Without our support their parents would be unemployed and they would not have enough food to eat.

There is a small supply of the older version of Green Parrot Coffee in the silver bags which will be put on sale for $5.00 per pound.

If you would like to purchase any, see Ted Rock in Fellowship Hall or call him at 630-852-5642.

Green Parrot Coffee makes a great Christmas gift!


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	Christian Mission Local The Walk-In Ministry of Hope provides an entry point to essentially all of the physical and emotional social services that are available for those less fortunate members of our community who need immediate assistance and help in finding continuing assistance. The Walk-In Ministry of Hope is open from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 6:30 - 8:15 p.m. Monday evening, and is located in our church building in room 610. Visit the Walk-In Ministry of Hope website to find out more information. San Lucas United Church of Christ: Ministering to neighbors in the Humbolt Park area in Chicago, this church sponsors youth programs, after-school tutoring programs, family counseling, day laborers' advocacy, a thrift store, and several times a week serves hot meals for the homeless. They work with the Latino Coalition for Better Public and Community Services and other groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Advocate Child Trauma Center, Bolingbrook: The Child Trauma Center provides individual, family and group therapy and diagnostic assessments. The center acts as the liaison between DCFS, courts, and the family in cases of sexual abuse. Training for professionals, as well as education for parents and schools, is promoted by this UCC-sponsored agency. St. John United Church of Christ: St. John's UCC is an inner-city church that provides area people with a food and clothing pantry, as well as a home for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Spiritual leader, Charlotte Nold, has been an inspiration to those less fortunate folk who come to this church. Access DuPage: Many families in DuPage County cannot afford health care. Access DuPage, thanks to area doctors, offers basic, low-cost health care to those living at poverty level. National National Farm Worker Ministry: NFWM is an interfaith organization that supports farm workers as they organize for empowerment, justice, and equality. Farm workers are among the poorest workers in this country with an average annual income of less than $8,000. NFWM brings together national denominations, state councils of churches, religious orders and congregations, and concerned individuals to act with the farm workers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions that in many places is still terrible. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Will Fast Food be Fair Food? On Saturday, Feb 1, seven members of our church stood with National Farmworker Ministry allies from around the country with farmworkers from Immokalee in front of the Miami headquarters of Burger King. We stood there with in a prayer service because: There is a human right crisis in the fields of Florida. Tomato pickers who harvest tomatoes for the fast-food industry face subpoverty, stagnant wages. To earn miminum wage for a 10-hour day, a tomato picker in Florida must harvest over two and a half tons of tomatoes. Five cases of modern day slavery in the field, involving over 1,000 workers have been brought to the federal courts since 1997. Last November farmers workers were found chained in a U-Haul vehicle. Fast food giants contribute directly to poverty through high-volume purchains practices, demanding cheap tomatoes but never demanding fair treatment or just wages. Taco Bell and McDonalds have already united to directly improve wages and working conditions in their tomato supply chains. Now we stand in front of Burger King for the dignity of workers, consumers, and all communities desiring a more humane agricultural industry in Florida. SEE www.ciw-online.org for more information and pictures of our group (Char Wild, Elizabeth Smalley, Linda Steed, Olgha and Bob Sandman, Joanna and Laura Hoglund) learning and witnessing in Florida. International Heifer: Heifer International is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization dedicated to ending world hunger and saving the earth by providing livestock, trees, training and other resources to help poor families around the globe become self-reliant, even those in Chicago. We will be asking the Sunday School children to collect for chicks. They will be getting their own special egg with a surprise inside. Honduras Scholarships: Our Honduras missionary, Lisa Armstrong, has rescued two teenage girls that have been taken by the Honduras authorities from their abusive families. Lisa is requesting assistance in order to provide living expenses for the girls and send them to be educated in the public school system. It is anticipated that these two girls may become nurses in the mission's medical clinic in a few years, if all goes well. The only alternative is to return them to the streets of Honduras where they are likely to become the lost and forgotten of Honduran society. Green Parrot Gets A Face Lift Our Honduran missionary, Lisa Armstrong, has finally gotten approval from the governments of Honduras and the United States to package and ship Green Parrot Coffee through normal channels. This has been a long and expensive process but it allows them to affix a barcode which means we can now sell Green Parrot Coffee in stores. The new packaging is quite an improvement as it is a heavy, dark green vinyl bag with a reopen top. It also has a vacuum seal which will enhance the freshness of the coffee. This new packaging has been introduced at the Alternative Christmas Faire at our church on November 20, 2005. In order to cover the cost of the shipping and new packaging the price will increase from $7.00 to $8.00 per pound. This price is still considerably below coffee of equal quality sold in specialty coffee shops and supermarkets. We have several families who are currently Green Parrot users but we encourage others to try it and make it a part of your day. Every day that I make a pot of Green Parrot Coffee I think of the children in Honduras that will benefit. Without our support their parents would be unemployed and they would not have enough food to eat. There is a small supply of the older version of Green Parrot Coffee in the silver bags which will be put on sale for $5.00 per pound. If you would like to purchase any, see Ted Rock in Fellowship Hall or call him at 630-852-5642. Green Parrot Coffee makes a great Christmas gift!
Comments or suggestions are welcome at the church address above or to web@firstcongdg.org