UMW Calendar

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UMW - United Methodist Women

All women at FUMCPA are invited to join the United Methodist Women.

Purpose of United Methodist Women
The organized unit of United Methodist Women
shall be a community of women
whose PURPOSE is to know God
and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ;
to develop a creative, supportive fellowship;
and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.

What Does It Mean To Be A United Methodist Women
A member of United Methodist Women is one who commits herself to our PURPOSE and chooses to participate in meetings, prayer, giving, study, action, and/or service. The organization celebrates an inclusive membership and welcomes all women who want to be members.

One becomes a member by committing to be a part of this supportive community of women and by accepting the challenge to grow in mission and to participate in life-changing experiences. Membership can be expressed in many ways. Some examples are:

          * Intercessory prayer;
          * Attendance at meetings;
          * Undesignated Mission Giving to support global mission;
          * Accepting leadership responsibility;
          * Participation in various events, projects, issues, and concerns of the Women's Division
          * Participation in the Reading Program;
          * Reading Response;
          * Attending Schools of Christian Mission.

CIRCLE AND INTEREST GROUPS

Clara Swaine Circle
Meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 1:30 pm in the Church Patio Room

Judy Newton Circle
Meets on the 4th Monday of each month at 1:00 pm in the Patio Room or in a member’s home

The D’vora Circle (Women range in age from 20-60)
Meets one a month at a member’s home

Fijian Circle
Meets at times and locations to be announced

Needleworkers
Meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 9:30 am in a member’s home

Reading Program
Meets on the 3rd Monday of January, March, May, September, and November at 11:30 am at a restaurant to be announced

For more information, please contact Lois Hammar, 327-9120

For information on the California-Nevada Conference United Methodist Women, visit their website at www.cnumw.org

Missionary Paul Jeffrey is Coming to First Church

Mark your calendars now and plan to attend an exciting evening with the Rev. Paul Jeffrey.

First Palo Alto has a long history of supporting missionaries around the world. In recent years, we have supported Paul Jeffrey. Join us and be inspired as we hear amazing stories and see stunning photographs of Paul’s important ministry as he reaches out to people living in some of the most challenging conditions in the world.

So join us on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Dessert & Coffee will be at 6:45 pm in Kohlstedt Hall. The presentation will begin at 7:30 pm

The Rev. Paul Jeffrey is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church who writes about the work of the church around the world. He is also a senior correspondent for Response, the magazine of United Methodist Women. Paul is an award-winning photographer whose photos and writing chronicle emergencies, from hurricanes to health care, from massacres to indigenous rights, from refugees to ecumenism. Paul also provides coverage of emergencies for Action by Churches Together (the ACT Alliance), a Geneva-based global alliance of churches responding to disasters around the world.

Everyone is invited !

A freewill offering will be taken.

For more information, please contact the UMW president, Lois Hammar.

UMW Green

The Women's Division of the United Methodist Women has made Green our favorite color.

Genesis and the Psalms help us understand that Creation is a gift from God. Everything in creation is created by God, is good, and is interconnected. That is why we, and all other parts of Creation, have intrinsic worth and are sacred.

In Genesis 2 we are asked to be stewards of creation. This message is more than requiring us to manage natural resources wisely. Throughout the Bible we are called to be good stewards. This means learn to also be good stewards of our time, and in the use of our talents and personal resources. We are to care for those in need. To share – to care.

All giving and sharing is an act of stewardship.

We recycle. We compost. As individual families and as a church, we are involved.
We donate food to the Food Closet. We respond to the call for toys, books, coats, gloves, etc. We care. We share.

The next step is to be aware. How are we spending our family income? Are we supporting our church, and programs that help others? Are we buying products that harm the earth in their manufacture? What happens when we are finished with the item? Does it just disappear in the landfill? No. It just disappears from our sight. Earth still has to contend with it.

Are we setting good examples for the children around us? Are we teaching them to see others who are not as “lucky”, or privileged, and to ask how we can share? Are we teaching them to know where an item originates and where it ends up? Are we teaching them the wonders of nature and how our actions protect or harm our air, water, the very earth?

There are opportunities all around us every day in God’s wonderful Creation. We just need to be aware of our personal impact.

Feminist Christian Reading Group

Through conversations about books and our lives, we practice a Christianity that supports the flourishing of women and all people in mutual respect and joyful celebration of the uniqueness and variety of God's gifts.

We seek to understand how our Christian tradition has marginalized women and made it difficult to see women as truly made in God's image. Through lively and heartfelt dialogue we are revitalizing and transforming our tradition, including expanded images of the Divine, inclusive language, and female spiritual role models. As we explore these themes we support each other in discovering how they influence and inform our lives and our worship. We have been meeting since 2002.

We meet the first and third Mondays each month at 7:30pm in the Wesley Room. Consider joining us

Newcomers are very welcome.

For more information contact Mo Olson or Sandra Florstedt.

Peace Pole

"Blessed are the Peacemakers" Matthew 5:9

The Peace Pole is a reminder to members and to visitors to First United Methodist Church that God's house is a place of Peace and that we are called to inner peace and to be peacemakers.

"My peace I leave you, My peace I give you, trouble not your hearts…." John 14:27

The multiple languages on the pole signify our prayers for world peace and recognizes the inclusiveness of all peoples. Each language proclaims "May Peace be in Our Homes and Communities".

The UMW and Outreach Committee presented a grant application to the Centennial Endowment Fund committee for the purchase of our Peace Pole.

While the Peace Pole is located in the narthex, it is moveable so that it can be incorporated into some worship services, and also be available for use in various Sunday School classes, committee meetings, and special occasions.

UMW 101 - Part 4

The Mission Program of the United Methodist Women works to build a supportive community among women, through -

Social Action/Advocacy
The Women's Division interprets the biblical passage from Luke 4:18 as both a model and a mandate for Christian social action and advocacy: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." In this quadrennium, the Division will continue its advocacy work on peace and justice, education, racial justice and immigrant civil rights, the environment, economic justice, women's health, the rights of children, media monitoring, human rights, and farm workers' rights.

In all advocacy efforts, the Division supports its work with a scriptural basis and adheres to the denominational mandates in the BOOK OF DISCIPLINE and the BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS of the United Methodist Church. The Division works in partnership with coalitions on many justice issues to extend its reach and not duplicate work.

The July/August issue of RESPONSE magazine features many articles and background information on actions for immigrant civil and human rights. Check it out in our church library.

Old Medicine Disposal

JUST WHAT MEDICATION CAN I DISPOSE OF AT CHURCH ?????????

Are old and outdated medicines gathering dust in your medicine cabinet? Safely dispose of them at church.

Gather your unwanted medications. Leave items in the original container. Mark out any personal information, if you wish.

Bring items to church and deposit into the locked medication barrel in the Education Building lobby.

THINGS TO BRING
• Prescription medications
• Over the Counter medications
• Medical samples
• Medications for pets
• Vitamins
• Medicated ointments/lotions
• Inhalers
• Liquid medications in glass or leakproof containers

PLEASE DO NOT BRING
• Needles/sharps
• Thermometers
• Controlled substances/narcotics
• IV bags
• Bloody or infectious waste
• Personal care products
• Business waste
• Empty containers
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Aerosol cans

Your participation in this program helps keep toxic and cumulative substances out of our water supply and prevents land pollution.

And remember to also bring your used batteries and computer ink cartridges to recycle in the containers in the church office.

World Thank Offering

Each year UMW Circles across the United States celebrate with a World Thank Offering in November. The emphasis this year is to remind us that we are Sustainers. God is the sustainer of life, and we are to be supporters/sustainers of life for others, and thankful for whatever part we play in that sustenance (Eph. 5:20).

Our focus will be to honor the Spirit of God as shown to us by our Native American sisters and brothers. To the people of the Iroquois Confederacy corn, beans, and squash (The Three Sisters) are the physical and spiritual sustainers of life. The three vegetables composed the main food supply of the great Iroquois Nation. Corn is tall, graceful, and strong. Beans twine around and lean upon corn for strength – and the bean converts nitrogen from the air into food for the growing corn. Squash rambles at the feet of her sisters and protects them from prowling enemies. Squash spreads as ground cover, its broad leaves shading the soil to preserve moisture and protect the roots of the taller plants while preventing weeds from taking hold.

While each vegetable can stand alone, working together they are stronger and provide sustenance for all. As Christians we are stronger working together. As we dedicate our World Thank Offering this year we remember that we are also sustainers of life and that through our offering we reach out to other women, children and youth to sustain them in their life struggles.

Globalization

"The United Methodist Church, as a covenant community committed to God's justice, must work toward a just global economy."
General Conference Resolution 206.
"Economic Justice for a New Millennium," The Book of Resolutions, 2004

"It is time that we manifest gospel values in the economic order. It is after all, our calling."
General Conference Resolution 208.
"Pathways to Economic Justice," The Book of Resolutions, 2004

The goal of the UMW study is to explore the places where globalization touches the lives of ordinary people. If we are to "manifest the gospel values in the economic order," we need to understand better where contemporary issues of economic justice touch our lives and where we are faced with decisions about how to act responsibly on behalf of economic justice.

Issues to examine: free trade policies; outsourcing and offshoring into many countries throughout the world; how global media and communications technologies are altering economic and human relationships.

We hope to understand more fully the impact of globalization on human rights and the social, economic, and political development of various cultures and nations.

Read Luke 10 - The Parable of the Good Samaritan

For more information contact Nancy Olson, 327-8009