| Updated February 7, 2007
Our big mission project
 We
need your help as we work toward a “big mission project!” This year, we
want to get ourselves to work. Specifically, we are looking for at least
100 people who will volunteer in schools in Mid-City San Diego, in
existing programs. You might read with a student who need extra help,
tutor someone in basic math, or otherwise help a teacher. We hope you
will be able to give just one hour each week to this work.
We continue to make plans toward a “big” project, and think that getting
involved now will help us in the long run. So, we are looking for people
who will commit to this work during the rest of this school year.
We are working with local schools to find
places for our volunteers to work, and to provide the training you all
will need. So far we have five places where you might
connect--click here for information.
If you are willing to volunteer, please either call (619-297-4366) or
email Rev. Molly. Or, fill out a purple card in the
church office or sign up now on-line.
Many of you already volunteered, at our Church Conference in November — thank you for your willingness. We look forward to watching this
effort grow.
--Molly Vetter
Five places you
might connect
Opportunities Update--February 7, 2007
We are still seeking volunteers for our
project, and have more specific information about what you might be
doing to help the schools in Mid-City. Here are five good possibilities:
Get involved with the "Everyone a Reader"
program at Cherokee Point and Euclid Elementary Schools. Nearly 50
of our members are now working in this program now, and there's room for
more. In this program, volunteers are training to be able to coach
students in reading--actively listening to them read a book. Each
volunteers spends about an hour-and-a-half each week, reading with the
same set of 4 students, for 15 minutes, each. If you are interested,
email
Brenda Blake
in our
church office to get connected to the training you will need.
Help as a tutor in the 8th Grade
Study Hall at Wilson Middle School. We are looking for people who will
volunteer during one study hall a week to be a tutor with a student, to
help offer academic support as they prepare to make the transition to
high school. Study halls are from 2:30 to 3:00 on Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday, and from 11:55 to 12:32 on Wednesdays. Volunteers
would be trained and could begin immediately. To volunteer or to learn
more about this,
email church member Kathee Christiansen.
Volunteer in the study hall at the
International Rescue Committee's program for refugee and immigrant
students, at Crawford High School. They have a daily study hall from
2:30 to 5:30 daily. For more information, or to be connected with the
program,
email
Rev. Molly at the
church.
Central Elementary is looking for
volunteers to staff its library. Ideally, two people would volunteer
at a time, each morning from 8 to 9:15, for checking out and shelving
books. Volunteers would be training sometime during the first 2 weeks of
January, when the school is in intersession. If you are interested in
this volunteer job,
email Rev. Molly.
Hamilton Elementary is looking for
classrooms volunteers, to help with math or reading tutoring, at the
direction of classroom teachers. This could be from 2 hours a week to
one day, all-day a week. Training will be provided by the school. If you
are interested,
email
Rev. Molly.
There are likely to be more options for your
involvement, too; we encourage you to
sign up to volunteer
with a friend! Please continue to spread the
word in our congregation.
Return to top of page
What is this “Big
Mission Project?”
Rev. Molly Vetter
For
the past couple of years, our pastors and church leaders have been
talking about a “big mission project.” Our vision is that our next, big
project as a church will be reaching out the community, engaging in
ministry with people living in poverty.
The idea isn’t new: Jesus talked a whole
lot about ministry with the poor. We think he meant that we should do
the same. And, one of our hopes is that it will not only help people who
are poor, but that it will help us grow in our faithfulness.
We don’t know what our project will look
like—we only know some of the things we value. These values guide our
process:
• it should involve our church folks in
hands-on ministry, and should be accessible to people of various ages,
abilities, and levels of time commitment.
• it should help transform the lives of
people living in poverty—helping get them out of poverty. Particularly,
it should help children.
• it should be a true partnership with
people living in poverty, where we shape the ministry together.
• we should really see it as a “First
Church” project; we’ll partner with others, but do something new. That
something new should be long-term.
We imagine this new project as a
satellite extension of First Church—us, but in a new place.
We’ve picked Mid-City San Diego as our
neighborhood partner. (We see Mid-City as the area bounded by El Cajon
Blvd. on the north, the 94 Freeway on the south; the 805 Freeway on the
west, and Euclid Ave. on the east.)
Our next job is to learn all that we can
about Mid-City. To do that, we’re looking for some help from you...
In Numbers 13, Moses sends spies to
survey the land of Canaan. We’re looking for “spies”—not to help us
“conquer” Mid-City like Moses’ spies, but to find out what the needs and
assets of Mid-City are. To discover where we might be most of service.
If you are interested in being a “spy,”
(it’s your big chance to live into your Mission Impossible dreams...) or
if you just want to know more about the project, come to a training
session on Sunday July 30 from 3:30 to 6:30 in Linder Lounge. RSVP to
mvetter@fumcsd.org or in the
church office—a light dinner will be included. Then, if you still want
to be a part of this early mission, come again on Sunday August 6 from 5
to 7 for more training and your commissioning.
If you have questions, contact Rev. Molly
Vetter, or check our website for more updates on our progress.
—Molly
Return to top of page |
