Dance teams from around the Bay Area will perform at a Dance Showcase to benefit the Mountain View Day Worker Center on Friday, May 18 at 7:00 pm in the Castilleja School Chapel, 1310 Bryant Street, Palo Alto. A reception and treats will follow the show. Handmade crafts will also be sold. Tickets in advance are $5 for students and $10 for adults at http://dancemtviewdayworkers.eventbrite.com or at the door $7 for studens and $12 for adults.
Each year, Bread for the World leads a campaign to write letters to members of Congress, advocating for policies that help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. LAUMC will be participating in this campaign at the May 20 and 27 services. Tables will be set up with sample letters to make participation easy. JustFAITH classes are coordinating the effort and will celebrate an Offering of Letters on Sunday, June 3 at all services.
Within the broader campaign to create a circle of protection around programs for hungry and poor people are four mini-campaigns that address specific legislative topics before Congress:
These letters send a powerful message to our country’s political leaders and help us as a nation move closer to our goal of ending hunger. We are driven by our faith to make our voices heard in Congress and to make our nation’s laws more compassionate to people in need.
In January a group of women, mostly from LAUMC, visited Casa Materna in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. The group named themselves, “Mujeres de Paz,” or Women of Peace. This group was able to witness, first-hand, the amazing work that Casa Materna does in providing a safe and healthy place for women with high-risk pregnancies from rural areas to rest and receive health care in the days before and after they give birth. Through this work, Casa Materna is helping to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Nicaragua.
Mujeres de Paz are hosting an open house and craft sale to benefit Casa Materna on Friday, June 1, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at 2026 Tripiano Court, Mountain View. Crafts include hand woven scarves, bags, backpacks and purses, pottery and jewelry. Light appetizers will be served. Proceeds will help Casa Materna purchase a new ambulance to be used to take the mothers to and from the hospital in Matagalpa.
Open Circle and the Social Justice Ministry Team invite you to a screening and short group discussion of the documentary film, Miss Representation, in Creekside Center at 7:00 pm on May 31st. Premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Miss Representation is written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
Be a part of this important event at LAUMC. 
Register now for your free ticket. Capacity is limited, so don’t wait!
“You can’t be what you can’t see”
- Marian Wright Edelman, Founder & President Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.missrepresentation.org/
This Sunday, April 15, we begin a new worship series in our morning worship, Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living. Pastor Sam’s message will be, Wisdom Speaks. It is tempting in our modern technological era to believe that we have unprecedented and unlimited access to all the wisdom we could ever need. Yet if we look a little deeper, we still find ourselves hungry for eternal truth, the kind that can only come from God. The book of Proverbs, dating back thousands of years, contains nuggets of wisdom that still speak to us today, perhaps more than ever. This Sunday, and for the next four weeks, we will be exploring some of these nuggets of wisdom and applying them to our modern lives.
We will also be blessed this Sunday with the music of Mike Whang, leader of the up and coming Nehemiah Band, who has joined us as a pastoral intern for the next six weeks before he heads of to seminary in North Carolina. Mike is a phenomenal musician, and we welcome him to all of our services this Sunday.
At Creekside Crossings, at 5:00, our special guest speaker will be Jack Jezreel, founder and executive director of JustFAITH Ministries. Jack is an inspiring speaker, who challenges us to put our faith into action by being the hands and feet of Christ working for justice in the world. With music by the Creekside Worship Band and an uplifting, inspiring, and motivating message from Jack Jezreel, Creekside Crossings will be an awesome hour of worship this Sunday!
The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society provides a wealth of information about social justice issues and ways to make your voice heard. Initiatives include working to eradicate poverty, improving global health and others. Click here for more information.
Connect with others whose hearts are on fire for change and justice, Sunday, April 15 at 5:00 at Creekside Crossings. Guest speaker Jack Jezreel will share his compelling sermon “Healing Our Blindness: Spirituality and Action in Conversation”.
Jack Jezreel is the Founder and Executive Director JustFaith Ministries. Jack has over twenty-five years of experience working in social ministry and spent eight of those years at a church in Louisville, Kentucky developing a conversion-based justice formation program, JustFaith. This program has had extraordinary results and has been recognized nationally as a potent strategy for empowering social ministry. Over twenty-five thousand people in over 1000 churches across the country have participated. In 2006, he received the Harry A. Fagan Award for his unique contribution to the Church’s social mission. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife Maggie, and they have three adult daughters.
Don’ miss the chance to hear why you should consider becoming part of the next class of JustFaith students and learn how you can make a difference in your community and world. Plan to stay after the worship service and join us for dinner ($5.00 suggested donation) and at 7:00 p.m. a Justfaith meeting with Jack after the meal.
Unique approach to ending homelessness. Initial launch ends March 26. Click on the graphic or Housing ONE to read the stories of individuals struggling with chronic homelessness in Silicon Valley.
“The idea of crowdfunding is simple: many people make small donations to create big change. It’s the perfect way to support change in someone’s life in a more meaningful way, because you can see their picture, and follow their story.” Housing ONE allows you to help homeless men and women move into their new homes–one person at a time.
What is “Crowdfunding,” Anyway?
It is part of Housing 1000 which is working to cut chronic homelessness in Santa Clara County in half by 2013. Housing 1000 is a partnership between San Jose City, Santa Clara County, Community Technology Alliance, the Santa Clara County Collaborative on Affordable Housing and Homelessness, Destination: Home and 100,000 Homes.
So what does Housing 1000 actually *do*?!
Their approach is “Housing First”–an evidence-based model that prioritizes the importance of stable housing. “Even among the chronically homeless Housing First is effective at helping people overcome addiction, manage their disabilities and rebuild their lives. Ironically enough, it turns out its way easier to become “housing ready” when you’re already housed—nothing beats having a place to put your important documents, a place to relax and be safe, a warm place to sleep at night. Housing First is a big deal because it’s a new, more effective model going up against decades of “Housing Readiness”-based thinking.”
Today the first monthly issue of Bold Mission & Service e-news was launched!
We hope this periodic newsletter will help keep you up to date on mission trips, local service opportunities, our outreach to local agencies, and social justice resources and actions.
Simply click on any photo or link in the e-news for more information!
For the latest news anytime, click on the green Newsfeed buttons on the left-hand side of the e-news. Bookmark the Newsfeed site or look for posts on Facebook.
Blessings,
Leslie Carmichael, Kathy Nahman, and Jill Klein
How can you subscribe to this new e-newsletter? Click on the Subscribe button on the left-hand side of the e-news, or below. You’ll receive an email asking you to choose which e-news you’d like to receive from LAUMC.
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Another chance to see this powerful documentary locally.
Miss Representation (90 min; TV-14 DL) exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.
Wednesday, March 28, 7:00-9:00 pm
Location: Mountain View High School Spartan Theater, 3535 Truman Ave, MV Map
Free– Reservations recommended
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