Co-Chairs: James Ruckman & Pat Hopkins
Members: Ernest & Helen Hunter, Judy & David Nichols, Mrna Dibble, Kay Dano, Lindalee Macauley, Carol & Tom Palmgren, Melinda Harmon and Judy Jones, Susan Owen
Haiti Update February 28, 2010
Buses for Bayonnais
The first two buses arrived in Gonaives this past Monday, February 22. As of Tuesday they were still waiting to be off loaded from the cargo ship. Bus #3 was purchased by the employees at the Union County school transportation depart-ment who also filled it with rice, beans and cooking oil. It will be driven to West Palm this weekend by members of Mineral Springs UMC who also paid for the shipping. Bus #4, organized by Inman Baptist Church in Spartanburg, lapped bus #3 and was delivered to West Palm this past Monday. Bus #5, purchased by First Baptist
Huntersville, was to be loaded with food and supplies on Friday. It should be headed to Florida next weekend along with bus #6 organized by First Presbyterian Church, Florence. It's a regular convoy!
We have no more buses planned at this time at SMPC so we have stopped collecting clothing and other donations. The relief work in Bayonnais will continue for a long time so please continue your financial support. Please direct your attention to the needs outlined by our Community Outreach Committee.
_____________________________________
HAITI CONNECTION HELP A CHILD
Do you -
•Go to bed each night without being hungry?
•Own at least 1 pair of decent shoes?
•Have clean running water and reliable electricity?
•Have the means to attend school?
Then your life is quite different from what the children of Bayonnais, Haiti experience. The Missions Committee has a goal this year to double the number of active sponsors for the students at the OFCB School. We're off to a good start with several new sponsors and hope you will consider supporting these children. For less than $1.25 a day, ($35 per month) you can ensure a child gets not only an education, but also at least one healthy meal each school day.
We can make a difference, one child at a time. Interested? Questions?
contact: Judy Jones at judy21jones@gmail.com or 704.321.3443
Help Our Sunday School Classes Prepare Kits For Haiti Relief
The children's Sunday School classes are collecting items to prepare Baby Kits, Hygiene Kits and Clean-up Buckets in response to the earthquake. We need your help! Please help us collect the following items. You may also choose to assemble kits and donate them.
Baby Kit
6 - cloth diapers, 2 - T-Shirts or undershirts (no onesies),
2 - washcloths, 2 - gowns or sleepers, 2 - diaper pins,
2 - baby blankets
**Wrap items inside one of the blankets and secure with both diaper pins**
Hygiene Kits
1 hand towel (~16x28, no fingertip or bath towels), 1 washcloth,
1 wide tooth comb, 1 nail clipper (no metal files or emery boards),
1 bar of soap (bath size in wrapper), 1 toothbrush in original packaging
(no toothpaste due to expiration date issues), 6 Band-Aids
**Seal all items in one-gallon plastic bag with zipper closure**
Clean-up Buckets
1 - 5 gallon bucket with resealable lid, 5 scouring pads,
7 sponges of assorted sizes, 1 scrub brush, 1 package cleaning towels
(18 reusable, like Easy Wipes), 1 box dry laundry detergent (50-78 oz),
1 liquid concentrated household cleaner (like Lysol - 12 oz), 1 bottle
Liquid disinfectant dish soap (like Dawn - 25 oz), 50 clothespins,
Clothesline (two 50 ft or one 100 ft.), 5 dust masks, 2 pair
Latex gloves (like Playtex), 1 pair work gloves, 24 count roll heavy-duty
trash bags (33-45 gallon), 1 bottle of non aerosol insect repellant
**Please purchase all liquids in plastic bottles. Pack items in plastic bucket**
Please place donations in the bins labeled "Haiti Relief" outside The Commons and in the Chapel Building.
Sponsored by the Presbytery of Charlotte's Mission and Justice Global/National Missions and Community Disaster Response Team.
MISSION the Lord your God gave you."
Bayonnais, Haiti
The SMPC Missions Committee is primarily concerned with our outreach program to support the Bayonnais Christian Mission in Haiti. Our Haiti connection dates from the church's beginnings when Actionnel Fleurisma, who began the Bayonnais Mission, lived among us and was one of our charter members. The Missions Committee encourages church members to participate in the Haiti sponsorship program - school children are "sponsored" for the sum of $35 per month, and the money is used to pay teachers' salaries, buy supplies, etc.
Click here for more about SMPC's Haiti Ministry
Click here to visit OFCB's web site
Fair trade is Good News...
SMPC is proud to participate in the Presbyterian Coffee Project by selling 100% fairly traded (practices which help farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia, earn a fairer share of income) products through our Missions Committee. If you are a coffee or tea drinker or enjoy a great candy bar, and would like to support fairly traded practices in the developing world, please consider purchasing these as well as our other products. You will find a wide range of organically grown coffees, and teas as well as several flavored choices, to your most conventional of roasted coffees and many other fairly traded products. Our display is open monthly, usually the first Sunday of each month, as well as during special occasions. Please come by our table today, and see the many products available. Remember, this is a great way to enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee or tea, while helping small farmers build a better future for themselves and their families.
For more information on this worthwhile project, please visit http://www.pcusa.org/coffee/trade.htm and http://www.equalexchange.coop/
Dear Members of SouthMecklenburg,
Any successful church program requires inspiration and dedication, the vision to do something and the energy to do it. SMPC's mission program is indeed a vibrant mission program because the grace of Christ has been manifested in the tireless work of David Nichols. David, a person of mature faith, keen intellect, and boundless energy, has given himself to the work of engaging this congregation in the mission of developmental work in Haiti.
David spends countless hours coordinating support for a church and school in Bayonnais, Haiti in addition to providing a great deal of organizational leadership for the ministry itself. His counsel and his repeated journeys to Bayonnais have been invaluable to the leaders of the church and school. By God's grace and David's joyfully diligent response an average of $230,000 is raised for the school, for scholarships, and for the community and church in Bayonnais. David's leadership has made a tremendous difference in the lives of countless people who each day face the life and death issues that poverty creates. David has coordinated projects that have included bus transportation, bridge building, solar technology, internet access for the school, food and supplies following hurricane Jeanne, the beginnings of a medical clinic, college education, and medical school education. In addition, his advocacy for this ministry has been extremely important in forming partnerships with other churches in our Presbytery along with a number of other congregations in the Charlotte area and beyond.
In addition, this ordained elder is active in ministries of congregational care, Bible study, and fellowship. What a blessing it is for this congregation to share in ministry with one who seeks to ensure that the faith we proclaim is exemplified by the things that we do.
In recognition of David's example of servant leadership, the Presbytery of Charlotte has named David as a recipient of the Older Adult Ministries Award. Nancy Youmans, Coordinator for Leadership Development, will be present with us in worship on July 19th to present the award to David.
Congratulations, David! Thank you for your witness.
Grace and Peace,
Matt