Open Hearts ~ Open Minds ~ Open Doors

THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, SIMI VALLEY

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We Are in Mission Locally & Globally

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,

in all the ways you can, in all the places you can,

at all the times you can, to all the people you can,

as long as ever you can. - John Wesley

LOCAL MISSIONS

Our LOCAL MISSIONS including working with the homeless and hungry of Simi Valley. We serve dinner every Saturday with Dinner Church and house the homeless overnight through PADS.  We also give out fresh and nonperishable food on Sundays through the Hunger Fund. Other local missions that we support include the Samaritan Center and Care and Share.

SR. HIGH WORK TRIP

This year's Spring Break Work Trip for Senior High took them to Lazy W Camp in San Juan Capistrano where they built a retaining wall, a patio and did painting and storm cleanup. This is an annual event. Adult and youth volunteers pick a project every spring.

Spring Break 2004 a group of Senior High youth and adults hiked into the United Methodist Camp Sturtevant (it's only a 4.5 mile hike each way). They made needed repairs to the camp. Our youth are known for their skills in construction, roofing and plumbing - thanks to great instruction from experienced adults.

Over Spring Break 2003 our Sr. High Youth did repairs at Camp Arroyo Grande.

ALSO OVER SPRING BREAK

Our Jr. Highers participate in the "Spring Service 'Stravaganza" doing work both for the church and beyond. This year includes beach clean-up, setting up the Youth Director's office, and making lunch for Habitat workers. It's a great way to spend your spring break - fun and service together!

STATE/NATION-WIDE MISSIONS

 

ASP

That’s what the Appalachia Work Team has to say to every member of the congregation! Our week in Wolfe County, Kentucky, was absolutely wonderful! Thanks to your support, our group of 13 youth and 9 adults had a fabulous 10 days in ministry. We traveled together, played and studied, worked hard, made new friends, and did our best to be a reflection of God’s light in the world.

Our teams were able to spend time with the families while we were working, and in some cases family members worked alongside. At our various homes, we dug ditches for improving drainage, sided a room addition, replaced foundation components, built a wheelchair ramp, and prepared a home for the larger renovations to follow later in the summer. During these times, we learned much from the families, and observed how happy the families seemed, even in the absence of what our youth might consider necessities of life.

In one particularly unique twist, we learned that one of our team members, from California, was a third cousin to one of the family members there in rural Wolfe County, Kentucky, just east and south of Lexington. So our team was able, even more literally than usual, to refer to the family as "our family."

Thank you, again, for your support in making this happen. Your gifts were used in good stewardship to change not only our team’s lives, but those of the families we served. Those families are now living in homes that are warmer, safer, and drier than when we started, and the improvements will continue through the summer. Many of our youth and adults commented on the life-changing nature of the ASP experience, including one who noted that it was the "best thing I’ve ever chosen to do."

       

RV'ERS IN MISSION

Members of our congregation are active in "RV'ers in Mission," a group of, well, RV'ers, retired folks, who travel around the conference helping churches with upkeep - painting, repairs, construction. The groups travel around, September -May, a week at a time, and provide labor for churches who don't quite have the funds to finish those needed repairs. For more information, see http://www.cal-pac.org/main/rvers.htm.

GLOBAL MISSION

OUR MISSIONARY

Rev. Tim & Juji Boyle are missionaries in Japan who are supported by our offerings. See "News from Japan" for the most recent info from Tim.

United Methodist Volunteers in Mission

In August, 2004, Arlen & Sharlene Petersen, members of our church, joined with others from our Conference and beyond to help build a Methodist Church for communities near Johannesburg - Lochein and Hartbeeskop. Many of our church members helped them on their trip by purchasing "bricks" in honor and memory of friends and loved ones.

Methodists in Mission Around the World

Our GLOBAL MISSION is accomplished through our connection with the General Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Check out personal mission stories at the site for "New World Outlook" magazine at http://gbgm-umc.org/nwo/nwo-new/

SPECIAL OFFERINGS - for needs local, national & global

BISHOPS' SPECIAL APPEAL: Famine in Southern Africa

http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/africafamine.cfm

Human Relations Day - Jan. 15, 2006

One Great Hour of Sharing - March 26, 2006

Native American Ministries Sunday - April 30, 2006

Peace with Justice Sunday - June 11, 2006

World Communion Sunday - Oct. 1, 2006

United Methodist Student Day - Nov. 26, 2006

 

FOR MORE ABOUT SPECIAL OFFERINGS, GO TO http://www.umcgiving.org/content/sundays/default.asp

 

NOTE: All links are underlined and will take you to pages within our site and to other pages on the world wide web. We test our links regularly. If you find a malfunctioning link, please email us so we can make corrections!

 

We'd love to hear from you - with suggestions, questions, news... Let us know what's on your mind! Send mail to Debbie Post, Webservant, svumc@pacbell.net.
 
Address: 2394 Erringer Road, Simi Valley, California 93065-2296
Phone: (805) 526-6231
Last modified: Thursday, May 3, 10:02 A.M.
Copyright © 2001 Simi Valley United Methodist Church