Missions

 

IMAGINE NO MALARIA

Click on the above banner to access the 'Imagine No Malaria' website

Imagine No Malaria is an extraordinary effort of the United Methodist Church to fight malaria in Africa. You can learn more about the United Methodist Church’s campaign Imagine No Malaria and how you can help eliminate malaria as a major source of death and suffering in Africa when you click on the above banner and access the Imagine No Malaria website. St. Andrew UMC helped to support Imagine No Malaria last year by raising $1,129 at the 2012 “Spread the Buzz” Hoop-A-Thon! Make plans to join us Tuesday April 30, 2013 for another fun Hoop-A-Thon to support this project. Imagine No Malaria – Then Make It Happen!

*Please note the rescheduled date** Make plans to join us Tuesday April 30, 2013 for another fun Hoop-A-Thon to support this project.

WORLD MALARIA DAY – THURSDAY APRIL 25

Want to be an effective partner in the fight against malaria? The Imagine No Malaria advocacy network urges support from the U.S. Congress to protect funding for malaria programs in Africa. Help urge action from Congress to preserve U.S. global health funds until the end of preventable deaths from malaria. In the past, this issue has received support from both Democrats and Republicans. Because when it comes to saving lives, we all have a part to play. You can raise your voice when you join the SWAT Team: Text SWAT to 27722 and sign the petition to save lives. We will bring it to Washington D.C. and make sure your voice is heard. Visit www.imaginenomalaria.org to learn more about this preventable and treatable disease and how malaria’s impact has been cut in half in just a few short years through your dedicated and generous support of Imagine No Malaria.

“2013 SPREAD THE BUZZ” HOOP-A-THON - THANK YOU!

Our Hoop-A-Thon on Tuesday April 30 raised awareness and funds for Imagine No Malaria, while everyone who was part of the event had an evening of spectacular fun!  So far, after expenses, the amount of money raised is $1,250.00!  We understand that more donations will be received from additional pledges that haven’t yet been collected.  The Circle of Joy and Grace want to thank all of our “Little Skeeters” and Participants who shot baskets; sponsor and donors who made financial contributions; volunteers who worked in all of the various areas during the event, who helped with set up and clean up, and baked goodies for the Bake Table; the church office staff who made copies of our papers; and those who made donations in honor of Mother’s Day and for our Covenant Missionary, Kabaka, for Mother’s Day.   Just a reminder that on Sunday May 5 during Coffee Hours, you will still have an opportunity to make a donation in honor of Mother’s Day and receive a Mother’s Day card that you can give to your mom or another woman who has influenced your life.   Finally, our thanks is to God for his grace and blessing, as remember that only Jesus can take our small offerings and multiply them for our good and our neighbor’s good, and for the glory of God!

JOY IN THE HARVEST
2013 CONTAINER PROJECT – THANK YOU!

Rev. Lowell and Claudia Wertz, UM Missionaries with Joy in the Harvest, will be sending an ocean shipping container of supplies to Tanzania, Africa this summer. The last container of supplies, which was sent in 2008, enabled Joy in the Harvest to minister to thousands of needy people and provide critical supplies for the mission work in Africa. This winter and spring, we gathered requested items and on Friday May 3, the items were transported to our drop-off location in Cape May Courthouse, NJ.  “Thank You!” to everyone who embraced the Joy in the Harvest Container Project – with special thanks to everyone who donated school supplies and construction materials and tools; to the St. Andrew “Knit Wits”, who donated multiple large bags of yarn; to members of the “Joy 52 Team” who contributed financially towards the purchase and shipping costs associated with the container; and to our Missions Committee members who transported the supplies to the drop-off location.   Through this project, we are joining with others across our nation in a supporting role, as God is at work using missionaries and Africans to further the Kingdom of Christ and bring help and hope to the needy! Thank you and God bless you!  R


 

ST. ANDREW UMC IN MISSION

St. Andrew’s Coffee Hour is now serving Fair Trade coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar. Fair Trade means that the growers of these products have received a fair price for their products and laborers have worked in fair and safe conditions.

 For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.     Psalm 11:7

Aviation ministry delivers hope to Congo’s sick

Click on image to read of the work of "Wings of the Morning" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conference has been encouraging donations from the churches toward a new airplane for this program "Wings of the Morning".

 
 

 

NATIVE AMERICAN MINISTRIES SUNDAY

Native American Ministries Sunday is one of the six church-wide Special Sundays of the United Methodist Church.  This year at St. Andrew UMC, we are celebrating Native American Ministries Sunday on April 14.  The Native American Ministries Sunday Offering nurtures mission with Native Americans by providing scholarships to Native American seminarians, encouraging them to become pastors and nurturing them in their journey; planting Native American churches; and cultivating Native American outreach.  Native Americans Ministries Sunday serves to remind the Church of the gifts and contributions made by Native Americans to our society.  Visit www.umcgiving.org to learn more about the United Methodist Special Sundays and the Native American Ministries Sunday Offering.  Your generous gifts help develop and strengthen Native American ministries.  Thank you for your kindness and generosity!

MAY COMMUNION OFFERING

Our custom at St. Andrew UM Church is to present an opportunity for giving to a Missions project as we come forward to receive Holy Communion on Communion Sunday each month.  Our May Communion Offering will be given to our St. Andrew Youth for their 2013 Summer Mission Trip.  This summer our St. Andrew Youth will be in New Jersey helping with disaster recovery efforts by engaging in Superstorm Sandy related mission work.  Thank you for your prayers and generous financial support of our Youth as they give of themselves to help neighbors in need in New Jersey!

MAY MISSION PRAYER

 Please lift up in prayer those who have been affected by Superstorm Sandy.  Although Sandy hit our area six months ago, many individuals and families are still displaced and many homes are in need of repair.  Pray also for the disaster recovery efforts now underway, especially for the work of our UM Greater New Jersey Conference organization, A Future With Hope, which is committed to giving comprehensive and long term assistance to the poor and elderly in New Jersey who are affected by Sandy.  This commitment involves matching resources to needs on a case management basis; establishing host sites to house volunteer teams; and booking volunteer teams at host sites in the areas of need.  Pray for resources, guidance, volunteer teams and host sites, as this need will be ongoing over the next 3-5 years, working on 300-500 homes.  Likewise, please pray for the Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group which is working with A Future With Hope and other organizations to bring disaster recovery and hope to many in our area.

HELP FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY SUPERSTORM SANDY  The St. Andrew Families (SAF) Sandy Relief Committee would like you to know about the efforts within the Greater New Jersey Conference to help New Jersey residents who have been affected by Superstorm Sandy.  As recently announced by Bishop Schol, A Future with Hope, Inc. is a nonprofit organization started within the Greater New Jersey Conference to lead those relief and recovery efforts.  A Future with Hope, Inc. will be raising funds from foundations and other sources for this important ministry.  Proposals were recently submitted to the Red Cross, the Robin Hood Foundation and the State of New Jersey to assist with the $23 million vision for this long term recovery ministry.  Through this ministry, 300-500 homes will be repaired, case management will be provided to 500 families, counseling will be provided to more than 100 families, and up to 15,000 volunteers will be recruited, housed and deployed.  To our St. Andrew Church members and friends: If you know someone in your community who needs help because of Superstorm Sandy, here is important information about how you can get help.  A Future With Hope, Inc. uses a case management system to identify needs and resources to assist people with their long term recovery needs.  Liz McDevitt oversees the case management ministry and may be emailed at emcdevitt@afuturewithhope.org or called at 732-359-1034.

Be encouraged to also visit our St. Andrew Website at http://standrewtr.org where the Home Page has a Superstorm Sandy Relief information and recovery link.  By clicking on the Superstorm Sandy Relief image, you will be connected to our outreach ministry page containing the latest Sandy related recovery information.  Share this information with neighbors in your community to assist them in the recovery process.

Invitation to Next “K-Team” Meeting: May 5. 2013

Young Children and Their Families in Mission

The “K-Team” is a Mission Focus Group for families with young children. We are reaching out to seniors in assisted living near church by making greeting cards. Our next meeting is Sunday May 5 at 10:10 AM in Memorial Hall. We meet for about 30 minutes during the time between Sunday school and 2nd service.  Also mark your calendars to join us on  June 2nd this year. If any questions, please contact Missions Coordinator, Lucy DeBarge, through the church office.

NEW COVENANT MISSIONARY

The Missions Committee is pleased to announce that we have selected Kabaka Ndala Alphonsine as our new covenant missionary for the next 3 years beginning in 2013.  Kabaka is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM).  She visited St. Andrew last May with her husband, Rev. Mutwale Wa Mushidi, and spoke to our congregation on Pentecost Sunday about her ministry projects in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Those projects include a Women’s Development program which teaches sewing and cooking skills as well as Malaria and HIV/Aids Prevention, and a Preschool for Orphans which helps vulnerable children to have access to basic education and Christian training.  Kabaka’s biography, provided by the GBGM, is posted nearby this article.  Information about Kabaka’s projects in Tanzania may be accessed on line at http://www.umcmission.org/Give-to-Mission/Search-for-Projects/Projects/Women-s-Development-and-Preschool-for-Orphans-Dar-es-Salaam .

 

Kabaka Ndala Alphonsine

Location: Tanzania, Africa

Home Country: Tanzania, Africa

Spouse:Mutwale Ntambo Wa Mushidi

Kabaka Ndala Alphonsine is a United Methodist missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries assigned as coordinator of women's activities and training for the United Methodist Church in Tanzania and director of the United Methodist preschool in Dar es Salaam.

"My function," she says, "is to proclaim Christ to the world while striving for God's reign of grace, peace, and justice." Her work includes Christian education and health education, especially concerning HIV/AIDS.

Kabaka and her husband, the Rev. Mutwale Ntambo Wa Mushidi, also a missionary, have been in Tanzania since 1992. Over the years, Kabaka has assisted refugees and worked closely with her husband in evangelization, church planting, and caring for the developing church community.

The church in Tanzania has become firmly rooted since it began through mission outreach by the North Katanga Annual Conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kabaka is from North Katanga and has seen United Methodism in Tanzania flourish and move toward annual conference status. Rev. Wa Mushidi, an ordained elder in North Katanga Annual Conference, is the legal representative of the North Katanga bishop in Tanzania and district superintendent in Dar Es Salaam.

The couple has four daughters: Muloko Ntambo, born in 1982; Malale Ngoy, 1984; Mukalay, 1989; and Wilma Ndala, 2002: and two sons: Kita, born in 1987; and Mwenze, 1993.

Supporting Conferences: Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference, Greater New Jersey Annual Conference

Additional Information:

·         Make an online donation to: Kabaka Ndala Alphonsine #15161Z.

Other Missionaries We Support

Rev. Lowell and Claudia Wertz – UM Missionaries serving in Kigoma, Tanzania.   Joy in the Harvest is involved in numerous ministries, including a computer school, a destitute camp, a feeding program, a crisis relief ministry, a community center, a radio ministry, a refugee ministry, a reforestation ministry, and more.  It was our joy to host their recent visit to St. Andrew in August 2012.  The ongoing projects of Joy in the Harvest and their 2013 Container Project are the work areas supported by the “Joy 52 Team”, a Mission Focus Group at St. Andrew. 

 

Mission Focus Groups

The purpose of Mission Focus Groups is to present “hands on” mission opportunities within a small group context.  These opportunities will match an individual’s or family’s passion with mission outreach projects.  The “Tanzania Team” meets to further support the work of Rev. Mutwale Wa Mushidi and his wife Kabaka N. Alphonsine in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Kabaka is our new Covenant Missionary beginning January 2013.  The “Joy 52 Team” meets to support the work of Rev. Lowell and Claudia Wertz, UM Missionaries in Kigoma, Tanzania with Joy in the Harvest Ministries. “The K-Team” engages families with young children who meet to make simple craft projects which are delivered to senior citizens who reside in our local community.  The “Little Blessings Mission Team” likewise engages moms and their preschool children who make simple craft projects which are delivered to our St. Andrew Homebound folks.  Look for new Mission Focus Group to be announced.

Additional “hands-on” mission trips and opportunities are scheduled throughout the year, such as gleaning at The Society of St. Andrew gleaning events and trips to the Good Shepherd HUB (part of Mission Central).  

JOY IN THE HARVEST 2013 CONTAINER PROJECT

The “Joy 52 Team”, a new Mission Focus Group at St. Andrew, is sponsoring a donation drive to support the Joy in the Harvest 2013 Container Project.  Rev. Lowell and Claudia Wertz with Joy in the Harvest plan to send an ocean shipping container of supplies to Africa this summer.  We will be collecting specific items now through April 28.  A storage bin is located in the Fellowship Hall Lobby to collect these items. Shown below is the list of items we will be gathering for the 2013 Container Project.  Anyone interested in the work of Rev. Lowell and Claudia Wertz with Joy in the Harvest is invited to our next “Joy 52 Team” Meeting on Sunday April 21 at 12:00 Noon in Room #4.  Please contact Lucy DeBarge through the church office if you have any questions about this Mission Focus Group or the 2013 Container Project.  Thank you and God bless you!