Serving At Myers Memorial UMC

“Taking an active stance in society is nothing new for followers of John Wesley. He set the example for us to combine personal and social piety. Ever since predecessor churches to United Methodism flourished in the United States, we have been known as a denomination involved with people’s lives, with political and social struggles, having local to international mission implications. Such involvement is an expression of the personal change we experience in our baptism and conversion.

The United Methodist Church believes God’s love for the world is an active and engaged love, a love seeking justice and liberty. We cannot just be observers. So we care enough about people’s lives to risk interpreting God’s love, to take a stand, to call each of us into a response, no matter how controversial or complex. The church helps us think and act out a faith perspective, not just responding to all the other ‘mind-makers-up’ that exist in our society.”

Excerpt from The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church 2016.

 Ongoing Collections for CAM
Crisis Assistance Ministry is a cooperative ministry of the greater Gastonia faith community. By providing direct emergency assistance through collaboration with other community resources, CAM assists those facing financial crisis or struggling with the burden of poverty.  
 
MMUMC has an ongoing collection for CAM and highlights the most pressing needs through email and in church announcements.  CAM always welcomes donations of non-perishable items, household cleaning items and personal health items. 
Blessing Bags
In response to the January focus on the homeless in Gastonia, members of Myers seek to respond by empowering each of us to share a blessing.  We will be collecting items for Blessing Bags, ziploc bags filled with a few basic necessities such as water, protein snacks, cleaning wipes, lotion, chapstick and more. 
You can shop online via amazon and have your donation shipped to the church. 
 
These bags cost just $5 each for all the supplies!  When we assemble them, you are invited to take one with you to share wherever you may meet someone with need for a blessing.
 

2020 started out with us looking closer at the reality of homelessness in our immediate area.  The problem hasn’t gotten any better yet we have become more educated and seek to continue to understand and respond. January is the coldest month of the year in our area.  It’s also the time when our homeless neighbors are the most vulnerable. You are invited to make a difference in the life of the homeless in Gaston County through a variety of activities this January.

Warm Up Sunday On January 13th in an effort to keep our neighbors warm we encourage you to bring the items on this list. We will receive these items, pray over them and pass them on to be assembled into care packages that will be delivered before the end of January.  Shop the amazon list at  www.MyersMemorialUMC.org/serve

Point in Time Study Tuesday, January 26, time to be determined, but will be after the sun goes down into the evening. Volunteers will go out into the community, accompanied by police officers who know our community the best, to gather information and share care packages with those in shelters and outside.  The deadline to volunteer with the PIT count is January 13.  And training will be provided on January 14-15.  You may let Pastor Sarah know you are interested (churchoffice@myersmemorialumc.com). This effort is being coordinated by a number of community agencies under the leadership of Gayle Mahl with COVID precautions in place.