Click on photo to view slide show.
At First Congregational, children, youth and adults form small communities and over the past 15 years have traveled to: Nicaragua, Mexico, West Virginia, El Salvador, and Indian Reservations in the Northwest. Currently, youth-specific groups are traveling each summer to Indian Reservations in the Northwest through the Sierra Service Project. To find out how to get involved in mission trips, contact Pastor Melanie Oommen, 541-345-8741.
Back Bay Mission Trip,
November 14-21, 2010
Back Bay Mission, Biloxi, MS, was established over eighty years ago. It was an effort to assist with needs for housing in this impoverished area. The work goes on in areas of human service, from construction of homes to soup kitchen outreach to advocacy.
The third annual work camp for Back Bay Mission (BBM) will be held on November 14-21. Volunteers are being recruited from our Central Pacific Conference. Thirteen volunteers are needed, of which three have signed up so far. The costs include airfare (which you schedule), a $50 deposit, and about $200 for food, ground transportation, and fees to BBM. A deposit should be made as soon as possible in order to reserve your space.
The minimum age to participate is 16. There are work opportunities with hammer & saw, paintbrush, and other construction activities, as well as office help and soup kitchen endeavors. If you are interested, contact Dennis Alger (Chair of Wider Church Ministries for the Central Pacific Conference) at dennisrev@verizon.net.
For the fourth year, we will participate in the Sierra Service Project in summer 2010. Youth who will have completed grades 6 through 12 by summer are welcome to participate. The Sierra Service Project invites young people to experience the life-changing power of Christ's spirit through acts of service repairing homes on Indian Reservations throughout the Northwest. SSP is committed to creating community and teaching selfless service by reaching out to those whom society has forgotten. Common to all SSP programs is service to the elderly, poor, and marginalized. The giving offered is without strings attached and is done with an attitude of respect and humility.
(find out more at sierraserviceproject.org)
Sierra Service Project, Middle School Sierra Service Project, High School |
Building birdhouses to raise funds for Sierra Service Project Mission 2010 |
Our Partnership with Tasajera, El Salvador
The partnership with Tasajera, El Salvador was once the dream of a Eugene physician and several islanders. Now it is an international partnership involving two communities and serving many people. The partnership has been more successful than anyone could have dreamed. Since we began in 2007, First Congregational United Church of Christ has made possible major projects that contribute to the well-being of the islanders. We have helped build a medical clinic, started an ecotourism business, empowered women, and stopped hotel construction (which would have made many islanders homeless). Thanks to our congregation’s support, we have helped to make a difference in the lives of our Salvadoran brothers and sisters.
What’s Happening Now?
In May, Randy Jeremiah and Lauren Herbert boarded a plane to El Salvador armed with two computers, a box of medications, and a wheelchair. During their trip, they established internet on the island and met with a few Salvadoran government officials.
The computers were placed in the clinic and in the school. The school’s computer is being used to type papers and print tests without having to pay for them. The computer in the clinic is also being put to good use. Using Skype, the health promoter on the island can contact Dr. Daniel Perez in San Salvador to guide treatment. The clinic computer has also enabled some islanders to talk to their relatives working in the USA for the first time in years, and our communications with the island have also been greatly improved.
Randy and Lauren also met with government officials, who explained that the Bank of Central America had given the island's property to the government and that the government plans to establish a reserve, which would protect both the community and the land. Victor, a Salvadoran lawyer, is donating his time to apply for grants and try to designate the islanders as “protectors of the island.” This could meet two purposes: allowing the people to stay on their land and stopping poachers and over-fishing.
Right now, through discussion with the islanders, we have decided to focus on two goals for our October 2010 trip: keyhole gardening and the turtle project. Keyhole gardening is a way to garden when soil is very poor quality (as it is on the island). We think this technique could be used on the island to benefit many of the children, who don’t get all the nutrients they need from their diet. The turtle project is a project where the people of Tasajera dig up turtle eggs and put them in a “vivero” (a place where they can be protected from poachers and other predators until they hatch). Supporting the Turtle Project facet of our partnership will ensure the continuation of the project.
We will also be continuing our work on medical and dental projects and will start collecting vitamins and other medicines later this fall.
How can you get involved?
We always need help! At this point, we are trying our hardest to continue the turtle project by selling coffee during our fellowship hour. If you are interested in helping with coffee sales, or have questions, please contact our group at elsalvador@fcceugene.org.
Maia Watkins
Shalom, 7-27-10
Young Adult Internship
Another very exciting development is that Erika Johnson and Maia Watkins, both 10th graders at South Eugene High School, have begun a FCC “social justice internship” to support the work of this partnership. Working with the Partnership Working Group and Pastor Melanie, the girls have begun the important work of further organization and development of this exciting relationship with our Salvadoran friends. What a blessing to our congregation and to our partners in El Salvador!
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Worship 10:00 AM (Childcare during worship ages birth through kindergarten) Classes for all Ages |
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