MMN Meeting from Nov. 10th

Here are your notes from our Mocksville Missional Network meeting last Tuesday.  Now I forgot to take pictures this time, sorry!!!  But we had some great things emerge from our meeting, so check it out!

First Stacey Inman from the newly opened Davie Wellness Center came to speak to us.  The new wellness center is located at the old credit union building in downtown Mocksville (142 Gaither St).  It is free to all Davie county residents!  Some of the services they offer include:

• Suicide Prevention
• Autism Workshop
• Dancing
• Mental 1st Aid Training (to deal effectively with those who are diagnosed with mental trouble or for the people who work with them).
• Yoga
• and tons more!

Again all of these services are free.  They want churches in our area to be aware and help spread the word.  A monthly calendar is emailed containing the month's programing, and it looks like most of our MMN clergy will be receiving it!  So check it out!

Next Jenna Hendricks came to share about Big Brothers/Big Sisters of whom she is a program coordinator.  Jenna has worked in Davie Co. for 16 years as BBBS opened here in 1999.
Here are the mission goals of BBBS:

• to form long lasting, professionally supported relationships with adults and youth
• every child achieve success in life
• partners with parents, professionals, and schools
• usually the kids and youth come from single-parent homes (22%)
• boys and girls are served from the ages 6-18 years old
• 604 children were served last year
• So how can churches help?  More volunteers are needed.  Also churches can host BBBS events, such as a Christmas party.  
• Email Jenna at jhendricks@bbbsnc.org if you are interested!

Our third presenter was Mary Doub, the vice chair of the Western NC Conference Building Team.  The goal of the WNCC Building Team is to sponsor teams from many different churches to come together and serve as a team in mission.  It's helpful in that some churches may have skilled and devoted volunteers but lack the numbers to form a team, this does it for them!  In August the projects are announced (and they serve both here in the States and all over the world).  Team leader training is available.  Trip fees are all inclusive, though you'll need a passport.  Read more about them at http://mission.wnccumc.org/building-teams/, where you can find downloadable flyers and info.  Also email Mary at mldoub@earthlink.net if you have questions and/or if you are interested.

Next is a mission in development; Jerry Banks of 1st UMC is working toward hosting a weekly hot meal to families in need.  1st UMC has the facilities to host such a weekly meal in their family life center, and are seeking local Methodist churches to host a meal several times a year.  The hours will be 5:30-7:00 pm, with time for eating and then a devotional.  The suggested meal is soup and sandwiches.  Right now Jerry is seeking names of contact people they can coordinate with.  Please email Jerry at jerrybanks@yadtel.net for information or if you are interested.

Finally Ray Carter of Rice and Beans Ministries came to share.  Their goal is to feed peoples in need in Costa Rica and share the love of God.  It initially started out of a WNCC Building Team, and is now focused on providing food (rice and beans).  Here's how it works:

• They first work in building new churches and facilities
• They then visit the neighboring homes in the villages which are often standing shacks
• Most of the work is done by students and adult leaders
• They host and lead VBS for the kids there
• They then deliver the food (rice, beans, corn meal, and milk)
• They also feed families at Christmas.

So how can we get involved?

• Pray for the volunteers and the ministry
• Come and be a part of the team!
• Decorate, Pray Over, and Fill the meal bags!  It's also an easy fundraiser.  $12 covers one bag, and all the food is purchased in Costa Rica to support the local economy
• It's around $1700 per person to join the team.  That's for one week and is all-inclusive.

Here's a link to a video that explains it all; https://vimeo.com/123093219

If you are interested, you can call Ray at 704-746-1745, friend him on Facebook, or visit their website at www.riceandbeansministries.com

Here are some upcoming mission dates to mark your calendars!

• From Nov. 16-23rd 1st UMC is collecting shoeboxes for Operation Shoebox.  So if your church is collecting some, here's a local spot where they can be dropped off, save you a trip.
• Dec 9th, a Wednesday, Liberty UMC will be taking the bus with presents and volunteers to make Christmas gifts for the patients of Broughton Hospital.  The bus will leave the Liberty parking lot at 8:00 am.  All the folk from our sister churches are invited to join us!  Call 336-284-2914 for more info
• On Dec. 27th, the last Sunday of December 1st UMC will be doing their annual mission project Stop Hunger Now.  All churches are invited to participate either by sponsoring some meals and/or volunteering.  The construction of the bags will start around 4pm.  If you are interested call 1st UMC at 336-751-2503
• On Jan 24th Salem UMC will be hosting a Grief Share workshop from 3:00 - 4:30pm.  Anyone who is suffering from grief and loss from the passing of a loved one (and it doesn't matter how recent) is invited to come.  Call 336-492-7483 for more information.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Feb 9th, 2016, which happens to be Fat Tuesday!  Unfortunately I forgot to ask for a church to volunteer hosting.  So....any church that would like to host our next meeting, please email me at bcfishjedi@icloud.net.

Thanks, and have a great day!

A New "Year" Begins! Aug 2015 Meeting.

So begins a new year!  It's new for us, new faces, new clergy, new opportunities, and here's what went down for the Mocksville Missional Network last night.

Of course I wrote today's blog at Starbucks!  Beats the heck out of being cooped in the office!  :)

We met at Center UMC, and thank John Erwin for hosting and taking the notes for last night and hosting us at his church.  The snacks were yummy!

First thing, we have new pastors to welcome!  Sorry guys, I'm using your mugshots from the conference website, but I like names with faces (and it helps poor saps like me);

First we have to join us is Rev. Robert "Bob" Briggs serving at Union Chapel/Chestnut Grove!  We are excited to have Bob join our network!

Second, we have Chad Shoaf serving at Concord UMC!  Apparently Blair Routh has inside info on Chad, so check with her!  Kidding, he's super cool!  ;)

And third we have Ronald Dean Doub serving at Hardison UMC, a really cool guy and gentleman!

We welcome you all to our humble Mocksville Missional Network (MMN)!

Here's the gathering at last night's meeting.  It's a quick panoramic shot, so some faces are messed up,
but it was a great turnout for a rainy evening (and yay for rain!)

So now we get to business; first a news flash on the Summer Food Bags Mission!

Blair Routh shared this news with us.  14 faith groups donated toward the cause (including every church of our network) giving 30% of the needed budget, individual donations accounted for 42%, businesses 3%, Civic Groups 2%, UMC Grant gave 17%, and the Walmart Grant 3%, for a grand total of $29,811!  The expenses for the food this year was $30,711.81.  On top of that, a late grant from Energy United gave $10,000, already a good start for next year (it's usually $30,000 to fund this ministry).

Here's the results, 525 children were fed consistently during the long summer!  We often had more volunteers than were "needed."  We had more participation from our networked churches than any other year (and it was already pretty high before).  On top of that, 2nd Harvest gave 500 Boxes of food for families and kids to be given to families in need in Cooleemee during the 3 day church outreach fair "Call to Cooleemee."  That's organized mostly through area Baptist churches but Blair got several volunteers from our network to "man the tables" to give out the food.  It was all gone in 2 days!  Huzzah!!!  The ground work has already begun for 2016, but for now Blair gave her heartfelt thanks to all of the churches who donated and volunteered to make this year happen, stopping hunger for children in our midst.  Glenn Myers then expressed the MMN's heartfelt appreciation to Blair and Don for all their selfless hard work and dedication.

So, for the new year, what are some needs and mission opportunities around us?  We had 3 special guests to offer their visions;

First we had Ruby and Bill Blackburn share about UMAR.   Apparently many of our clergy remember Ruby back when there was a Lexington District.  Small world!  About UMAR; UMAR's mission is to care for adults with special needs.  It started in 1983 by our Conference.  Ruby got us started by asking a question; how many of us knows someone personally or has a family member who is disabled?  It was about 100%.  Disability affects everyone.  To help these adults, UMAR has 23 group homes across Western NC, and there 3 in Winston, 1 in Statesville, each being a home to adults with differing disabilities and full time staff to help care for them.  The staff's job is to help these adults live as independently as possible.  To give us an idea of what impact UMAR can have, Bill shared his story.

Bill 34 year old daughter Jennie is disabled, who is diagnosed with cerebral palsy.  She has great difficulty communicating and faces many challenges.  Bill and his wife provided amazing care, but know for the far future Jennie needs long term security and care, and that's when they found UMAR in 2011.  Jennie is now eating better, more independent, has made friends, and is happy.  UMAR was a Godsend to Jennie.  They passed out several handouts which record the many great things UMAR is doing, which will be listed here below.  Included is Jennie's story (sorry my copy got wet from my iced coffee), and how we can help UMAR.  A few highlights; donate supplies (paper towels are in high demand as is food), donate time like hosting a cookout at one of the homes (I suggested a luau!), or even do some labor such as a building project at the homes.  Also Bill is willing and able to share his story with anyone; churches, Methodist Men and Women, etc.  Here is his email, and he replies FAST:  billblackburn55@gmail.com

Next we had Crystal Dumas share about her ministry Just Hope (Crystal is the exec. director) which works directly with the homeless and families at risk here in Davie County.  Her family began interacting with the homeless camps in Davie County including giving food, and from that began to form her ministry.  Just Hope continues to give food and supplies (which she gets cheap through her coupon superpower), teaching self sufficiency classes, and more.  So how can churches in our network help?
Well since Davie County doesn't have a homeless shelter (which I'm going to go ahead and give a big and loud boo!!!!!!!  Thumbs down Davie County leaders, churches and charitable organizations are tired of the lame excuses), most of the homeless and families at risk are either in the homeless camps, staying with family (sleeping on the floor, couches), or living in our two hotels, Lakewood and Scottish Inn.  Crystal is working with churches and groups to help the families who stay in these hotels (which are typically a single mom with 2-3 children).  What are ways to help these families?

1. Provide a hot meal!  It's the microwave or nothing when it comes to hot food, so on Thursdays Crystal organizes groups to come and feed the families in either one of the hotels or both.  They need to be to-go boxes, and also food bags like with our backpack program).  A hot meal is a taste of grace to these families.  You can sign up online here;  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b4eaeac2da2fb6-helping
2. Sponsor a family's "rent" at these hotels.  It's usually all they can make and save to cover the rent per week.  Any unexpected expense, say a flat tire could put a family on the street or make them face hunger.  You can give these families some breathing room by paying for a week.  It's $190 a week at Lakewood and $205 a week at Scottish Inn.  Talk to Krystal if you have questions or would like to participate in sponsoring a family.  Her cell number is 336-909-4201, and her email is krystaldumas2010@yahoo.com

Here is some other mission highlights;  

• Rev Sam Lewis is leading Oak Grove UMC to become involved in the Faith/Health Initiative through Baptist Hospital.  For many people who are admitted to hospital care they have "high needs but low resources" when they are discharged.  The Faith/Health Initiative is trying to bridge that gap through networking and community involvement.  Keep an eye out for a future email when Oak Grove will possibly host a meeting for the Faith/Health Initiative, which can benefit from MMN participation!  (unrelated, here in the meeting my cell phone died at this point, so you're spared of more photographs)
• 1st UMC is going to host a 5th Quarter Friday Night gathering/party in September.  This is to provide a fun and safe enviroment for teens after Friday Night Football games.  There will be games, snacks, the whole 9 yards, and is open to everyone.  Email John at 1st UMC at john@firstumc.org for more info. 
• Kevin Neal at 1st UMC (who is the Missions Chair to Haiti) is also head of the DOT in Rowan County, and is offering his services to check any church transportation vechicle to make sure they're being used safely.  Buses and vans!  Check with Kevin at 1st UMC if you are interested.
• Stop Hunger Now will be held at 1st UMC on Dec. 27th (a Sunday).  Set up will start at 3pm, packaging at 4pm.  This is open to all our network churches, either monetary help, volunteer help, or both.  
• Our Cluster Charge Conference will be held at 1st UMC on October 25th at 3pm.  Like previous years, I NEED PICTURES!  Any missional or outreach work you, your church, or networked churches do, I need pictures to prepare for our report/music video.  VBS counts too!  If you don't send pictures, I'll make stick figures (ask Tony, this is a serious threat!).  Send them to me at bcfishjedi@yahoo.com, or text them to me (which is just as efficient) to my cell number; 980-521-3531.

Our next MMN meeting will be held on Nov. 10th at 7pm at Hardison UMC.

Thanks for everything y'all.  If you have any corrections, additions, just text me and I'll update the blog (it isn't permanent).  Peace!

PS, if any of this sounds jumbled or off, or filed wit typos, blame one of these three!  ;)

April 2015 Minutes and News

Here is our blog post about our meeting from Tuesday, April 14th at Oak Grove UMC.

First off a big shoutout goes to Rev. Sam Lewis and the awesome people at Oak Grove for hosting us!

We began with prayer and an opening meditation.  First we read the amazing editorial that appeared in the Washington Post last year, This is What Happened When I Drove My Mercedes to Pick Up Food Stamps.  Here's a link to the story, it's worth your time to read; CLICK HERE

We had three topics to talk about.

First is a mission trip to Haiti led by 1st UMC Mocksville.
This is led by Kevin Neal and Dean Hendricks, who are pretty much pros at this kind of ministry.  They have two invitations regarding Haiti; one to join them on the mission trip, and two, to help financially to build a church in Haiti.
For years they have been working in Jaemel, a town south of Port-au-Prince.  The minister they support there works in 13 different Methodist churches, a present-day circuit rider pastor.  He works in conjunction with the Methodist expansion and is doing great work.  So 1st UMC wants to help him build a permanent church that's in his charge (to replace the one that's made on-site with pretty curtains and movable chairs).  The cost for this new church would be a total of $35,000, and this would cover the 4 walls, roof, and floor.  The pastor himself has already purchased the land for its construction.  So here's the details;

Right now 1st UMC is starting from scratch in raising funds for the church building, so any donations would be a big help.
The next trip will be around September or October for 10-11 days.
12 people can go on a team (if more than 12 sign up, they'll take multiple teams)
The trip to Haiti is on American Airlines (a serious upgrade from previous years)
The cost per person is $1,400-1,500 for each team member.  This covers the airfare, cost of materials, and to cover the pastor's expenses as he houses and feeds the work team.
Please contact 1st UMC if you are interested in going.  Any funds for the church building can be sent to 1st UMC with the memo being Haiti Church Building.

2.  We have an update on the Summer Food Bags Program shared by Blair Routh.

Right now funds are not coming in like past years, and this includes our own churches too.  Here's the hard data;

• Only $150 has been given from our churches
• Only $1000 has been given by area businesses
• Walmart has given a $1000 grant.
• A $2500 grant has been applied for, still waiting on that

Please work with your churches to raise funds for this ministry.  600 students last year had food throughout the summer because of this ministry, and they're counting on us!  $25,000-30,000 is needed, and we've done it every year, let's make it count this year!
Also volunteer help is needed as well!  Please contact Blair if you feel led.  These kids need us!

3.  Next was a small report from me (Brad) regarding this very blog.

I didn't take any selfies of myself at the meeting,
so here's a slightly older one...

Part of my focus and vision is to have a central place online where we can share information about who we are and what we are doing.  Right now we have notes from our meetings (as you may note already), and now I want to take it a step further.  I want to share our stories, especially our successes.  So if you have any missional praises and successes, let me know, and we'll share this narrative!  I may draft this as a kind of storytelling, and either you can volunteer to share your story or I'll check with you!  Stay posted!

4.  Other Business:

• Roy Miller at Concord UMC is collecting food items every Thursday from 9:00am - 12:00pm.  This food will be going out to people in need.  Check out this list if you would like to help;
• Peanut butter/jelly, fruit cups, pop tarts, beans and weenies, easy Mac, breakfast bars, oodles and noodles, Nabs/crackers, Instant oatmeal/grits, canned meats like tuna, SPAM, Vienna sausages, raisins, applesauce, bottled water, soups, trail mix, beef jerky, and juice boxes.
• Sam Lewis at Oak Grove is asking for help for Oak Grove regarding missional work to help them with focus and direction.  If you have a mission statement, know where to find resources, the outcomes you've experienced, and what you've learned in the process, get that info to Sam.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, August 18th at Center UMC.

Thank you everyone!  Share this info, and thank you!

Summer Food Bags Meeting this Monday!!!

Good evening my MMN friends, Brad here!

This is just a reminder that we will be having our Summer Food Bags Planning Meeting for the MMN this Monday, March 9th at 1st UMC Mocksville at 7pm in the Family Life Center.  We are needing to get the groundwork done for this year's ministry and look to the future.  As you may know Blair Routh is stepping down at chairperson of the Summer Food Bags and we need new folk to step it up!  She and Don will be there for support and guidance, and if we have the numbers and networking we can make it happen and feed the hungry children of our county.

Please make an effort to be there.  I will be looking for every pastor of our MMN to be present or at least have a representative of each church.  Having 4-5 people from each church would be the best, as we can really gage our strength and make this work!  Please email, text, or call me with any questions.  The same message will be posted on our Facebook page and emailed to help get the word out.  Thanks so much and have a blessed evening!

Brad

Jan. Meeting of the MMN

Getting the ball rolling

Our January meeting!  Here are the highlights (be sure to share, link, print, this is your new newsletter MMN folk!)  Our meeting was held at Cooleemee UMC, hosted by Rev. Patrick Marion and his awesome wife Wendy!  He opened us with prayer and we got started.

Behold the 6 plants!  :)

We began by first having a brief devotion called the "6 Plants," or the Parable of the Plants.  It's pretty cool, ask me (Brad) if you want a copy.  Having both clergy and some of our guests "volunteer" to participate was also very cool.

We then began to have our meeting with an invite; check out this blog!  So if you are reading this, here you go!  Also we did a quick recap of the mission successes we had last year; over 100 people helped at Hope Lives, 17,000 meals made by "Stop Hunger Now" (thanks Pastor Glen), and 5760 Summer Food Bags made to feed hungry kids in our area this summer (thanks Blair Routh!)!  Whoo-hoo!

So to the New Business;  we had several guests come to share mission opportunities with all of us.  Here's the beauty of many of these ministries; we don't have to organize huge events to make these awesome things happen; we just let our churches take the initiative, network (ah, that word), share the info, get the word out!  One thing to keep in mind; if any of your churches or some of your members get involved in these missions, tell Brad!  You don't have to be name specific or give me huge numbers, I just need to know if meetings like these bear fruit.  So I'll just lay them out;

Soles for Souls, shared by Dave Salmon (of 1st UMC Mocksville).

Dave Salmon, and the Soles for Souls Donation Box!

SfS's mission is to get shoes to kids around the world who don't have any or can afford them.  It was founded 10 years ago, and they gather new and used (but not worn out) shoes and deliver them!  One load of shoes is made of 6,000, and so far they've made several runs already!  A handout was made available (I'll scan it for sharing later).  You can collect shoes at any time, this can be year round!  Some ideas, have a "Barefoot Sunday," or use the collection boxes already available and drop them off (1st Methodist, the YMCA, Center UMC, and many others.  Look for the big box, as seen here).  One thing to note, the shoes are best packed by being tied together by their laces or string, boxes actually make it harder.  Give it a shot, it's an easy and extremely helpful mission!









Community Garden, shared by Mrs. Salmon (of 1st UMC Mocksville).  

Mrs. Salmon talking about the Community Garden
Behind her is pics of the garden's growth (pun intended)

The Community Garden was started in November of 2013.  The program that is followed here is based off the model of Dr. John Matheson in Alabama, with the goal of "growing churches."  The need is clear, access to good nutritious food is diminishing along with the health of younger people and those in poverty (which is the strongest factor to determine if you will grow up or become obese.  That's a fact.  Okay, this is a strong passion of me, Brad, so there you go.).  So the Community Garden fixes that by providing access while at the same time reconnecting people to the soil, the earth (very theological, Genesis sounding.  Here I go again).  The Joe Harris Garden which was the first gave away 600 lbs of fresh food!  That's 600 lbs, GIVEN AWAY!!!  The requirements; you rent out 4 by 8 plots for $10-20 a season, and it has to be organic.  The gardner has to agree to give a certain % of the crop to charity.  Some do a lot, many give it all away!  Tours for kids and adult classes are available.  Give Mrs. Salmon a shout if you're interested!  1st UMC's number is (336) 751-2503


"Serving Him Ministries," shared by Mike Drayton.

Mike talking about Serving Him Ministries (not by best picture,
Lynn took the most of them here)

This ministry started 9 years ago as a non-profit organization.  It began by listening to the needs and concerns in the Charlotte area, developing a network of contacts that could directly help those in poverty and facing great need.  It is an ecumenical ministry and is something Mike wants to bring to the Mocksville area.  His vision for Mocksville; creating a soup kitchen for Mocksville.  Sweet!!!  What Mike needs is the networking; the contacts, volunteers, people who know people.  If you feel led (and Mike has a great passion for this ministry), drop him an email!  Hunger is a real problem here in Mocksville, this could be really great!  Here's his email;  Mike Drayton mdrayton@mocksville.com


"Scouting Ministry Specialist," led by Barry Cartner.

Here is Barry!

Barry came to lift up Youth Ministries to the MMN.  He is working to bring more Youth Ministry opportunities to the Mocksville area, and isn't looking for every church to suddenly host a scout trip (though that would be nice) but for folk who just want to help in small and big ways!  This would include Boy & Girl Scouts, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, 4-H, etc.  If you want to camp with the scouts, cool!  If you hate camping, there are still chances to serve and volunteer.  For example, you can serve on one of the committees or pack meetings, teach a merit badge, share your gift!  You see, the Methodist Church is the #1 sponsor for Scouts, and the kids who go through scouts are changed for a lifetime.  It's a chance to be a positive roll model, and kids definitely need them!  Men and women are needed!  Drop Barry a line if you are interested; cell - (336) 782-4080, email- luvmybldhnd@yahoo.com

Summer Food Bags, led by Blair Routh (Hardison UMC).

Blair sharing her ministry with us.

The Summer Food Bags get food to kids during the summer who experience hunger when school is out (and thus the cafeteria and the free or reduced $ meals they depend on).  To make this happen, $30,000 is needed, and the goal is to raise the funds for 2016.  What does Blair need?;

• Fundraising; have a special offering, host a meal with a love offering, etc
• Grant writing; grants are great, and Blair and her husband Don can't write them all.  Write a grant!
• People for letter mailing; letters are sent out to all the neighboring churches to ask for donations.  Help with the mailing!
• Someone to schedule for the schools.  Talk to the schools to find out how many kids need help!  If you can handle a phone, you're perfect!
• Someone to help with transportation for children to get to the food.  The food is distributed at the schools, but many kids don't have the means to get there.  This is a huge problem!  If you're called or know someone who is, call Blair!
• Need of hands on deck!  Food is distributed on Thursdays.  The more hands on deck, the easier the load to carry and deliver.

The ministry has outgrown Hardison UMC, a great problem, but a need nevertheless.  They need help, NOW.  Here is Blair's # if you want to help;  (home - 336-936-9178, cell - 336-403-9586)


"Jobs from God," led by Terry Summers (Hardison UMC)

Terry sharing his ministry Jobs From God with us!

Terry is a former Human Resources person, and is now following his calling to help people find work.  Getting a job is tough, and the process is even tougher.  Here's some of the help he can give to those looking for work;  coaching, job search skills, resume prep, cover letters, how to use the internet and company jobsites, working with temporary agencies & recruiters, networking, interviewing prep, and more!  If you know someone in your church who is job hunting, or would like to host a seminar or group meeting, let Terry know!  Here is his contact info;  336-624-7791, email - terrysummers2014@gmail.com


Now to other business;  our next meeting will be at Oak Grove UMC (where we had Charge Conference) on 4/14/2015, 7:00 pm.

Minutes and notes taken and respectfully submitted by Rev. John Erwin.

Check this out, your future news/minutes/getting the word out location!

Hello to all my MMN friends, Brad here!

So here it is, our new blog!  All the minutes, news, pictures, updates, it's going to be coming from here.  Truth be told, the Newsletter I was making for you to print and share...I hated making it.  Loved the finished product, but getting there was horrible.  Now blogging is something I do already (cgdaddy.blogspot.com), and it's an interface I like and is one that is readily accessible!

Now does this mean the emails and Facebook postings cease?  Not at all, but instead of dealing with attachments and such those emails and Facebook postings will all lead here.  Plus, you can access minutes and news whenever you like!  This blog website (blogspot) is printer friendly, meaning you can hit Print if you want a physical copy of something and share it at your churches and it's easy to read.  I just tried printing a copy from my personal blog using Google's Chrome web browser and it worked fine.  Like I said, this will be full of the minutes, news, pictures, announcements if needed, etc.  Expect me to take lots of pictures during our meetings now.  Pictures make blogs look cool, and people like them.  I hope you like it!  After our meeting on Jan 27th at Cooleemee (don't miss it), this will be running full steam ahead!

Now to get us prepped for next week's meeting, here are the minutes from our last meeting for you to review.  Of course lots of stuff has happened since then (Hope Lives no less), but here you go;

Mocksville Missional Network Meeting

10/7/2014

Minutes:

Introduction/Icebreaker – Holy Spirit Moment & Prayer

Review of the 8/5/2014 minutes from last meeting.  There were no corrections and were approved

New Business:

1. John Erwin is now our new secretary.  There was thunderous applause!
2. Red Cross Presentation by Tom Dunn.  Tom was invited as Rev. Glenn Myers said there was a need for volunteers for the Red Cross in Davie County.  Tom Dunn is the District Program Specialist for 6 counties including Davie County.  The Red Cross itself is primarily a volunteer organization.  Tom started in 1993, and was hired at the Red Cross in 2006.  He noted that because of large accumulation of debt by the Red Cross it cut many of its paid positions, making its need for volunteer participation more necessary.  As of now there are 3 volunteers through all of Davie County.  One is a couple, the third is 80 years old.  Tom is now trying to build the volunteer base.  These volunteers help with a place to stay, food allowance, clothing, medication assistance, even in cases of death it helps a little with the expenses.  Tom is needing volunteers who know and love this community who want to help their neighbor and the Red Cross will supply all the training.  The training itself is 3 courses for about 14-15 hours total.  Volunteers who just want to help with big events (like opening shelters) are welcome.  There are many opportunities to volunteer, different jobs.  Tom is willing to come out to your church to share as well!
3. Rene Wilt – our Church Vitality Strategist.  Rene will be serving both the Yadkin Valley and North Piedmont Districts.  As of 7/1/14 she is now part of our Conference.  Her goals are 1., strengthen existing churches, and 2., look for new plants for a church.  Her purpose tonight; to meet and greet, build relationships and listen.  She has developed a toolbox of resources available for churches to use.
4. Hope Lives – It takes place 11/8/14.  Barbara Laymon’s emphasis – school supplies, food bags, and clothing.  School supplies are a bit lacking, so that’s the emphasis for now.  If you want a copy of the flyer, it’s free to download at 1st UMC Mocksville’s website.  It also has a Facebook page.  Also the 2009 Hope Lives video has been shared via Dropbox online (email Brad if you want a copy to share).  Volunteers are still needed, different times available.
5. Charge Conference Overview – It takes place on Oct. 28th, 7pm at Oak Grove UMC.  The meeting will be like a worship service with music, prayer, brief business, MMN report, and end with Communion.  For our report Pastor Brad needs pictures of churches doing mission and outreach work (MMN or individually), with descriptions of what is going on.  Also stats of mission teams are welcome.  You can email your pictures, videos, or stats to Pastor Brad at bcfishjedi@yahoo.com, or text them to his cellphone at 980-521-3531.
6. Additional Business – A. John Honeycutt said youth workers are planning a District Youth Event called Reverb on Sunday, 1/11/14 at 1st UMC Mocksville.  For Stop Hunger Now, it will happen on 12/28/14 at 1st UMC.  Setup will be at 3pm, bag up at 4pm.  Love offerings are welcome too, just earmark any collections or checks to “Stop Hunger Now.”  B. Tony Owens said that grant applications for missional funds are available.  Right now the Summer Food Bank has received a grant for $2000, and 1st UMC gets $ for the Food Growing Event.  Emergency Grant Applications are also available.  Next application deadline is 3/1/14 (2 grants a year).  
7. Our next meeting will be at 1/13/15 at 7pm at Cooleemee UMC.  (correction, due to weather the meeting is now 1/27/15 at Cooleemee UMC at 7pm).