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Resolutions for Our Year of Service
Christianity is practiced. These are traits of the followers of Jesus. God encourages our practice of them and God will help us to do them. Make these the foundation of your Year of Service. (from sermon 2/14/10) Avoid judgment of others unlike me. Find out who they are and what they yearn for James 2:1-6
Die to live. Take care of Jesus' business with others outside family and church. God will take care of you. Luke 9:23-25
Sow generously. Give of your time, talent and treasure to make the Gospel a reality in the lives of others. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Don't take it with you, send it ahead. Invest in eternity. It is your ultimate destiny. Matthew 6:19-24 Embrace variety, Live in unity. Work together to be the Body of Christ for a broken world using your unique gifts, given by God. 1 Corinthians 12:4-12 |
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
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Share Your
Acts of Service
Help us spread the word about acts of service in which you participate. Send your reports (AND PICTURES) to debbie@standrewspearland.org |
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Year of Service Update
#10
May 28, 2010
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Dear St. Andrew's Family & Friends,
Our Year of Service is a great time for all of us to stretch ourselves and in that spirit, I will be traveling to the Diocese of Southern Malawi this summer on a Pilgrimage which I hope will result in an ongoing relationship between St. Andrew's and the people of Malawi.
Malawi is in eastern Africa and I will spend the better part of 2 days traveling there via New York City and Johannesburg. Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world. Clean water is in short supply, and they have an extremely high incidence of HIV/AIDS and several other health problems due to fact that they are a densely populated country without the benefit of many things we would consider to be a necessity.
The goal of this Pilgrimage is to discover what Malawi is like, to meet the people of a country so friendly, they are known as the "Warm Heart of Africa," and to find ways that we can work together with the people of Malawi to create a two way partnership benefitting both the people of Malawi and the people of St. Andrew's.
I met recently with Bishop James Tengatenga of the Diocese of Southern Malawi and he explained to me that his goal is to have people from the U.S. meet the people of Malawi and create relationships including but not limited to mission projects. He would love for those with medical knowledge and degrees to come and teach a short course at one of their universities, or for an engineer to come over and find a way to impart their knowledge and skills to eager learners in Malawi, for a teacher to come and teach and yes, he even suggested you avid golfers would have quite the story to tell if you would come and golf Malawi - they have at least 7 courses and I bet none of your friends has a story like that!
If you are interested in finding out more about my trip or if you would like to financially support this endeavor, please contact me at debbie@standrewspearland.org and I will get you more information. |
Giving Back to the Ronald McDonald House
When their son, Collin was born, Chris and Kara Barry were fortunate enough to stay in the Ronald McDonald house guest rooms after Kara was discharged from the hospital and while Collin was in the NICU for 9 days.They wanted to do something to give back and show their gratitude for the hospitality. It really was a blessing for them to be able to stay there because the rooms were on the same floor with the NICU and it allowed them to walk down the hall and visit Collin at any time. Because they had a room there every night Collin was in the hospital, they never had to come home from the hospital until Collin was able to leave with the family.
There is a lunch room in the Ronald McDonald house and all the drinks and snacks are donated. The Barry family had quite a few chocolate chip cookies that someone had donated while they stayed there and so they decided to go to Sam's and stock up on snacks and individual meals to donate so that the parents can just go in the kitchen and have a meal or snack if they are unable to leave the hospital. When they dropped it off, Collin went with them and they visited some of the NICU nurses that took care of him while he was there. |
Service in Action
- Cody Casey serves as a Peer Mentor for the Life Skills students at Pearland Junior High South
- Angela Smith visited a neighbor in ICU
- Chris Wells' class earned enough money to help build 3 water wells around the world.
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Cub Scouts Help Clean Pearland
Members of Cub Pack 468 and their parents weeded and spread mulch around the signs at St. Andrew's as a part of this year's Clean Pearland event. Participants included Benjamin, Christopher and Mark Nye along with other members of the pack and their families. |
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Spaghetti Dinners Feed Many In Need
Ana Cowan and Jason Adams delivered 50 spaghetti dinners donated by Boy Scout Troop 468 to homeless people in downtown Houston. Their fear was that they would have leftovers and not know what to do with them. Instead, they were able to serve 50 dinners in about one minute's time!
Others who helped with the delivery included 2 Boy Scouts (Holden Cowan and Jacob Resendez), Shannon and Michael Cowan and Piper Adams.
Anna Cowan reports, " It was an eye opening experience for all of us but even more so for the young people involved. Next year, we are making plans to deliver more than 100 dinners."
Boy Scout Troop 468 also donated 300 meals to Christian Helping Hands, delivered 40 more meals to homeless in Houston, and 50 meals to the NOAH House. |
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Cheeseburgers Made Her Day
The following is a report from Jason Adams about an experience he had recently. I hope it inspires you as much as it did me!
On my way back from the bank last week, I hit the drive thru at the downtown McDonald's. Across the street is a check cashing / cash advance place. A bit of a scary area, even for Mr. Fearless. While waiting in line to place my order, I saw a homeless woman tucked away in the corner of the building, laying on newspapers and completed covered with an old bed sheet. I bought 4 extra cheeseburgers and a large coke. I went around the corner, parked and placed them right next to her head. It took her a moment to realize what was going on but as I was walking away, she said "God Bless You". I told her "God Bless You as well".
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Backpacks for Haiti
Thank you to everyone who helped us pack 60 school backpacks for children in Haiti. They were sent on their way along with a donation from St. Andrew's to World Vision for $1500 to help the children of Haiti. Over 25 families participated in this event making it a wonderful Palm Sunday! |
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