This Saturday at Encounters

We want to invite you to join us for a unique worship experience this coming Saturday (January 23, 2010) as we gather at the United Methodist Temple for Encounters worship.

This week we will be continuing our discussion of what it means to be a biblical community. So far we have talked about knowing one another and loving one another. This week, our focus will be on service. Join us as we talk about what it means to serve and be served.

This week's service is special because during the middle of the service, all of those gathered are going to participate in a hands on service project that will impact the lives of hundreds in Haiti!

As you know, the last few days have been wrought with devastation in the form of earthquakes repeatedly hitting Haiti. Friends, loved ones, coworkers, sponsored children, missionaries, and a host of others remain in our prayers as search and rescue efforts continue.

Throughout the search and rescue efforts, it has been discovered that Rev. Sam W. Dixon Jr. and Rev. Clinton Rabb did not survive the devastation of the quake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sam was the director of UMCOR and Rev. Rabb was involved with the Mission Volunteers Program. In honor of these pastors and in response to the great need in Haiti, we are acting to help in every way that we can.

UMCOR is currently helping to provide clean water in Haiti, in addition to sending health kits to distribute to those affected by the earthquakes. Our stateside warehouses are incredibly low on inventory and expect to be depleted by Haiti's need in the coming weeks. UMCOR and the United Methodist Church have asked that we help in two distinct ways:

First, you can donate financially directly to the recovery efforts happening on the ground in Haiti by sending in a check to our offices. These checks should have Haiti Emergency, UMCOR Advance #418325 written in the memo line. Our office staff is aware of the special advance and will be distributing the funds as they come in to the appropriate UMCOR offices.

Second, you can help by assembling health kits that we can get to Sager Brown (one of UMCOR's warehouse depos in nearby Louisiana). Officials say that there are more than 3,000,000 people in need after the earthquakes in Haiti and that UMCOR is going to continue to send health kits and other relief supplies to our workers on the ground in Haiti to distribute to those in need.

That brings us to the special part of our service this Saturday. As a part of our worship, we are going to assemble more than 300 health kits for this cause. You don't need to bring anything to service with you (we have already been shopping for supplies). We simply invite you to come and worship with us and help us assemble these much needed supplies.

Come join us for coffee and fellowship. Come experience God's grace in your life. And come to participate in being vessels of grace in the lives of those in Haiti!

Again, service this Saturday (January 23rd, 2010) begins at 5:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Temple (4101 Highway 73, Port Arthur, Texas) We look forward to seeing you there!