Mission Notes from Lynette FieldsExecutive Director for Missions

SAVE THE DATES!

Mission PossibleOur Mission if we choose to accept it: Working together to end poverty one family…one neighborhood at a time.

April 13-May 19 St. Luke’s will focus on our vision for community transformation. That vision includes ministries for family and neighborhood stabilization.

April 13 Mission Possible: Art Reception and Film Festival 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Our kick-off will feature ArtWorks whose work has recently been on display at UCF and the Mayor’s Gallery in City Hall. The art is made by children from foster group homes, homeless shelters, or who have experienced challenging personal situations. Creating the art is a way to help them tell their stories in their own way. The student artists will be present. School of the Arts will provide music and there will be delicious appertizers during the reception. There will be film screenings of The Line and Hunger Hits Home with an alternative option for elementary school children at both 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

April 26-27 Mission Possible: Launch of Community TransformationFeaturing…

Bob Lupton from Focused Community Strategies30+ years of community transformation experience and author of Toxic Charity. Website: www.fcsministries.org/

The Rev. Gary Mason, Methodist Minister in Belfast, Northern IrelandPastor and visionary, founder of Skainos, one of the most expansive faith-based community transformation projects in Western Europe. Website: www.skainos.org

Estella Lee, Circles Coordinator with Catholic Charities of Pensacola, FloridaWill be introducing the Circles Campaign, a national model aimed at lifting families out of poverty.Website: www.circlescampaign.org

Lynette Fields lfields@st.lukes.org 407.876.4991 ext. *230

Mission Notes cont.

The Oath for Compassionate ServiceFrom Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, by Bob Lupton, 2011• Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves.• Limit one-way giving to emergency situations.• Strive to empower the poor through employment, lending, and investing, using grants sparingly to reinforce achievements.• Subordinate self-interests to the needs of those being served.• Listen closely to those you seek to help, especially to what is not being said—unspoken feelings may contain essential clues to effective services. • Above all, do no harm.

Orlando MissionsDirector of Orlando Missions, Mariam Mengistie

Twisting Tangerines and Pulling Oranges: Citrus Harvest 2013January 12, 2013 was Society of Saint Andrew’s (SoSA) annual citrus gleaning in Central Florida. More than 60 volunteers from and through St. Luke’s picked about 6,000 pounds of citrus from individuals’ backyard trees and groves in the western part of Orange County.

Families and friends worked hard and had fun while working towards alleviating hunger in the US. Some even learned a thing or two about the right ways of picking different citrus fruits. Do you know which ones you have to twist and which ones you can pull on? Sharon Briggs and her son, Preston still talk about “You twist tangerines and you pull oranges!” You never know when this new knowledge will come in handy between now and the next citrus harvest in 2014! To learn more about hunger in the US, SoSA and the biblical foundation of gleaning, go to www.endhunger.org/florida

Missions E-NewsMARCH 2013

Orlando Missions cont.

Reaching out in Parramore: Jobs Partnership Spring 2013On February 5, St. Luke’s, along with 12 partner churches in Parramore and Jobs Partnership Florida, kicked off the 4th spring job-readiness training in Parramore. This is a 12 week, biblically-based training for the chronically underemployed and unemployed in Parramore. On Tuesdays, students

learn the biblical foundation of work – work as a form of worship, stewardship of time, attitude in the work place and other topics. The nuts and bolts of finding employment are discussed on Thursday evenings – building a resume, interviewing, networking, work etiquettes and hidden rules. Five churches make up the team and there are 55 volunteers. Out of these, 21 are new and returning St. Lukers who are committed to walk alongside students for the 12 weeks of intensive training.

If you would like to see how the program works, we will be happy to schedule a class visit for you through April. It’s also not too late to be a part of this ministry. We need people who can provide and serve meals for 55 students and volunteers during one or more classes. Contact Mariam Mengistie at mmengistie@st.lukes.org for more information.

Global MissionsPrayers for our friends in Belfast

Here are excerpts from the Gilmores’ Blog (our United Methodist Missionaries serving in Belfast) about the recent violence and protests happening right around the newly opened Skainos ministry.

The violence does not affect Northern Ireland equally, but has been largely concentrated in a section of East Belfast close to the Mission. EBM is about a quarter mile from an ‘interface’ with a nationalist community called the Short Strand. During the month (January), there have been increasing tensions between loyalist protestors and residents in this neighborhood, as groups have marched from East Belfast into the city and back.

From seeing news coverage, you might imagine that most of Northern Ireland is in turmoil, which would not be the case. If you drive a mile or two away from the Mission, the atmosphere feels completely different. As with many situations of violence, it is the struggling communities which often bear the majority of the impact. Many people across the city and province have been going about their daily lives. Some may question the decision of the City Council, yet have a deepening frustration at the ongoing turmoil, conflict, and bad publicity being sent across the world.

Pray for meaningful dialog between local politicians, community leaders, the police, and those involved in protests. Pray for key leaders at EBM who are involved in these conversations,

especially Gary Mason and Mark Houston.

Links to read more: http://gilmoresinbelfast.com/http://umcconnections.org/2013/01/17/methodists-join-others-in-call-to-end-violence-in-east-belfast/

4851 S. Apopka-Vineland RoadOrlando, Florida 32819407.876.4991www.st.lukes.org

The view as we went to church on January 6. The car was a taxi until it was taken and burned the night before. Skainos/EBM is in the background. (photo by Mark Houston)