This email is the first in a series of four, called God's Gifts in Action, accompanying our fall stewardship campaign. The goal of these mailings over the next four weeks is to share stories of passionate ministry using church resources in the areas of mission, connections with the community, youth, and music. These emails will coordinate with a series of speakers in worship on each of these topics.
This year will be the first time for us to use electronic communication for the purposes of stewardship. Your Stewardship Committee solicits your responses to the ministry stories, via the link at the bottom of the page. The committee also invites you to reflect on the gifts God has placed in your life and the ways God is calling you to use them in ministry in Christ's name. We will celebrate and commit our gifts to God's service in worship on Sunday, October 19. In the meantime, we hope to inspire a vision of the path God is opening to us in the future and ways we can walk together as joyful, faithful stewards.
BARNABAS CONNECTION
Since 2004, the Barnabas Connection has offered hope to Hays County residents in need. This innovative ministry depends on trained volunteers who staff a phone line and refer callers to needed services. From helping a single father register his children for the Texas Children’s Insurance Program to finding affordable cancer treatment for a student, Barnabas Connection volunteers provide mentoring and companionship as they help callers navigate the complex, and often confusing, health and human services system. Jean Eastlake (pictured above) became a Barnabas Volunteer this January. Jean sees the Barnabas Connection as a direct response to Jesus’ commands to “feed my sheep” and “tend my sheep” John 21:15-17. Like many other volunteers, Jean has discovered that the rewards of serving are many:
It’s really a lot of fun when you know exactly where to tell a client to call for help. Not all calls are like that; some take a lot of work. But often clients call not really expecting that we can help and when we can it is so satisfying. Last week a single mother called needing medical care for her children. She said, “I don’t suppose you can really help me, but I thought I’d take a shot.” Well, we could help her. It was wonderful!
Barnabas volunteers receive the great blessing of talking with those who need to be fed, and in many cases, of being able to feed them.
WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY
The Barnabas Connection partners with other churches and organizations to provide services that benefit the entire community including an annual Flu Shot Clinic and the Back to School Fiesta. This ecumenical program served 240 children in need this year by providing free school supplies, immunizations, and free haircuts. Last spring, the Barnabas Connection began administering Operation Good Shepherd, the financial assistance fund of the Wimberley Ministerial Alliance. Wimberley churches rotate the responsibility for overseeing this fund. Thanks to the Barnabas Connection’s experienced volunteers and excellent database, the transition from the previous administrator, Cypress Creek Church, to WUMC has been seamless. The weekly call volume has increased greatly in the last 6 months in part due to the administration of the financial assistance fund, and in part to the troubled economy. Our clients are largely the working poor and single parent families who cannot handle the ripple of an unexpected medical expense, loss of work, or transportation failure. Vicki McCuistion, Barnabas Connection Program Director
DID YOU KNOW?
The most frequent need expressed by callers (73 so far this year) is help with utility bills.
Since March, 133 calls have come in requesting financial assistance through Operation Good Shepherd.
The Barnabas Connection needs you! Donate as little as one day per month to help answer the phone and assist callers. No experience necessary! Call the Barnabas Connection Program Director, Vicki McCuistion at 847-3109 for more information.
GOD's GIFTS IN ACTION
Your pledges support the Barnabas Connection by providing office space at WUMC and some funding—almost enough to cover the annual phone bill. Pledges also enable WUMC to contribute to the Ministerial Alliance. The program depends on individual donations and grants to fund the part-time (10 hours per week) program director position and purchase needed technology and supplies. More funding would enable the church to help with these costs as well as to publicize the program more widely and increase our contribution to the Ministerial Alliance, directly helping more people in need.
The needs of people are so heart wrenching! I ache, when I get calls! I always wish I could do more. This week I got a call from a daughter who does not have the funds to bury her recently, deceased mother. I was able to give her phone numbers to call, but also had to tell her that there is no money (for that type of expense). Barnabas Volunteer, Darlene Birgel
1 comment:
So much of what Barnabas has achieved fully relates to the many hands and feet of Christ working in the world. It could not have happened without the many volunteers at the beginning of the creation of the program or the many along the way making the program work.
For me this program reflects the spirit of WUMC: creative, generous, and responsive.
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