The vision of Outreach Ministries is to discover and engage the unique passion of each person in our church community for a life of service. Working together, we can make a difference, both in lives of others, as well as ourselves. 

The Outreach Ministries team strives to bring possibilities for service through education about needs and sharing ways for individuals and groups to support local and global mission work with their time, talent and gifts.  

Summarized below is a brief description of the many current projects, including a link to a detailed profile for each current project describing:

• Background and Need Served
• Outreach Project Purpose
• Project Goals
• Team Members
• Estimated Project costs/Resources Needed
• Proposed Sources of Resources/Funds
• Volunteers Needed
• Contact for Project

There are many opportunities to work together - in direct service to those in need, as well as providing resources and support to others on the service team.  Each person’s contributions are important and valued.

Please browse through the portfolio of projects to explore what inspires you and resonates with your passions. And if you have an idea for a new project, check out our process for exploring new potential projects.  

OUTREACH PROJECTS

Appalachia - HendersonSettlement

Henderson Settlement is a part of the Red Bird Mission Conference of the United Methodist Church of Kentucky.  Continually adapting its mission to meet the changing needs of the community, there are a number of community care and outreach ministry projects, ranging from agricultural, craft and clothing ministries, as well as home improvement and building projects. The Appalachia Project provides a unique opportunity for families with children to participate in multi-generational service projects during school breaks. Contact: Ellen Lewis (662-4536, ext. 12; ellen@fumc-a2.org )

Crop Walk for Hunger Relief

CROP Hunger Walks are ecumenical, interfaith community events. CROP stands for “Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty.” Walkers and supporters raise funds to help those who are hungry in our community and around the world. The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice in Ann Arbor organizes the annual fall walk, which is often held during the afternoon of the first Sunday in October. In 2007, the FUMC Crop Walk Project  raised nearly $7,500 for hunger relief. Contact: Lynn Palacios (769-0392; Palaca2@aol.com)

ECIR Fellowship

The Ecumenical Center and International Residence (ECIR) is a campus ministry that provides welcome and hospitality in God’s Spirit for international students as they come to study in Ann Arbor from around the world. The FUMC ECIR Project offers the opportunity to participate in a number of ECIR programs - including weekly Global Village Dinners, community service-learning opportunities, interfaith explorations, dinners in U.S. homes, as well as alternative spring break trips to Honduras and to US Gulf Coast areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Contact: John Wiseman (662-9388 , wisemanj@umich.edu)

Estonia Outreach Ministries

Following the end of Soviet domination, there is a unique opportunity to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the people of Estonia, whose religious freedom has been severely repressed. Working with the Baltic Methodist Theological seminary, the FUMC Estonia Project provides resources and support to enable local Estonian people to spread the good news. The project focuses on providing scholarships for seminary students, FUMC serving as a Connecting Congregation to the Paldiski Methodist Church, as well as FUMC members participating in service mission trips to help Estonian congregations with vital work. Contact: Mary Danforth (m19danforth44@sbcglobal.net, 426-7910)

Families in Service Here (FISH)

As part of the Children and Family Ministries Team, the Families in Service Here (FISH) project matches families with service opportunities that make a difference to children living right here in Ann Arbor. Our church is working with Community Action Network (CAN), a group which serves public housing communities in Washtenaw County. Families can participate in a number of ways, including spending an afternoon as a family on a service project, making or purchasing needed items, or providing donations. Contact: Chris Nelson (429-0875 , christine_nelson@mac.com )

Food Drive

In the fall each year, FUMC and a fellow UMC church in Ohio challenge each other in how many non-perishable foods each church can collect and contribute to their local food pantries. Both churches are winners for stocking their local food pantries.  To learn more about the FUMC Food Drive Project, contact Eric Stone (662-4536, ext.24, eastone@umich.edu )

FUMC CAN

FUMC CAN make a difference in serving the needs of the extremely poor, especially children and youth, in the Ann Arbor community. Working with the Community Action Network (CAN), the FUMC CAN Project focuses on service to local families with children living in the Green Baxter Court low income housing, by providing homework assistance, food, clothing, and other necessities – as well as a variety of family oriented service projects. Contact: Mary Danforth (426-7910, m19danforth44@sbcglobal.net)

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley is a non-profit organization, working in partnership with low-income families in Washtenaw County, to build affordable homes. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. The houses are then sold to partner families at no profit with affordable, no-interest loans. FUMC has been involved in local building efforts, cooperating with other churches in a joint venture to build the Good News Habitat House each year in the greater Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area. FUMC’s Habitat project goal is to raise $15,000/yr. and recruit 200 volunteers to work on the annual Good News Habitat house. Contact: Bob Whitacre (332-4601, bobwhit@provide.net )

Holiday Giving Program

The FUMC Holiday Giving program focuses on service to the local poor, by providing gifts and necessities to children and their families who are homeless or living in low income housing complexes. In 2007, FUMC partnered with the Community Action Network and Alpha House to provide gifts of toys, educational materials, clothing, household goods, food and other necessities to over 30 families in Green Baxter Court low income housing complex and residents at Alpha House. Contact: Pat Simmons (761-5282, pbsimmons@comcast.net )

IHN Alpha House

Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) is a consortium of over 30 local congregations of various denominations that volunteer to serve the needs of homeless families in Washtenaw County. Through its Alpha House, IHN provides temporary shelter, food and support services in a caring atmosphere of dignity and safety – serving over 135 children and adults in 2007. Member congregations assure that the mission of Alpha House is served through the volunteer efforts of the congregation, with each congregation serving on a rotating basis, a week at a time. Over 80 volunteers are needed for each of our service weeks (typically in November, February, and June) to make each week of hosting possible. Contact: Beth Lipton (665-9033, turboteach@aol.com)

Kenya

The vision of the FUMC Kenyan Outreach Ministries Project is to join God in service to the poor in Kenya by providing nurturing ongoing, interpersonal relationships between the Meru and Ann Arbor communities, and provide assistance to assure the success of the Bishop Imathiu schools to provide post-elementary education to the poorest in the Kithoka district outside Meru, Kenya. FUMC serves as a Connecting Congregation to the Mwanika Methodist Church in Kithoka. FUMC also provide resources, funding, skills and other assistance in support of the Bishop Imathiu schools to help complete construction, furnish and maintain the schools, secure and support teachers, provide funding for educational scholarships for the most needy students, and provide educational materials, training and teaching assistance as needed. Contact: Gary McClusky (663-4482, mcclusky@umich.edu )

LOVE Thy Neighbor (Exploratory Program)

The LOVE Thy Neighbor program is focused onlocaloutreachvolunteere fforts, with an initial focus on engaging the FUMC congregation to help address needs of the local homeless and hungry. Where possible, we will work with existing community and service organizations to bring the fellowship and strength of FUMC’s energy and resources to help address critical needs. Where unmet needs exist, we will seek to find and implement creative, practical ways to fill the gaps. An immediate need for providing a weekly lunch on Saturdays and/or Sundays has been identified as a possible first step. Contact: Bob Simmons (761-5282, junodad001@comcast.net )

NOAH

The NOAH Project, one of FUMC’s Jubilee Ministry Projects, is an initiative of Central Church in Detroit. This historic church community’s commitment to ameliorating the desperate conditions of the jobless, working poor, seniors, single parents, and homeless population in central city Detroit is exemplified in the efforts of the NOAH Project - Networking, Organizing, and Advocating of Health - a collaborative effort with Family Service, Inc. FUMC supports NOAH  by providing sandwiches in support its mid-day meal and bag lunch program. In addition to serving the mid-day meal, NOAH provides a bag lunch as a means for additional nourishment during the later part of the day since most recipients do not have access to any other nourishment during the later part of the day. Contact: Cynthia Lee (997-0593, grancynlee@aol.com )

Wesley Foundation Alternative Spring Break Service Learning Opportunities

Service Learning experiences are one of the three main focuses of the Wesley Foundation’s ministry to and with university students. While we are involved in service locally throughout the year Spring Break affords students a chance to be immersed in service-learning in an area of need further away from Ann Arbor for a whole week. The purpose of both experiences is to build community while learning and serving. While physical labor is one component of the experience, building relationships and understanding are of equal or perhaps even greater importance. Contact: Eric Stone (662-4536, ext.24, eastone@umich.edu)

Youth Bulgarian Outreach Program

For the past five years, youth offerings have been supporting a feeding program for disadvantaged and orphaned children and youth in Yambol, Bulgaria, through the Bulgarian Methodist Church. The offering has grown to include salary support for the local Methodist minister. This program provides one meal a day for ninety children, and helps a pastor serve this Bulgarian congregation. In 2006, FUMC youth Bulgarian Project spearheaded a campaign that raised $50,000 in nine months, to be administered by the World Methodist Evangelism for building the church in Yambol, Bulgaria. The continuing goal of this project is to change the world for street children and orphans in Yambol, Bulgaria and to support the congregation at Yambol as they serve the local community and spread the good news of Christ.Contact: Beth Miller (662-4536, ext. 20, beth@fumc-a2.org )

Youth Summer Mission Trips

Mission trips are an integral component of our youth ministry program. Summer mission trips provide meaningful and life changing experiences for our youth. These trips challenge youth to put their faith in action. These opportunities for serving others take youth out of their comfort zone. Meaning is found in serving. God is encountered in unique ways. For the past eleven years, FUMC Ann Arbor has sent a group of Jr. High youth and counselors to the Upper Peninsula to lead Vacation Bible School at the Zeba Indian Mission. Sr. High trips vary each year to offer different mission experiences, including Puerto Rico, Brazil, Bulgaria, and Zeba Indian Mission. Contact: Beth Miller (662-4536, ext. 20, beth@fumc-a2.org  )

UMW Missions

The United Methodist Women (UMW) is a group of women who seek to know God, and to experience freedom as whole persons as shown by Jesus Christ. The members of UMW seek to develop supportive fellowship and expanded understanding of the mission of the church. One of the key focuses of the organization is supporting the local and global ministries of the church, especially the services to women, children, and youth. Contact: Bev Bole (663-8411)

FUND RAISING PROJECTS

Cookie Walk

Each year, the UMW Cookie Walk is one of the most popular fundraising events at FUMC. In 2007, over 1,130 dozen cookies (that’s 13,560!) were made and bought, raising over $6,000 for local and global missions. Many people are needed to help in many ways – from organizing and running the event, to baking  and decorating cookies – to  buying and eating! “It’s hard to believe that mixing together such simple things as flour, sugar and butter can lead to helping so many people who are in need, including those who are hungry and cold, those who are waiting to be empowered, as well as all of us here at FUMC who need to be a part of a community – one that cares for all, leaving no one out.” Contact: Bev Bole (663-8411)

Harvest Dinner

Each fall, the members of FUMC gather together for a Harvest Dinner. Our 25th annual Harvest Dinner was held Saturday, November 3, 2007 in our social hall. Proceeds from the delicious and plentiful Thanksgiving dinner were be used to support Outreach Ministries. Everyone can participate – either as a volunteer or as a diner! This event presents an outstanding opportunity to get involved and build new relationships while helping serve the needs of others. Contact: Karla Paterson (662-2745, patersonfam@comcast.net)

Outreach  Ministries Silent Auction

A Silent Auction has been held in conjunction with the Harvest Dinner for the last few years. In addition to volunteers to organize and run the auction, there is an opportunity for everyone to donate something for the auction. Donated services and items are available for bidding during the Harvest Dinner, with bidding continuing until 12:30 pm the next day (Sunday). Past donations have included tutoring, an afternoon of sailing, handcrafted jewelry, handmade quilts and scarves, handyman services, football tickets, musical entertainment, to name a few. Proceeds of the auction are used to fund Outreach Ministries projects. Contact: Mary Danforth (m19danforth44@sbcglobal.net, 426-7910)

World Peace Café

Each week, the World Peace Café (WPC) offers café style coffee and tea from free trade and sustainable operations during FUMC Connections, along with high quality snacks, juices and smoothies. Staffed by teams of volunteers, WPC has three main goals: Fellowship, Stewardship, and very good coffee (and tea). The donations and income from WPC not only covers the cost of operation, but helps fund many FUMC mission projects. Contact: Ruth Ann Church (662-7611, ruth.church@sbcglobal.net )