Mission Commission
There is a church in Rome with a statue of a Christ without arms. When you ask why, you are told that it shows how God relies on us, His human partners, to do His work for Him. Without us, God has no eyes; without us, God has no ears; without us, God has no arms. God waits upon us, and relies on us.
Bishop Desmond Tutu
From his book entitled God Has A Dream
The Mission Commission has three main jobs:
The Mission Commission meets approximately every other month, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings at 7 pm in the Davis Library. New members are heartily welcomed! Come and learn about how you can use your time and talents to change the world. Contact the Mission Commission chair, Larry Spang if you would like further information, and check out bulletin board in Michael's Room for up-to-date information on events and meeting notes. |
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United Thank Offering (UTO) Our parish UTO representative is Mary Ellen Bowman Sindt, and Lynn Headley has been a UTO committee member representing Province VIII. You can pick up a new UTO blue box or envelope from the credenza in the foyer of Michael's Room at any time. |
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Children of the Americas/Metric Ton of Food About fifteen years ago a man named Paul Weiss contacted Peter about this program he ran for poor children around the world. He called that organization Children of the Americas (COTA), and his staff and volunteers served children in North, South and Central America. One of the projects he coordinated was called A Metric Ton of Food which consisted of collecting certain specified amounts of food to feed 300 children for one month in Tijuana. Children can't learn effectively if they are hungry, and COTA's goal is to give children at least one nutrituous meal a day so they can be effective in school. In fact, many of the COTA kitchens are located inside the school. This project captured our hearts at St. Michael’s and for the last fourteen years, we have been collecting a Metric Ton of Food (over 2300+ lbs. of food) each year and delivering it ourselves to the COTA kitchens in Tijuana. Many parishioners, including some of our youngest children, have come along on the caravan to deliver the food. If you’ve had the opportunity to do that, you know what a difference it makes to the children in Tijuana and to you - you're not the same when you come home - you think you go to give them food, but you end up giving your heart. Read the History in the next column to hear more of our stories. |
Contact: Frances Haynes |
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Loaves & Fishes Loaves & Fishes is a soup kitchen operated under the direction of Maria Dzida at St. Joseph's School in Santa Ana. It feeds over 600 homeless people and working-poor families each Saturday. In addition, they deliver fresh food to people in need, provide English language lessons, and much more. Each month St. Mike's parishioners are asked to leave specific items in our little red wagon, which we send to Loaves & Fishes. For example, one week the designated gift might be white athletic socks for men, the next week it might be boxes of breakfast cereal for children, and the next it might be cans of coffee for parents. Every little bit helps a brother and sister in need. In addition, some parishioners donate a check montly to support the mission of Loaves & Fishes. Each May we specifically raise money for scholarships that are given to some of the teenagers who have volunteered for many years at Loaves & Fishes and are now are headed off to college. This year we raised approximately $8,800 for scholarships. We also bring a children's craft to the annual Santa Party, which is the highlight of the holidays for many of the families served by Loaves & Fishes. Consider joinging us to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. |
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Care Points in Swaziland
We activley support Reverend Orma Mavimbela, one of the first women ordained a priest in the Anglican Church in Swaziland, Africa. She operates Care Points for orphan and at-risk children. In Swaziland, the HIV/AIDs infection rate is estimated to be at least 42%, and an astounding number of children are in need of basic support because they have lost one or both of their parents. Rev'd Orma and the women who run her four Care Points provide a daily hot meal, monthly medical attention, the clothing and financial help that some children need in order to attend school. They serve approximately 200 children. We collect donations of gently-used clothing that we send to Rev'd Orma twice a year. Simply place your donations in the woven basket in the Children's Corner of Michael's Room at any time. In addition, we raise funds to support children's attendance at school and women's development projects through donations and the sales of bottled water, knitted teddy bears, a dessert recipe book and cookies at Christmas time. |
Contact: Latest News |
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Children in Afghanistan Each year we send approximately 600 pounds of “gently-used” winter jackets, sweaters and jeans to United States Marine Corps members stationed in Afghanistan. The Marines and the Afghan National Army distribute the clothing to children in the mountains of rural Afghanistan where the winters are particularly harsh. These areas have suffered terribly during 25 years of relentless war, and our simple gifts as well as the thoughts behind them give the Afghan people strength for today and optimism that a better future is in store for them tomorrow. The photos on the left show some of the children receiving their new jackets. Consider joining in by bringing in your children’s school’s Lost and Found clothing (you’ll be surprised at how much there is) or simply bringing in the coats and jackets that your children or grandchildren have outgrown when the call goes out in the newsletter or Sunday bulletin in the Fall. |
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AIDS Care Teams In Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) ACTION provides for the practical and emotional needs of people living in isolation with HIV/AIDS and struggling with its physically and emotionally debilitating consequences, which increasingly affect poor, non-white and disenfranchised segments of our communities. ACTION creates and nurtures "CareTeams" that support these isolated or neglected people, regardless of their sex, age, race, cultural background, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation. ACTION trains volunteers to provide for the needs of these people and their families, who often lack resources and can access only the most urgent medical care services. The team support program model is based on the concept of shared responsibility designed to foster long–term participation in the program for volunteers and for clients alike. Larry Spang is the head of our Care Team, and we rejoice in the fact that our Care Partner is healthy and happy! |
Contact: Larry Spang |
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Habitat for Humanity/Gordon Yeaton House The Episcopal Church/LA Dioscese committed to raising $225,000 in order to build a Habitat for Humanity House in honor of beloved Episcopal priest, The Rev'd Canon Gordon Yeaton. Parishioners at St. Michael & All Angels Church helped raise funds and volunteered with the construction of the house in Westminster on four different Saturdays in Summer/Fall of 2010. The house was dedicated and handed over to the Rosa Martinez & Anthony Moran and their four lovely children in a joyous celebration in January, 2010. If you got a kick out of hammering, sawing and painting to help a family achieve their dream of home ownership, stay tuned! We will be volunteering again next Summer/Fall to help Habitat for Humanity Orange County build 27 "Homes for Heros" in San Juan Capistrano. |
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Free Wheelchair Mission Don Schoendorfer walked away from a successful career in research and development to create an inexpensive and durable wheelchair that would become the heart and soul of Free Wheelchair Mission. This humanitarian organization, which is based nearby in Irvine, CA, has grown to distribute over 350,000 wheelchairs to people in 70 countries. In March of 2008, Don was awarded the Above and Beyond Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for his work among the disabled poor, one of the first civilians ever to receive this accolade. St. Michael & All Angels, with the help of other churches in the Diocese and a crucial matching grant from Bishop Jon Bruno, raised over $25,000 in Fall 2008 to send 550 wheelchairs to Iraq. These chairs were assembled by US Marines and distributed to those in need of better mobility. At our Free Wheelchair Mission Gala Dinner, Bishop Bruno reminded us of how crucial mobility is to a person's human dignity and self-sufficiency. He encouraged us to "Live simply so that others may simply live." |
Contact: Louise Stover |
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Heifer International Heifer International is an organization that provides gifts of livestock and education in animal husbandry and farming to people in need all over the world. The people are given an animal and asked to donate their animal's first born to another person in order to perpetuate the cycle of giving. Heifer International is one of our favorite charities because of the life changing effect they have on individual people and entire communities. We highlight them at our Alternative Gift Fair and we help staff the Heifer International booth in the Centennial Barn at the Orange County Fair each year, where we spread the good news of Heifer's work by introducing the chickens, mohair goats and llamas used in Heifer Programs to fair visitors. |
Contact: Tammy Smecker-Hane |
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Alternative Gift Fair Each year on the first Sunday in December, we hold an Alternative Gift Fair where you can come to buy unique holiday gifts for friends and family that greatly benefit others. For example, you can buy wood crafts, musical instruments and jewelry made by teens in Africa, an animal from Heifer International that will be given to a family to raise as livestock, olive oil and wood crafts from the Holy Land, a wheelchair for a disabled person from the Free Wheelchair Mission, etc. Instead of giving someone another necktie or bottle of perfume, consider giving a one-of-a-kind gift that keeps on giving in honor of that special someone! |
Contact: Frances Haynes Next Event: |
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Silent Auction Every two years we are committed to holding a Silent Auction with the theme of Doing Good on the Coast to raise money for the misison activities we support. The Silent Auction will occur in the Spring and kick off our parish's Trinkets & Treasures Rummage Sale. Our first Silent Auction in April, 2008, raised approximately $16,000, which has gone to support Free Wheelchair Mission, the salary of the director of Children of the Americas, the salary for a teacher at an Episcopal elementary school in El Salvador, and sending clothing to children in rural Afghanistan. The next Silent Auction will be held in Spring 2010. Come and be a part of the fun & excitement! |
Contact: Frances Haynes Next Event: Spring, 2010 |
