Welcome to weNote, a monthly collection of announcements and information we want to share with you and invite you to share within your congregation.

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day Suggestions

One of the priorities for the conference, discerned and affirmed by delegates in 2021, is Growing our Intercultural Witness. As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches, we wanted to recommend some resources and events that could be a meaningful way to observe the holiday.

Events:

Ongoing Work & Resources

We pray for God’s wisdom and strength as we endeavor toward growing our intercultural competence as a conference, as congregations, and as individual followers of Jesus.

The Window seeks a Kitchen Administrator

We have a position open at The Window for a Kitchen Administrator.

Following is the job description for the Kitchen Administrator  

  • Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week.
  • Administrator/Cook in charge of:
    • Ordering;
    • Menu Planning – Nutritious lunches and Meals On Wheels
    • Kitchen Staff
    • Katie’s Kitchen

Come be a part of The Window’s Family!

Contact Ed Swartley 574.533.9680 ext 203 or email jeswartley@thewindowinc.com

Amigo Winter Youth Retreats

Amigo Centre is excited to be planning for Senior High and Junior High Winter Youth Retreats for 2022! Below are links to the letter and flyer/poster, along with a tentative schedule. For additional information, see their website.

Letter to Churches

Flyer/Poster

Tentative Schedule

Conference invites you, even if you do not have family members attending one of the retreats, to pray for these retreats. These are formational times in the lives of young people and can provide important opportunities for faith development and bonding with peers and mentors.

Storm Clean-up at Amigo Centre

Amigo Centre is grateful for to have had many people help with the clean-up following the significant damage sustained during a storm in August of 2021. A logging crew was also brought in to do a salvage-harvest of the downed and damaged trees. With the logging crew nearly finished, it is time to begin cleaning up the trails so that they can once again be used.

Plans are being created for a clean-up blitz from November 29 to December 4, from 9am to 4 pm each day. Large machine and tractor operators have been arranged, but volunteers are needed to run chainsaws and move branches.

To volunteer, contact Cheryl at (269) 651-2811, extension 105. It is important to let Sheryl know if you plan to attend so that enough food can be prepared for volunteers.

Six Unique Christmas Gifts for the Special People in Your Life

As the Christmas season approaches, you might be racking your brain thinking of possible gifts for your loved ones.

At MCC, we believe there is no better way to celebrate the season than by helping change lives by addressing hunger, education, health and more.

Through MCC’s Christmas Giving guide, you can help some of the world’s most vulnerable people in the name of your friend or family member.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Gifts for foodies

For the foodie in your life, a gift of $25 dollars can help farmers like Joyce Ngumbao and her husband Pius Kisumo in Kenya to increase their harvests and share festive meals with their neighbors now and throughout the year.

Photo Caption: Joyce Ngumbao dishes up muthokoi, a traditional corn, bean and greens dish, using food raised on her family farm in Kwa Kavisi, Kenya. She serves her husband Pius Kisumo (blue) and neighbors Ajelina Kamutu, Jennifer Muoki (blue) and her daughter Faith Muoki at the family farm in Kwa Kavisi, Kenya. MCC photo/Matthew Lester.

Gifts for business savvy people

MCC has the perfect gift for small business owners, who believe in the old adage of teaching a person to fish — or for the person in your life who enjoys getting out on the lake.

A gift of $350 gives start-up funds for fish ponds and allows farmers like Chun Sokun in Cambodia to diversify their income by selling fish as well as rice.

Working with a stocking stuffer budget? Just $20 stocks a fish pond.

Photo Caption: Chun Sokun casts a net into the family farm’s fish pond. Chun built the pond using no-interest loans from the agricultural cooperative he joined and training from ODOV field agents. The fish and expanded vegetable garden increase the family’s income. MCC photo/Matthew Lester.

Health and wellness gifts

The healthcare worker in your life has likely had a tough year because of the pandemic. What better way to thank them for their service than to help protect people from diseases?

In countries like Burkina Faso, a $7 mosquito net can prevent people like Habibou Diandé from contracting malaria.

Photo Caption: Habibou Diandé shows the type of mosquito net that MCC’s partner, Song Kibse in Burkina Faso, provides for orphans. MCC photo/Kinani Sourabié.

Cute animals, anyone?

We all know at least one person who pets every cat or dog they come across or likes to watch animal videos on their phone. For the pet lover, we recommend giving the gift of a goat for $50.

These adorable animals are easy to raise, can provide milk, or can be sold to help families absorb economic shocks in the event of a failed harvest or a medical crisis.

Photo Caption: Desert goats bask in the morning sun, waiting to be examined by a veterinarian in November 2020. The goats and sheep in this community in the Afar desert in northern Ethiopia were vaccinated against coccidiosis and given a dewormer through an MCC partner organization.  MCC photo/Rose Shenk.

Gifts that empower

Do you have a family member or friend who cares a lot about empowering women and girls?

A $50 gift helps women in Chad learn skills like gardening and soap-making and band together to earn more than they could working alone.

Photo Caption: Women of Ngondong, Chad, receive training on agriculture and new ways to earn money from their land. MCC photo/Colin Vandenberg.

Gifts for educators

The teacher in your life likely knows how important school is for kids who have faced difficulty and trauma in life.

Syrian refugees living in Lebanon can receive tutoring, lessons in self-esteem and support from social workers to help them overcome obstacles. Just $25 helps these girls stay in school  live up to their potential.

Photo Caption: This girl (unnamed for security reasons) and other young Syrian refugee and Lebanese children from Beirut, Lebanon, participate in an art therapy class designed to give psychosocial support to children who have had traumatic experiences. Photo courtesy of House of Light and Hope.

 

Not all gifts cost money, though. This Christmas season could also be a good opportunity to talk about generosity with your children. MCC’s free, printable resource help kids explore the basics of living generously at an elementary school level.

The entire guide is available online at mcc.org/christmas-giving.