TUCO Church LOGO

Come Journey with Us !

Learning....living and changing lives !

    Mission, Peace and Justice Ministry
The purposes of Mission Peace and Justice (MPJ)
 
I. To assist the congregation and its members understanding and participation in local, regional, national, and world mission needs.
II.  To develop and recommend church mission budget and promote other opportunities for financial contributions towards church mission goals.
III. To foster Christian unity and ecumenical relations between the United Churches and other local and area congregations and groups,
IV. To identify, study and provide for congregational education and action vis a vis social, moral, environmental and ethical concern.
Pat McCann
Carolyn Lehman
Ike Nwankwo
Paul McCann
Charlene Mackey
Joan Plank
Eleanor vanNoppen ( honorary member)
Janet Anderson, Sister Church Laison
Justine Cantrell
Mark Dowdy, Staff Rep
MPJ Missions and Projects
2008 MPJ Budget PDF LOGO
Denominational Budget 2007 PDF LOGO
Alternative Gifts that Give All Year
Bread for the World: http://www.bread.org/issues/
Costa Rica Experiences
Mission Offerings
Service and Fellowship Opportunities
Community Links and Resources
Community Soup Kitchen
Crop Walk
Facing the Future Project
Food Bank Weekend
Homeless Shelter Project
 
Choice Regional Network
WA 211 WA Information Network
Community Soup Kitchen
Every second Tuesday of the month, a group of loyal United Church members, including some of our middle school youth, prepare and serve a hearty dinner meal for homeless and less privileged folk who visit the Salvation Army kitchen and dining facility at 5th and Plum Streets in downtown Olympia. This outreach which also involves other churches and groups is conducted under the auspices of Catholic Community Services.
Costs for these dinners are financed through contributions from the United Churches’ congregation. Our diners are treated respectfully as our “guests” on these occasions, which provide a wonderful opportunity for service and for conversation with these folk.
For persons who would like to participate in preparing and serving these meals or to otherwise assist in this outreach, our sign-up chart is posted on the Mission, Peace and Justice Ministry bulletin board in the church, located in the hallway leading to the Fireside Room. In addition to the information and directions to the Kitchen on the chart, Bill Edmundson (491-8964) and either Jo or Lee Johnson (866-2972) are always pleased to respond to your questions and comments.
Food Bank Weekend: the first weekend of the month is staples are collected and donated to the Food Bank.
Dinners still go on as before but meals through Bread and Roses are now under the management of Catholic Community Services. Bread and Roses is still a very active organization with a Guest House, Women's Shelter and  an Advocacy Center with mentors volunteering at all of these. They also provide chits for laundry and showers  and supply bus passes.
The idea is to treat  the homeless as worthwhile people and to help them to help themselves, Survival alone is not enough. It is the unmet costs of these current programs that are in need of support. United Churches  makes a dinner monthly  and has a line item donation for which we are grateful.
There is a real and urgent need for new cooks and servers, especially cooks with strong arms to lift heavy pots in and out of the ovens. The current crew is burning out and would welcome willing hands every second Tuesday at 2:00 for cooking or at 5:00 for serving. For questions or if you want to participate , please call Ruth Shearer of Mission, Peace and Justice who is also on the Board of Bread and Roses at 438-5682 or Jo Johnson ,our licensed food handler at ------ . Donations to the feeding program should be written to TUCO with a notation that it is for the food program-Jo Johnson.  April 2007.
 
Homeless Shelter
For a period of time every winter we open our church to serve as a homeless shelter.  This is part of a larger effort in the Olympia community to be sure individuals and families are comfortable in the winter months. This event happens every winter. Please watch The Voice for more details.
http://www.salvationarmyolympia.org/CommunityMeals.htm
http://www.salvationarmyolympia.org/
http://www.salvationarmyolympia.org/community.htm