Dear friends,

Thank you for your contribution to Urban Ministry during the month of October.

Your support is crucial to our ministry, and we are deeply appreciative of your willingness to share your resources with us. Urban Ministry is able to make a difference in our community and in the lives of many people because of faithful supporters like you.

Jesus taught that children are great in the kingdom of heaven.  At Urban Ministry, we’re reminded of this teaching on a regular basis. We hear the children of Urban Kids each afternoon as they joyfully bound down the hallway to healthy snacks and empowered volunteers, and as we receive the gifts of children and youth who bring food and other items they’ve collected to share with the people we serve.

At this time of year, many of us begin to focus on food, family, and fun; however, many of the people we collectively serve are challenged by poverty and are sometimes hard-pressed to provide holiday meals, not to mention the daily challenge to provide healthy meals for their families. Children and youth make a difference by providing food for our Emergency Food Boxes and Community Kitchen.  Some groups are already making plans to collect food and children’s Christmas items to help our efforts.

Along with the gifts of children and youth, we are deeply blessed to have two special volunteers, Gwen and Gloria, who are working with our staff member Leslie Adams to coordinate our role in the Festival of Three Kings. The Festival helps parents provide a Merry Christmas for their children, and we are referring 320 children this year!



Above: Our Christmas program planning began all the way back in July with the help of two hard-working volunteers

In addition to Three Kings, we are also assisting St. Mark UMC’s Winter Wonderland provide a Christmas party and gifts for 70 children.  And, we will set up our own Christmas store here at Urban Ministry the week before Christmas for parents to choose gifts for their children. We will provide Christmas for another 100 to 125 children through this effort, which means that you and other faithful contributors will assist us in providing Christmas for more than 500 children this year.  This doesn’t include the generous contributions which enable us to serve more than 150 people delicious Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.

If the children or adults of your church or organization are interested in a mission project this fall, we would love to work with you. It would be a blessing for us and most especially for those whom we serve. Give Deb Welsh a call at 781-0517 if you would like to pursue this possibility.

Jesus taught us that the highest manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven is when we love our neighbors as ourselves. The world is different, and the Kingdom is closer, when we come together to love and support one another. It is a blessing when the children bless us, and it is a blessing when you bless us.  Thank you for joining with Urban Ministry and many others to bless children and their families.

Peace and blessings,

Melissa