Each month we focus on a particular cause or mission to support. 

 

August Special Mission

Stephen and Gayle Burgstahler, Missionaries in South Africa

 

Good news—Gayle and Stephen Burgstahler will be visiting our church on August 28!  As you may recall, Gayle and Stephen are daughter and son-in-law of Roger and Leone Olson, part of our church family!  There had been quite a long wait for them to return to the US from South Africa, due to visa problems, and we are so glad they will be with us.  Gayle and Stephen have two children, Charis and Micah.  Charis is working as nurse in Indiana, and Micah remained in South Africa to finish his education at a university.  Gayle and Stephen began their ministry in 2014 and have been living in Capetown.  South Africa is marked by hundreds of years of systemic oppression of non-white groups.  Apartheid government was ended in 1994, however remnants of cultural oppression remain.  The Burgstahlers are located in a place where they are in the minority, both racially and culturally. 

They are involved in regular teaching, preaching, Bible exploration and counseling, using their many gifts as they invest in intentional discipleship as followers of Christ, and practice being instruments of peace, helping to facilitate racial reconciliation.  In daily life, the Burgstahlers often encounter spiritually hungry people from all over Africa, sharing the gospel with many and distributing Bibles in several languages.

The Discipleship Training Centre is up and running in the township community of Broadlands Park, with the primary purpose of helping others to know and follow Jesus better.  A consistent core group has been formed, with people developing relationships, sharing and supporting each other.  Some have experienced violent deaths in their family.  Bethesda Church, in the same area, has many members who have hardships in their lives.  Stephen and Gayle have forged close relationships and shared their faith with many of these people, helping them to live a richer Christian life.  We will look forward to welcoming the Burgstahlers!  We will also want to generously support their ministry with our gifts and prayers.

We are so grateful and appreciate your continued ministry to the missions of FUMC.  Remember that giving is easy using the “Give Online” button on the FUMC website and then select “Missions.”  You can also mail your donation to the church’s office at 680 Mississippi Street, Fridley, MN  55432.  Please write “August Missions” on the memo line of your check.  Thank you for your generous support of our mission programs!

Your Mission Commission

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Family Table is a free meal for those in need in the surrounding community.  It is held on the 4th Saturday of the month from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.  August 27th will be in the building Dine-In, from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rainbow School and Daycare is a church owned ministry.  It was specifically created to be open to all children and respects persons of all faiths and those with no religious faith.  Provides DayCare to the public from infant through Pre-K.  Rainbow’s phone number is 763-571-7521.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drivers are always needed.   We drive one week per month during the lunch hour.  To volunteer contact  Janet Fossum @763-780-5694.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We serve at Feed My Starving Children. When we serve there we pack meals for children all over the world. This is a way you can make a difference for hungry kids. There are sitting jobs as well as standing jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to alleviating human suffering around the globe. UMCOR’s work includes programs and projects in disaster response, health, sustainable agriculture, food security, relief supplies, and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will be supporting a new missionary, Rev. J. Park.

 

Rev. J. Park is a United Methodist missionary serving as the Country Director of the Southeast Asia Mission Initiative, based in Ho Chi Minh City.  Rev. Park felt a call to ministry early in his life and has served as a pastor for 20 years, including starting multiple church plants.  His family came to the Christian faith through Methodist missionaries in Korea which inspired many of his family members to become pastors and missionaries.  His wife, T. Park, is also a missionary.  They are excited and happy to serve in Southeast Asia and hope to spread the Christian message in that part of the world.   The Minnesota Conference has a partnership with the Parks, and we can look forward to hearing more about them in the future.