Pastor Kathleen Athey is the
clergy team member who guides our mission efforts, working in conjunction with
our Missions Ministry Team. We hope to give everyone in the church the
opportunity to serve in a way that fits his or her interests, passions, and
needs. For more information or to share ideas, please contact Pastor Kathleen
at 602-840-8360 ext.130 or via
email.
Please refer to our
calendar
for information on scheduled
mission opportunities.
The mission of the Paradise Valley United Methodist Church Missions Ministry
Team is to be disciples of Christ in our community, state, country, and world
by educating and providing our Church family with opportunities to share
personal service, prayer, and financial gifts that demonstrate God’s love
in action.
| Audrey’s Angels |
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Audrey’s Angels seeks to enrich the lives of the elderly by providing
stimulating interactions through a unique sharing of art and music in adult
care homes in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 2001, Audrey’s
Angels minister to more than 100 adult-care homes and 11 adult-care centers.
Audrey Alderson is a Paradise Valley UMC member, and she would be happy to
share opportunities for ministering with you. Contact her at the
Audrey’s Angels website.
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| Bethany United Methodist Church of New Orleans |
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Following Hurricane Katrina Paradise Valley UMC partnered with Bethany UMC. As
a result of that partnering Paradise Valley UMC helped raise money for Bethany
to rebuild its Sanctuary, continues pray for the pastor and members of Bethany
congregation and sends work teams to New Orleans. Rebuilding Bethany UMC and
New Orleans is a long-term commitment. If you are interested mission-work trips
to Louisiana, please contact Pastor
Kathleen Athey.
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Children’s Missions
Children’s Ministries offer opportunities for children to experience the
joy of giving, sharing, and doing for others. Please contact
Andrea Andress to volunteer. Children’s mission opportunities
include:
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Club 56 Care Packs for the Homeless (All year)
Children package water, socks, personal products and treats in zip-lock bags
for the homeless. These packs can be kept in the car and handed to homeless
individuals standing at intersections.
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Annual Used-School-Supply Drive (May)
Children bring gently used classroom supplies from their schools for
distribution to mission centers and for the children at Wesley, UMOM and
out-of-country mission trips.
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Mission Events (June-August)
These one-hour events occur on selected dates during summer Sunday School.
Children participate in hands-on projects to make things for others such as
sack lunches, blankets, birdhouses, step-stools and gifts.
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Vacation Bible Camp (July-August)
Vacation Bible Camp is the largest annual opportunity for children’s
mission, when children put "love into action" over the five-day
period.
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Annual Pancake Breakfast (November)
Children flip pancakes for charity with their parents between services on
Sunday morning.
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Christmas Stockings for Sidewalk Sunday School (December)
Sidewalk Sunday School is a mission led by the Desert Southwest Conference for
"at risk" children in underprivileged neighborhoods.
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| Habitat for Humanity |
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Paradise Valley UMC is part of the Mighty Methodist Coalition which helps to
build homes for the disadvantaged in the Valley through Habitat for Humanity.
For more information please contact
Bob Mitchell.
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| Helping Hands Housing Services |
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Helping Hands Housing Services is a local non-profit organization that provides
permanent and truly affordable housing to very low-income families.
Additionally they provide free support services designed to uplift the quality
of life for the residents, all in an effort to break the cycle of poverty.
Paradise Valley UMC supports three families with a monthly rent subsidy. If you
are interested in learning more about how you can help, please take a minute
and view the HHHS website
at or call the office at 602-381-6363.
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| Homeward Bound |
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Homeward Bound is a private, non-profit 503C corporation which seeks to break
the cycle of homelessness and poverty for children and their families. Homeward
Bound provides affordable apartments and houses to rent, day care, classes and
counseling in money management, life skills and child rearing. Paradise Valley
UMC helps support three Homeward Bound families. For volunteer opportunities
visit the Homeward Bound
website or call 602-263-7654.
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| Open Table |
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In the spring of 2005, the youth of Paradise Valley UMC decided they were going
to do something to help the hungry and homeless in downtown Phoenix. A mission
outreach program called "Breakfast Club" was born, and our youth
began taking breakfast food to CASS (Central Arizona Shelter Services) on
Saturday mornings. It was during one of these Saturdays that a man named Ernie
approached the youth and asked if he could worship at our church. The obvious
question arose: "What more can we do to help this amazing man journey from
homelessness to wholeness?" And thus, the Open Table was founded through a
unity of adults and youth, professionals and students. For more information
about Open Table contact Jon
Katov.
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Out-of-Country Missions
Each year Paradise Valley UMC provides opportunities for members to participate
in mission work outside the United States.
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Mexico Ministries -
The Desert Southwest Annual Conference has a rich tradition of helping
communities in Mexico. Paradise Valley UMC has helped the conference build
church sanctuaries, community centers, classrooms, and a wellness clinic. We
have also provided Vacation Bible School and the opportunity for children to go
to camp.
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Guatemala Ministries – Paradise Valley UMC has recently
reestablished its connection with a community in Guatemala. Members worked to
build a church, provided Vacation Bible School for the children and facilitated
sewing classes for the women. If you are interested in being part of a team or
leading a team, please contact
Pastor Kathleen Athey.
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| Paradise Valley UMC Missions Gift Shop |
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All profits from the Paradise Valley UMC Missions Gift Shop go toward mission
efforts, as directed by our Missions Team. The Gift Shop is open on Wednesday
and Sunday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon.
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| Rebuilding Together |
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Rebuilding Together events provide opportunities for families, individuals and
groups to work together helping senior citizen home owners maintain their
homes. To volunteer, please contact
Bill Kidwell.
Founded in 1988, Rebuilding Together is the largest volunteer
home-rehabilitation organization in America. The Phoenix chapter, "Valley
of the Sun," launched in 1991. To date the "Valley of the Sun"
affiliate’s over 42,000 volunteers and 600-plus sponsoring companies have
worked on more than 600 homes and 40 plus community projects, providing over
$4.9 million in repairs to the community and to Valley residents.
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| Thanksgiving Turkey and Pie Drive |
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Each November, we collect frozen turkeys for the homeless (UMOM, Helping Hands
for the Homeless, Homeward Bound) and pumpkin pies for Salvation Army.
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| UMCOR |
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UMCOR goes anywhere there is a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis –
blizzards, floods, fires, famine, drought, plus tornado and hurricanes zones. A
special offering is taken each year to support this great work.
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| UMOM New Day Centers |
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The mission of UMOM is to provide homeless and low-income families with food
shelter and the tools to build a bridge to self-sufficiency.
There are many opportunities at Paradise Valley UMC to serve:
- Donate canned food on the first Sunday of the month. Food is collected on the
church campus and taken to the UMOM pantry
- Serve dinner at UMOM on the second, fourth and fifth Saturdays each month.
- Donate your gently used clothes and household goods to the UMOM thrift store
- Christmas Gift Cards make great gifts and provide shelter and hope to a
homeless family at UMOM. Cards are sold at the church gift shop during the
Christmas holiday season.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at UMOM call 602-275-7852 or visit
their website.
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| Wesley Community Center |
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Wesley is a mission institution of the United Methodist Church serving the
South-Central Phoenix neighborhoods since 1950. Wesley Center provides:
- School backpacks, supplies and nutrition program to over 200 children
- ESOL, GED, and other education classes
- Emergency food and other supplies to low income families
Centro de Salud is Wesley’s health center for low-income, uninsured
individuals and families. For more information call 602-252-5609 or go to the
Wesley website.
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Youth Missions
"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an
example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in
purity." 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
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Mission opportunities are a regular part of our youth
ministries and are a great way to give back to others. Currently, the youth at
PVUMC are involved in several mission outreach opportunities, including:
Breakfast Club, Open Table, Compassion International, UMCOR, One Life
Revolution, Center for Student Missions, AMOR Ministries, Rebuilding Together,
UMOM, St. Vincent de Paul, Justa Center, Read to Me, Souper Bowl of Caring, and
others! Thank you, students, for setting an example for the believers! For more
information regarding youth mission opportunities, please contact
John Kouns.
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Youth Missions Scholarship:
Each spring, our high school juniors are given the opportunity to apply for a
$1000 scholarship. The scholarship recipient serves on the Missions Ministry
Team during his or her senior year and helps to lead the youth in their mission
efforts, especially around the big summer mission trips.
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The Souper Bowl of Caring
is a youth-led, grassroots movement of caring . . . the result of thousands of
young people joining together to fight hunger and poverty in their communities.
Since 1990, $33 million has been raised for charities across the country. Every
Super Bowl Sunday, our youth collect a special offering following each Sunday
morning service to raise money to fight hunger.
Our collection from Paradise Valley UMC specifically benefits the Justa Center.
Be a part of the nation's largest youth-led weekend of giving and serving!
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