Vol. 25 No.4
News & Events Turn in your Followership Card! It’s not too late to turn in your Followership cards. Turn in your card by mailing it to the church, dropping it off in the church office, or going to www.frazerumc.org. The Longest Night SERVICE DEC. 21 -Held on the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, this unique night of worship on Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. in the East Sanctuary is open to all but is especially designed for those who have experienced some grief, loss or brokenness that makes the Christmas holidays an emotionally difficult time of year. Come and rediscover the joy of Christ in the midst of suffering, our hope in the longest of nights. Christmas Eve Communion, Candlelight Services -Communion will be offered “come and go” from 12 to 2 p.m. in the Sanctuary on Christmas Eve. Candlelight Worship will be offered at 5 p.m. in the Sanctuary and 7 p.m. in Wesley Hall. A nursery (0-3) will be available for both candlelight services; children are invited and encouraged to join in these family worship events. Come and invite a friend! SPECIAL OFFERING FOR TRANSFORM MONTGOMERY- Last year, Frazer witnessed a “Christmas Miracle” when money was raised in a single night t build a church for the deaf community in Haiti. This year, we invite the congregation to once again make an offering on Christmas Eve, this time to fund the next phase in our Transformation Montgomery project in Garden Square. Our vision is to turn a nearby commercial building into a “Transformation Center” to provide a base from which to serve the entire neighborhood in life-changing ways. More information will be available soon. We ask for you to pray about how God may be leading you to give to this project above and beyond your faithful regular giving. More events & a nn o u nc e m e n t s pa g e 2 M o n t h ly C a l e n d a r Pa g e 3
www.frazerumc.org
December 2012
Frazer family celebrates the season by giving to others Staff Reports God has been working in the hearts of our Frazer family to give to the needs of children this Christmas season. Through a variety of donations and special collections, Frazer is working to share the love of Christ with children both here in our community and around the world. In November, Frazer collected 1,295 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. These shoeboxes, filled with small gifts and personal hygiene products, will be shipped to orphans and needy children all around the world, through Samaritan’s Purse. Frazer’s Children’s Ministry collected 426 pairs of pajamas during their Pajama Party for Jesus, Dec. 2. New pajamas were purchased and collected to give to children at Father Walter’s and Father Purcell’s here in Montgomery, and also to give to sick children at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. All 150 Angel Tree tags for local foster care children were covered by the Frazer family the very first week they were made available. Gifts will be collected the week of Dec. 8 and 9 and then delivered to the Alabama Department of Human Resources to distribute to foster children in the Montgomery area. Frazer’s ONEFamily initiative is sponsoring this year’s Angel Tree collection. Continued page 4
Photo by LEE WERLING
Molly Mitchell helps decorate a Christmas tree in the East Sanctuary on Nov. 28. Dozens of volunteers spread throughout the church that Sunday for the annual “Hanging of the Greens.”
Mission team visits Kenya orphanage founded by Frazer member
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
A mission team from Frazer visited the Mescal’s Children’s Center of Hope in Kenya in August. The orphanage was founded by Frazer member Ruth Owuor. Team members included Charlotte Robertson, Steve Robertson, Jonathan Robertson, Mark Griffin, Susan Allen and Gabriela Maxcy.
By Dr. Martha Poole Simmons News Staff Writer
A mission team from Frazer traveled to Kima, Kenya in August to visit the Mescal’s Children’s Center of Hope (MCCH) where 28 orphan boys and girls and boys and girls ranging in age from 3-15 years old have a home and refuge. Charlotte Robertson, Steve Robertson, Jonathan Robertson, Mark Griffin, Susan Allen and Gabriela Maxcy made this incredible, inspirational journey and returned home with vivid memories of a country with ex-
treme poverty in a rural area with no industry. At MCCH, children are nurtured by Ruth Owuor, the Founder of MCCH and a Frazer member, and her family. These children come from various backgrounds. Many are the victims from losing parents and family members from AIDS. Some have been abused, and some have placed by relatives unable to care for them. The children had few clothes—one pair of pajamas each— no toys, no books, and no pillows for sleeping. There is no running water or electricity where the children stay, and cooking is done over a wood fire. But these are happy, loving children because they have three things, namely, safety, a place to sleep, three meals a day, and they are loved. The mission team gave each child a toy and new clothes. Ruth Owuor, who lived in the U.S. for 15 years before returning to Kenya in March, to run MCCH, is deeply committed to nurturing these children, protecting them, and raising them to become productive citizens of Kenya. Her vision is that these 28 children will grow up to be such citizens, return to Kima and help the children who are then in the orphanage. The children attend public school up to the eighth grade, at the end of which, an exam is given. If a child fails, there is no further education—no vocational schools or technical schools. There is an auto mechanics class taught at the Church of God mission and Ruth’s husband is working on starting a tailoring school, but educational or job training opportunities for those who fail the exam are basically non-existent. Continued page 5