The Outreach Committee provides opportunities for our church to participate in ministries that reach out to our local community, the nation and the world. We support United Methodist ministries as well as many local charitable organizations, such as Public Action to Deliver Shelter (P.A.D.S.), the West Suburban Community Pantry, the South DuPage CROP Walk and our sister congregation, Lincoln UMC. We also organize holiday food box drives during Thanksgiving and the Holiday season.
Click here to learn more about our Monthly Outreach Offering
United Methodist Change the World Day
Join with United Methodists across the nation on Saturday, May 19, 2012 as we volunteer to change the world.
We will be volunteering for two hour shifts at the Woodridge Rotary Recycling Extravaganza Saturday, May 19th at Cypress Cove between 7:30am and 12:30pm. We will need volunteers to direct traffic, hand out flyers and help with collections. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Debbie Wordinger at 630 985-4977.
In addition to volunteering on the morning of May 19th, we will also collect items for anyone who cannot make their donation on the actual day of the event. We will have boxes in the church to collect your items. Please call the church office at 630-968-6050 before dropping off any large items. We will see that your donations are delivered the day of the event.
Electronics: TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cameras, computers/laptops, copiers, electronic keyboards, microwaves, mice, modems, monitors, PDAs, printers, projection devices, audio and video equipment (no video cassettes and discs), scanners, radios, speakers (not wood), stereos, telephones and zip drives, cords/chargers of all sizes. No Large appliances (refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves) or smoke detectors.
Clothing: hats, gloves, shoes, boots.
Books: records, compact disks.
Sports equipment, games, toys
Kitchen goods: utensils, plates, pots/pans.
Hand tools and small power tools
Domestics: linens, curtains, blankets
Lead Acid Batteries: car, motorcycle, boat, lawn mower, truck, sump pump, RV and all sport vehicle batteries
Scrap metal: old swing sets, fences, posts
Musical Instruments
Propane Tanks
Document Shredding: 3 boxes or bags per car
Other items: old bicycles or bicycle parts, ink jet cartridges, cell phones, eye glasses, American Flags, buttons from clothes, keys, gym shoes, fire extinguishers.
Dessert with Missionaries from Zambia
All are invited to Woodridge UMC Wednesday evening, May 30th at 7:30pm for dessert and an opportunity to meet Tshala Mwengo and Betty Tshala, General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) missionaries to Zambia. Tshala and Betty will present a program describing their work at the Mujila Falls Agricultural Project and Research Centre. A reception will follow, where all will have an opportunity to visit with our UMC GBGM missionaries and enjoy some dessert.
It is especially exciting to have Tshala visit, since he is a graduate of Africa University, the visionary United Methodist college which is so important for training Africa's leaders and which was founded and is supported by UMC apportionments. Tshala has a degree in agriculture, which he is using to help the Lunda-Ndembu people transition from subsistence farming to modern, small-scale, low-cost, sustainable agriculture. Betty, a nurse, with post-graduate work in hospital administration teaches nutrition, so important for an region where people lack nutritional and hygiene knowledge.
This program and reception is a wonderful opportunity for you to personally meet with a GBGM missionary couple and to learn about the wonderful work being done in Zambia on behalf of all United Methodist. They have an exciting story to tell that everyone should hear.
More information about Tshala Mwengo (Advance #15093Z), Betty Tshala (Advance #15167Z) and the Mujila Falls Agricultural Project and Research Centre (Advance #15016A) is available online at the General Board of Global Ministries web site (www.umcmission.org).
Above Picture: Tshala Mwengo and his wife Betty Tshala, UMC GBGM missionaries at the Mujula Falls Agriculture Research and Training Center, along with their sons Lans and Shone.
Volunteer Tutors Wanted
Our sister church in Joliet, Trinity UMC, is seeking volunteers for its summer tutoring program for neighborhood children. The program will run for seven week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from June 19 through August 2. Volunteers are needed for all grades up to eighth. No previous experience is necessary. The “summer school” program will be at Trinity UMC in Joliet, which is conveniently located near I-80, just a short drive down I-355. If you are unable to commit to being a full time tutor, consider being a substitute. If you would like to learn more or are interested in volunteering for all or part of the time, contact Wally Calaway (630-910-1179 or wcalaway@sbcglobal.net).
Trinity UMC VBS Planned – Can You Help?
Our sister church in Joliet, Trinity UMC, will hold its Vacation Bible School (VBS) the week of June 11-14 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. For several years we have donated our VBS materials to Trinity. This year we would also like to help them run their program. Can you volunteer? Whether you participated in our own VBS or not, your help would be greatly appreciated. Youth and teens from Woodridge UMC are also invited to participate in Trinity's VBS. It is a wonderful opportunity for a cross cultural experience. If you would like to learn more or are interested in volunteering or participating for all or part of the time, contact Wally Calaway (630-910-1179 or wcalaway@sbcglobal.net).
Adult Mission Trip
On Friday, July 20, 2012, we will be volunteering at the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, IL. The tentative plan is to travel to Chatham on Thursday, July 19th and stay overnight in Chatham, volunteer at the center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday the 20th, stay overnight on the 20th and then tour Springfield, IL on Saturday the 21st before returning home. If you are interested, please sign up in the Narthex today. Signing up today will indicate your interest so we can invite you to the planning session. We will hold a meeting in a couple of weeks to plan the trip and would love your input!
Skills the center is looking for include: Sorting, counting & packing kits; lawn & grounds maintenance; folding brochures, stuffing envelopes, labeling & stamping. Also needed are people with sewing skills to make the kit bags.
SPACE IS LIMITED! We are limited to a team of 10 volunteers, so sign up soon!
Hygiene Kits Wanted
Have you ever felt helpless in the face a natural disaster such as tornadoes, floods and hurricanes? Here is a simple hands-on project for your family which can help persons caught up in a natural disaster close by or on the other the world. Church World Service (CWS) will be collecting various disaster kits at the Northern Illinois Annual Conference in June. The Outreach Committee is encouraging our church members to assemble Health Kits to donate to CWS. In the face of natural disasters, violence or grinding poverty, Church World Service (CWS) Hygiene Kits can mean the difference between sickness and health for struggling families. Kits will be stored in a CWS warehouse so that they can be immediately shipped where and when they are needed. To participate, follow the directions below and drop off your kit or kits in the designated box in the narthex on or before Sunday, June 3rd.
To assemble a Hygiene Kit you will need the following:
- One hand towel measuring approximately 16” x 28” (no fingertip or bath towels)
- One washcloth
- One wide-tooth comb
- One nail clipper
- One bar of soap (bath size in wrapper)
- One toothbrush (in original packaging)
- Six standard size band-aids
Place all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure, remove excess air from bag and seal. (Please do not add toothpaste to the Hygiene Kit! Cartons of toothpaste that have an extended expiration date will be added to Hygiene Kit shipments just prior to shipment.
Trinity United Methodist Church, Our Sister Church in Joliet
For the past two years Woodridge United Methodist has been developing a relationship with Trinity United Methodist. These are the things we did to assist our friends in Christ at Trinity in the past year:
- Filled and Delivered Easter baskets for the children of the church
- Donated and delivered 20 food boxes at both Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Donated and delivered 20 hams and turkeys at both Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Had five people from our church participate in a six week summer tutoring program
- Sent our Vacation Bible School materials to Trinity after our program was over
- Donated tables and chairs to their kindergarten
- Located a projector that was donated for use during their services
- From our February Outreach collection we sent $900 to Trinity and their food pantry (Ridgewood Community Ministries).
What opportunities are coming up to continue our involvement? February’s Outreach will be divided between two neighborhood Methodist community services: Humboldt Park Social Services in Chicago and Ridgewood United Community Ministries at Trinity.
Children's Book and School Supplies Collection for the Philippines
First Box Shipped – Thank You!
Our church's collection of children's books and school supplies is going great. We have now shipped our first box to the Philippines. It went to Dugo UMC in memory of Emma Tolentino, Henry Tolentino's wife. Thank you! The collection is an ongoing project. The next box will go to Victoria UMC. During our church's 2011 UM mission trip, our team visited this church and the elementary school which it operates. The children we met were so sweet and the teachers so dedicated. The school is doing so much with so little. Your donations will mean so much for the children. Victoria UMC is located near where the family of Elias Lucas grew up. Please place your donations in the clear box in the narthex. Thank you so much. Just a little goes a long way in the Philippines. See members of the Outreach Committee for more information and details.
Wanted Health Professionals
The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) of the United Methodist Church (UMC) would like to compile an e-mail list of medical professionals who might be interested in volunteer opportunities. There is no obligation, but if you have a medical background and would like to know what volunteer opportunities might be available now or in the future, send your e-mail address to Carol Meynen, M.D. at cmeynen@comcast.net.
Support UMC missions and ministries through prayer
The Outreach Committee asks that you pray for a church and a missionary each month.
During the month of May, please pray for:
- Jane and Larry Kies (lkies@africau.ac.zw), UMC missionaries to Zimbabwe
- Bonfal UMC,Philippines, home church of the Viernes family