Mission Activities

The Bridge Board at First United Methodist Church is a partner with Bridge Communities, a non-profit organization with offices in Glen Ellyn whose mission is to:

• Inspire and effect change by advocating for homeless families.
• Provide services and opportunities that connect families to a better future.
• Collaborate with faith-based partners, community groups and businesses to leverage resources and create long-term solutions.
• Lead by example through our innovative programs and grassroots involvement.

Bridge Communities was founded in 1988 by two community volunteers, Mark Milligan and Bob Wahlgren, and has grown to become the largest transitional housing program in DuPage County. The majority of families served are single parents with children, many who are survivors of domestic violence. Through the mentoring program, Bridge provides families with the necessary life skills to function successfully in their community. The two-year program often provides additional training or academic opportunities to increase income and reduce debt.

Bridge Communities depends on partnering with local faith and community groups who sponsor families in housing and provide volunteer mentors to work directly with each family to foster positive change. Additional resources, including employment counseling, case management, and tutoring for children and adults in the program, are provided by the Glen Ellyn Bridge staff.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

The 6th Annual Downers Grove Garden Walk gives you an opportunity to view some of the most beautiful gardens in the area. All proceeds benefit the DGFUMC Bridge Board in providing transitional housing and mentoring for homeless families.

Tickets, at $20 in advance, are available at various Downers Grove locations.

Mision Fronteras (Border Mission) is the name of a mission being undertaken by DGFUMC members, Debbie Rissing and Jeff Wasilevich, in the Lake Titicaca region on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Working in one of the poorest areas of both countries, they will be helping local churches become resource centers providing economic support and other services to the indigenous Aymara and Quechua people. Mision Fronteras was founded in 2009 through a covenant partnership between United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, and the Methodist  bishops of Peru and Bolivia. They will be taking over from Scott and Bev Pressman, from First United Methodist Church of Boise. Visit the Mision Fronteras website for more details and read their blog for regular updates.

The People They Serve

The Lake Titicaca region of southern Peru and western Bolivia is among the poorest in both countries, populated by indigenous Aymara and Quechua, who, hundreds of years ago were members of the same tribe. Though divided by national boundaries, the people continue to share familial and cultural ties. Particularly because their governments provide little or no local human services, the people want to strengthen their local churches and use them as community resource centers – bases to improve their economy and health, and develop sustainable resources.

DuPage P.A.D.S. (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) is an organization that provides emergency housing and other services for more than 1,200 men, women, and children in DuPage County that are homeless. Although their mission is to end homelessness in our neighborhood, one of their principal activities is to coordinate a network of sites to give temporary relief to those in need of shelter.

DGFUMC has been involved in the PADS program for many years, and now hosts PADS every Tuesday night from October to May, providing food and shelter for up to fifty guests. Volunteers from our church coordinate the program and work on the first Tuesday of each month, while other churches and religious organizations work on the remaining weeks. If you wish to be a part of this vital program in our community, please contact Diane Kerr (630-968-7120 x 206).

• More than 800 million people in the world go hungry every day.
• More than 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2 billion lack sanitation.
• In the last 50 years, almost 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation – that’s three times the number of people killed in all wars fought in the 20th century.

The South DuPage CROP Hunger Walk is a 5 km (3.1 mile) walk held annually in October, with participants asking friends and family to sponsor them. The South DuPage community have raised nearly $600,000 over the past 25 years through holding this annual CROP Hunger Walk, which helps to support the grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts of Church World Service (CWS) partner agencies in more than 80 countries. CROP Hunger Walks help to provide tools of hope that empower people to meet their own needs. From seeds and tools, to wells and water systems, to nutrition-enhancing Moringa trees, to technical training and micro-enterprise loans, the key is people working together to identify their own development priorities--something CWS has learned through 58 years of working in partnership around the world.

The mission of the United Methodist Women is to know God and experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.