December Second Saturday Servants
We would like to extend our warmest Christmas greetings to all of the casserole makers and mission servants for your tremendous support throughout the year. As the winter months set in, the need for hot dishes has increased, and we need to count on your help for the Second Saturday Breakfast Program on December 9th and January 13th. Please bring hot casseroles to the church kitchen by 7:45 am. We need more than 14 dishes to fulfill the growing hunger needs of our community. We hope that new cooks will step forward to help us also. Thank you all for your support.
Angel Tree in December
On November 19th, a Christmas tree was set up in the narthex decorated with paper angels that bear the names and gift wishes of children whose parents are incarcerated. You can select one or more angels from the tree, purchase the gift listed, wrap it, and return it to our church by Sunday morning, December 10th. The gifts will be distributed to the children that day by volunteers. This year our church will serve more than 37 children and their parents through the Angel Tree. It can be our way of introducing to them the greatest gift of all, the love of Jesus Christ. On Sunday, December 10th, many volunteers will be needed to help deliver the Angel Tree gifts. Please call Judy Affeldt or the church office with any questions or to volunteer for this wonderful project.
Coins of Love
Our AWANA Clubs will receive Coins of Love in December. In January, we will support Repairers of the Breach Homeless Recovery. Many appreciate your generous support.
October Coins of Love: United Methodist Children’s Services $205.20
November Coins of Love: The Displaced Community of West Allis $203.38
Thanksgiving Special Offering: $2980.25
FILL THE STOCKING ADVENT Mission Project
The Children’s Sunday School classes will be collecting socks for the homeless during Advent again this year. Did you know that socks are the most frequently requested – but least frequently donated – clothing items at homeless shelters? That’s why every Advent Season, FUMCWA collects new socks to benefit homeless people in our community. Please bring new socks for men, women, and children and put them in the large red Christ-mas Stocking in The Gathering Room. Thanks for helping our homeless neighbors right here in our community.
Thanksgiving Basket Ministry
Many thanks to all who helped with food pickup, unloading, box opening, and packing bags as 156 Thanksgiving Food baskets were prepared for distribution on Saturday. A lot of people working together make this ministry happen. By the time the baskets reach their destination, they are not only filled with food but with a big helping of kindness and care.
Wesleyan Congregational Care Team
One of the things that the Care Team values most highly is the role of listening. When meeting with others, we seek to focus on that person and what is being said. We work to truly hear and remain genuinely present vs. tending to distractions or thinking about things in our own lives that we might share. These are good habits, we believe, that can enhance any interaction. In so doing, we communicate nonverbally that the other and their experience are valued; such affirmation can be important to people undergoing a difficult time in their lives or can even boost someone’s day at any time. The members of the Care Team remain open and eager to meet with any church member who might desire encouraging, supportive, compassionate, and confidential contact. Connections can be made by calling the church office or getting in touch with any member: Karen Bolton, Salud, Val Holzman, Laurie Halvorsen, Bonnie Chesky, Donna Wood, Laura Molleson, Tom Bolton, or Julie Bryson.
Morning Glory Ministries
FUMCWA provides missional assistance to Morning Glory Ministries which is a faith-based, volunteer run, non-profit organization. It assists people who are marginalized within various communities of the city of Milwaukee. It also provides practical assistance, support and spiritual guidance for personal growth and stability for individuals and families. FUMCWA provides and serves breakfast every second Saturday of each month. Our church also provides toothbrushes, toothpaste and other toiletries for their hygiene pantry. Our church supports the Larry Under the Bridge ministry by delivering nutritious lunches on Sundays and Mondays to homeless campsites. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
The first ministries the group worked with were United Methodist Children Services, Northcott Neighborhood House, and at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission.
“These opportunities to go out into the world really help us to grow. Of this, I am sure. Second Saturday Servants provides a meaningful way to serve God by serving those in need. Everyone is welcome to participate; you do not have to be a church member. Workers may choose from one or two projects that typically last two to four hours. You can choose from projects that will take place at the church or beyond the church walls in the area.”
-Thomas Bolton
Our Second Saturday Servants now serve in a wide variety of programs that serve the poor. Together, they are making a difference in the lives of those in need. We support the following ministries with hands, our hearts, and our pocketbooks.
Larry Under the Bridge
Learn more about Larry Under the Bridge
Divine Intervention is a collaborative ministry of over 46 intra-faith communities including First United Methodist Church of West Allis. Divine Intervention is spearheaded by Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church. We serve their Larry Under the Bridge ministry once a month.
52 Sundays a year…and now also Mondays, Larry Under The Bridge brings significant bagged dinners and basic supplies to local campers/homeless in our area.
It’s just what we do.
Larry Under the Bridge is a food and encouragement ministry to the homeless in the Bay View area. Significant bagged dinners and basic supplies are delivered to strategic locations near campsites on Sunday evenings every week and now also Mondays. Larry UTB helps 30-50 people each Sunday and Monday night of each week. Each dinner consists of:
- 2 sandwiches
- Granola/breakfast bar
- 2 pieces of fruit
- Cookies or other desert item
- Occasionally chips
- Bottled water
In the summer months juice boxes, Gatorade, and extra waters are given out. Bug spray, camouflaged tarps, and sleeping bags are some of the other items handed out when available.
In the winter months gloves, hats, and long underwear were also supplied to campers. Donated toiletries, socks, underwear, toilet paper are handed out year-round.
Through Larry Under the Bridge we are changing the world, one person at a time!
The homeless who we are coming to know as friends are changing!
Our church members and ministry are changing!
Mineral Street Programs and Services
Learn more about Mineral Street Programs and Services.
We serve once a month in Mineral Street’s Morning Glory program for the homeless.
Repairers of the Breach
Learn more about Repairers of the Breach
We provide regular support for Repairers of the Breach which provides Greater Milwaukee’s only daytime refuge and resource center for homeless adults.
Located at 1335 W. Vliet Street in Milwaukee’s central city, the Repairers of the Breach Center is open from 7AM to 4PM, Monday through Saturday.
Their daytime sanctuary is an empowering place where homeless and at-risk men and women create community and a sense of “ownership” in their center. They work together to find solutions to homelessness using our “constellation” of free resources—all in a nurturing and non-judgmental context emphasizing “homeless helping homeless.”
Northcott Neighborhood House
Learn more about the Northcott Neighborhood House
Thanksgiving Baskets Ministry
Thanksgiving is a time of celebration by sharing our resources with families in need. FUMCWA receives names of families from West Allis elementary schools and from our church members of those who are struggling financially. They are generously offered a turkey and other food needed to prepare a complete Thanksgiving Meal. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
Each November, we distribute Thanksgiving Baskets to marginalized families in West Allis. Each basket includes all that is needed to provide a traditional American Thanksgiving meal: 10 to 12 pound turkey or 3 pound chicken, a 10-pound bag of potatoes, dinner rolls, canned corn, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, pumpkin puree, fresh celery and carrots, stuffing, a powdered drink mix, margarine, a cake mix, sandwich cookies, whipped topping, and a donated non-perishable item.
Fill the Stocking Ministry
The Children’s and Adult Sunday School classes collect socks for the homeless during the Advent season. These socks make a missional difference and are delivered to Morning Glory Ministries, Larry Under the Bridge, and Northcott Neighborhood House. Warm socks create warm hearts. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
Mitten Tree and Socks for the Homeless
These programs collect winter wear for children and socks for the homeless. They are distributed through a charitable organization.
Food Pantry
Annette Intravaia would like to thank Lisa Jagodzinski for the many years she and the young adults from Irving School (since 2013) have filled the bags during the school year. We are grateful for their help. Also, Lisa was one of those involved with the Food Pantry since its beginning. She and Barb Thode purchased the food that went in the bags at that time. Jenny Rutter does this for us now, many thanks to Jenny. During COVID we will be set up in the parking lot. If inclement weather, food will be dispersed through the back doors. Thank you to all who continue to bring large handled bags, food, and personal care items. Body wash and shampoo are always needed. However, anything you bring will be accepted and appreciated! Blessings to all of you for your continued support!
Our Food Pantry is possible because of the generous donations from our church members and from the West Allis community. This helps our church connect with people in the neighborhood for the purpose of feeding them and connecting them to the love of Christ. It creates a positive presence for our church in the community. The Food Pantry is held in our church on the second and fourth Wednesdays each month. This West Allis community outreach is for people who need groceries and personal care items. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
Our Food Pantry is located at our church, 7520 W. Lapham St., West Allis. We are here to serve persons with an emergent food need. To be eligible for help from the pantry persons must have proof of residence in West Allis.
The Pantry hours are as follows:
Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Recipients receive 2 bags of food plus optional food and personal care items. Between 10 and 30 family units are served each time. For Pantry Information call 414-774-5500 (church phone).
Angel Tree
Every child has a story. For 2.7 million American children, that story is filled with the abandonment, loneliness, and shame that come from having a mom or dad in prison. For many, it may also include following their parents down the same destructive road to incarceration.
Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, reaches out to the children of inmates and their families with the love of Christ. This unique program gives us an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners. A Christmas tree is decorated with angels that have the name and pertinent information about a child of an incarcerated parent. Those who take an angel from the tree give a desired Christmas gift to the child through Prison Fellowship.
In Milwaukee and hundreds of other American cities this Christmas, forgotten victims of crime will receive gifts from people they’ve never met. These victims are the children of men and women in prison. They will benefit through Prison Fellowship Angel Tree, a program sponsored by Prison Fellowship, an interdenominational Christian outreach, and FUMC of West Allis.
Select one or more angel gift tags from the tree. The gifts need to be purchased, wrapped, and returned to church.
United Methodist Children’s Services [UMCS]
UMCS values dignity, potential, and worth of each individual and creates a nurturing environment and sense of community in which miracles do happen. Through housing, childcare, resources, and community engagement, UMCS acts as a stepping stone for families on their way towards stability. Their Family Resource Center focuses on helping families with several needs including emergency foodbank, clothing bank, hygiene products, access to food share and other resources. FUMCWA partners with the Wisconsin Annual Conference in supporting UMCS through our Apportionment giving also known as “Connectional Giving.” UMCS, Northcott Neighborhood House, and Harbor House are supported by our Apportionment. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.