One Great Gift of Service 2008

Many thanks to all who made our One Great Gift of Service double header event a smashing success! On Saturday, April 19 we placed 162 reminders on light switch reminders throughout the church. With those -- and a good followup -- we hope to make a dent in that $10,000 plus electric bill that we ALL help create each month.

We also selected, purchased, delivered,labeled, and distributed 20 blue, desk side recycling containers in offices of clergy and staff.

On Sunday, we hosted the One Great Gift of Service reception in CrossRoads Center. We served environmentally friendly coffee in real cups (no styrofoam today) and did just about everything we could think of to educate folks on the meaning and value of fair trade products.

There was lots of literature from Equal Exchange and even though we decided not to sell fair trade coffee yet, we did encourage people to purchase it through the Equal Exchange web site. Examples of fair trade products including coffee, chocolate, and tea were on display. Videos were rolling: Awakening Your Consciousness from Equal Exchange and one from a lecture by Tom Kimmerer.

The United Methodist Church General Conference Resolution Regarding Use of Fair Trade Coffee was prominently displayed as were materials from the UMCOR Coffee Project.