Posted by: Jill @ 4:41 pm
A Double-clutch Donation - Bob Joyce and Rev. Jim Kinner present a $10,000 check from the Mobile Car Show to the United Methodist Children’s Home.
Submitted by Susan Simonson, Southwest Regional Director, United Methodist Children’s Home
Again, the Christ UMC parking lot was the site for the 2008 Mobile Car Show, an antique car show with proceeds going to our Mobile Delchamps Babies First program. The outstanding support of this organization has resulted in the proceeds doubling from last year’s event.
We wish to thank Marshall Auto Paint and Body Shop for sponsoring this event. Marshall’s owner coordinated and sponsored radio, tv and civic commercials to assure public awareness of this event. The Few Family again provided wonderful grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and drinks, and then donated all proceeds to the Mobile Delchamps Group Home. Working with these tireless volunteers is such a thrill for the staff and residents of Babies First.
A mere “thank you” hardly expresses the gratitude to all volunteers for their weeks of planning which made this event such a success. God bless them.
As the check was shared with residents, staff and volunteers, it was noted this group tithes 10% of all proceeds back to Christ United Methodist Church.
Thank the Lord for blessing the show this year with a total of $10,000!
The Least of These - Mobile Delchamps Group Home supervisor Ellen Hanna holds little resident baby Susan. Proceeds from the 2008 Mobile Car Show benefited the home.
Posted by: Jill @ 2:54 pm
I Have a Hope - An Evening of Sacred Blues benefited the Birmingham Babies First home. Those in attendance at The Genesis Church enjoyed gospel blues from bands from all over the area.
Click here for a photo gallery of this event.
On Friday, June 20, 2008, The Genesis Church in Leeds, Alabama, kicked off its coffeehouse concert series. The event raised $320.00 for Birmingham Babies First, a ministry of the United Methodist Children’s Home.
Musicians from Tennessee, Huntsville and Birmingham performed gospel blues for the crowd. The concert was called “I HAVE A HOPE: An Evening of Sacred Blues.” It featured music from Rick Sutton, Liturgical Autopsy, 2Blu, The Lucky Stiffs, George and the G-Men and George Vinson’s Project 150.
“I went to the blues concert with an open mind Friday night, no real expectations, but with a real appreciation for what Genesis had put together for Babies First,” said Elise Smith, Group Home Supervisor for Birmingham Babies First.
“What actually occurred was a tremendous concert, a church filled with folks having a great time rockin’ out to Great Blues music,” Smith said.
Proceeds from the concert benefited the Birmingham Babies First home. The program helps young mothers and their babies who have nowhere else to go.
“I challenge all of the United Methodist churches to get behind and support ministries like Babies First,” said Rick Sutton who coordinated much of the event and who is a member of Genesis Church. “Our call to be Christ-like in this world demands a commitment to reach out and be there for those in need.”
For more information on the monthly coffeehouse series at The Genesis Church, check out www.thegenesischurch.org.
Posted by: Jill @ 11:00 am
Patsy Willimon (left), wife of North Alabama Conference’s Bishop Will Willimon, presents Ashley Anderson with over $6,500 in gift cards from the conference’s clergy spouses. The donations are for Birmingham Babies First, a home for young mothers and babies run by the United Methodist Children’s Home.
On June 6, 2008, a group of clergy spouses presented Birmingham Babies First, a ministry of the United Methodist Children’s Home, with over $6,500 in gift cards and checks. The United Methodist group was gathered at the North Alabama Annual Conference.
Ashley Anderson, Development Specialist for the United Methodist Children’s Home, accepted the donation. It will benefit the agency’s newest ministry, a home that helps young mothers and their babies.
“It is truly a blessing to know not only are our local churches supporting us, but also the North Alabama conference as a whole,” Anderson said.
As she does with many groups, Anderson also gave a brief presentation to the clergy spouses about the home and how the young moms and babies are doing.
Patsy Willimon helped to organize the event. She presented the gifts on behalf of the local churches throughout the North Alabama Conference.
“We are enjoying, as a group, looking for ways to help raise money for Birmingham Babies First,” Willimon said. “Our Lord himself put children first in his Kingdom.” Willimon is the wife of Bishop Will Willimon of the North Alabama Conference.
The gathering, called Cookies and Conversation, is an annual event for clergy spouses at the North Alabama Annual Conference. Mrs. Willimon added that the spouses have three gatherings a year and plan to make Birmingham Babies First its mission focus at the fall retreat, the luncheon in the spring and again at conference.
The Birmingham Babies First “Hope to Be…” campaign continues through the month of June. Proceeds from the campaign will provide food, clothes, shelter and supportive resources for the young mothers and babies.
Posted by: Jill @ 4:49 pm
The Mission of a Child - Mary Hannah Higgs is pictured with some of the donations that she collected for the United Methodist Children’s Home as part of an enrichment project for school.
In our From the President feature, our President & CEO, Steve Hubbard, shares his insight and experience.
Click here for a photo gallery of this story.
A few weeks ago, Mary Hannah (age 10) started writing via email. She retrieved it off our website. She was working on a school project (4th grade). Her project involved the issues of adoption and foster care.
She chose to specifically earmark UMCH as the subject of her project and the recipient of any donations. She wrote me a number of times and told me that she was adopted. I wrote her back and told her that she was very special to have parents that “chose” her to be their very own.
I also shared with her that I have two young girls that also were adopted and I understood what she was experiencing. I invited her to visit and then didn’t hear from her for a few weeks.
In late April, she wrote me and asked if she could visit the Selma Campus on Friday, May 2. She shared with me that her parents were United Methodist ministers. Mom, Rev. Lonna Higgs, is the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Hoover and her father, Rev. Lawton Higgs, is the Associate Pastor at Bluff Park UMC.
Mary Hannah and her mom arrived for a tour of the Selma Campus that Friday. She wore a special dress and carried her pink notebook to write about her experiences. She toured a girls’ cottage, the Chapel, and one of our Babies First cottages.
She brought with her a number of donations that included stuffed animals, clothing, and toys. She and her mom took pictures and then I took the two of them to lunch to learn more about her commitment to her project. She had received special permission to miss school that day in order to complete her project.
We produced a special certificate for Mary Hannah that highlights her dedication to the children and families that we serve. She said that it was a great surprise when her enrichment teacher, Mrs. Ingleright, presented it to her before the school.
She is a very special little girl with a heart for those that we serve and a supporting family that understands the ministry of the Church.
Steve
