December 2007  "Reaching Up and Reaching Out"  Fairlawn West United Church of Christ

Dear Friends in Christ,

God has given us a purpose as Fairlawn West United Church of Christ.  That purpose it to live as the presence of Christ in the world.  That is an awesome mission.  It doesn't mean being superior to others.  It does mean taking on the humility, vulnerability, giftedness and responsibility of God's call given us now.

Over the past decade Fairlawn West has focused on being a place where people who are hurting can find love, healing and hope.  We have focused on providing settings of community for people who want to grow spiritually.  We have focused on not only giving money to folks who are hurting, but to enable more of us to give more of ourselves in service to those who are hurting.

Thus through the many 12 Step recovery meetings that use our building, the Fairlawn West preschool for children of our community, being leaders with and a host church for Interfaith Hospitality Network which houses homeless families, being leaders and a majority of workers for the Williard Food Pantry and the major fund raiser for the pantry, being part of a coalition of area churches that build a Habitat for Humanity house annually, hosting the only Kids Hope USA ministry in northeast Ohio where we provide mentors/tutors for young children at our neighbor Judith A. Resnik Community Learning Center (elementary school), through getting the supplies and hosting the assembling of Christmas gift bags for people needing community in light of their mental illness through Community Support Services, and through many day to day requests for assistance both financial through our Acts of Kindness Fund/AOK and just plain listening and trying to help folks from off the street...we are fulfilling that mission.  Our building has become a vital setting for healing, nurturing and loving...as God invites us to do in Christ...for the world around us.  Thus, we are looking at ways to try to reduce our growing energy costs as well as to simply be responsive as responsible environmental stewards of our resources with this building. 

Through the Outreach Mission portion of our budget we reach out even wider through the United Church of Christ's Our Church's Wider Mission which literally is sharing the loving, healing presence of Christ around the world.  And in these days before Christmas our younger children are doing a number of projects to raise money to sends chicks through Heifer International to help families with children around the world to be more self-sufficient in income and their own food...as well as the Advent Conspiracy which is to pay for every drink of water we take until Christmas to provide sanitary water around the world where polluted water is the greatest cause of disease.

Through small groups based in our own settings, through Bible reading groups at Miller Ave UCC in south Akron and the food court at Summit Mall, through worship in different styles and with vibrant and worshipful music, through SOAPing Bible journaling groups, through classes for children and nursery for younger children on Sundays, and through 12 Step based Christian spiritual support and study groups, we are encouraging and nurturing us as disciples and apostles of Jesus Christ to grow and mature in our faith and mission.

We encourage you to prayerfully consider two things in light of this common mission we share as Fairlawn West:

1) to make a special end of the year offering for our 2007 local mission and outreach mission budget

2) to make a pledge for our 2008 Local Mission/Outreach Mission budget.

This is not a "you" invitation.  It is a "we" mission.  We are the body of Christ together.  The act of giving an offering is at its heart an act of spiritual discipline.  It is not simply charity, but part of our own growth and our worship of God. Where we use our money is where our heart is.  Fairlawn West is a heart filled body of Jesus Christ.  We invite ourselves to be givers from the heart.

By the grace of Jesus Christ,

The Leadership Team of Fairlawn West/Cabinet
Tom Ghinder, Mary Austin, John Gosset, Kate Loar, Paul Richert
David Loar, Pastor