What we still need for our holiday dinner package (Updated 12/16/10)

This last Sunday, thanks to generous donations from Shirley, Emily, Judy, Helen, and Carolyn at FUMC, we are well on our way to collecting food for at least two families in need in Tucson! Thank you!

Here is what we have collected so far:

1 20-lb frozen turkey
2 boxes of instant mashed potatoes
2 boxes of stuffing
3 cans of green beans
2 cans of cranberry sauce
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of salt and pepper shakers
4 bottles of sparkling cider

Other items that we still need are listed in my previous post. We will purchase whatever we are missing in mid-December. Lujet will help us identify a couple families in need that could really use these during this holiday season. Thank you all for your generosity and kindness for the cause!

Compiling a holiday meal for a family in need (Updated 12/6/10)

Yesterday I had so many things on my list for our group to talk about and do. But you know what? A funny thing happened. I put the inquiry out there among the youth, asking what they would like to do for the upcoming seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Before I knew it, the youth were off and running with wonderful ideas to help families in need this year. We ended up spending the whole time talking about just that.

So, this year, the youth have decided they would like to compile a whole holiday meal for any Tucson family, of any faith, in need. We will plan to go out shopping together sometime over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here is our wish list. If you have any of these non-perishable items stashed away in your pantry and you think you may not use them, please feel free to bring them to the office at First United Methodist Church (915 E. 4th Street, Tucson):

Instant mashed potatoes (received 2)
Canned green beans (received 3)
French's french-fried onions
Cream of mushroom soup (received 2)
Canned cranberry sauce (received 2)
Boxes of stuffing (received 2)
Sparkling cider
Chicken/Turkey/Beef stock to make gravy
Salt and pepper (received 1)
Turkey baster
Large roasting pan

Other items we are putting together for the perishable items in the meal:

Rain check for turkey or ham from a local grocery store (received 1 frozen)
Rain check for butter
Rain check for dinner rolls
Rain check for apple, pumpkin, or other kinds of pies

Finally, if you have any favorite holiday recipes, please feel free to share those with us on a note card to include in the meal package.

Thanks Everybody!

Celebrating Dia de los Muertos

On Sunday, October 24th, the youth spent some time creating Day of the Dead artwork for the glass display case next to the social hall at FUMC. For those of you who are not familiar with Day of the Dead, it is a Mexican holiday for remembering loved ones who have died. It occurs on November 2nd every year. It is a day of celebration and is closely tied to the Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. People bring marigolds, sugar skulls, and drinks to the graves of the loved ones. It is widely celebrated in the southwestern U.S. as well as in Mexico. We will continue our Day of the Dead theme on Sunday, October 31st, with some pan de muertos (bread of the dead) and more art projects to add to the display. Come see it when it is finished! I will post pictures, as well.

To learn more about the All Souls' Procession in Tucson, please visit:
www.allsoulsprocession.org

VA Hospital Chaplain Mel Brinkley speaks to youth about Afghanistan

On Sunday, October 10th, Youth in Action had the honor of hosting Chaplain Mel Brinkley as a guest speaker! Mel served as a Chaplain for our troops in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. He flew from base to base, serving troops all around the country. He shared with us his personal experiences, photographs, his personal loss of 6 men in his unit in a helicopter crash, and his view on the importance of Greg Mortenson’s work in building schools in the country. Our hour with Mel was a perfect fit to our current youth activities, including our reading of Three Cups of Tea together. Mel shared with us some history between the U.S. and Afghanistan and the complex relationship between our two countries that began when the U.S. aided Afghanistan in what would become a 10-year conflict with the Soviet Union (starting in 1979). We reflected on why it was so important to get an education, and how education can promote peace. With respect to Greg Mortenson’s work, in particular, we talked about the education of young women and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan and what their education means for the future of the these two countries.

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Mel for visiting us and sharing his personal experiences during his time in Central Asia!

Planning the First Annual FUMC Interfaith Community Picnic

On Sunday, Oct 3rd, in addition to our normal discussion of Three Cups of Tea, we also talked about common stories and prophets that are shared among the Bible, Koran, and the Torah. And in this spirit of learning about other faiths, and our interest in interfaith collaboration and friendships with our other local congregations, the youth are organizing and hosting a community picnic in Tucson! Our hope is that many of our own congregation at FUMC will come together with our Muslim, Jewish, and other faithful neighbors over good food and fun at a local park on a refreshing and cool Saturday afternoon this Fall. The official date will be announced once we determine our budget and an ideal location for such an event. Stay tuned for future blog posts to find out more!

Bake Sale/Silent Auction a success!

Well, today the youth held their bake sale/silent auction during the corn roast at FUMC. It was a big success! Almost all the items sold, and for more than their starting bid price, at that! All in all, the youth raised $170 to send to UMCOR to help flood victims in Pakistan. The efforts they put toward this event were fantastic. They made brownies, an origami flower arrangement, a needlepoint bookmark, lots and lots of cookies, and even made a beautiful painting of a classic car. Our youth are not only enthusiastic, but they are talented. Many of our parents also contributed to the event with homemade banana bread, cake, pie, and cupcakes. Thank you to all who participated and purchased these goods, and for supporting FUMC and UMCOR's effort to aid Pakistani flood victims!

Raising money for Pakistan flood vicitms

On Sunday, September 26th, we are planning to hold a small bake sale/silent auction in the FUMC social hall to raise funds to help flood victims in Pakistan (through UMCOR). Our youth will be baking or crafting their own creations and services for this event. The auction will take place during our corn roast after church. Come see what our youth have created for this event!

Meeting our Muslim Neighbors

I did something on Friday night, September 3rd, 2010 that I can honestly say left me feeling nothing but hope for the future. In an effort to build relationships with other faiths in our community, so that we can pave the way for our youth to build their own relationships and friendships this year, my family and I attended an Iftar at the Islamic Center of Tucson. Many of us from First United Methodist Church attended.

For those of you who don’t know what an Iftar is, it is the breaking of the fast during Ramadan in the Islamic faith. During Ramadan, which is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, people fast all day long from sunrise to sunset. It is a time of purifying oneself for God and to offer prayer. It is a time to learn about patience, and a time to become more spiritually aware.

On Friday night, I was welcomed warmly. I met some wonderful people and feel like I may have even made some future friends. One was a woman who recently converted to Islam last month. She has been studying it for years and has maintained several good Muslim friends through the years. I met another woman who was a new mother of a 2-year-old. We shared similar experiences and stories about life with young children, how we are often feeling starved for adult conversation, how it feels to take time off work (whether we miss it or not), and how our husbands don't often understand what it is like to spend all day every day with a young child.

Most importantly, I felt a connection with the people that I met on a personal, human level, rather than a disconnect between faiths.

And now, several days later, the prospect of a future relationship with our Muslim neighbors and friends feels strong and fresh and positive in my mind. I know now that it was not just a fleeting thought from the momentum on Friday night.

This is an opportunity to show the world that we can work and live together, that we can build relationships and friendships, and that we can rise above the constant background chatter about the impossibilities of different faiths working toward a common goal. I'm more than excited to make the next step with our youth. I can't wait for them to discover how our beliefs in God, our spirituality, and our humility can be strengthened in this experience.

What we are about

Welcome to Youth in Action! We are a youth group headquartered at First United Methodist Church in Tucson, Arizona. Youth in Action is all about:

1) using our faith, spirituality, prayer, and sharp minds to work on environmental, social, and scientific issues that human-kind is faced with;

2) learning about and working with youths of other faiths toward common goals;

3) understanding that youth, no matter the age, can make a positive difference in the world through even the smallest actions.

Throughout the year we'll be blogging about our progress and learning how spirituality, prayer, and activism can co-mingle and rocket your passion into action! 

Hopefully we'll be doing other things like making podcast(s), learning how to write small grants for funds toward causes of interest, getting the word out to other youth in the community, working on a website, learning how to communicate effectively, and understanding the REAL power of collective prayer. We'll keep you posted on our activities and outcomes!

-AKH