Providing Weekend Food for Kids Who Would Not Have Any

BPUMC also supports the NE Tacoma Healthy Kids Coalition Program which is focused on providing healthy weekend meals to students in need in our community. The idea is simple: a two-day supply of easy-to-prepare food is sent home with eligible students every Friday in their backpacks to ensure they have healthy meals throughout the weekend.

The Backpack Program was started by a mother in this community several years ago and is now in partnership with staff and PTAs from Crescent Heights Elementary, NE Tacoma Elementary, Browns Point Elementary, and Meeker Middle School, along with additional community partners.

Browns Point Church organizes food drives, puts backpacks together and provides financial support.

Keeping the Electricity On for Heat and Light.

BPUMC keeps an emergency fund called ACTS which is based on the Bibical verse "and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need." This mission supports folks who come to us in time of urgent need. Many people have used these funds for challenges such as preventing their electricity from being turned off or eviction from their home.

How does our ACTS 2:45 donations help - gas cards, helping a disabled veteran pay off some of his electric bill, providing food for families who do not attend the Nourish Food Bank. 

If you would like to donate to the Acts 2:45 account to help our brothers and sisters in need of rental assistance, paying down electric and phone bills and other issues that arise, please note on your offering Acts 2:45. We are so grateful to this amazing congregation for their extravagant generosity. 

Serving Over 300 Families Each Month

My Sister's Pantry serves hot meals as well as distributing groceries and clothing. Since opening its doors to the community in 1999, My Sister's Pantry has become one of the busiest food banks in the Tacoma area. The Pantry serves an average of 350 families per month and annually distributes approximately 125,000 pounds of food.

Browns Pt UMC supports My Sister' Pantry with financial gifts and volunteerism.  

Habitat's Vision - A World Where Everyone Has A Decent Place to Live

BPUMC has participated in a build for more than 5 years by either making sandwiches for students who arrive for a build every spring break or picking up a hammer and paint brush and getting in the trenches. 

Vicki & Paul B. said "we worked hard but we enjoyed it and will do it again! We set up scaffolding & painted the eaves of a house. It was fun working with people from our church plus the opportunity to meet new people." 

Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is anchored by the conviction that housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat has helped more than 4 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and supports a variety of funding models that enable families with limited resources to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit Christian housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer visit habitat.org.

Loose Change Changing the World

The kids love 'Change for Children' and we use it as a way to teach them about helping others. On the second and fourth Sunday of each month, the children collect a change offering from the congregation during worship.

Each year, they discuss and vote on what mission organizations they want to support with “their money”. These are examples of missions they chose. 

• The Heifer Project    
  
• My Sisters Pantry     
  
• UMCOR                    
  
• Imagine No Malaria  
  
• Nouish Food Bank    

The children have fun as they walk amongst the congregation with their collection bowls. The adults call to the kids "over here, over here". They enjoy interacting with the kids while filling their bowls with change. The added benefit is that it supports missions. It's a win win for everyone!

Growing good food for our food bank

We have a food bank garden at church! All the produce grown will be harvested to bless the Nourish Food Bank Families. We are currently growing green beans and zucchini. All are welcome to come work in the garden. 

"I have seen God’s unconditional love change lives."

Here is Dick P.'s story. "Some time ago I was asked to volunteer for a ministry I knew nothing about. It was a prison ministry called Kairos. After much persuading, and acknowledging that I had nothing special to offer, I finally said OK. That was 24 years ago." 

"So why do I keep going back to prison? I found out that one doesn’t need “special” skills. Our Kairos charge is to “Listen, Listen, Love, Love”."

"As a result I have seen God’s unconditional love change lives. Just to name a few examples, I have seen:

• a gang leader turn his life over to God
  
• an inmate shared that as a result of the Kairos weekend he had called his mother whom he hadn’t talked to for nine years and she thought he was dead
  
• an avowed white racist hugging a black man after they had been together in a small group on a Kairos weekend"
  

"We close each Kairos event with the song, “Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place”. I keep going back because I have no doubt that surely God is in that place."

Kairos Prison Ministry is an international organization conducting three day movement programs for people serving in prisons. Attendees of all faiths are welcome. The Kairos program currently operates in more than 350 prisons worldwide with more than 170,000 inmates attending the program.

New and Warm Hats, Scarves, Socks and Gloves for the Homeless. 

Nativity House is operated by Catholic Community Services and provides a daytime shelter and community center for people experiencing homelessness. Meals, clothing, toiletries, referrals to social services and more are also provided. 

Each November, Browns Pt UMC participates in their Outreach Program by providing new and warm hats, scarves, socks and gloves for the homeless. 

NE Tacoma is a summer meal site. Many kids do not have lunch food once they are out of school for the summer.

Browns Point UMC provided summer lunch for all kids in our community age 18 and under during August on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Supporting Our Teachers

Browns Point UMC prepares Bags of Blessings for our local teachers at Browns Point Elementary to show that we care for them and send them goodwill through out the school year. 

The bags are filled with any thing we can think of that might give them a smile, a tasty snack, or simple supplies like pens, pencils, and post it notes.