Children's Sabbath

Yesterday at Orange UMC, we observed Children's Sabbath, an annual observance started by the United Methodist Women (UMW) in order to draw attention to the needs of children in our churches and communities. We had the elementary-aged kids sing a song and talked a lot about how to let the little children come to Jesus

Orange broadened the scope of Children's Sabbath to include children around the world, highlighting two organizations: ZOE Ministry and Compassion International.

ZOE stands for Zimbabwe Orphan Endeavor, started in the Methodist Church and has expanded to encompass missions not only in Zimbabwe but also in Rwanda, Zambia and Kenya. OUMC has sent a number of medical mission teams to Zimbabwe over the years, most recently at the beginning of 2010. I recently learned that you don't have to be medically trained to go on a trip. Hmmmm. :)

Compassion International is a group about which Gary Mitchell, my boyfriend and the Pathways worship leader at OUMC, is very passionate. Compassion works with and through local churches around the globe to connect children with sponsors, provide them with food, clothing, education, Bible study, training and more. Gary and I each sponsor 2 children through Compassion, and this past June Gary traveled to El Salvador to meet Karen, his sponsored child there (learn more about his visit here).

Children's Sabbath came on the heels on OUMC's annual Harvest Festival, a big missions fundraising event that includes food and games, crafts and vendors, a yard sale, an auction and more. The proceeds from that event go to support missions at OUMC, including ZOE.

As part and parcel of his presentation of Compassion, Gary set up a table where people could give a one-time donation or sponsor a child. Yesterday was also Compassion Sunday, where churches could highlight the work on Compassion and make a push for sponsors. 11 new sponsors picked up packets for children from all around the world yesterday. Awesome.

We ended up showing several videos throughout worship to show the congregation more about what ZOE and Compassion do--here's a short one I put together to show a few facts about child poverty: