CROP Hunger Walk Update

The 2011 East Valley CROP Hunger Walk was a tremendous success...and FCC Scottsdale was a huge part of it!

By my unofficial tally I would say that this year's CROP Hunger Walk was at least twice as big as last years, and I'm hearing rumors that FCC Scottsdale had the largest continent of folks there!

We had at least 30 members from our congregation walking in the CROP Hunger Walk this year, and several members of our church had prominent roles in the days events.

• Melissa W. provided the rice and beans that Julie E. and the DWM ladies served up for the Hunger Picnic. 
• Al B. provided beautiful music before the walk, and greeted us when we got back with even more music! 
• Daryl M. helped kick us off with a lovely discussion on "Why we walk."

 It was a great day, and I'm glad that our church was a part of it. Here are some photos from the day's events.

Al leading the music.

 Look at all these FCC-er's at the CROP Walk!

 Check out the line at the Registration Table!

Daryl M. on "Why We Walk"

The Days total raised for Church World Service!

If you would like to Help CROP Stop Hunger it is not too late! You can still donate online at www.crophungerwalks.org/eastvalley

Newsbrief: CROP Hunger Walk

CROP Hunger Walk 2010

Wear a pair of comfortable walking shoes to church this Sunday.

That’s right, it is time for the East Valley CROP Hunger Walk!

You can help Church World Service work to end hunger in the world one step at a time by being a part of the East Valley CROP Hunger Walk.

Here are all the different ways you can be a part of the CROP Hunger Walk.

• You can walk! There will be a big group of CROP Hunger Walkers going from FCC Scottsdale. We’ll pray over them in worship before they head out and we’d love to have you with us!

• You can sponsor a walker! Or multiple walkers for that matter! Our Youth Group is participating in the CROP Hunger Challenge. At their weekend Church Camp Retreat they were challenged to come up with as many sponsors as they can. The Youth Group that collects the most sponsors will receive a special prize from Church World Services (note: that is total number of people sponsoring them, not the total dollar amount raised). Won’t you help push our Youth Group over the top while helping to support the important work of Church World Services!

• You can come out to El Dorado Park! Even if you don’t want to walk you can come and be a part of the festivities. There will be Hunger Picnic before the walk (a simple bowl of rice and beans, lovingly prepared by our very own Melissa Wise, to remind us to stand in solidarity with the hungry of the world). And, Al Beasley will be providing music!

• You can wear your tennis shoes to church on Sunday! Put on your Sunday best and then finish off the look with a pair of sneakers! Come to worship and pray, sing, and support your church as we work together with Church World Services to help CROP stop hunger! And if can’t be there on Sunday…

•  …Support our CROP Walk Team online! Learn more about the Walk and support our team by visiting http://www.crophungerwalks.org/eastvalley/

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian

Whiteboard: CROP Hunger Walk

This coming Sunday it is finally here...The East Valley CROP Hunger Walk!

We'll dedicate our Sunday worship service to the CROP Hunger Walk, so please wear your walking shoes to church, and plan on helping our Youth Group win the Hunger Challenge (whichever Youth Group in the Arizona Region gets the most sponsors -- note: total sponsors, not dollars raised -- wins a special prize from Church World Service).

We'll hear stories about the amazing work that Church World Service does and hear the challenge from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to work to support "the least of these."

Our guiding scripture for the day is Matthew 25:31-45:

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

 I'll see you this Sunday! 

Newsbrief: CROP Hunger Walk

The 2011 CROP Hunger Walk is coming!

This year’s East Valley CROP Hunger Walk will be on Sunday November 13 at El Dorado Park (2311 North Miller Road, Scottsdale).

This year the CROP Hunger Walk organizers have invited us to participate in a “Hunger Picnic” as part of the CROP Walk activities. The “Hunger Picnic” has been a successful part of other CROP Walks all throughout the country, but this is the first time we've done it in the East Valley.

A “Hunger Picnic” is not a big elaborate meal. Rather, it is a simple bowl of rice and beans for each of the CROP Walk participants to eat just before the Walk. For many, many people in the world a simple bowl of rice and beans is all they have to eat for the day. In fact, they might not even have that much. So before we walk to help raise funds to eliminate hunger in our community and in our world we partake in a meal of solidarity with those who are hungry. This "Hunger Picnic" will be followed by a conversation about "why we walk" and then some special music by our very own Al Beasley.

The "Hunger Picnic" will start at 12:30 at the Pavilion at El Dorado Park with the conversation starting around 1:00 and the Walk beginning at 1:30.

What’s more, our Youth have recently returned from church camp where they received the Hunger Challenge. The Hunger Challenge is this: All the Youth Groups in our Region were challenged to collect donations from as many donors as possible. The Youth Group with the largest number of donors wins a special prize from Church World Service. Please note the contest isn’t for the largest amount of money donated, but rather for the largest number of people donating. So you can help our youth win the Hunger Challenge by helping to sponsor them on the CROP Walk – every little bit helps fight hunger and every person who donates helps support our Youth Group’s efforts to win the Hunger Challenge! We’ll have CROP Hunger Walk Packets available at the church this Sunday.

Finally, you can learn more about the CROP Hunger Walk, Church World Service, and our very own East Valley CROP Hunger Walk by visiting the website http://www.crophungerwalks.org/eastvalley/. While you are there you can sign-up for our FCC Scottsdale CROP Hunger Walk, make a secure online donation, and help CROP Stop Hunger!

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian

Check it Out: Church World Service Video and CROP Hunger Walk

Check out this amazing new Church World Service video. Then scroll down to learn how to sign-up to support FCC Scottsdale's CROP Hunger Walk Team!

This year, the CROP Hunger Walk will take place on Sunday, November 13th. The website for the walk is http://www.crophungerwalks.org/eastvalley/ and our team name is First Christian Church of Scottsdale.

To register, go to the walk website and click on "Register/Donate Online." Click "Sign up" on the next page and then "I want to JOIN a team!" Find our team in the list and click "Join Team." Enter and submit your information and you're ready to go!

If you're on facebook, be sure to "Like" or page (http://www.facebook.com/EVCROPWalk), too!