Blessing of the Animals at OHPCUSA

“Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless these pets. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.”

Roller Derby - Adult Fellowship!

It was a fun night at roller derby Saturday. Have you ever been? One of the women at our church plays in this roller derby league. Very cool. Our adult fellowship group, wandered out for a new adventure. We were impressed by their abilities and strength and the camaraderie and support the women gave each other. ( Great sportswoman ship as well!) Our favorite was MIDWIFE CRISIS. She's the greatest! Check out her DH cheering her on!

We'll have to do this one again, hope you can join us for all the action!



http://www.archrivalrollergirls.com/

Rally Day 2008

Join us for Rally Day on September 14, 2008...that's Sunday! After worship we'll grab our bikes, balloons and motor scooters and have a great parade over to Tower Grove Park.( you can see it on our map on our side bar below) A nice easy walk, complete with police escort. We'll shower the on lookers with candy and church flyers, and invite them along to our picnic, complete with hotdogs and brats. Bring a side dish to share, if you can. Hope to see you!! Fun and games as well as food!

These photos are from 2007, check back later for pics from this year!

Gulfport Mission Trippers 2008

Gulfport Mission Trip - 5

Before construction can ever begin, the flooded/damaged home must be removed. Some of the residents we worked with lost their homes due to rain after the roof had been blown off by the wind. They may have had black mold growing, making it unsafe for habitation, or the home may have been blown off of concrete pillars and damaged beyond repair. Keep in mind, these residents own their property.

At this particular site, our volunteers, Scott and Jimmy worked with a youth group from a community center in Toledo, Ohio. The resident here had been living in a tent, as the second FEMA trailer provided to her was contaminated by formaldehyde and she was only able to stay inside for 5 minutes at a time without becoming ill.

The youth finally over powered the trailer, got it torn down and all the debris stacked into dumpsters. There being a shortage of dumpsters and an obviously high demand, sometimes they had to wait for the dumpster transfer to occur. While the photos are out of order....you can see....they got the job done! Now, construction crews can come in and get the foundation ready and work can begin and this homeowner should be in a new home with in the next 2 months!

Gulfport Mission Trip - 4

A grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation/MS Hurricane Relief Fund paid for frame and trusses for the twenty two homes. Triple D Truss, an Amish construction company in Pennsylvania worked with PMDR to provide pre-fabricated frames and trusses at cost for the new home construction projects.

Volunteers with the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Storm Aid Group installed foundations, and Amish, Mennonite and Brethren volunteers staying at the MDS Storm Aid Camp in Pass Christian and at local Presbyterian Churches assisted in the construction.

Here we are, unpacking and installing a closet door and frame. How many Pres-bees does it take to hang a door?

Gulfport Mission Trip - 3

Twenty-two homes were started in November 0f 2007 through a partnership between Presbytery of MS Disaster Recovery (PMDR) and International Relief and Development-US (IRD-US) formed through the Harrison County Long Term Recovery Coalition ( HCLTRC).

The IRD case managers work with homeoweners and present cases to the HCLTRC Unmet Needs Roundtable. PMDR manages new home construction projects from start to finish. PMDR works with volunteer labor and funding from HCLTRC funding partner agencies to payu for construction supplies and subcontractors for HVAC, plumbing and electrical work.


The funding partners for these twenty-two homes include The Gulf Coast Community Foundation, The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army. Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response, and local Presbyterian Churches from around the country.

More than 3,000 Presbyterian Volunteers from seventeen US states spent a week at a time working on various stages of the homes, including adding landscaling and their own personal touch to some of the homes.

Our team added their own special touches to the Spaulding home, flower boxes and a door mat....we hope the flower boxes last a long time and look forward to the Spauldings adding their own "Welcome" mat when they move in!