Hats On Women's Luncheon

Save the Date

Hats On!  Ladies’ Luncheon

Sat. March 31^st 11:00am

Oro Valley Market Place

Olive Garden Restaurant

Wear your finest, funniest, fanciest or just down right cutest hat!

The committee is asking for donations of goods or services

for our Silent Auction. Please call Sandy Bailey (825-8088) if you have a contribution.

Ticket sales will take place on Sundays, March 11, 18, and 25 after church. 

Cost is $16.00 per lady.

PHOTOS FROM PAST EVENTS

Photos from past events are now visible on the Web site.

To see the additional photos for:

          1.  Arts & Crafts Fair --- 2011  --  click here.

          2.  Hats On To Women Luncheon --- Feb., 2011   ---  click here.

          3.  Gaslight --- June 5, 2011  ---  click here.

          4.  Pentecost Sunday ---  2011  --- click here.

Coffee, Migration and Faith

Bruce McLaren, pastor of the Cedar Ridge Community Church in the Washington-Baltimore region, after reading “Just Coffee, Caffeine with a Conscience” wrote: “What a story! Some creative entrepreneurs bring to reality a business idea that helps the poor, transforms communities, saves lives and addresses the immigration crisis....”  These words took on a personal meaning after two members of Mountain Shadows Church...Joyce Hopson and Irene Camp...journeyed to Chiapas, Mexico to the town of Salvador Urbina as part of a mission trip entitled “Coffee, Migration, and Faith.”  (Tommy Bassett, the co-author of the book mentioned above, led the group of 10).

 Reflections by Irene:

I value my coffee!  A cup of strong coffee is the wakeup call for me each and every day.  However, any knowledge of what is required for me to enjoy that first cup of coffee was a complete mystery.  Not anymore!  For one week, I was immersed in the daily lives of the coffee growers of Chiapas.  I saw workers setting out to their coffee fields outside of town, sometimes in a pickup truck, more often walking.  I saw the height of the coffee bushes, and learned of the need to hand pick these bushes three times.  I saw the large banana plants that shaded the bushes in order to have a shade grown coffee, and I saw the fast growing undergrowth that must be cut to just the right height via a hand held machete.  I saw owners toting 200 pound bags of coffee “cherries” to their homes up steep mountain roads.  And this was just the beginning.  From coffee “cherries” to coffee beans ready to roast, the Arabica coffee must go through six different steps.  Coffee cherries typically contain two beans.  Beans need to be sorted, depulped, washed and dried within 24 hours of harvest.  I saw the patio of my host family filled with beans drying.  Finally the outer parchment of the bean is removed.  And I saw that all “waste” was recycled as compost in the fields to insure 100% organic grown coffee.  The coffee was now ready for the roaster in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.

 I not only learned the steps necessary to insure good organic, shade grown Arabica coffee, I also learned firsthand how the Just Coffee Cooperative, begun by the “creative entrepreneurs” of Frontera de Cristo, has developed into a 100% grower owned business run by these Mexican coffee owners.  First of all the cooperative has enabled hundreds of men to remain in their beloved Salvador Urbina area.  In place of migrating north in order to support their families, they can live, work, worship, and develop their community.  Schools are crowded and new ones are being built as children are not needed in the fields anymore.  The profits from the cooperative have in part gone to provide health insurance for the members.  A safe drinking water system has been installed in the Just Coffee warehouse and cheap, clean water is available to the whole community.  And construction is taking place as homes are being enlarged, and appliances purchased. 

 Drinking Just Coffee for me is much more than purchasing delicious coffee.  It is a moral issue, as I participate in one answer to the immigration problem, and to the dignity of lives of the coffee growers and their families.

 Reflections by Joyce:

I thought I understood Just Coffee before my trip to Salvador Urbina, Chiapas Mexico. Oh, how wrong I was. One concept I did not understand fully was the cooperative structural model termed Fair-trade Plus. The components appear simplistic on the surface; however the concept has been life-changing for the coffee growers. The business model allows the growers to participate fully in the entire coffee revenue stream. What I now understand is Equal Exchange and other Fair Trade companies in the USA do not buy roasted coffee from the coffee growers. Rather they purchase the green coffee bean at a fair price. Then the companies roast, package and distribute the finished product to their customers. You might ask “why is that a problem?” The problem is there is a great profit in the roasting, packaging and distribution and the growers do not receive any of the benefits.  The Just Coffee alliance has enabled 40 families to produce an income sufficient to meet their economic needs. The hope generated by this success has reduced the need for dangerous migration across the Sonoran Desert in order to enter the USA in search of employment.

 The experience of living for a full week with a coffee grower’s family had a tremendous impact on my understanding of the underlying dynamics of the dangerous migration to the USA in search of a means of providing for families. I heard stories from men who had actually made the journey and by the grace of God were able to make it back alive to their families after sending money home to their wives to support the family. I also heard stories of those who tried but failed to make it and were returned by the Border Patrol. Salvador Urbina is a beautiful tropical area filled with hard-working, caring people who welcome the presence of their brothers and sisters from the USA who sincerely care about the community’s well-being. Every morning I was welcomed to the breakfast table for food and conversation. The relationship deepened with every day and the evening get- togethers around the kitchen table further cemented the relationship.

 I will probably return to Salvador Urbina, but with an increased proficiency in Spanish. This community has become dear to my heart and I feel called to return. The experience is difficult to describe in the normal language we use to communicate, but the impact is so awakening and enriching that I am unwilling to let it slip away. Just Coffee is Caffeine with a conscience, and it will always be in my consciousness every time I drink a cup or sell a bag.

To view photos from this trip, click here.

NOTE:  Tommy Bassett, leader of the trip, posted a video of some of the highlights of the trip.  To view that video, click here.

FEASTING ON THE WORD

FEASTING ON THE WORD ADULT SUNDAY BIBLE STUDY will begin to meet WEEKLY from 8:30 to 9:30 AM in Room 3 on October 2.

Join MSPC leaders as they facilitate an interactive learning session based on the Sunday Lectionary Scripture readings heard in worship.  Future lesson plans will be available to those who wish to participate.

Drop-ins are always welcome at Adult Bible Study on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM in Room 3.

July 3rd Community Food Drive

How hot was it?  Don’t ask!  However, that didn’t stop our MSPC Community Food Drive on Sunday, July 3^rd at the Catalina Bashas’!  Armed with holiday decorated tables, cold bottles of water, flags, and even bubbles for the little ones to pass out to incoming shoppers, the Elders and Pastor of MSPC manned two tables outside of the local Bashas’ in Catalina and encouraged people to donate to the Catalina Community Services Food Bank.  And, of course, we helped to spread the good word of MSPC.  The event was a total success and a great deal of food was collected----in fact, a full truck load!  Thanks to all who helped and braved the hot sun and heat! 

Click here to view photos of the event.