If you want to support education and emergency financial aid for migrant farm workers and their families, please take one minute each day between now and the end of June to vote online so farm workers can benefit from a $250, 000 grant competition sponsored by Pepsi Refresh. Since 1997, the Harvest of Hope Foundation has distributed more than $800,000 nationally to migrant farm workers and their families for car repairs, gas, rent, utility payments, medical services, and other needs. By going to the web site below to show your support for this cause, you can help Harvest of Hope receive funds from Pepsi to help continue this support. Follow these easy steps:

1. Click on the following link or copy/type it into your web browser: http://votehoh.com

2. In the lower left, click on the Sign in link. If you have a Facebook account, enter it, or alternatively create a free Pepsi Refresh user account for purposes of voting.

3. Check the lower left corner to make sure you’re signed in.

4. Click the “Vote for this idea” button to “Provide emergency financial aid to migrant agricultural farmworkers.”

Thanks for your support of our migrant workers and those in other parts of the country.

In follow-up to the “Just Eating” Lenten study series, we haven’t so far found a good date to make the trip to visit the ECHO demonstration farm in Ft. Myers (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, http://www.echonet.org/), and now it’s getting hot and about to start the rainy season. Therefore we would like to push this idea back to late October/early November.

As background (quoting from their website):

‘ECHO is a non-profit organization whose vision is “to bring glory to God and a blessing to mankind by using science and technology to help the poor.” As an inter-denominational Christian organization located on a demonstration farm in North Fort Myers, FL, ECHO exists for one major reason, to help those working internationally with the poor be more effective, especially in the area of agriculture, specifically small farm tropical agriculture.

A unique attraction for Lee County, ECHO’s Global Farm Tour is a fascinating 90-minute tour of the most creative working farm you have ever experienced. You will find demonstrations, plants, and techniques useful to farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries. Experience six settings of the Global Farm and taste leaves and berries while you explore rain-forest habitats, visit farm animals, stop at a simulated Haitian school, witness urban gardening techniques that allow gardens on rooftops and learn all about ECHO’s mission of helping the poor help themselves.

Appropriate technologies demonstrated at ECHO include biogas (turning cow manure into gas for cooking and lighting): a sawdust cooker; a simple solar food dryer; and more. Tropical sheep, goats, turken chickens, ducks, tilapia, and rabbits are integrated into the farm. If that is not enough to entice you, ECHO has one of the largest collections of tropical food plants in Florida.’

If you are interested in being on the trip list and did not sign up during worship, please email Karen Picciano (picciano@bellsouth.net) with a copy to the church office. By overwhelming preference, the trip will be on a Saturday morning.

Thanks! Karen

The General Assembly: Affirms its conviction that neither the Church as the body of Christ, nor Christians as individuals, can be neutral or indifferent toward evil in the world; Affirms its responsibility to speak on social and moral issues for the encouragement and instruction of the Church and its members, seeking earnestly both to know the mind of Christ and to speak always in humility and love; Reminds the churches that their duty is not only to encourage and train their members in daily obedience to God’s will, but corporately to reveal God’s grace in places of suffering and need, to resist the forces that tyrannize, and to support the forces that restore the dignity of all persons as the children of God, for only so is the gospel most fully proclaimed. [taken from the web site www.pcusa.org/101/101-social.htm Presbyterian 101]

With this directive in mind, the Mission Committee of Riviera Presbyterian Church will use the following guidelines to determine how to “speak on social and moral issues”:

Topics: Communications will relate only to social or moral issues. Issues that might be addressed could include poverty, war, Israel /Palestine, U.S. foreign relations, immigration, employment, health care, economy, environment, capital punishment, gun control, race, gay/lesbian issues, and education. At no time will a political party or candidate be supported.

Dissemination: The following guidelines will apply to e-mails relating to social justice issues:

1. The Mission Committee may initiate an email relating to a social justice issue identified by committee members as deserving
   the attention of church members, so long as no concern is raised by a committee member. Such an email will be sent using the RPC listserv and be identified as having the endorsement of the Mission Committee.
2. If a church member contacts the Mission Committee about a social justice issue and no concern is raised by a committee member,
   the committee may send an email relating to this issue using the RPC listserv and identify it as having the endorsement of
   the Mission Committee.
3. If the Mission Committee has a concern about endorsing a particular social justice issue (i.e., if it’s “potentially controversial”), it
   may take either of the following actions:
   — If the Mission Committee is uncomfortable with endorsing a particular issue but thinks that members would benefit
   from hearing about the issue, it can forward the email text, incorporating any edits it deems necessary that have been
   approved by the author, to the church office for dissemination using the RPC listserv but with an indication that the
   email is coming from an individual rather than from the Mission Committee. — If the committee has concerns about sending the email via the RPC listserv (even with edits), it can recommend that
   the individual communicate with church members about the issue independently of the listserv.
4. If the statement has been endorsed by the Mission Committee, the Subject line shall say “Social Justice Issue (from Mission Committee):” followed by the topic of the message, and a disclaimer including the following: DISCLAIMER: This communication is for your information only and, while this message reflects the opinion of the whole of the RPC Mission Committee, it does not, necessarily, reflect the opinion of the whole RPC congregation. If the statement has not been endorsed by the Mission Committee but has been approved for distribution via the RPC listserv, the Subject line shall say “Social Justice Issue (from NAME OF INDIVIDUAL):” followed by the topic of the message and a disclaimer including the following: DISCLAIMER: This communication is for your information only. This communication does not reflect the opinion of the whole of the RPC Mission Committee, nor does it reflect the opinion of the RPC congregation as a whole.
5. The church office shall rely on the Mission Committee to identify social justice issues that can be sent via the RPC listserv and
   to differentiate which have Mission Committee endorsement. It should forward any requests for email communications relating to social justice issues to the chair of the Mission Committee for review by the committee.

Modes of Communication: Information about social justice issues may be posted by the Mission Committee on the RPC web site, emailed using the RPC listserv, communicated in Moments for Mission during worship, or shared through special programs. This policy was approved at the April 20, 2010 Session Meeting.

Dear Friends,

Last December, I made an impromptu visit to Haiti to distribute toys and school supplies to Haitian children. Those gifts provided by New Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Miami and Community Presbyterian Church (Lauderdale-by-the-Sea), were shared with two schools which represented several hundreds of children in the town of Fonds-des-Negres in the Southern peninsula. While there, I had the opportunity to speak to the town Mayor and many other local leaders, many of whom I knew as children.

“In Port-au-Prince, I was overwhelmed
by the intensity of the
devastation and impressed by
the level of commitment of fellow
church leaders.”
~Jonas N. Georges

They painted a rosy picture for the region, which was consistent with the prospect for the rest of the country which was getting ready for an unprecedented economic growth in the coming years. As a result, I was both encouraged and excited. In a little more than two weeks later, the unthinkable happened: January 12, 2010 at 4:35 PM the
foundation of Haiti as a society was shaken and with it the empathy and collaboration of the world community abounded…

On April 7th, I returned to a devastated country. What I saw is beyond description. Besides the physical damage – part of which was always available of television screens the world over – the human toll of the earthquake is heart rending indeed. This time along, I had very little to distribute, but a lot to share and much more to learn. I visited a couple of camps in the company of my partners on the ground who took me in the interior of the tent cities. I was invited to peep inside and to talk to real people living there. Hearing their stories of tragedy, fear and despair brought tears to my eyes. But their hope in a brighter future and their resilience made me proud to be one of them (Don’t ask me for pictures – I couldn’t do that to them). We are a strong people.

In the midst of my personal tragedy (My father in-law passed away on Easter Sunday at the age of 98), I made time to visit not only Port-au-Prince, but the towns of Leogane and Petit Goave where I interacted with minister colleagues and acquaintances alike. In Port-au-Prince, I was overwhelmed by the intensity of the devastation and impressed by
the level of commitment of fellow church leaders.

I had close encounters with pastors Riche Andris, of the “Eglise Unie d’Haiti, Fede Jean-Pierre, Eglise Methodidte d’Haiti, Hubert Eloi, Eglise du Christ and Louis Smith of the Lutheran Community of Haiti. They provided me with ample detail of their involvement in the current phase of the disaster, their future involvement in rebuilding and beyond.

They all expressed the desire that the international community will listen to them as they work towards sustainability for the new Haiti. Those brothers graciously received and shared the meager resources I brought with me. They are looking forward to receiving the 40 ft container we are about to send them containing supplies of clothing, food items, water, a large tent and few other useful items provided by many congregations and assembled by the Korean Church of Miami. On my way back from Haiti, I was delighted to learn that the container will be on its way real soon since the $3,000.00 needed for the transportation to the country is at hand thanks to generous gifts of First Fort Lauderdale, Mission and Social Justice and Disaster Relief Committees of the presbytery in the tune of $1,000 each. An additional amount of $700.00 provided by Riviera PC ($420) and All Nations ($280) will be used on the ground in Haiti to move the goods
around.

My heartfelt thanks to you all for your prayerful and financial support. Should you need further information as to how you might continue to help, please contact me. In the meantime, we will continue to keep you abreast with our activities and involvement as time allows.

Yours truly,
Jonas N. Georges

Here is what you need to know:

Event: 30th Anniversary of the Child Care Center
Date: Sunday, May 16, 2010
Location: Riviera Presbyterian Church
Description: A special 11:00 a.m. worship service
followed by a pasta luncheon
Cost: $5 for the luncheon
If you have questions or need additional information, contact
Barbie Prieto at the Riviera office 305-666-8586, or
Vivian German at the Child Care Center office 305-666-
2203.

• granola bars
• powdered milk
• soup
• canned or dried fruit
• mashed potato flakes
• complete pancake mix and syrup
• peanut butter
• crackers
• canned vegetables
• individual cereal boxes
• small raisin boxes
• individual tuna
• 100% juice boxes
• small milk boxes
• V-8 or tomato juice (6-12oz)

Thanks

The Child Care Center at RPC first opened its doors in summer 1980, and has helped thousands of babies become great kids in that THIRTY YEAR span.

We’ll be adding details here but essentially the adults and kids will be invited to join services at RPC which begin at 11am, and then join a luncheon and ceremony with performances by alumni and kids.

PLEASE RSVP HERE on Facebook for this event. The donation will not be expensive — just $5 to cover the cost of lunch.

Very sincerely,
Ellen Anderson

Contact: Vivian German 305-662-2493.