United Methodist Men of St. Andrew United Methodist Church cooked and served regular and blueberry pancakes at the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. Fruit and candy toppings for the pancakes, orange juice, and bottled water were served. Images of giant stacks of pancakes were projected onto the east wall of Wesley Hall. Tables were decorated with Mardi Gras beads and chocolate coins. This event for the entire family was hosted by the Children’s Ministry of St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas.

Scott L. Engle Ph.D. teaches a Bible study on most Mondays. He taught a study of Philemon on Monday, 11 February 2013 at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Paul wrote this letter himself, rather than have a scribe write it for him, to Philemon regarding Onesimus who was Philemon’s slave.

On the next three Monday nights (18 & 25 February and 04 March 2013), this class will meet in Wesley Hall rather than Piro Hall. Scott will teach an all church Bible study titled “What Christians Believe” on these three Monday nights. See http://www.standrewumc.org/connect/events-and-registration/#c9190 for a description of this study.  

50+ Re-employment Group met on Monday, 11 February 2013 at Jewish Family Services in Dallas, Texas. Allison Harding led this session that was attended by 21 people. Allison is the Director of Career Employment Services at Jewish Family Services - Dallas.

Every person in the workforce or looking for employment should have a LinkedIn profile that is 100 percent complete. Unemployed persons network through their LinkedIn contacts to find people in their target companies.

Resume on Monster, Career Finder, Indeed, and similar websites needs to be generic. This resume needs to be updated weekly to keep it near the top of the list that recruiters see; otherwise, it moves further down the list each week. Recruiters look at resumes near the top of the list only. When a recruiter responds to a resume on one of these websites, continue to use that resume instead of providing a customized resume.

There are two categories of recruiter: executive/independent and corporate/in-house. The executive/independent is NOT interested in a job seeker unless they see potential to place them in a job. The only get paid when they match an applicant to an employer. Corporate/in-house recruiters are typically 21 to 28 years old who are looking at 200 to 1000 resumes each business day.

Do NOT pay for job search tools. There are plenty of FREE tools for job searches.

Jobs from $35,000 to $70,000 are GONE! They are on the road or highway to NOWHERE. These jobs have been replaced by entry level jobs at $25,000 plus bonuses. Get off of the NOWHERE highway, and get out of your box. Go to professional society meetings and volunteer. Every place where you interact with people provides opportunities to meet somebody who will provide information that leads to a job. You never know when or where you will meet the person.

Likewise, stay in contact with former colleagues. People who you have worked with know what you can do and enjoy doing; therefore, they can recognize job opportunities that might be a good fit for you and provide you information that might lead to your next job.

There is an average of 1000 applicants for each job description. Each resume gets seven seconds of the recruiter’s attention. Buzz words need to be near the top of resume. If the recruiter sees something related to the job they are trying to fill, they will read more of that resume.

Use STAR stories in interviews to distinguish yourself from other applicants. STAR is a mnemonic for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Thus, a STAR story describes a situation, the task or action performed to produce the result.  Hiring managers are more likely to remember the candidate who told a STAR story than candidates who do not tell STAR stories. 

Seven Loaves CommUnity managers met on Monday, 11 February 2013. Six people participated in this meeting. Seven Loaves Food Pantry, Joseph’s Coat, and West Side Clinic were represented.

The food pantry served 1800 people during January 2013.

It was decided that a brief meeting beginning at 3:45 PM and ending before the pantry opens at 4:00 PM is the most convenient time for face-to-face meetings. New technology including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will be used to exchange information and minimize the need for face-to-face meetings. Successful non-profits are on the cutting edge of technology. Seven Loaves volunteers are encouraged to like, follow, and connect with the Seven Loaves CommUnity on these social media.

Most volunteers at the Thursday food pantry are retired or otherwise unemployed. This enables them to be at the pantry during typical business hours. Most volunteers at the Saturday food pantry are currently employed and only able to volunteer on Saturday.

Terry Breedlove is arranging to print Certificates of Appreciation on card stock. This certificate will be given to organizations and individuals who provide significant support to Seven Loaves CommUnity. The organization or individual will be named on the certificate and the function of Seven Loaves CommUnity supported will be identified. Chic-fil-A will be one of the first to receive this Certificate of Appreciation.

One possible project is to place boxes with billboards in various businesses to collect change donations. Another possible project will be Seven Loaves Check Printers placed in automobile dealership; this could be an Eagle Scout project.

Kohl’s Department Store is accepting nominations of persons less than 18 years of age to recognize for their volunteer activities. Terry Breedlove is open for nominations of Seven Loaves volunteers who can be submitted to Kohl’s.

West Side Clinic has been canceled due because there were no medical care providers. Paid staff has been removed. Financial qualification is scaring potential clients away. Clinic is in desperate need of consistent leadership.

Email distribution lists need to be updated to enable appropriate information about each part of Seven Loaves CommUnity to be sent to each address.

Terry Breedlove has ordered four new signs that have the correct pantry times displayed.

We need to get word out that Seven Loaves volunteers can get credit for Seven Loaves Food Pantry by volunteering at the North Texas Food Bank. They need to sign in on the Seven Loaves Food Pantry account at the North Texas Food Bank. 

The United Methodist Men (UMM) of St. Andrew United Methodist Church (SAUMC) met on Saturday, 09 February 2013. Steve Sutton led this meeting attended by 16 men.

Messenger of Hope Scholarship
There was a brief discussion about the Messenger of Hope Scholarship.

Sweetheart Dinner & Movie
Online registration for Sweetheart Dinner & Movie is progressing and the variety of food items being brought is better than might be expected. Registration ends on 11 February 2013. This event is on Friday, 15 February 2013 and begins at 6:30 PM in Festival Hall. The movie “Midnight in Paris” should begin at 8:00 PM.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
The United Methodist Men need to arrive at the church on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 at 4:30 PM to prepare pancakes for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. The program begins at 6:00 PM in Wesley Hall. Ten men signed up to help at this event.

Registration
Register for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper and/or the Sweetheart Dinner & Movie at http://www.standrewumc.org/connect/events-and-registration/.

Fearless by Max Lucado
Jim Vittetoe led the continuation of this study. Chapter 5 My Child is in Danger – Fear of Not Protecting My Kids was discussed. The agenda for this discussion was:

• Current Day
  
• Jesus Day
  
• Responses
  
• Discussion

Fears include:

• Loosing Child to Accident
• Not Helping Financially
• Enabling Poor Financial Behavior with Financial Assistance

SAUMC UMM 2013 Objectives
Discussion of what should be done in 2013 over and above the usual activities. 

What actions need to be taken to increase the UMM membership? 

People will join activities before they join the group. 

Have staff minister speak to UMM quarterly. These sessions might have to be on a day other than Saturday to accommodate the staff minister’s schedule. It might be possible to arrange for interns from Perkins Theological Seminary to fill this objective. – Tom will take the lead on this. 

Messenger of Hope Scholarship – Mike, Jeff, Joe, and Micah will take the lead here; will be invited to join these leaders

• Help kids find more scholarship dollars (http://www.fastweb.com/)
  
• Keep focused – expand scholarship program – mentor students throughout their college career (Rotary Club Model)   with one United Methodist man paired with one college student; however, MinistrySafe might require two adults per student
  
• Provide team mentoring – team with United Methodist Women
  

Social Activity – Scott will take the lead for this

Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 51 families on Thursday, 07 February 2013. Each family made selections from the personal shopping table; received fresh potatoes, fresh eggs, frozen meats; and received one number one and one number two bag of food for each family member. Number one bags typically contain canned protein such as chicken, tuna, salmon, beef, or ham; however, some of the number one bags this session contained a can of chicken and fresh fruit (apples, grapefruit, oranges, and bananas) because of a shortage of canned fruit. Each number two bag of food contained four cans of vegetables or soup, a bag of dried beans, and a grain such as pasta or rice. Specific contents of the number one and two bags vary according to what is in stock in the dry room.

A videographer recorded during this pantry session. These video recordings will be shown in worship services at St. Andrew United Methodist Church to promote the Seven Loaves Food Pantry.

The food pantry is usually open on Thursday afternoons/evenings and on Saturday mornings. Seven Loaves Food Pantry is located in St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. Enter from Mira Vista Boulevard and park in a lot north or east of the church building. Clients enter through doors under the YOUTH COMMONS sign that faces east toward Mira Vista Boulevard. Volunteers enter through doors that face north toward Steeplechase Park. The food pantry is one function of Common Unity, Inc. (dba Seven Loaves CommUnity) a faith-based 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Service nonprofit agency. Other functions include coat distribution through Joseph’s Coat, medical care at West Side Clinic, specialized help through Project Hope, and legal assistance through a legal clinic. More information is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html. 

Dallas Pen Collectors club met on Wednesday, 06 February 2013 and was attended by approximately 75 people. Pens for sale were displayed on tables. The club library was available to members. Tickets were distributed to every attendee and ticket stubs drawn to award two door prizes.

Mike Stein led a program about pen ephemera. Ephemera is something originally intended to have no lasting value, typically used for a brief period of time then thrown away, that has become a collectable. Mike and other club members showed a variety of ephemeron related to pens that included:

• Advertising in magazines – some examples were from Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic
  
• Point-of-sale displays
  
• Machine that demonstrates how a pen writes on a roll of paper
  
• Christmas advertising mobile with spinning ornaments 
  
• Catalogs – a catalog that is 100 years old was shown
  
• Stamps that were intended to be placed on a calendar as reminders to purchase pens for gifts
  
• Ink wells that held ink to dip test pens at sales counter
  
• Ink wells for display on a desk
  
• Boxes in which pens were delivered to customer
  
• Instruction sheets that were packed in box in which pen was sold
  
• Giant Styrofoam replica of a pen
  
• Objects such as banks and dolls or action figures that compliment or enhance a pen display
  

The Dallas Pen Club meets in the Holiday Inn at 1665 North Central Expressway in Richardson, Texas. The next meeting will be 03 April 2013 (the first Wednesday night) beginning at 7:00 PM. This club hosts the annual Dallas Pen Show. Additional information is available at http://www.dallaspenshow.com/ and at http://www.meetup.com/DallasPenClub/. 

Alcatel Lunch Bunch met on Wednesday, 06 February 2013 at Golden Corral in Richardson, Texas where ten people participated. Current and former employees of Rockwell International or Alcatel USA enjoy lunch together and stay informed about the current status of colleagues. 

Career Jump-Start met on Tuesday, 05 February 2013 at First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas. David Badger led this session attended by 20 people.

Jon Stotts of List of Leads spoke to this group. Brand yourself or you are destined to wear somebody else’s brand. Cattle rustlers rebrand cattle to make them their own. The only way to prove cattle were rebranded is to examine the inside of the hide.

• Handshakes convey a brand: limp fish, evangelist, etc. 
• How you dress conveys a brand. 
• Corporations do not care about you; you are a number to them.
• People should have their own unique logo. 
• Your voice is also a brand because people can recognize you by the sound of your voice. 
• Helping others can be a retired person’s brand. 
• Equestrian vaulting is acrobatics done on horseback. 
• Paul Harvey is recognized by his voice after he speaks one or two words. 
• Dress/Sport coat pocket square (folded handkerchief) is a brand for Jon Stotts. He had a four point pocket square – not the cardboard replica that dry cleaners supply. 
• People should have their own domain name. You can get a domain name with email address for $15 per year. Having your own domain name can make you standout. Jon Stotts got his domain name from Go Daddy. 
• Hot Mail, AOL, and a few others are near the bottom of the list in terms of current desirability. 
• LinkedIn is profession and business oriented. 
• If you have a personal logo, place a small unobtrusive logo at bottom of your resume. 
  

Jon Stotts will return to Career Jump-Start probably in September to speak about networking with LinkedIn contacts.

Four people won tickets to a Chili Lunch by United Methodist Women through a drawing before the group adjourned. The Chili Lunch will be on Sunday, 17 February 2013 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the Bartula Family Life Center of First United Methodist Church Richardson.

Career Jump-Start usually meets at 6:30 PM on Tuesday evenings at First United Methodist Church, 503 North Central Expressway, Richardson, Texas 75080. Official information about this group is available at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CJS-HPUMC/ and  http://www.fumcr.com/pages/caring_career_support. 

Monday Night Bible Study led by Monty Mills on Monday, 04 February 2013. This group is in a study titled “The End Times” written by Monty Mills and distributed by 3E Ministries. This was Study 12 titled “God’s Scroll of Judgment” based on Revelation 5:1-14. There were 18 people in this study.

• James 4:32 – we need to do what we are supposed to be doing.
• Revelation 5 stresses Jesus’ deity.
• Scroll is complete finished work as indicated by writing on both sides.
• “Under the Earth” is an idiom for Satan’s realm. 
• The 12 old testament patriarchs and 12 new testament apostles comprise the 24 elders. 
• Nobody was virtuous enough or worth to read this scroll.
• Jesus received the scroll; he did not take it, from God.
• This scroll controls 19 judgments not 21: 6 judgments + 6 judgments + 7 judgments.
• Psalm is a song sung to music of a string instrument. 
  

This group meets most Monday nights at the Edgemere, 8523 Thackery St, Dallas, Texas 75225 in the Seminar Room at 7:30 PM. Each study last a little over one hour.