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. 

North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group met on Friday, 01 February 2013 at Christ United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. The group split into two groups for open forum. A participant reported that a speaker at a recent Career Transition Workshop suggested making cover letter the first page of resume. 

Seven Loaves Food Pantry was open on Thursday, 31 January 2013 and served 48 families. Each family received fresh potatoes; made selections from the personal shopping table; received frozen meats; fresh eggs, and one number one bag and one number two bag for each family member. Each number one bag of food contained canned protein and three cans of 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. The food pantry will be open again on Thursday, 07 February 2013 between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM.

Seven Loaves Food Pantry is located in St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. 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. 

Seven Loaves Community held a managers meeting on Thursday, 03 January 2013 at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas that was attended by 15 people. Reports were presented for Seven Loaves Food Pantry, Joseph’s Coat, West Side Clinic, and Project Hope. Volunteers will begin signing in on a dedicated computer in place of the handwritten log sheets. Annual Civil Rights training and bi-annual MinistrySafe certification are required. 

I helped the United Methodist Men of St. Andrew United Methodist Church serve a spaghetti dinner to 125-140 people on Sunday, 11 November 2012. This was part of the Family Advent Celebration in corporation in the Children’s Ministry of St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. About ten United Methodist Men served this dinner that was prepared by Maggiano’s Little Italy. Also included in the Family Advent Celebration were: 

• Live Nativity
• Christmas Plate Decorating
• Cookie Decorating
• Family Yule Log Project & Devotion
• Hot Chocolate & Cider
• MPKids Cakewalk
• Family Missions Project
• Holiday Portraits

This is the second year that I have helped the United Methodist Men serve this dinner. We have a good time planning, setting up, serving, eating together, and cleaning up for this dinner. This year most of us took leftover spaghetti home. Last year we served 300 people. I don’t know why the participation was lower this year. 

The Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 54 client families on Thursday, 06 September 2012 between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM. One client family is defined as from one person to nine people. Each client family received fresh pears in addition to selections from the personal shopping table, eggs, frozen meats, one number-one and one number-two bag of food items for each family member. The number-one bag of food typically contains canned protein (tuna, chicken, salmon, chili, stew, SPAM©, or ham) and three cans of fruit (apple sauce, pears, peaches, mixed fruit, Mandarin oranges, etc.). The number-two bag of food typically contains four canned vegetables or soups, beans (typically a bag of dried beans when available otherwise two cans of beans), and a grain (rice) or pasta (spaghetti with a can of spaghetti sauce or macaroni and cheese). The content of the bags of food changes according to what is in stock in the panty. In the past week, this food pantry was stocked with canned peaches after being out of canned fruit for several weeks.

This food pantry located in St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas served one client in April 2009. It now serves more than 600 clients each week. Between April 2009 and July 2012 this food pantry served 50,000 clients and 3,762 volunteer hours have been donated to this food pantry. The Seven Loaves Food Pantry stresses radical hospitality.

Donations of canned fruit (size 303 cans preferred), pasta, and rice would be a tremendous help for the Seven Loaves Food pantry at this time. Donations should be delivered to St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093; items are collected on the east side of the campus in the first floor hallway of the Education building at the entrance to the Youth Commons – enter through the doors at the north end of the Education building. Receipts for donations are available.

Official information about the Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Loaves-Food-Pantry-Community-Center/136331916471019. For more information, call 469-385-1813 or email: [email protected]. 

The Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 89 families on Thursday, 09 August 2012 between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM CDT. Each family that included from one to nine members selected items from the personal shopping table, and received fresh produce, eggs, and frozen meats in proportion to the family size. School age children received a backpack filled with school supplies appropriate for their grade level. Each family received one number-one and one number-two bag of food items for each family member. The number-one bag of food typically contains canned protein (tuna, chicken, salmon, chili, stew, SPAM©, or ham) and three cans of fruit (apple sauce, pears, peaches, mixed fruit, Mandarin oranges, etc.). The number-two bag of food typically contains four canned vegetables or soups, beans (typically a bag of dried beans when available otherwise two cans of beans), and a grain (rice) or pasta (spaghetti or macaroni and cheese). Those with special dietary needs such as diabetes or allergies were escorted through the dry room and assisted with selection of items that meet their dietary requirements. The content of the bags of food changes according to what is in stock in the panty.

The Seven Loaves Food Pantry is stocked by purchases from the North Texas Food Pantry, donations from local grocery stores, through food collections hosted by local employers, and donations from individual contributors. This food pantry depends on food collections and individual contributors when items are not available from the North Texas Food Bank. The Seven Loaves Food Pantry has not been able to purchase canned fruit from the North Texas Food Bank recently. Therefore, donations of canned fruit (size 303 cans are preferred) will be especially appreciated at this time. Donations should be delivered to St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093; items are collected on the east side of the campus in the first floor hallway of the Education building at the entrance to the Youth Commons – enter through the doors at the north end of the Education building. Receipts for donations are available.

Official information about the Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Loaves-Food-Pantry-Community-Center/136331916471019. For more information, call 469-385-1813 or email: [email protected]. 

Nine United Methodist Men of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas met for a brief business meeting before serving lunch to volunteers at a Habitat for Humanity® of South Collin County, Texas build site. A small group of men purchased food items at Costco and carried them to the build site. Two tables were borrowed from St. Andrew United Methodist Church and used to serve lunch in Avenue E in Plano, Texas. These tables were returned to the church immediately after lunch was over.

Construction was in progress on two houses. One house is at 621 11th Street, Plano, Texas. The other house is at 725 11th Street, Plano, Texas. These houses are located in the Douglas Community of Plano, Texas. Ten houses are scheduled to be build at this location. Habitat for Humanity® - Crew Chief - Stu Dunkle was on this build site on Saturday, 14 July 2012. Photographs of this build site follow this article.

The house at 621 11th Street was sold for $80,000. However, this house is worth $120,000. The volunteer labor makes a significant difference in the sell price of the house.

The house at 725 11th Street is three weeks ahead of schedule. Drywall was being installed on Saturday, 14 July 2012.

Two tents were setup in Avenue E where registration was recorded, refreshments were provided, and lunch was served. This is a very short street that dead ends at a brick fence. The parking lot for a Home Depot is on the other side of this fence.

Lunch included: sandwiches (turkey and Swiss cheese and roast beef and cheese), oranges, watermelon, bananas, chips, cookies, and choice of beverage (including: water, Coke, Sprite, Diet A&W Root Beer, and Diet Dr. Pepper). 

United Methodist Men of St. Andrew United Methodist Church met on Saturday, 12 May 2012. Eight were present at this meeting. Reasons for the small turnout are unknown. Topics discussed included: 

• Delivery of scholarship certificates to recipients’
• Fund raising through golf tournaments
• We need to publicize Messenger of Hope Golf Tournament on the Internet
• We need to get more sponsors for the Messenger of Hope Golf Tournament
• Lunch to honor scholarship recipients on 20 May 2012 – 85 to 100 people are expected to attend this lunch