Your child is invited, along with all youth from our church in grades six through twelve, to participate in B1, the United Methodist Church sponsored annual hunger awareness event. During the twenty-four hour period, the youth will have opportunities to engage in hunger issues through studying the Bible, learning about the world-wide effects of hunger, participating in a service project, and to experience hunger themselves by fasting during the event.

Our event is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 16, 2010. The youth will start fasting at that time. (Please review the information about fasting in the Fasting FAQ document.) All Friday activities will be on the Medford UMC campus. During the day Saturday, we will travel to Philadelphia to serve at the region’s largest food bank and hunger relief organization, Philabundance. When not actively engaged in service, adults will lead the youth in organized fellowship activities. At 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, you and your family are invited to a time of worship as we celebrate the blessings God has given us and break our fast with the communion meal. After the worship service, B1 participants will have a buffet dinner in Bowker Hall. While your child is eating, you may remain in the sanctuary for a presentation about the weekend’s events. Dismissal from the B1 event will be at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

As in the past, part of the program involves raising money to fund local and international hunger projects through The Advance, an accountable, designated-giving arm of The United Methodist Church. Each B1 participant is encouraged to seek sponsors for his or her fast. Donations may be solicited from church members, friends, family, employers, etc. Please have your child share with his or her sponsors that The Advance works to fulfill both physical and spiritual needs through a variety of international partnerships who all share a goal of making life-changing and long-lasting impact. A unique aspect of The Advance is the assurance that 100% of all gifts to their programs will be spent directly on those programs. Upon registration, your child will receive an envelope for tracking and collecting donations. These donations are, of course, tax-deductible. Receipts for this purpose are available upon request. (Checks should be made payable to Medford UMC. We will, in turn, write a single check in support of The Advance projects we will support.)

• Complete the Registration & Permission Form & submit by March 31st
• Get busy with your quest for donations.
• Complete/Submit the Medical Release must prior to event start
• For Parents: Volunteer!. It is a rewarding experience!

We encourage you to prayerfully consider the words of Isaiah 58 v6-8
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Isaiah in Chapter 58:v6-8 . These verses call for our fast to be more than the giving up of our bread for twenty-four hours, but for our lives to be a fast from injustice, oppression and privilege. B1 is an introduction to a different way of life – a life where one being remembers his or her connection to all beings through their treatment of life and the resources available to them. Fast today, change tomorrow.

Peace,
Your MUMC B1 Planning Team

For additional information, please contact Rev. Dawn Corlew via email or call the church office: 609-654-8111. Also, you can email the B1 Team directly at b1@medfordumc.org.