GoodNEWS

A semi-regular newsletter prepared for volunteers, contributors, prayer partners, and all who seek to provide decent, affordable housing by partnering with Seattle families in need -- distributed by the UPC/Habitat for Humanity Partnership, a lay ministry of UPC's Urban and Global Missions department.

The third annual UPC Habitat Breakfast was held on October 14th in Geneva Hall and broke records, both in terms of turnout and funds raised. We had 20 tables of people seated at 7:30, at which point the program kicked off with Allen Belton greeting everyone, saying grace, and leading the crowd in a few verses of "He's Got the Whole World." Breakfast was then served by volunteers from PCF, to whom we're very grateful for their support and service.

After eating, a video produced by Habitat for Humanity Seattle/South King County was shown to provide some background on the organization and its local work. Julie Nulton and Harold Sheley from the UPC/Habitat task force then explained how our volunteers work with and support Habitat's local efforts. Next, Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners spoke very eloquently about why he believes it is important for all of us to give of our time and our resources. James B. followed with a homily about Zachias and how upon receiving grace he was able to give beyond anyone's expectations. Finally, task force member Tom Mesaros spoke about the impact that Habitat's work in Seattle has had on local families and made our request for donations.

In the days that followed, we were awestruck to learn that we had raised $57,000 in donations and pledges for the coming year. This puts us well on our way to our annual goal of $65,000, which will allow us to support the construction of a Habitat house in Seattle as well as two in El Salvador through the Agros Foundation. We sincerely thank all of you who attended the breakfast, brought your friends and coworkers, and gave so generously. We also want to thank Margaret and Tom Mesaros, Terry Proctor, Evelyn Seymour, and the many other volunteers who did a great job of planning and organizing this event. We hope that you'll join us next October for our fourth annual breakfast!

On August 13th, Habitat held their dedication ceremony for the Othello Place homes that we've been helping to build over the past year. Ron Thompson was in attendance, along with other members of the UPC/Habitat ministry, and he sent in the following report:

"I believe the Dedication Ceremony is the most important meeting of all in the Habitat for Humanity ministry. I have attended lots of ground-breaking events and seen the sense of promises. These are risky promises made to potential homeowners. If finances come in and volunteers serve faithfully, then some months later a home will be there."

"I have worked on the site alongside chosen family members week after week, and deem that a privilege. Jesus clearly wants us to care for the poor, yet I don't know any. We effectively isolate the low- and very-low-income people from the rest of society. None live in my neighborhood, and I don't know that I've met any at church. Working alongside, I discover just what great people they are. It's a long process. Often they have been disappointed by past promises made to them. You hear that as you work alongside."

"At the Dedication, each family tells of the deep joy and excitement of this day finally arriving. They receive a hammer, a Bible, and the keys to the house. If you look in their eyes, you see great hope fulfilled. What they had hoped for and worked for is now a reality. It will not be another disappointment. This is now their affordable home!"

"It makes my eyes water each time. It is a moving ceremony. That's why I say the dedication is the most important meeting of them all."

A good complement to Habitat's dedication ceremony is the groundbreaking that takes place at the outset of any new Habitat for Humanity construction effort. For Habitat Seattle/South King County, the next construction effort will be at High Point in West Seattle, where 8 new homes will be built. One of these will be the next house that we at UPC will be sponsoring through funding and volunteer hours. The High Point construction effort will take place concurrently with the continuing efforts at Othello Place (where construction continues on a second six-plex and one more single family house -- see the Construction Update below for pictures and more details).

A groundbreaking event to kick off the upcoming High Point construction will take place at 2pm on November 12th, at 6920 34th Ave. SW in West Seattle. All volunteers, homeowners, and donors are welcome! No RSVP necessary. Following the groundbreaking, there will be a potluck celebration recognizing the generous volunteers and donors that make Habitat homes a reality. Please bring a favorite food to share. Beverages and serving ward will be provided.

The following pairs of pictures were taken by David Watt in June and late October, respectively. They show the impact of the construction that took place at Othello Place during the summer and fall, and give a nice view of the amount of progress that was made on the first six-plex and two single-family homes over the past several months. Clicking on the pictures will bring up larger versions.

Construction continues at Othello Place, where the foundation and initial framing for the second six-plex has proceeded nicely. Work on the third single-family house is expected to begin soon as well.

The following pictures were taken by David Watt in October and show some of the recent construction. Compare the first picture to those taken in February `05, and you'll see that we've come full circle in less than a year. In the second and third pictures, note that the first six-plex we helped build is peeking out from behind the construction of the new one.

Although UPC's next officially-sponsored house will be at the High Point site in West Seattle, we're continuing to try and provide volunteer help for the ongoing construction at Othello Place until Habitat is ready for us to start at High Point (we currently anticipate that this will be in January). Our volunteer signups have been lagging over the past few months and could use a bit of help. If you have a Friday or Saturday free during the coming months and are able to volunteer, please head on over to VolunteerHub (www.volunteerhub.com) and sign up for one (or more!) of the many empty slots today. Thanks in advance to everyone who is able to help out!

VolunteerHub is currently undergoing some major improvements, which should soon make it better and easier to use. Once the new system has been unveiled, we'll send out some tips on its use (just in case it isn't completely successful at being 100% intuitive :).

Until then, when you go to VolunteerHub, you'll see a short notice announcing the upcoming changes, and a link saying "Find an Organization". Click on this link and then scroll way down to the bottom of the list (about four from the end), where you'll find "Habitat at University Presbyterian Church." Click on it to get to the familiar screen where you can view the calendar, log in, and sign up for dates in the normal way. If you need a refresher on signing up, see steps 5-8 of the article "Signing Up to Volunteer" in the February 2005 Newsletter (http://www.drizzle.com/~brad/upchabitat/feb05.html).

Continuing the new tradition that we started last year, January 15th will be "Habitat Sunday" at UPC, where UPC's Habitat for Humanity efforts will be featured in the witness spot, the gallery, and the bulletin. Like last year, we will have sign-up boards for construction dates in the gallery, so plan on stopping by, bringing your calendars, grabbing a cookie, meeting other volunteers and newcomers, and signing up for some dates this winter and spring! The sign-up board will also be in the gallery the following week (January 22nd) as a follow-up.

When we last mailed out an update (in July), we were about $7,000 short of meeting our annual $65,000 commitment to support Habitat for Humanity and the Agros Foundation. At the time of our annual breakfast, we were down to the final $5,000. Naturally, we will finish paying off this remaining amount before beginning to put money toward our sponsored house at High Point (our fourth house with Habitat for Humanity Seattle/South King County). While we're understandably giddy about the success of this year's fundraising breakfast, we also wanted to communicate where we stand with respect to the Othello Place house, since it offsets our progress towards next year's financial goals.

If you haven't given in awhile and are able to help us meet our financial goals and commitments, as always, please make your donation to UPC, clearly marking it as being for "UPC Habitat for Humanity." Thanks very much for your support in the past and in the future.

• November 10th - Safety & Information meeting @ 7pm, UPC
• November 12th - Groundbreaking at High Point site
• November 20th - Safety & Information meeting @ 1pm, UPC
• December 1st - Safety & Information meeting @ 7pm, UPC
• December 11th - Safety & Information meeting @ 1pm, UPC
• January 15th - Habitat Sunday at UPC
• January 22nd - Habitat sign-ups in the gallery at UPC

Since we have so few opportunities to meet many of you face-to-face, we want to make sure that you have the chance to give us your feedback on how the ministry is going, to send us any ideas you might have on improving it, or to send along any personal anecdotes that you'd like to share with other volunteers in a future edition of the newsletter. If you have any such items or suggestions, or would like to get more involved behind the scenes with the task force, please send me an e-mail mentioning "Habitat" in the subject line. We're very interested in hearing from you!

-Brad Chamberlain, editor-of-sorts (brad@drizzle.com)

This newsletter is mailed to UPC/Habitat's volunteers, donors, and supporters. If you would like to change your e-mail address, would like to stop receiving our mailings, or would like to be removed from our database, please send your request to brad@drizzle.com, mentioning "Habitat" in the subject line (to make sure it stands out from all the spam). Similarly, if you are reading this on the website but have not been receiving e-mail updates and would like to, send me a request (again, making sure to mention "habitat" in the subject line). Past newsletters are archived at http://www.drizzle.com/~brad/upchabitat.