Monday, March 19, 2012

Fundraising for Copenhagen

We are starting a new fundraiser for the Copenhagen shop. Here are the details-


Fundraiser: Cup of Coffee for Copenhagen-

Coffee is a way of life in Denmark! There is a huge coffee culture in Copenhagen.  Churches are really struggling in Denmark and we need to find creative ways to reach people. So, we are combining the familiarity of coffee with outreach. The Church of the Nazarene in Denmark is going to be opening a coffee shop / ministry center in Copenhagen to go out and reach people where their interests are. Through the coffee shop we will find unique ways to share the gospel, start Bible studies, and support non-profit organizations (such as donations to NCM). This project in Copenhagen is the dream of members in the Greve Church of the Nazarene. It will be their new start ministry and they need some help to get things going. We still need to raise $50,000 to be able to purchase the building and keep it in operation for 1 year. We are looking for some help with fundraising, so we set up this project- A Cup of Coffee for Copenhagen.

How it works-
            The leader can choose a time period to raise the funds (such as 1-2 months that works with the church calendar). During that time challenge each person to give up one of their favorite coffee drinks a week, and donate the cost of that to the Copenhagen Shop. At the end of the time period collect the funds and send them in to help support us!

I am really excited to start this new ministry in Denmark. There is a real need for a creative way to reach people. There is a strong team here, who has been praying about this new ministry for 3 years. It is time to put this call into action! Our plan is to have property purchased by July 1st and then open the shop by September 1st. We would love any kind of support. If you, your church, small group, or whatever are interested in participating with this fundraiser, please email me at katie_rae27@yahoo.com. Thank you for all of your prayer and support! 


Monday, March 12, 2012

Scandinavian District Assembly


I spent this past week trying to help prepare for the assembly. I am not sure how much of a help I was, but I think I had a pretty interesting job. There are 3 churches, and 2 new starts on the district. Each group speaks a different language. There is the Greve church, Copenhagen Cafe (new start) that are from Denmark, the Sweden Cafe (new start) that are Americans in Sweden, a Portuguese speaking church in Oslo, Norway, and a Korean church in Helsinki, Finland. It makes for a pretty interesting gathering. All of the pastoral and district reports were written in original languages and needed to be submitted into English. I was given the task of making sure they were in "correct" English. Thank God for Google translate and 4 Danish housemates. It was a pretty entertaining job, after all Google translate does not translate into proper sentences and does not account for cultural phrases. It got some pretty interesting sentences to figure out. :) But, I think I succeeded with expressing everyone's thoughts in understandable English.

The assembly was held in Helsinki, Finland. I was excited to add another country to my list. When we got there, we spent the first day walking around the city. It is a beautiful city on the water, it is actually a bunch of islands bridge together. We got to see the harbor and experience seeing some traditional Finish food in the market. We also saw a really huge Lutheran church. It reminded me of a lot of the catholic churches I have seen. 

I spent the weekend sitting in different meetings, NMI, District Advisory Board, discussions about the new work in Sweden. I think my mind has hit discussion overload. I don't see how all these church leaders can do this weekend after weekend. It's not my favorite activity. However, I think we have come to a great place with everything. I did really enjoy my conversations with our Field Strategy Coordinator, Regional Director and his wife, and the GS's wife. I felt very encouraged listening to them and what they had to share. I did walk away feeling inspired and supported and ready to move forward with both of the cafe teams (Copenhagen and Sweden).

We also had an ordination service for the pastor in Finland. It was another exciting experience to be a part of. I don't know how to describe what it feels like to pray over another Elder and the power of the Spirit in that moment. I hope it is a feeling and memory I never loose. 

It was a great weekend! I am so glad I get to be a part of the Scandinavian District! There are a lot of wonderful people on this district!!! 

Danish Crew in front of the Lutheran church

Danish Crew touring Helsinki

Lutheran church

Harbor in Helsinki

walkin around Helsinki

walkin around Helsinki

Ordination Service

the beach by the house

the botanical gardens in Copenhagen

newspaper war during youth group

newspaper war during youth group

newspaper war during youth group

a much needed update

I know, I know, it has been over a month since I have written. I keep thinking I need to update and then I become distracted and forget and all of a sudden a month goes by without an update. I have been finding ways to keep myself busy.

I have been having a lot of fun in the white house. Things with the youth group have been going well. We have been meeting regularly on Monday nights for youth group. We have been doing bigger activities once a month and sometimes having impromptu movie and game nights.

Things are going well with the cafe group. We have now established a set operating budget for the first year of business. We are ready! We have begun to look into different properties. We have 2 right now that we are looking for more information on. The goal is to start renting in July and open in September. We are busy making summer plans and trying to figure out how to get everything we need. We really need some help with fundraising and work teams. At this point we need $50,000 more to be able to operate through the first year.

There is a new ministry start in Sweden. A couple there are looking into opening a coffee shop and planting a church. I have been spending time consulting with them over the steps we need to take to open that shop, this fall as well. They have a huge project in front of them. They also need a lot of fundraising support and work teams as well.

I have been connected with a school in Greve. I have shared in 4 different English classes. I have talked mainly about American culture, but in one class I was able to share about religion as well. I had a great conversation about faith with the students. It was so neat to be able to openly share Christ in a classroom, something that would never happen at home.

My energies are really pulled in 3 directions right now. 1st is the white house/youth ministry, 2nd is the cafe group in Copenhagen, and 3rd is the cafe in Sweden. It makes for some interesting days spent writing emails or meetings. I am getting anxious to open a shop, I really beginning to miss getting to hang out in a coffee shop to work.

I LOVE living in Denmark, it has brought joy back to ministry for me. I am trying (and not very successfully) to learn Danish. I am enjoying the fellowship with the different teams I am working with. Things are good! :)