Give the Gift of Hope This Season:
A Gallery of Alternative Gifts for Christmas

Heifer Project International
Red Bird Mission Crafts
Log House Craft Shop
Four Corners Native American Ministry Crafts
Equal Exchange Coffee
SERRV Handicrafts
Whose Birthday Is It Anyway? Ideas for a Christ-Centered Holiday

Heifer Project International

Since 1944, Heifer Project International has helped more than 4 million families in 117 countries become self-reliant by providing them with "living loans" of livestock. Currently, HPI supports more than 300 projects that create sustainable small-scale farm enterprises to improve nutrition and supplement income. Not only are families trained in the proper care and maintenance of their animal but they are also required to "pass on the gift" by giving one or more of their animal's offspring to another family in need.

A 145-page book, The Gift, is available from Heifer Project International. It includes inspiring stories and breathtaking photographs by the Heifer International photographers Matt and Susan Bradley.

Thanks to a new resource for Children--Animal Crackers, a free 80-page leader's guide-- students learn that they can play a direct role in overcoming world hunger. The guide presents ideas for organizing HPI projects in the church and includes biblically based lesson plans for children, a colorful poster, facts about livestock, and suggestions for activities. Churches can order this resource from HPI by calling 800-422-0474.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief has worked with HPI in successful collaboration in a number of countries. United Methodists can give their gifts to HPI through the Advance, Heifer Project International, Living Gifts, #982532-1. Web address: www.heifer.org

Red Bird Mission Crafts

Red Bird Mission, guided by Jesus Christ, empowers individuals and advocates justice by providing spiritual, educational, health, and community-outreach ministries.

The Red Bird Mission Craft Program provides economic opportunity for artisans in the Appalachia area by marketing their crafts. Hand-rolled beeswax candles, baskets, Christmas ornaments, wooden toys, ceramics, pottery, coal figures, and corn-shuck flowers are just some of the crafts available.

The craft program visits 50 to 60 churches each year, providing Appalachian Craft Fairs. Call to find out when the van comes to your area. The craft store on the Queendale Campus in Beverly, Kentucky, is open five days a week. Crafts may also be ordered through the mail and churches may order on consignment. Write or call Red Bird Mission Crafts, 15 Queendale Center, Beverly, KY 40913: 606-598-2709 or 800-898-2709; E-mail: rbmcrafts@kih.net

Log House Craft Shop

Enjoy the craftsmanship of the Cumberlands. Log House Craft Shop, a project of Henderson Settlement, aids crafters who live in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee. Henderson Settlement is a mission agency related to the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church within the Red Bird Missionary Conference.

Folk painting, stained glass, wooden benches, ceramics, carvings, candles, hand-painted leather, wooden toys and puzzles, woven rugs and place mats, quilts, dolls, bears, and bunnies are some of the crafts that are available. Churches can order a bazaar package or order boxes of assorted crafts on consignment. The Log House Craft Shop van travels to churches all over the United States for shows and bazaars. Call 606-337-5823 for more information.

Four Corners Native American Ministry Crafts

The Four Corners Native American Ministry of The United Methodist Church offers crafts that are handmade by Navajo artisans. Sandpaintings, ceramic figures, beadwork, pottery, and Communion sets are available for congregations to buy. Prices range from $20 to $60 for most pieces or sets. Purchases help the local craftspeople of the mission located in Shiprock, New Mexico. The unemployment rate on the Navajo reservation is over 50 percent. Selling crafts is a small way to work at home and become self-supporting. Four Corners pays more than the artists can get from local traders. Each item is produced by a different Native American family.

Purchases also help Four Corners Native American Ministry of The UMC. This ministry is to Navajos by Navajos. It encompasses 20 native churches situated in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah--each with a Navajo pastor and services in the Navajo language. Outside support is welcome to complement the many indigenous efforts to reach people for Christ. Call the Rev. Paul West at 505-368-4402 for more information.

Equal Exchange

How many cups of coffee are consumed at your church on a Sunday? Generally, a pound of coffee bought at the supermarket has paid US and foreign intermediary companies a tidy profit, leaving very little for the farmers of Central and South America who have produced the coffee beans. Equal Exchange buys direct from Central American farming cooperatives, putting an extra 50 cents per pound in the farmers' pockets, enabling their families to have homes, health care, education, more nutritious food, and hope for a better future.

Equal Exchange has a coffee program designed just for churches. Developed for Lutheran World Relief, the church coffee program is now open to all congregations that wish to order quality coffee at a fairly traded price. Contact Equal Exchange at 781-830-0303 and dial extension 7 for church orders, or look up www.equalexchange.com on the web.

SERRV

SERRV, a project founded by the Church of the Brethren, promotes the social and economic progress of people in developing regions of the world by purchasing and marketing their handicrafts in a just and direct manner. SERRV works with artisan cooperatives from developing countries throughout the world, while project coordinators visit the sites to ensure that the cooperatives are working well.

From the proceeds of their sales to SERRV, some cooperatives are able to provide child care, health services, education, or other basic needs to their members. Many SERRV projects develop as church ministries, such as the Creative Handicrafts co-op developed by Sister Isabel Martin in Mumbai (Bombay), India. The program takes battered and abused women off the streets, provides nursery care and an emergency shelter, and is owned by the women themselves. SERRV works in more than 30 countries, providing needed income to tens of thousands of artisans and their families. To order a catalog or to inquire about church sales, call 800-723-3712.

Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?

The United Methodist Committee on Relief once again offers "Ideas for a Christ-Centered Holiday." This little catalog, produced by Alternatives for Simple Living, offers alternative ways to celebrate the Christmas season. An Advent calendar that continues to Epiphany presents Scripture readings, suggestions for donating small amounts of money toward a Christmas project (such as a church ministry or an Advance Project), and family activities that bring the holiday emphasis back to the Christ child. Stories, activity suggestions, and weekly Advent readings make this a good choice for family devotionals. Order today to be ready for Advent (Stock #5254): 800-305-9857. The Service Center, General Board of Global Ministries, 7820 Reading Road, Caller No. 1800, Cincinnati, OH 45222-1800.