Please join us for the next
Birmingham Bloomfield Area CROP Walk
on Sunday, October 1, 2006

The CROP Walk is a multi-generational community-wide event held in the Birmingham area each autumn, usually the first Sunday in October. It raises funds to respond to critical local hunger needs as well as international hunger and disaster relief … in countries like Iraq, Liberia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, and Turkey, as well as in Oakland County. Twenty-five percent of funds raised remain in our community. Local beneficiaries include such groups as:

• Baldwin Center, Pontiac
• TEAM Emergency Assistance, Birmingham
• Lighthouse, Pontiac
• Open Hands Food Pantry, Royal Oak
• South Oakland Shelter, Royal Oak

CROP stands for Community Response to Overcome Poverty. Walkers from Birmingham/Bloomfield churches will follow routes of 1.5, 3 or 5 miles, beginning at our church and weaving through Birmingham to the finish line at First Presbyterian Church.

Our church was a community leader for the 2005 Birmingham Bloomfield Area CROP Walk. Thank you to all who participated in the Walk by walking or donating. The CROP Walk raised a best-ever $59,309.40! FUMC lead the group again this year, raising $22,409.55!! The Heart and Sole trophy will be staying put in the CLC case for another year. Thank you for your ongoing support of the work of Church World Service.

The following article tells about the success of the 2004 CROP Walk and the friendly rivalry that exists between First United Methodist Church of Birmingham and Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church.

It Is Well With My Sole
(reprinted from a worldwide publication of Church World Service, Spring 2005)

"Challenge Ignites Michigan Crop Walk. Dr. Bill Ritter of First United Methodist Church of Birmingham and Dr. Norman Pritchard of Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church have a running competition over the “Heart and Sole” Award, a large gold shoe trophy that goes to the top fundraising church each year in the Birmingham/Bloomfield Area CROP Walk. For years the trophy stayed at First United Methodist Church (FUMC). But in 2002, Kirk in the Hills topped FUMC by a few hundred dollars, and the trophy had to be handed over. In 2003, Kirk in the Hills again beat out FUMC. In 2004, because it would be Dr. Ritter’s last CROP Walk before his retirement, he let the congregation know that he would really like to see FUMC in the top spot again. The congregation responded well, and despite remarkable efforts by the folks at Kirk in the Hills, FUMC was able to reclaim the top spot and the trophy now sits in a glass case in the church’s Christian Life Center.

"This competition has helped to grow the CROP Walk. First United Methodist and Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian raised two-thirds of the 2004 Walk’s record-setting $58,344 — $23,120 and $18,000 respectively. And the pair were number one and two among CROP Walk churches in Michigan . The other nine churches in the Birmingham/Bloomfield Area CROP Walk also saw increases in participants and pledges."

Church World Service, the organization that distributes CROP Walk funds, is known for its effective and efficient programs, which are implemented through local partnerships. CWS is an enabling agency. The emphasis is to eliminate hunger by providing tools for food, rather than food itself … and also to provide tools for health, education and safety that are essential to maintaining hunger-free communities. Direct food aid is provided when necessary.

Information about CWS and its current activities in Iraq, Liberia, Zimbabwe, and other communities is available at www.churchworldservice.org.

The spirit of cooperation that results when people of all faiths join together is inspiring and invaluable. You can "make a difference" and inspire hope by being a CROP Walker or offering a donation to a CROP Walker.

See the photos of the 2001 CROP Walk.

For more information, contact Bill Burnett at cropwalk@fumcbirmingham.org or call the church office.