UPUMC Life May 2014 | Page 10

tel l i n g o u r s t o ry c om m unit y new s NDSM Gala North Dallas Shared Ministries is hosting it’s 2014 Annual Benefit on Friday, May 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at St. Monica Catholic Church, Walnut Hill at Midway in Dallas. Gala tickets are $50 each. Featured entertainment is by Black Dirt Tango playing genres as varied as bluegrass, Texas roots, country and country-rock. For more information, visit www.ndsm.org. Blood Drive, June 8 Give the gift of life by donating blood. The Carter BloodCare Bus will be in the Caruth parking lot on Sunday, June 8. Sign up at the Connection Center or on our website, www.upumc.org. Taco Dinner & Auction For over 20 years University Park UMC has worked with Agape Memorial UMC to support Not Home Alone, an educational enrichment program that services Robert E. Lee Elementary School and John F. Kennedy Learning Center in East Dallas. This year, their annual Benefit Taco Dinner & Silent Auction will be held at UPUMC on Sunday, Aug. 24, right after church in the Activity Center. Support VBS! Food and monetary donations to underwrite the cost of VBS are wonderful ways to contribute to UPUMC’s Children’s Ministry. Look for a link on the church VBS web page in late May for a list of items needed. New Staff at UPUMC What’s YOUR Story? We want to hear your stories about UPUMC. Here’s how: 1. Video or audio, contact Mark Pope 2. Submit your story online: upumc.org/ mystory 3. Write it down! Look for the Story Stations at the flatscreen monitors in both lobbies. We will have paper and pens available with a basket to submit your handwritten stories. PAGE 10 The SPRC of UPUMC is thrilled to welcome three new staff members: Mission Strategist, Tova Sido; Music Assistant, Monica Frazier; and Office Manager, Ashley Hall. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Tova Sido comes to us from Highland Park UMC, where she served as Youth Director and Pastor of Cornerstone, the contemporary worship community. Previously she worked in corporate America as a Marketing Director for companies such as Intel and The Cooper Aerobics Center. Tova and her husband Topher adopted three children, Carter, Anna-Prin and George. Monica Frazier received her BA in Theology from the University of Dallas in 1998. She has a heart for missions and spent a year serving the homeless in New England before she went on to receive a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame. She has worked in ministry with adults and families in Houston, Austin, and her hometown of Wichita Falls. Monica is an avid Texas Rangers fan and enjoys coming home to her very energetic pug, Regina. Ashley Hall is from Garden Ridge, TX, which is near New Braunfels. She received her degree in Advertising from Texas Tech University. She has worked in marketing for a number of firms including Tidal Wave. Ashley has worked with Village Church and is very active in Union and attends Kuneo services. In her spare time, Ashely enjoys traveling and working in watercolors. UPUMC | MAY 2014