If you’d like to support the troops overseas, it’s likely your post office can help you.

The Northland District of the Postal Service is sponsoring a campaign called „Phone Cards for Troops“ that allows customers to purchase a phone card and donate it back to the postal service. The Northland District gathers all phone cards each week and donates them to commanders of area military units, asking them to distribute the phone cards to local troops deployed overseas.

Over 200 post offices in the Northland — which covers most of Minnesota and the western third of Wisconsin — are participating in the promotion. Customers may buy phone cards for $10 (100 minutes), $20 (250 minutes) or $30 (450 minutes).

By Steve Eighinger

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Those in attendance at Union United Methodist Church’s contemporary service Sunday morning will have an opportunity to hear chaplain Lt. Col. John Read speak — from Baghdad.

Read will address the congregation via an audio hook-up from Iraq. He will be thanking the congregation for its efforts in spearheading a drive which raised 1.3 million minutes of phone cards for U.S. soldiers to use while stationed in Iraq.

The service begins at 11:30 and will last approximately 30 minutes, according to the Rev. Bob Morwell.

«Worshippers will be able to hear the chaplain reflect on his work in that embattled city,» Morwell said. «The general public also is invited, and if time permits the chaplain may be able to field a few questions from the congregation.»

The telephone call was arranged by Morwell, who initially teamed with Read via e-mail to help begin a nationwide drive among Methodist churches to collect phone cards and have them sent to Iraq. The two originally made connections via e-mail.

Methodist chaplains serving in various combat zones distributed the phone cards to soldiers of all faiths.

More than 800,000 of the minutes raised came from the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. The IGRC encompasses 950 Methodist churches in Illinois, including four in Quincy.

All cards collected were 500-minute AT&T models, the only type accepted in Iraq and which cost $25 each. The four Methodist churches in Quincy combined to contribute 82 cards.

«We will be displaying pictures taken in Iraq on our big screen while the chaplain is speaking,» Morwell said. «One of the pictures shows a group of U.S. soldiers holding up a sign which says ’Thanks’ (for the phone cards).»

Morwell said the service is scheduled for the chapel area inside Union United Methodist, but if the turnout is too large for that area the service will be moved to the main sanctuary which seats about 300.

«Everyone is welcome,» Morwell said.

Morwell said a trial run has been made with the connection to Iraq and all results were positive.

Any questions about Sunday’s service or presentation may be directed to the church at (217) 223–6062.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Eighinger at seighinger@whig.com or

(217) 221–3377