Volunteers are needed for the next Bread & Roses meal which is scheduled for June 30th. Preparations take place on Friday night, June 29th, 6:30-8:00 p.m. and on Saturday June 30th noon until 3:30 p.m. We need eight helpers or more on Friday night and three on Saturday. Bring your favorite knife, vegetable peeler, cutting board and apron! Also, don’t forget to bring a hat or bandana to cover your hair if you don’t like wearing a hairnet.
Contact Lynn Haddad or Beth Bower for more information.
Toiletries Needed
During your summer travels, don’t forget to bring home any extra toiletries for our toiletry collection. We’re collecting travel sized toiletries for Rosie’s Place in Boston and Emmaus, Inc. in Haverhill for distribution to their guests.
Donated items should be left in the church office in the basket marked “Missions Toiletries.”
Note: All items must be new and unopened.
Hungry Helpers
Hungry Helpers will be preparing its next meal on Tuesday, June 12th. Volunteers are needed to serve, clean tables, and wash dishes. Serving begins at 5:45 p.m. Please contact Lynn Haddad or Beth Bower if you can help out.
One Great Hour of Sharing
It’s not too late to make a donation to the special collection for One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS)! OGHS contribution envelopes (which were included in the May Messenger) can be placed in the offering plate or dropped off in the church office. Please make checks payable to First Congregational Church and write OGHS on the memo line.
Yearly Wrap Up
During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the Missions / Outreach Committee focused on supporting local outreach organizations as well as Partners in Health.
Donations totaling $9782 were made to nineteen organizations from the 12% allocated to Missions from pledges and offerings. The congregation also supported our outreach activities through their participation in coffee hour and special collections. (A detailed accounting of the contributions made during the 2006-2007 fiscal year is available in the Annual Report.)
Our primary goal for the year was to focus attention on Partners in Health (PIH) an international health-care agency serving the poorest of the poor in countries around the world. By providing informational displays during several coffee hours in support of PIH and by hosting theologian and activist, Ed Cardoza, PIH’s director of Development on Missions’ Sunday, we feel we attained that goal. Secondary to raising awareness for PIH, we set a fund raising goal of $1000; we surpassed our goal by raising $1102.
Every year the Missions/Outreach Committee is able to reach out to people in need near and far. The ability to help so many people in so many ways would not be possible without the support of the congregation and for that we are very grateful!
For the upcoming fiscal year, the committee will continue to reach out to the local community. Additionally, we will work towards creating a new and improved Missions / Outreach presence on our church’s internet site.
