Feeding & Sheltering Related Needs:

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” Matt 25:37-39.

In the last 50 years, almost 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation… three times the number of people killed in ALL wars fought in the entire 20th century.

In the United States, 12 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in 10 households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.

24% of homeless people in the U.S. have full or part-time jobs.

The Census Bureau reported, in 2003, that 35.9 million people in the U.S. were living in poverty, an increase of 4.3 million since 2000.

Feeding & Sheltering Goals:

1. To elevate awareness of our congregation about the needs of the community and the world we will:

• Coordinate at least 2 experiential learning opportunities for all ages about hunger and poverty housing.
  • Support 30 Hour Famine – Feb 18 & 19
  • Develop Affordable Housing Weekend – August 20-21 or 27-28
  
  
• Provide information on the causes, resources and prevalence of hunger and poverty housing through newsletter articles, bulletin board displays, e-mail and website postings.


• Encourage group and individual study of God’s call to respond to poverty issues by recommending and/or facilitating the purchase of curriculum.

2. To provide direct assistance to individuals and families with housing, hunger and healthcare related needs, we will:

• Donate budgeted monies monthly through partnerships with local social service agencies & churches.
• Raise and disburse $4,300 for hunger relief through 2 Cents Per Meal, 30-Hour Famine, SouperBowl Sunday collection and other church group offerings.
• Deliver food to individuals and local food pantries through Wednesday Gathering meals, Mid-Ohio Valley Christmas Dinner and collection of food for local food banks
• Coordinate an alternative Christmas gift program and the Mid-Ohio Valley Christmas Dinner to celebrate Christ’s birth and message of love.
• Provide supplies, financial assistance and/or work teams to critical relief needs as need determined through Mission Committee assessment of WV Presbytery and PCUSA appeals.

3. To improve the safety of residents in our target neighborhood we will conduct regular “hands-on” home improvement work projects using the volunteer labor of FPC members and friends.

4. To increase the supply of safe affordable housing in our community, we will participate in the building or rehabilitation of one house annually.

5. Support other mission related activities of the congregation such as Bluestone camp support, Youth mission trips and others that come to the attention of FPC.

Mathew 28:18 - Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In affirming that peacemaking is the calling of Christian believers, the PCUSA asserts through Peacemaking: The Believers’ Calling that:

• We are faithful to Jesus Christ when we are engaged as peacemakers;
• We are bearing witness to Christ when we nourish the moral life of our nation for the sake of peace in the world, and
• We are obedient to Christ when we are nurturing our fellow world citizens as peacemaking individuals and communities.

During this time of war and rumors of war, we should examine our responsibilities as peacemakers, the role of our religious community in nurturing discipleship, and the moral issues to which we should be bearing witness.

Peace-Making Goals:

In recognition of our call as Christ’s disciples to serve as peacemakers and help foster peace-making communities, the Mission Committee adopts the following goals and objectives:

1. To collect and disburse financial donations for local, state and national/international Peacemaking programs through participation in the October PCUSA Peacemaking Offering.

2. To elevate awareness of our congregation and the community around key peace-making initiatives we will:

• Coordinate presentations by “peace-experts” through an annual peace-making event.
• Demonstrate our Christian love to the children of prison inmates by coordinating the Angel Tree Program.
• Encourage group and individual study of God’s call to peacemaking by recommending and/or facilitating the purchase of curriculum.
• Encourage Session to adopt the “Commitment to Peacemaking” as identified by PCUSA

3. Establish a relationship with a PCUSA missionary by providing financial support and regular on-going communication.

4. Begin planning and implementation for 2006 Adult Mission Trip

5. Assess the level of mission-related funding and giving within the total budgets and activities of First Presbyterian Church.

6. Develop and implement a plan to acquire and distribute bibles locally, nationally and internationally.