Serve – In The Community

Disaster Relief Response…

Lean into Love 3.0: Love Your Neighbor
2022 Lenten Project
“Love your neighbor as yourself” – Matthew 22: 39

This Lenten season we will raise money to disburse equally to Blowing Rock Cares, Casting Bread, Hunger and Health Coalition, Hospitality House, WeCan. As in previous years, donations may be made by mailing-in a check made out to the church and earmarked for the “Disaster Relief Fund,” OR click HERE to give to the “Disaster Relief Fund”. On Sunday mornings during Lent, we will be highlighting the programs and services provided by each of these mission partners that help alleviate the pandemic’s effects on our neighbors.

In addition, each week during Lent this year, we will be collecting nonperishable food items to be distributed to local food pantries. Just drop your donation into the boxes in the Gathering Space.

Suggested items (NO GLASS CONTAINERS PLEASE):
Canned vegetables, Rice/Dried beans, Canned fruit, Soups, Canned meat, Pasta, Peanut Butter, Pasta Sauce, Cereals, Packaged dry meals, Cookies/Crackers, Nuts/Snacks
 
In 2020 during Lent, the Mission Committee determined that increased demand for local hunger and crisis relief assistance due to onset of the pandemic’s economic impact required a shift in focus of our Lenten project. The Disaster Relief Fund was established to receive funds for distribution to local hunger and crisis relief agencies, and “Lean into Love” became the theme of the project, which resulted in donations approaching $30,000 dollars to those local agencies.

“’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22: 37-39.

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:40.

 
 

Food 4 Families 2022

HELP US FEED OUR NEIGHBORS AND THEIR CHILDREN during the SUMMER! More than 50% of the children at Bethel, Cove Creek, and Mabel Schools receive Free or Reduced lunch during the school year. In the summer the free and reduced lunches are not available…that’s where the Food 4 Families mission project comes in and we would love for you to join us! Here are some ways that YOU can help feed children in Watauga County this summer…

  • Come together to PACK Food boxes of kid-friendly food every 2 weeks this summer
        June 13 and 27, July 11 and 25, August 8, 2022
  • LOAD the church bus
  • DELIVER food to our partner churches
        June 14 and 28, July 12 and 26, August 9, 2022
  • PRAY that God will lead each of us to do our part to help feed the families that need it the most this summer.
  • Serve on the F4F Planning Team
Questions??? Fill out the contact form below.
Or contact a member of the F4F Planning Team… Anna Eyler, Margaret Gregor, Margaret and Russell Headrick, Frank and Jerri Mayberry, Sue Newell, and Stephen Sorrell

GATHERING to SERVE September 10, 2022! 

All ages will have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of God in our community on Saturday, August 7! A dedicated group of project leaders would love to have you on their team and serve alongside you in one of many projects to choose from.

 
Childcare will be available throughout the morning for those too young to participate.
Questions? Fill out the contact form below.
 

Helping Hands Wood Lot

HELPING HANDS WOOD LOT – a dedicated group of men and women from FPC and Grace Lutheran meet on Tuesdays 8:30am – 12:30pm year round with occasional special work days, to collect, cut and split wood which is then stock-piled in a lot adjacent to the Hunger Coalition. The purpose is to help offset the cost of heating homes for those who cannot afford to buy wood.
 
Interested? Fill out the contact form below.
 

Hospitality House / WeCAN

HOSPITALITY HOUSE / WeCAN serves as a clearing house of benevolence assistance and crisis services for Watauga County residents. Hospitality House provides emergency shelter, transitional and family housing and permanent supportive housing for those in need. Bread of Life Community Kitchen provides 3 meals a day to all residents and any community members in poverty and need. The meals are managed by their food service coordinator and prepared by churches, civic organizations, and volunteers. For more information go to HOSPITALITY HOUSE.
 

Hunger and Health Coalition / Western Watauga Food Outreach

HUNGER and HEALTH COALITION provides food and pharmacy assistance to the High Country. A collection basket for non-perishable food items is located at the bottom of the stairwell on the first floor. There are many ways to volunteer at the Hunger Coalition. Find out more about the Hunger and Health Coalition and how you can get involved HERE.
 
WESTERN WATAUGA FOOD OUTREACH (WWFO)… Over 61% of the children at Bethel Elementary are enrolled in Free and Reduced Lunch. Many more would qualify but will not apply. A trip for someone who lives in the Bethel area could easily take two hours plus the cost of gas to get to and from the Hunger and Health Coalition. This is a significant barrier for many in western Watauga County which is considered to be a food desert, to get food. 
 
On Thursdays from 4:00 – 6:00pm, those who come to WWFO at the Community Center in Sugar Grove can take home bread as well as meat and in season local produce when available. Bags of food are given every week to those who qualify through the Hunger Coalition system. A community meal is served the first and third Thursday of the month. Want to provide a meal? Fill out the contact form below.
 

One Day With God Prison Ministry

A group from FPC volunteers in August at Avery Mitchell Correctional for a One Day With God Camp. The camps are sponsored by the High Country Prison Ministry in collaboration with Forgiven Ministry based in Taylorsville, NC.
The “One Day with God” Camps began with a vision of one day inside prison walls where parent and child could reconcile with one another and spend time together with God-anointed mentors working beside them. The day includes games, crafts, lunch, music, clowns, an illusionist, face painting, and a parent and child quiet time. It is a divinely appointed time for both child and inmate where both can experience the love of God and find forgiveness and reconciliation. If one child could have a Christ-centered Mom or Dad return home from prison, there would be a joyous change in that home forever, and it could change the path that child takes in life.

Interested? Fill out the contact form below.

For more information: FORGIVEN MINISTRY

Operation Christmas Child 

                     “Therefore go and make disciples, of all nations….”      Matthew 28:19a

You are invited to pack an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox with toys, toiletries, school supplies, books, and small articles of clothing AND to include a message telling children that God loves them and you are praying for them.  There will be OCC Shoeboxes and packing information at the OCC Center in the Gathering Space, along with some donated items. Collection week is November 14 – 21, 2022.
   
What Goes in My Shoebox? 
 *Start with a quality item like a stuffed animal, soccer ball with pump, or clothing outfit that will capture the child’s attention the instant he or she opens the box.                                                                              
*Pack other fun toys, hygiene items, and school supplies to fill the shoebox.                                        
*Pray for the child who will receive your gift and send a personal note and photo.                                       
*Include a donation of $10.00

FEED the HUNGER October 16, 2022

Feed the Hunger Packathon is a food packing event in which participants produce thousands of nutritious meals that will be distributed through Feed the Hunger partners to children and families in need, both in America and internationally.
During a two-hour shift, teams of volunteers assemble four ingredients: a carbohydrate (rice or pasta), a protein (soy or dehydrated pinto beans), dehydrated vegetables, and vitamin powder. These ingredients, which together provide complete nutrition, are packaged in six-serving meal packets that are then weighed, sealed, and boxed. Packathons take place in a friendly, high-energy environment, and we welcome participants ages 5 to 105!
Each shift begins with a brief instructional period so volunteers clearly understand the various tasks and ends with a short time of celebration over how many life-saving meals were packed during that shift. With your help, we can purchase, pack, and distribute food at a cost of only $0.30 per meal!
 
Food packed during a Packathon is distributed overseas to refugees and needy children through Christian partners, and is given out domestically through food pantries and through supplemental food programs at certain schools.
 
Food packed during our Packathon in October were to be sent to Haiti who is currently being controlled by gangs.