Our Mission Outreach Team lifts up special mission projects for your prayers and support. As a congregation, we support mission outreaches with our time, talents, and offerings. Here’s a listing of some of the exciting missions our team has chosen on which to focus:
•Campus Connections - Our college students benefit from "care packages" from home. The congregation donates non-perishable food items that are packed and shipped to members away at college. These packages are sent several times a year.
•Caring Cooks - Many families who suffer a loss will benefit from this program. Meals are made in bulk in advance and stored until needed. When there is a loss or an extended illness, meals are delivered to a family.
•Church World Service - This is an outreach through United Methodist Women. They choose a project to champion each year.
•Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica - A group of five recently made a 10-day trip for a work detail to tear down walls in the upstairs that will be rebuilt into larger sized classrooms.
•Food For the Needy - The Penn Yan Council of Churches sponsors our local food pantry. The distribution site is the First Baptist Church on Main Street. The pantry helps local families in need. We gather and donate boxes of food items on a monthly basis.
•Friendship Knitting Circle - A group of long-time friends get together on Wednesday mornings throughout the year and knit or crochet baby layettes for newborns in our sister church in Nome, Alaska. They also hand make sweaters for orphanages according to the guidelines through the GuidePost program.
•Habitat for Humanity - we support this worthwhile endeavor with fund raisers throughout the year. We collect empty liquid ink cartridges for recycling and we host a ham dinner in the fall.
•Handicap Bus - The Penn Yan Council of Churches operates a handicap bus service on Sunday mornings. We support this by manning it with a driver and helpers two months of the year. If you need transportation, please contact us.
•Helping Hands - A group of volunteers share their time and talents to provide refreshments after a funeral or for an all-day conference meeting.
•Home Communion - Members of the congregation may become housebound from an extended illness or may move to assisted living facilities. If members cannot attend church for communion, a dedicated group of volunteers hand deliver communion. It is greatly appreciated by these members and helps to know that they are not forgotten.
•Living Memorial Flowers - During Easter and Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day, the church offers the opportunity for the congregation to purchase a variety of flowers to be displayed in the sanctuary on the Sunday before the holiday named in memory or in honor of someone special in their lives. These flowers are purchased at the church's cost and a Memorial listing is printed showing the names of the donors and their nominees. All proceeds from these sales go to the Living Memorial Fund.
•Men's Group - Our very active Men's Group holds monthly Prayer Breakfasts throughout the year. They have completed their study of the book, "Man in the Mirror", through the leadership of Syd Kidder.
•Community United Methodist Church - is Our Sister Church in Nome, Alaska. As part of the Alaska Missionary Conference, the church relies on mission support to carry out its ministry. In addition to yearly financial support and shipments of baby layettes, our congregation has sent several individuals to Nome as short-term volunteers in mission.
•Red Cross Needs and Things - The Yates County Chapter of the American Red Cross holds bi-monthly blood drives in our building. We support the local Red Cross with donations to the Needs and Things Pantry. Items such as personal hygiene, baby supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and the like are gathered and donated on a monthly basis.
•Thanksgiving Baskets - each year, many families in the community are selected to receive a jam-packed box of donated food. Boxes are packed by many volunteers the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Local service agencies deliver the boxes to families.
•United Methodist Women - The Purpose of United Methodist Women: The organized unit of United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.
