Outreach
Outreach | Current Missions |Lay Caring Ministry | Focus Issues | Loryn Pinney's Blog
On behalf of the First Congregational Church, the Outreach Commission provides support to organizations which serve those in need, both locally and around the world. Through the generous contribution of our church members’ funds and talents, the Outreach Commission is able to support many organizations and causes during the year. Included in our efforts are organizations that we have supported for a number of years, as well as new organizations responding to timely events. In order to facilitate church member outreach to a variety of causes, it was approved in November 2009 that the plate collection during the third Sunday “mission moment” highlighting the work of an organization supported by the church will be designated for the featured organization. |
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Organizations that have been supported during the past year include:
- Christian Community Action (New Haven, CT)
- Fair Haven Parents' Ministry (New Haven, CT)
- Mt. Selinda Hospital (Zimbabwe)
- Village Mountain Mission (Dominican Republic)
- Madison Cares Habitat for Humanity
- Shoreline Soup Kitchens
- 10,000 Girls (Senegal)
- Neighbor to Neighbor Fund of the Madison Foundation (Madison, CT)
- Hope School (West Bank)
- Setso Project (Botswana)
- Support for UCC Mission Programs – Neighbors in Need in the fall, and One Great Hour of Sharing in the spring. This year, One Great Hour of Sharing supported the Church World Service response to the Haiti earthquake.
Lay Caring Ministry
“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren,
you did it to me.” – Matthew 40.
The Lay Caring Ministry (LCM) is an arm of the diaconate of the First Congregational Church, with pastoral guidance provided by the Rev. Boyd Johnson. The LCM team extends the reach of our church in several different ways. For those in our congregation who face health or other serious challenges, LCM members distribute meals, prayer shawls, or devotionals, depending on the need. Sometimes, people who have received a meal from our casserole bank have volunteered to help replenish the food supply in our freezer, thereby rounding out a circle of caring. Rev. Johnson makes pastoral calls for members in the hospital or in care facilities such as Madison House, and LCM team members develop one-on-one caring relationships with homebound members through personal visits and telephone calls.
A cancer support group has been established under the aegis of the Lay Caring Ministry. The group honors confidentiality and is open to anyone in the community whose life has been touched by cancer. LCM activities include a prayer line; helping at funeral receptions; and sending cards that celebrate a special birthday or anniversary, or that express support and sympathy.
An ongoing project is acquiring books for the Parlor library in the Reverend Franklin A. Bower Church House. Our goal is to build an up-to-date collection that members can turn to as they move through life’s difficulties and transitions.
Loryn Pinney's Blog
- Follow Loryn Pinney and her work with the Village Mountain Mission in Luperon, Dominican Republic. Loryn first experienced working with the VMM three years ago when the High School Group travelled there for a mission trip. Three years later, she is now an employee of the Village Mountain Mission and is working to establish a preschool program. Good Luck Loryn!
