Happening Now:
Gift Cards for the Men at Grace House
From November 24th until December 15th, we are once again collecting gift cards for Christmas for the men at Grace House. They prefer that we donate $10 gift cards for Wendy’s, Chick Fil-A, McDonald’s and Walmart since these places are within easy walking distance of Grace House. Please place your gift card contributions either in the box on the table in the Narthex on Sundays, December 1st, 8th and 15th, or drop them off or mail them to the church office. The men who reside at Grace House are recommended by a city or county agency including the Parole Board. Many have been in prison and most would be homeless if they were not at Grace House, so they very much appreciate our donations. Thank you in advance!
Christmas Joy Offering
This annual offering is sponsored across the USA by our denomination, PCUSA. Half of it goes to provide emergency funds for current and former pastors and church leaders and their families, and half goes for scholarships and other support for students at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges that primarily serve people of color. Special Christmas Joy envelopes will be in the chair racks from December 8th until January 5th. Please consider making a generous donation to this worthy offering.
Mission and outreach are not just what we do, but WHO WE ARE at Webster Presbyterian Church! Although only the work of three committees are summarized here, some mission and outreach work is done by almost every group in the church, including the Youth Fellowship and Children’s Sunday School. As followers of Jesus Christ, we strive to exhibit the Kingdom of God to our neighborhood, community, nation, and world. Webster Presbyterian Church has long held mission work as a primary objective by giving of our time, talent, and treasure to many different individuals and organizations. To view a list of many of the organizations to which our congregation contributes financially, go to our
Mission Giving List.
Our financial contributions to mission, outreach, and social justice have been between 20%-30% of out total church budget for at least the last 30 years! We currently financially support more than 30 organizations and individuals.
The three sections below summarize the work of three groups in our church: Mission Committee, Disciples in Action/New Beginnings, and Peace and Justice Committee.
Mission Committee
The Mission Committee, with Session approval, administers and distributes most of the mission monies in the church budget to a variety of worthy organizations and individuals based on our research and on the feedback that we receive from them. Based on the fact that God’s needy live everywhere in the world, we deliberately support local (Webster, Rochester, and Wayne County) organizations, US-based organizations such as Red Bird Ministry in Kentucky, and worldwide ministries in countries such as Peru, Mexico, Kenya, and the Philippines. We also deliberately financially support a variety of causes such as poverty, hunger, the homeless, education, victims of abuse, parolees from prison, victims of disasters, and missionaries. And in addition, we support denominational mission initiatives within Presbytery and General Assembly and with Presbyterian seminaries.
It is a special pleasure for us to be able to provide support for the following missionaries:
1) Dr. Jody Collinge in Mexico: Jody grew up in our church, got her MD and for many years has been a missionary in Mexico. She is currently focused on worldwide community health and evangelism with an emphasis on children.
2) Jed and Jenny Koball in Peru: They are PC(USA) mission coworkers based in Peru who partner with organizations and the government there to address issues such as hunger, climate change, and pollution. In addition, Jenny hosts and trains young Presbyterians who come there for a year to learn and to do mission projects.
3) Kristin Hoffman-Peckham: Kristin also grew up in our church and serves as a leader for Young Life in the Syracuse, NY area.
All of the above missionaries occasionally visit our church to give us updates about their work and also provide us with written updates several times per year.
In addition to administering financial contributions, this committee also leads/sponsors the following types of activities in which the whole congregation participates:
1) Collection of school supplies for an organization in neighboring Wayne County and for one in the City of Rochester.
2) Collection of gently used clothing in the spring and the fall for a ministry located in an extremely poor section of Rochester.
3) Collection of Christmas gifts for men who are on parole from prison and for their children.
4) Special annual Presbyterian or multi-denominational offerings such as One Great Hour of Sharing, Blanket Sunday, and the Christmas Joy offering.
5) Each year we lead a Summer Mission Project to support a specific project which is usually, but not always, local. We typically collect $5,000-$10,000 for these important projects.
6) We also lead and sponsor the following “hands on” mission projects which we characterize as “Presbyterians in Action”:
a. Week long adult mission work camp trips primarily for disaster relief from hurricanes and flooding.
b. Occasional mission trips to Kenya to support various projects such as a school for very poor children, a refugee settlement in a very remote area of Kenya and medical clinics and Presbyterian churches there.
c. Work several mornings each summer at a transitional residence complex in Rochester for men recently released from prison.
d. Clean trash from along the highway near our church twice each year as part of NY State’s “Adopt a Highway” program.
Disciples in Action/New Beginnings
Overview
One of the Great Ends of the Church is to exhibit the Kingdom of God to the world. We are actively striving to do just that- showing by our actions who God is and how God cares for the world with love, mercy, compassion, and grace.
In 2015 WPC discerned a need to reassess where we were as a Church and what God might be calling us to undertake in new ways, through a process called New Beginnings. After much study, prayer, and evaluation of our gifts, resources and our passions, God led us to reach out in new avenues to the people outside of the Church and in our hometown of Webster. Among many things that the church had already been busy with, four new ways to serve Christ were determined. Since then we have been active as a Church and as individuals living the love of Christ, building relationships of love and caring, and offering time and support to those in need.
Challenger Miracle Field
Miracle Field is a local sports opportunity, constructed so every individual with challenges can utilize the field to bring out the joy, teamwork, and aliveness of team sports. WPC raised over $10,000 through a previous Summer Mission project to support this endeavor and continue our support. Church members attend games to support players and their families from the sidelines as well as helping on the field during events. What a wonderful blessing for our Church to participate with this group!
Meals on Wheels
Numerous Members of WPC have chosen to serve the community by delivering food to those unable to leave their homes. This is an opportunity to bring meals, to offer a smile and encouragement, and to support those in need of having food brought in.
HOPE Ministry of Webster
HOPE Ministry is a Social Justice Ministry founded by Holy Trinity Catholic Church that responds to the special or emergency needs of Webster, NY residents. WPC has joined with them in serving the needs of the community by helping with organization and distribution of food, clothing, and furniture. There are ongoing volunteer opportunities with food distribution such as picking up food from local businesses that donate free or discounted items as well as delivering to community members in need..
The idea of New Beginnings is to energize our congregation in local community service: Living the Love of Christ! If you are willing to help, please contact the WPC office (585)265-9700 or Kathy Barbehenn (585)748-6000.
