2015 Missions.....
Local Missions
Blessing of the Animals – On October 4th , Pastor Kurt blessed the attending pets, pets in photos not able to attend and photos of our beloved pets who are no longer with us. All food and other donations went to a not-for profit organization. Our Coffee Connection - The coffee used at Parma Greece UCC is purchased from the Coffee Connection in Rochester. The Coffee Connection provides employment training and job creation for women in recovery from addiction and as a not-for-profit business sells fair trade, organic coffee to retail and wholesale customers. In partnership with Project Empower, they provide comprehensive, continuous support for women on their journey toward sustainable recovery. Grace House - Contributed Christmas gifts for boys and girls between the ages of 1-18 for the residents of the House to give to their children. Hilton Clothing Closet – Delivered clothing items that members of the congregation donated. Hilton CROP Walk – We participated in the fourth consecutive year of the Hilton CROP Walk. 13 walkers and a total of $1000 was pledged from PGUCC. In 2015, 114 walkers participated from seven churches and two schools and $4160.75 was collected. Church World Services returns 25% to local hunger fighting organizations. The Hilton-Parma Emergency Food Shelf received $1,042.69 to help with their efforts to keep Hilton a hunger free community. Hilton-Parma Emergency Food Shelf - Our congregation supports this effort by contributing food and monetary donations. We “adopted” the peanut butter shelf at the Hilton-Parma Emergency Food Shelf in 2015. It was our mission to keep this shelf filled so each client would get a jar of peanut butter in his or her monthly distribution. We donated 300 jars to supplement the supply at the Food Shelf. Hilton Parma Community Council of Churches - PGUCC provided food and gifts for 10 families to help them have a blessed and happy Christmas. A group gathered in November to cut, pin, stuff, sew, and tie to create Lap Blankets to include in the Christmas Baskets. The Board of Christian Development and Sunday school students made 4-fleece blankets to add into the baskets. Labels for Education - This is a fun and easy program where families and members of the community work together towards a common goal — “Earn Free Stuff” for their school! These are contributed to Hillside Children’s Center. Lenten Veggie Fast –In 2015, PGUCC adopted the UCC-NY Conference recommendation that we participate at least one day per week during Lent. 23 participants from PGUCC pledged participation and ate a mindful diet focused on blessing the earth as well as her/his mind, body and spirit. Salem Nutrition Center- Our volunteers serve lunch to the guests at Salem on the 2nd and 5th Mondays each month. We donate some of the clothing and goods for the clothing distribution on the 5th Monday of the month. Thanksgiving Baskets - Our donations helped to fill 75 baskets that were given out to families in the Hilton area. |
Wider Church Missions:
National Kidney Foundation – Our collection of pop tabs was contributed to to the National Kidney Foundation. New York Christian Conference - Each year a small group of representatives from area churches meet. This year we received $528.50 for attending this gathering. In 2015, these funds went to the Coalition for Migrant Workers. Pennies For People - Any church that collects "Pennies for People" can nominate deserving organizations to get funding grants. These grants are for non-profits that do not receive government grants and may "fall through the cracks" as far as funding is concerned. Prescription bottles - We are donating used plastic prescription bottles to the First Congregational at Spencerport for the Malawi Project, a health focused non-profit organization. Special offerings- In 2015, our congregation contributed to: 1. One Great Hour of Sharing 2. Strengthen the Church 3. Neighbors in Need 4. Christmas Fund 5. Our Church’s Wider Mission A "5-for-5 congregation" is one that gives to Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM) through its church budget, while also providing parishioners the opportunity to participate in each of OCWM's four special mission offerings received during the year—One Great Hour of Sharing, Neighbors in Need, Strengthen the Church and the Christmas Fund. Of the over 270 churches in the New York Conference of the UCC, about 30% (in 2012) are "5 for 5" churches. Parma Greece UCC is proud to be a longtime “5 For 5 congregation". |