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Mission
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with
actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18
WPC has long held participation in mission as a primary objective. Whether
giving monetary support, physical assistance, sharing of goods and services, or
spiritual support, members are continually giving of their time and talent.
Mission funds are designated for the following categories:
The General Mission portion of our giving includes the General Assembly, Synod,
and Presbytery. Since Presbyterians regard the education and training of future
pastors to be of prime importance, a portion of General Mission funds is
designated for Theological Seminary support.
The Ongoing Mission Projects are a group of projects that have become focal
points for our church and include nearly 30 local, national and global
activities. Projects are added and subtracted from this list based on changing
needs. Consideration is given to social outreach, youth, the aging and world
evangelism.
Some examples in each category follow: (A complete list is available from the
Mission Committee of Session.)Adult Mission Work Camps
- In November 2005, Webster Presbyterian Church
initiated a series of adult mission work camps to assist
folks along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in recovering and
rebuilding from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
As of the end of 2006, 5 teams totaling 32 people have gone
to Mississippi to work and have worked on 7 homes in the
coastal Mississippi towns of Gautier, Pascagoula and Ocean
Springs.
The congregation has adopted the Rivera family in Gautier,
and all 5 work teams have worked at least part of their time
on their home. In additional, financial contributions from
many members of the congregation have been used to help the
Riveras and other families purchase items such as building
supplies, appliances, kitchen cabinets and flooring. And we
have discovered that the emotional support and hope that we
provide to these families is often more important than the
physical work that we do for their homes.
The work to rebuild the Gulf Coast will continue for several
years beyond 2006, and we plan to send more work teams to
help with this ongoing rebuilding.
Social Outreach Cameron Community Ministries which provides support to
the northwest Rochester area through a hot meal program, youth groups, Hispanic
Outreach, clothing closet and tutoring: Wayne County Habitat for Humanity;
Cephas Attica, a parolee counseling and support group; Open Door Mission which
provides food, shelter, clothing, medical and spiritual aid to Rochester
homeless; Red Bird Mission in Kentucky; and the Medical Benevolence Foundation.
Youth Funds are designated for Young Life programs in Webster and
Rochester; Bill and Colleen Thomas for their work with Campus Crusade to spread
the Word of the Gospel in Ukraine; Christian camping opportunities for youth at
Camp Whitman on Seneca Lake, and our own Church annual Sr. High Workcamps to
various areas in the Northeast.
Aging WPC gives both financial and volunteer aid to the Presbyterian
Home and to Kirkhaven, a skilled nursing facility.
World Evangelism WPC has a personal interest in a number of world-wide
mission projects: Dr. Jody Collinge who provides medical care, education and
gospel outreach in Mexico; Little Children of the Philippines: East West
Christian Solidarity and the Kikuyu Hospital which is located in Kenya.
Special Mission Projects Additional 3-year commitments are made to a
local national, and overseas project on a rotating basis: Year 1 Williamson
Come-Unity Center in Wayne County provides the basic necessities of human
survival to the poor; Year 2 Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social
Services (CEOSS) offers self-help training to the poor in Egypt; .Year 3
National Health Ministries, a national program to provide health services.
Also as part of our building fund, we annually designate a special mission
activity. Also through out the year we raise contributions for Church World
Services blankets, Christmas Joy Offering, One Great Hour of Sharing, and
Summer Mission.
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