|
Our Sunday School International Mission
Our Church School contributes to the support of two children in the Dominican Republic through COPA (Community Partners Association). Church World Service
The humanitarian and disaster response program of the National Council of Churches of Christ which provides immediate assistance, long-term development, human rights and refugee aid, and ministries for and with children. Supported by the Mission budget and also by individual donations in response to international crises and natural disasters. Honduras
For several years there have been multiple mission trips to the village of Flores resulting in ongoing relationships between the residents and members of Pilgrim. Clothing and toys are collected regularly at church by adults, church school children and the Pilgrim Nursery School and are taken or shipped to Flores. Medical clinics are held in a village home to provide checkups and assessments of those with more serious conditions. Connections have been made with several U.S. doctors and hospitals allowing some patients acutely in need of surgery or extensive medical treatment to come to the U.S. Proceeds from annual used books sale in June are used to buy books in Spanish. Some financial support from Equipping the Saints Fund. Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM)
This is the mission donation that supports our denominational infrastructure and all the mission activities of the United Church of Christ. Programs and services include: theological education, education for pre-school through college, participation in interfaith dialog and action, rural and urban development, disaster and hunger relief worldwide interdenominational work with partner churches. There are over 2000 ministries in the U.S. and 65 countries in Latin America, the Near East, Africa, Southern Asia, the Pacific area, and Europe. A line item in Pilgrim's yearly budget, special offerings, and the Mission budget provide support. Heifer Project International
Emphasis is on promoting self-reliance through its commitment to helping hungry families feed themselves by raising animals which have been given to them. Recipients are expected to pass on the offspring of these animals to other people in need. They are also taught how to care for their local environment. Supported by the church school children, individual donations at Christmas and other special collections. Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange is an organization which supports cooperatives of small scale farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It guarantess them a fair wage for all their crops so that they can build a better future for themselves and their families as they invest in education, health care, and agricultural improvements. Pilgrim buys Fair Trade coffee, tea, hot cocoa mix, chocolate bars and snack packs through Equal Exchange's interfaith program and sells them several times a year at modestly increased prices to off-set the cost of the purchases. Only Equal Exchange coffee and tea are sold at coffee hour and all other church functions. Communities Without Borders (CWB) - Community School in Ngombe Zambia The mission of CWB is to educate AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children, primarily in Africa, in order to nourish hope for a better future for them, society and the world. Their approach fosters building ongoing "community to community" relationships at the grassroots level in order to increase the quality of educational opportunities for these children. Pilgrim Church has helped this school in a number of ways. Just one of these ways is our commited to the formal teacher training of Nina Sakala while she continues her volunteer teaching of 40-50 children annually in Ngombe. WithoutNina these children would have no access to education. |
International Missions