Missions

Watch this space for information about our church's mission activities-- local, state, national, and international ministries.

~Contact the Missions Committee for more information.

Loose Plate Offerings will be sent to the following Mission recipients. Please make all checks payable to "Church of Christ".

01/04 - Meadowbrook - $499

01/11 - Minister's Discretionary Fund - $114

01/18 - Southwest Indian Foundation - $231.50

01/25 - Mekele Blind School - $557

02/01 - Food Pantry - $220.50

02/08 - UCC Basic Support - $146.50

02/15 - Habitat for Humanity - $213.50

02/22 - Back Bay Mission - $216.50

03/01 - Susan B. Anthony - $293.50

03/08 - Minister's Discretionary Fund - $427

03/15 - Silver Lake - $199.50

03/22 - One Great Hour of Sharing - $393.50

03/29 - Open Door Soup Kitchen - $280

04/05 - Soteni International - $387.50

04/12 - Meadowbrook - $788.25

04/19 - Inter Religious Eco-Justice Network - $100

             CT Fund for Environment - $74

04/26 - CROP Walk - $671 (total)

05/03 - Covenant House - $227

05/10 - School for Iqbal - $196

05/17 - Youth Work Camp - $411

05/24 - Komen Race for Cure - $311.25

05/31 - Covenant to Care - $211

06/07 - Doctors Without Borders - $295

06/14 - American Cancer Society - $186

06/21 - Chore Service - $164

Upcoming Loose Plate Offerings

06/28 - Minister's Discretionary Fund

07/05 - UCC Basic Support

Mission Market Coffee & Tea

Please see Shelley Harms or a member of the Missions Committee to purchase fair-trade coffee and tea any Sunday during Coffee Hour.  Thanks!

Remember to save your Campbell coupons for Elon Children’s Home:  Products bearing coupon bar-codes for Elon Homes are:  Chunky Soups and Chili, Spagettios, Select Harvest, V8 Splash and soups, Franko American Gravies, Chunky products, Pepperidge Farm (fresh or frozen),

Swanson broths, Prego foods and Market Day products.

Mekele Blind School

By Chris Hanley

Please go to Mekele School’s new update page www.mekeleblindschool.org/theschool.html, and learn about the wonderful horticulture project we are working on at the moment. Great things continue to happen at the Mekele Blind School, thanks to your generosity! Thanks for all you do!

The Norfolk Food Pantry

By Orie Marrero

Norfolk Food Pantry, located in the Chapel of Church of Christ Congregational,  is open to all in need. Let's share the many blessings we have with others!  To those who need supplemental food items, you are encouraged to stop by the church office Monday - Friday between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and share in the bounty of donated food staples in the pantry. Questions? Call 542-5721. To those who wish to donate food items, please drop off non-perishable food at the Chapel. Most needed are: tuna, peanut butter, jelly, canned fruit, canned soup, cereal, pasta, tomato sauce, toilet paper.  Monetary donations are also accepted. Please make checks payable to: "Church of Christ" (please mark for Food Pantry in memo line).

The Norfolk Food Pantry

Food Pantry donations may be dropped off in the lobby of Battell Chapel. Non-perishable food items are available to all in need, Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., or by calling the church office, 542-5721. Here are a few points to consider when donating to our food pantry:

· make sure to check packages for expiration dates, torn or open wrappers or dented cans ...

· select items that have broad appeal to a variety of ages and backgrounds, rather than "specialty foods"...

· try to donate foods that are nutritious, but also convenient and easy-to-prepare ...

· think of your donation as something you might select for yourself or your family...

Why not pick up a few extra cans of fruit, vegetables, soup, tuna, peanut butter, or another box of cereal when you shop? No time for shopping? Consider donating cash or Stop & Shop gift cards to the church, earmarked for 'Food Pantry' and let someone else shop for you. It will help us continue to provide much-needed staples to our neighbors in need. Plus, giving makes you feel great too!

A Food Drive is held the 1st Sunday of each month.

Farm Fresh Eggs - Thanks to Michael Subklew who is selling (omega-3) eggs $2.50 per dozen and donating proceeds to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund.  See Leona Alley, the office, or Michael to purchase eggs.

What is Our Church’s Wider Mission?

Each year, Church of Christ pledges to support the national ministry of the United Church of Christ. This contribution is called “Our Church’s Wider Mission,” and it appears in our budget as “UCC Wider Mission.” For 2007 we have pledged to give the same amount given in 2006: $13,000. In 2004, churches gave $15,822,061 to Our Church’s Wider Mission, and the funds were used by the UCC in the following ways:

Global Mission (29.9%, $4,735,160) – support of missionaries, disaster relief and preparedness, coordination of volunteer opportunities, refugee resettlement, interfaith dialogue, advocacy for human rights, ministries to persons with disabilities

Ministries to Local Churches (16.8%, $2,658,746) – new church starts, leadership training for laity and clergy, C. E. curricula, placement services for churches and clergy, partnership with UCC-related colleges and universities

Justice Ministries (14.1%, $2,235,632) – poverty issues, labor relations, health care, racial justice, peace ministries, prison ministries, social responsibility of corporations

Retiree Pension Supplementation (13.4%, $2,121,374) – for those retired UCC clergy below a certain income level

Communication and Interpretations (6.7%, $1,060,061) – UCC resources, sharing story through media, UCC website, UC News

Offices of Executive Ministers (6.2%, $978,065) – Salaries and benefits of officers and staff, treasury functions and liaison staff

General Administration (5.9%, $925,857) – planning and coordinating national ministries offices, salaries, insurance, professional fees, rent

Governance (4.3%, $685,288) – Convening Board of Directors, General Synod

Research (1.4, $222,054) – UCC Yearbook, operations and salaries for record-keeping and demographic study

Covenantal Relations (1.3%, $199,824) – work with ecumenical groups as well as with UCC Conferences and other UCC institutions.

(In addition to this pledged amount, our support of the national UCC includes three special mission offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing {work with refugees and in response to domestic and international disasters}, The Christmas Fund {to supplement retired clergy pensions and to provide emergency assistance to clergy}, and Neighbors in Need {social justice, including work for universal health care, and the UCC’s Council for American Indian Ministries}.)

The Community Foundation

Church of Christ has received a $250 gift from the Community Foundation of NW CT for our Minister’s Discretionary Fund.  The Community Foundation assists organizations in the area that serve the needy.  Their gift was made possible by the Eva M. Coty Fund.

Global Ministries

It is the time of year to celebrate the One who brought hope to the oppressed, the poor and the disenfranchised.  The innocent child born in the most humble of places is God’s love come to us in human form.

This is the time to celebrate with loved ones, to look over the past year and to think of the year to come.  We see the preciousness of life, the beauty and miracle of birth. 

As we worship this child of hope, we can see people of other religions, cultures and habits involved in the same love God showed us.  The reflection of the God of love is in all.