Minute for Mission
Christmas Special Offering
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Rick Greene
MISSION FINANCE TEAM
The Christmas Offering at First Community for 2023 will be split between Friends of the Homeless and the Refugee Ministry program (previously known as the Refugee Task Force). There has always been homelessness in America, but in 2023 it has been increasing. In the United States, homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, experiencing an overall increase of 6 percent; in 2022, counts of individuals (421,392 people) and chronically homeless individuals (127,768) reached record highs in the history of data collection; and homeless services systems continued to expand the availability of both temporary and permanent beds, but these resources still fall short of reaching everyone in need.
At the same time, the issue of refugees is attracting international attention as numbers of refugees seek asylum. The countries of Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, and Ukraine currently account for 52% of the world’s recent refugees that need international protection. Experts are calling both numbers of the homeless and refugee seekers a crisis of epic proportion.
In Matthew 2:12-15, we read the story in which an angel came to Joseph in a dream and warned him to flee Bethlehem. King Herod planned to seek out the child to destroy him. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus left to make their way to Egypt. King Herod slaughtered all the male children in Bethlehem under two years of age.
The family was forced to flee their residence and homeland for fear of persecution. As a baby, Jesus became a baby on the run, in effect, homeless and asylum seeking in Egypt.
As an adult, Jesus commands us to care for the stranger. Yet today, there are millions who do not enjoy the privilege of freedom of movement and residence within their own country, nor the right to leave and return, nor the right to seek and enjoy asylum, even from danger or persecution.
Homeless
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Matthew 25:35-36 35
Approximately 2.5 million children will experience homelessness over the course of a year in this country. For any given day, researchers estimate that more than 200,000 children have no place to live. Homelessness in the U.S. was estimated at between 750,000 and 1,500,000. In Columbus, the count of the nation’s homeless shows a continuing increase in the number of families with children who have no place to go; at the same time, barely a third of families who left shelters achieved a “successful housing outcome.”
First Community Church became involved with Friends of the Homeless men's shelter in the Fall of 1983 by providing a hot meal to this East Main Street shelter every Monday evening throughout the year—that’s hands-on volunteering for 40 years. This shelter currently houses 150 men and the Monday Meals volunteers have continued to provide meals throughout the pandemic.
Our church involvement has extended beyond Monday Meals with our volunteers continuously providing not only food, but socks, gloves, toiletries, and multiple other necessities provided through donations for the Christmas Offering. In the past, the Friends of the Homeless helped provide air conditioning, a sheltered outdoor eating area, as well as replacing tables and chairs.
Refugees
(God) executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows love for the alien by giving food and clothing. 19 So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt…
Deuteronomy 10:18-19 18
The U.S. Government has projected an increase for the number of refugees for the upcoming year. Approximately 11,400 refugees were resettled in FY 2021, 25,500 in FY 2022, and 31,800 in the first eight months of FY 2023. From 1983 to 2015, central Ohio has resettled 16,596 refugees from around the world, and, since 2002, nearly half of the refugees resettled in Ohio have come to Franklin County. The current events in the world underscore the humanitarian need to help those forced to start over.
The Refugee Ministry has a long history of assisting refugee and immigrant families with the transition into life in Columbus. Since 1977, they have worked closely with resettlement agencies such as CRIS (Community Refugee and Immigration Services) to sponsor new arrivals and to assist with emergency funds for expenses and unexpected costs not covered by federal assistance. They also help special needs situations, such as in-home English tutoring for those unable to attend group classes. The Refugee Ministry operates entirely on donations from the church and community.
As an example, First Community and the Refugee Ministry Team are serving, or have served in the past, families from Syria, a family of ten from the Congo that has lived in a refugee camp in Tanzania since 1997, and a family of six who were all born in a refugee camp. Another refugee, who is now a member of our Church, had her story included in Immigration Nation on Netflix (episode 6) and suffered an acid attack in her homeland. She then fought for five years to successfully bring her children to Central Ohio with the help and support our Refugee Ministry Team.
Donate to the Christmas Offering
Donate to the Christmas Offering at First Community, which will help support these two missions of our church.
- If donating by check, please indicate on the memo line "Christmas Offering". Send a donation to First Community Church at 1320 Cambridge Blvd, Columbus, OH 43212
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Donations can also be made online in December. Please choose "Mission Designated Funds" from the drop-down menus, then "Christmas Mission" in the Sub-Fund drop-down.
If you would like more information about the Christmas Offering, Friends of the Homeless, Refugee Ministry Team, First Community Church, and its other Mission programs, please email us at mission@fcchurch.com.
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Monday Night Meals
Friends of the Homeless
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by Lynne Ayres
MISSIONS VOLUNTEER
A decades-long mission of First Community (thanks to Carol Baker) is Monday Night Meals for the Friends of the Homeless at the Men’s Shelter downtown Columbus. Every third Monday, a team of volunteers assemble and delivers dinner for about 130 homeless men.
With the rising cost of food, particularly meat, it’s a challenge to serve the increasing number of those in need of a hot meal. FC Mission Team Leader Pat Porterfield volunteers to coordinate the meals program with the help of Catherine Ohl, Lisa Reynolds, Jason Barger, and Ellen Crouthamel. Recently, FC members William Morris and Bob Grogan donated 30 pounds of lean ground beef for those preparing one of the Monday night meals. This generous gift will save volunteer cooks at least $5/lb. for the meat.
Thank you, Bill and Bob, for the ground beef! If you want to contribute to Friends of the Homeless mission, you may do so online at Fcchurch.com/giving by choosing Mission Designated Funds in the "Fund" dropdown.
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Shirley Barney
REFUGEE MINISTRY TEAM
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Update
The Mkangya family is thriving and adjusting to the cooler weather.
They had a slight set-back. One of their windows was left unlocked. Someone broke into their home and stole the TV the RMT provided. Luckily no one was harmed and the police report has been filed. The police helped the family check all the windows and doors.
Mary Buzby and other volunteers are helping the family learn English and they are very eager to learn.
Asukulu Wilondja’s sister’s family arrived this past Monday. If you remember, the Wilondja arrived in October of 2022. The Msafari family have 2 young children and they know the Mkangya (arrived this October) family as well.
- Mother: WILONDJA, Jeanne (F), 24
- husband: ALOMWBE, Msafiri (M), 24
- son: MSAFIRI, Jofe (M), 6
- son: MSAFIRI, Alombwe (M), 4
The RMT will also support these newcomers as they resettle in Columbus. The Msafari family are currently staying at a hotel while CRIS helps them find permanent housing. Some donations are needed for their family.
Donations Needed:
- Couch for Guatemalan family
For Msafaris:
- Blankets
- Comforters
- New pillows
- Electric Tea Kettle
- TV
- Vacuum
Help wanted:
- Volunteers - Are you interested in supporting families or joining the RMT? Supporting resettling refugee families is extremely rewarding.
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Monthly meeting second Wednesday of the month at 5 pm Room 101
If you are interested in volunteering or donating the items needed, please contact Shirley Barney.
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Heart to Heart
Monthly Update
by Yohan Kim
HEART TO HEART FOOD PANTRY MANAGER
November has been a very busy month for Heart to Heart. There have been a plethora of food drives, donations, activities, changes, and families served by the pantry. As of this writing, the Pop-Up helped 214 families this month, and our Drive-Thru assisted 420. That was done with the help of not only our usual donation partners, but also Barrington Elementary, the Mary Evans Child Development Center, the First Community Preschool, Five Seasons Landscape Management, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Brownie Troop #6756, Kevin and Heidi Orsini, and so on. We’d be remiss to not include Nora Ginnan, who raised money and coordinated the creation of 167 birthday bags, as well as Colin Gawel, owner of Colin’s Coffee, which raised $1,000 for Heart to Heart on Thanksgiving!
We are also grateful to First Community, whose members blessed us with 1,611 pounds of food for our Thanksgiving drive. They got to hear from our volunteers in worship: Tim O’Hanlon, Brent Davis, and David Westman. The deacons, led by Rev. Mary Kate Buchanan, used those donations to make Thanksgiving bags and cards, with some assistance from the Youth Ministry, led by Rev. Sarah Kientz. Altogether, we learned what we can do when we put community first through collective action.
Please note that there is a $20,000 matching campaign, thanks to the generosity of Duke Thomas. He is continuing the efforts of his dearly departed wife, and founder of Heart to Heart, Jill Thomas. The campaign ends on December 31. Please consider donating today, in support of families like the 634 that have partaken in the offerings at our table, so far, this month.
Our Holiday Help program has also been underway, with 120 families having signed up to receive gift cards. We are currently low on donors, who can drop off gift cards of any denomination from specified stores in a drop box at First Community North and South. You can read the details at https://h2h.fcchurch.com/holidayhelp/.
Let’s show the world what a “community first” congregation is all about.
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Mission Workday
We are rearranging some spaces used by Missions in all three buildings at First Community South. We will be organizing and moving furniture so heavy lifting may be involved. However, we can find jobs for everyone! We will be working from 10 am until 2 pm and can use help for all or some of that time. Please use the sign-up genius link to read more details and sign up to volunteer. This is a great opportunity for students off school or adults off work for the holiday.
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$20,000 Match Grant Update | | |
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Amy Caskie
DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS
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Donations made to Heart to Heart beginning November 1 will once again be matched up to $20,000 through December 31. | | |
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So far, we have received donations totaling $4,131 toward our $20,000 goal. That leaves us just under $16,000 to raise in six weeks! To make a donation online, please visit h2h.FCchurch.com/donate. Thank you to our donors!
If you would like to make a financial contribution to Heart to Heart, which will be matched through this gift, please visit h2h.FCchurch.com/donate by December 31.
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by Beth Hanson
TRADING POST VOLUNTEER
The Trading Post is happy to report that business has been off-the-hook lately with the November 1 introduction of Christmas merchandise to the shop! This is great news for the many missions that our church supports. It’s also a great morale boost for all of the volunteers who put so much work into making the shop festive and inviting for the holidays.
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We collect Christmas donations all through the year which are stored in the basement of Lincoln Road Chapel. Then in October we schlep all of it over to the Annex Building to start organizing and pricing it. If you can picture this, we started with about 100 large plastic tubs of Christmas donations, so there is a heck of a lot to process! There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ornaments alone. We also receive wreaths, stockings, Santas, angels, nutcrackers, snowmen, elves, cookie jars, cookie cutters, Christmas cards, DVD’s and CD’s. We have Christmas books for children and adults, Christmas jewelry, ugly and pretty Christmas sweaters, men’s ties, socks, tins, wrapping paper, gift bags and bows, garland, lights, Christmas dishes, cookie plates, trees, tree toppers, bulbs and creches. Need a Santa costume? We have one! In addition, we have gift items including stuffed animals, dolls, toys, puzzles, games, slippers, candles, lotions and soaps, PJ’s and so much more. Christmas donations continue to come in, so our holiday selections don’t get stale.
We hope you will come down to see the Trading Post in all of its holiday glory. Our half-off sale on Christmas merchandise begins on Monday, December 11, so you can get a bargain on a bargain. We will be open through Friday, December 15 and then we will be closed until Wednesday, January 3.
This year, the Trading Post was invited by the City of Grandview to participate in their “Holiday in the Heights” event on Tuesday, December 5 from 5 -8 pm. Vendor booths will be set up on Grandview Avenue between First Ave. and Third Ave. There will also be live reindeer, an iceless ice rink, a trackless train, Santa arriving for the annual lighting of the tree, and a snow globe for photo opportunities. We will be selling all kinds of merchandise to tempt the locals to come pay us a visit in the shop.
This week a woman from London, Ohio, dropped off a large donation of clothing. She explained to me that she visits Grandview occasionally and always stops in at the Trading Post when she is here. She read the posted list of all of the places First Community sends the money we raise, and was so impressed by all of our missions, that she has told her friends about us. Now her friends have started bringing their things to her instead of taking them to Goodwill and she drops them off at the Trading Post when she is in town. It is heart-warming to see how what we are doing has resonated with so many people, even people who live so far from our own community.
The first week of November, a group of friends from Indiana came down to the Trading Post on our first day we had put out our Christmas merchandise. They were visiting thrift shops in Columbus, and they were completely gobsmacked by what they found in the basement of our humble little building. They were like kids in a candy store, and I heard one of them say, “I told you this was best one!” They shopped ‘til they dropped and had a blast. It is so satisfying to see the joy a shopping trip to the Trading Post can bring…..Christmas or not! It is always our goal to communicate warmth, kindness, acceptance, and helpfulness along with offering bargains a plenty! We are one important face of First Community and we take that responsibility to heart.
We are open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and the first Saturday of the month during those same hours. So in December we will be open on Saturday, Dec. 2. We are located in the basement of the Annex Building at the back of the South Campus parking lot. We accept donations during our open hours. Please come down to see us for a little Christmas joy!
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In The Garden
Updates from the Share & Learn Garden
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The Share and Learn Garden at First Community North sits on the property behind the Mary Evans Child Development Center. All the produce grown in the garden comes directly to Heart to Heart. The garden is managed and harvested by a small but mighty and fun group of volunteers. Master Gardeners Cheryl and Loren VanDeusen, and their daughter, Kate Paulson, are the group's leaders. The group convenes on Tuesday mornings, weather permitting. We receive weekly updates from Kate Paulson during the growing season, including these excerpts below. | | |
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October 27, 2023
Happy soon to be Halloween!
This Tuesday, Halloween, we will focus on harvesting additional carrots 🥕!
If Mike and John are available, we will dismantle the remaining tomato cages and plants, as well as coil up the irrigation lines. (Last week the irrigation lines were winterized).
The Okra and green beans (on the arch) also need cleaned up.
For now, the pollinator bed is still doing its thing, but at some point later this fall i can cut down the plants and let the plants decay in place (comfy place for beneficial insects to overwinter!)
The first week of November we can finish pulling the carrots (maybe?!), lay mulch on the onions, and plant garlic (and lay mulch as well on the garlic).
The goal is to try not to work past the first week of November. I am postulating maybe more than one work session the first week of November to wrap things up??? We can all discuss and decide this Tuesday. ❤️
Some lovely pictures from last week!
Kate
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November 4, 2023
Hi everyone!
This week marks the final share & learn garden session of 2023.
Last week we harvested almost 100 pounds of carrots! The grand total for carrots 2023 is 121 pounds!
Grand total for all produce for 2023 is 817.50 pounds.
As all produce has been harvested, our activities will be to:
- clean up the green bean arch
- clean up dead plants in pots (by arches and in the playground area)
- plant “music garlic” seeds
- add a layer of mulch to the onion and garlic beds to overwinter*
- cut down pollinator bed plants**
** the spent zinnia and cosmos plants will be left to lie in the pollinator bed until Spring. Beneficial insects lay eggs and hibernate in the stems of dead plants. By leaving the debris, we are doing beneficial bugs a solid!
* Mike and John have graciously agreed to do some of the physically heavier work when their schedule allows, so if they are not present Tuesday, that doesn’t mean they have ghosted us! 🤣
Hope to see you at our wrap up session…don’t forget to vote 🗳️ Tuesday!
Kate
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Monthly Mission Meeting
for All Ministry Teams
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Everyone interested or currently volunteering with a Mission Ministry Team is invited to attend this monthly meeting. During the meeting, we have discussion time and announcements from all teams. Afterward, the teams break into groups to have their discussions.
If you're interested in working with a ministry team, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about their activities from the leadership on that team. As many teams also have individual meetings with their leadership each month, this is also an opportunity for those working with the ministry to discuss face-to-face with the leadership to raise concerns or get more information.
Our Core Missions with these breakout sessions are Heart to Heart food pantry, Tri-Village Trading Post thrift store, and the Refugee Ministry Team. The Mission Finance Team also meets at this time to discuss grants and mission-related projects.
For more information on each team, please contact:
The groups meet at First Community North on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6 pm. You are welcome to join the meeting in person or on Zoom. If you would like a link to join virtually or if you have general questions about Missions, please contact the Mission Office.
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Special Skill Volunteers Needed
Amy Caskie
DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS
Do you have specialized skills that often go unused? Are you looking to volunteer in non-traditional ways or off-hours? Boy, have we got the job for you! If you are interested in or have skill in any of the following and would like to support the work of First Community Missions, especially Heart to Heart food pantry, please get in touch. I would love to discuss ways you can do what you love and support our team!
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Volunteer Needs:
• In-Kind Donation Asks
• Event Planner
• Wood Worker / DIY Handy Skills
• Social Media
• Community Advocacy
• Elementary Education
• One-time assembly projects, eg. Birthday Bags
Contact: Amy Caskie, Director of Missions
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Did you miss the last issue of On a Mission!? View it, and all past issues, by clicking the link below. | |
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Did you know Heart to Heart is on social media? Click the buttons below to follow us. We also have a blog! Read the weekly blog posts at h2h.FCchurch.com/blog | |
Did you know Trading Post is on Facebook? Click the button below to follow us. You can also sign up for the email list for occasional announcements, sales, and events. | |
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News from our Mission Partners | | | | |
