Mission

This year’s Christmas Joy Offering will be received during the worship service on Christmas Eve. This special offering supports the Presbyterian Church USA’s Racial/Ethnic Colleges and offers assistance to retired clergy across the country.

Envelopes for this special offering will be found in the pews beginning in December.

You are encouraged to make a gift at any point during this holiday season.

As the holiday season approaches we turn our thoughts to turkey dinners and time with family. We here at First Presbyterian also turn our thoughts toward those without the means to provide a Thanksgiving feast for themselves and their families.

Again this year, First Presbyterian Church is partnering with Worthington Hooker School and Christian Community Action to gather food for the vulnerable members of our community.

Students at the school will collect non-perishable food items during this month and members of the church will see to their transportation and distribution to our food pantry partner, Christian Community Action.

Lillian Marquez, CCA’s Director of Emergency Family Services, is one of the many saints at Christian Community Action. Every day she works with families who have lost their housing and are in various other forms of distress. She knows the realities too many of our neighbors face.

Lillian is also deeply involved in Christian Community Action’s annual Thanksgiving Basket program – that program aims to provide families in the hill section of New Haven (and some from beyond) with the Thanksgiving Dinner they otherwise could not afford. Lillian, and CCA, “are expecting a record number of
families, seniors and individuals who are disabled to be coming to us for Thanksgiving food this year, due to the economy.” Last year, almost 1,800 families and individuals were helped through this initiative, she said, “and we easily could exceed that number this year, based on the increased numbers we are seeing in our Food Pantry program.”

As in the past, CCA will be relying on The Connecticut Food Bank for most of the turkeys and food items that will be handed out as part of this effort. They count on businesses, houses of worship, civic groups and schools to make up the critical difference between what the Food Bank is able to provide and what they will need to meet the demand. Financial donations, which go toward wholesale purchases, are particularly effective.

CCA is also looking for volunteers to help sort and stuff bags of food on the weekend before the holiday (Nov. 19 and 20). See Ralph Jones if you’d like to help!

CCA serves families. DESK – Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen – serves meals to homeless individuals five days a week. This year our Mission wanted to expand the Thanksgiving offering to include both families and individuals. So, this year our offering will be divided between Christian Community Action, Connecticut Food Bank and Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (40%-40%-20%). These efforts receive additional support from our Mission Committee’s regular budget; however, this offering is our opportunity to give thanks by contributing directly to the well being of our neighbors.