Missions
Mission/Outreach Committee
We have a very active Mission/Outreach Committee which is constantly reviewing local, national and world-wide needs to determine areas we might support. They have a policy in place of generally applying one-third of our available funds in each of these three areas.
In addition, we stress that our members give whatever support is possible to all six church-wide Special Sundays as well as any emergency requests that are announced through the New England Conference.
Overnight of Hospitality
One night each month our church provides a meal, a night's shelter and a breakfast for up to six homeless men from the Salvation Army Shelter in Hyannis. We are one of many churches on Cape Cod which support this program because the shelter is not large enough to meet the demand.
CECH Gift Cards
The church sells "Gift Cards" for the Chatham Ecumenical Council for the Homeless. These are credit cards good at specific supermarket chains in the area which CECH purchases at a discount and resells at face value. The organization receives the discount amount to support their program and the people who purchase the cards receive full value for their dollar.
"An Ark of Animals"
The church conducted a campaign during the summer of 2009 to raise $5,000 to purchase a gift 'Ark" of animals to be sent to those in need around the world. Some 15 types of animals are provided and sent to the areas those particular animals are needed. The idea is that, when the animals have young, the family will donate them to other neighbors, thereby spreading the wealth. The campaign was a huge success, raising over $13,300.
"A Well for Kamina"
We had a new project for the summer of 2010. That was to raise $6,000 to $8,000 to provide a water well for the impoverished town of Kamina in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is being coordinated through UMCOR who is already working in the area. At the conclusion of the drive on October 31, we had collected over $8,700, far exceding our goal. To accomodate those who might like to contribute using a birthday or Christmas gift card, we have made those available for use through the end of the year.
"Tend My Sheep"
Our special mission project for the summer of 2011 was to raise $6,500 to support an outreach worker for the Cape Cod Council of Churches whose hours had been cut due to budgetary restraints. His job is to reach out to the homeless population on the Cape, perticularly those who will not come in to the shelter in Hyannis. We wanted to provide funds to add an hour a day for each week of the year to his schedule. Once again, the campaign was a huge success with the congregation and friends raising almost $14,000.
