Missions & Outreach
Introduction
Much of the time, the benevolences of the church appear to you the Congregation, as a list of numbers-entries in the annual budgets of the Mission and Social Concerns Commission, United Methodist Women or the Tower Club. What are these programs? Who is being helped? This is the human and very real part of the story that often remains untold.
This web page attempts to tell this essential part of the story. The various Mission and Social Concerns programs that we, the Bishop Janes United Methodist Church, support are described below. Bishop Janes United Methodist Church through a combination of the following sustains these programs:
- Member pledged dollars coordinated by the Mission and Social Concerns Commission,
- Christmas Tree Sales earnings coordinated by the Tower Club,
- UMW special event dollars coordinated by the United Methodist Women, and
- Special Sunday offerings
The financial expressions of our caring for others are coupled with the volunteering spirit of our Junior and Senior MYF, United Methodist Women, Tower Club and the Congregation as a whole, which makes many miracles possible each year.
The primary financial support comes from member pledges and the Tower Club Christmas tree sales. Thus, it is critically important that we work together to maintain or increase our current level of giving through the pledging process. If a particular program inspires you, please consider a special gift of time or talent to supplement the Church’s support. For information on making a special gift please call Lyn Stake, Bill Draper or Reverend Dave Dutcher.
In addition to the funds from pledges, club allocations and special gifts there is a great spirit of giving through “Hands on Mission” projects. Many members and friends of Bishop Janes donate their time and talent to help out those in need in so many ways. Below we have listed many, but certainly not all, of those “Hands on Mission” projects where many people have volunteered their time:
- Food and volunteers for the Somerset Food Bank & the Market Street Mission
- Visiting and delivering cards to hospitals and nursing homes
- Dispensing food to the needy from the South Bound Brook Center
- A whole support network of services for the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)
- Support for the Library’s education program with luncheons for 16 Mondays during the year
- Providing occasional labor to help poor churches improve their facilities both domestic and abroad including Youth mission outreach trips
- Creating a whole host of activities to raise money in support of various church programs such as the spring rummage sale, the fall bazaar, car washes, Christmas tree sales, etc.
- Repairs and labor around the church
- Provisioning of coats and blankets for the needy and clothes and books for Native Americans
- Teaching courses in correctional facilities
- Sponsoring and donating to the blood bank
- Provisioning of labor to prepare equipment for sale for the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA Rummage Sale) fund drives
- Provisioning of books and personal time for inner-city kids (Camp YDP)
- Mentoring activities for the confirmation youth class
- Christmas gift shopping and buying for the youth in Paterson (Camp YDP)
If you desire more information on any of the programs listed, please contact the following:
Mission and Social Concerns Chairpersons – Lyn Stake
United Methodist Women President – Laura Eddelson & Mary Beth Gakos
Tower Club President – Charlie Walker
Education Commission Chairperson – Kim Dial
Members of the Mission and Social Concerns Commission include:
Steve Bard, Dottie Benjamin, Jim Collins, Lois and David Dutcher, Vivian Fentress, Amy and John Grotland, Bob Kleinert, Myrtle and Art Martin, Pat Meelheim, Melanie Oseland, Doug Shurts, Lyn Stake and Charlie Wedel. The contents of this web page was compiled by Doug Shurts with information input from many people within our church family. Comments, changes or additions should be directed to Doug via e-mail at dshurts@aol.com.
Our projects are described below and are grouped into categories:
Click on a category name to jump directly to that category.