Mission Spotlight - May 2011

Partnership With Guatemala’s K’anhab’al Presbytery Presbytery of Cincinnati Mission Team To Return November 4
Presbytery Mission Spotlight - May 2011 Remember when MWPC (with Rev. Cathy Anderson) started the relationship with the K'anhab'al Presbytery in Guatemala?  Many of our members traveled there to help their community, constructing a school, installing a water purification system, and helping them develop a cottage industry, just to name a few projects!  We've worshipped and celebrated with the people of K'anhab'al.  13 years later, 25 churches in Cincinnati have sent members to Guatemala, and they're still going!  November will be the next trip - see the link for more info...

Mission Spotlight - March 2011

One + One = Success Bond Hill & West Cincinnati Churches Do Their Homework
West Cincinnati and Bond Hill Presbyterian churches are tutoring close to 20 kids every week during the school year.  We're helping by providing snacks for the tutoring program, as well as for their summer programs and VBS...read more about the work of these churches here:
Presbytery Mission Spotlight - March 2011 

MWPC SERVE Opportunities - PowerPacks, Summer Program, and The Garden Project

• Free Store Food Bank to explore adding PowerPack to Mt. Washington and West Clermont schools
• —Reading/Lockland Presbyterian Church Summer Program
80 children, bkfst and lunch, reading and math classes, 5 days a week for 10 weeks $10 per child per week for food —
• —MWPC Garden

Moment for Mission - SERVE

Moment for Mission

4/30/11 & 5/1/11

On behalf of the SERVE Ministry Team I’d like to tell you about two of our efforts and ask for your help.

The SERVE Team has decided to use Hunger Funds raised in May to support  a summer program hosted at Reading/Lockland Presbyterian Church.  As SERVE has looked for programs that we want to support we’ve been excited to learn about this program.  First a few words about Reading/Lockland Presbyterian.  They’re a church of about 70 members with 30 attending most weeks.  Despite their small size they’re hosting a summer program for about 80 children to provide breakfast, reading and math classes, exercise and lunch.  That’s 80 children, for two meals, every weekday, for 10 weeks.   Wow!  Obviously, such a program requires volunteer and financial support from many other churches in the Presbytery.  Our goal is to help defray the cost of food for the children most of whom qualify for free or reduced price lunches during the school year.  For some children, food during periods when there is no school, like the summer can be problematic.  With the cost of food at about $10 per child per week, or $100 per child for the summer, we’d appreciate your contributions to the Hunger Fund so that we can make a substantial contribution towards this program which MWPC supported last year with contributions from our Vacation Bible School.

Second, 

So how are your gardening skills?  It’s time for us to begin planning for our church garden and we can use your help.  As any of you shoppers know, fresh and healthy food is more expensive than junk food which makes it particularly hard for those with limited incomes to eat fresh, healthful food. Fresh produce is often available in very limited quantities at the food pantries we support.  So a small group of dedicated volunteers, led my Mary Lou Harris, plant a church garden with the harvest going to SEM next door.  This year we’ll be posting sign-up sheets so that volunteers can sign up for a specific day and time when there will be leaders available to provide direction of what work needs to be done.  This may be a fun way to join with other members for an enjoyable couple hours in the sun…and maybe a fun outing with the kids.  Please watch for the sign-up sheets near the mission house just outside the sanctuary.

MWPC gives to Batavia YWCA Food Pantry

Mount Washington Presbyterian Church (MWPC) has made a $10,000 donation to the Batavia YWCA recognizing that the demand for food support in Clermont County continues to rise and in recognition of the outstanding work that the Batavia YWCA does. "It's a godsend," Lynn Stranz, director of the Batavia YWCA's emergency services, said of MWPC's donation.  In the month of January alone the Y's Food Pantry had provided emergency food assistance to over 2300 individuals and funds were dwindling. 

MWPC has supported the Batavia YWCA food pantry for over 20 years through both its hunger ministry and its Christmas Giving Tree programs.  MWPC has recently announced a goal of making hunger ministry its signature outreach ministry and plans to commit $100,000 to this cause over the next year in celebration of its upcoming Centennial Anniversary.