MISSION – OUTREACH

 

 
 
Happening Now:
 
Winter Clothing Collection for Cameron Community Ministries
 
Our collection of new and gently used Men’s, Women’s, and Children’s clothing has begun. Your donated items will be brought to Cameron Community Ministries to help those in need. Men’s clothing is of the greatest need. Please search your closets or purchase gently used or new items to donate. Blue collection bins are located in the Narthex and upper hallway now through November 13th. Thank you in advance for your generous donations! We can make a difference in keeping people warm and comfortable during the cold winter months.
 
 
Mission and outreach are not just what we do, but WHO WE ARE at Webster Presbyterian Church! Although only the work of three committees are summarized here, some mission and outreach work is done by almost every group in the church, including the Youth Fellowship and Children’s Sunday School. As followers of Jesus Christ, we strive to exhibit the Kingdom of God to our neighborhood, community, nation, and world. Webster Presbyterian Church has long held mission work as a primary objective by giving of our  time, talent, and treasure to many different individuals and organizations. To view a list of many of the organizations to which our congregation contributes financially, go to our Mission Giving List
 
Our financial contributions to mission, outreach, and social justice have been between 20%-30% of out total church budget for at least the last 30 years! We currently financially support more than 30 organizations and individuals. 
 
The three sections below summarize the work of three groups in our church: Mission Committee, Disciples in Action/New Beginnings, and Peace and Justice Committee. 

Mission Committee

The Mission Committee, with Session approval, administers and distributes most of the mission monies in the church budget to a variety of worthy organizations and individuals based on our research and on the feedback that we receive from them. Based on the fact that God’s needy live everywhere in the world, we deliberately support local (Webster, Rochester, and Wayne County) organizations, US-based organizations such as Red Bird Ministry in Kentucky, and worldwide ministries in countries such as Peru, Mexico, Kenya, and the Philippines. We also deliberately financially support a variety of causes such as poverty, hunger, the homeless, education, victims of abuse, parolees from prison, victims of disasters, and missionaries. And in addition, we support denominational mission initiatives within Presbytery and General Assembly and with Presbyterian seminaries. 
 
It is a special pleasure for us to be able to provide support for the following missionaries:
 
1) Dr. Jody Collinge in Mexico: Jody grew up in our church, got her MD and for many years has been a missionary in Mexico. She is currently focused on worldwide community health and evangelism with an emphasis on children.
 
2) Jed and Jenny Koball in Peru: They are PC(USA) mission coworkers based in Peru who partner with organizations and the government there to address issues such as hunger, climate change, and pollution. In addition, Jenny hosts and trains young Presbyterians who come there for a year to learn and to do mission projects. 
 
3) Kristin Hoffman-Peckham: Kristin also grew up in our church and serves as a leader for Young Life in the Syracuse, NY area. 
 
All of the above missionaries occasionally visit our church to give us updates about their work and also provide us with written updates several times per year. 
 
In addition to administering financial contributions, this committee also leads/sponsors the following types of activities in which the whole congregation participates:
1) Collection of school supplies for an organization in neighboring Wayne County and for one in the City of Rochester.
2) Collection of gently used clothing in the spring and the fall for a ministry located in an extremely poor section of Rochester. 
3)Collection of Christmas gifts for men who are on parole from prison and for their children. 
4) Special annual Presbyterian or multi-denominational offerings such as One Great Hour of Sharing, Blanket Sunday, and the Christmas Joy offering. 
5) Each year we lead a Summer Mission Project to support a specific project which is usually, but not always, local. We typically collect $5,000-$10,000 for these important projects. 
6) We also lead and sponsor the following “hands on” mission projects which we characterize as “Presbyterians in Action”:
a. Week long adult mission work camp trips primarily for disaster relief from hurricanes and flooding. 
b. Occasional mission trips to Kenya to support various projects such as a school for very poor children, a refugee settlement in a very remote area of Kenya and medical clinics and Presbyterian churches there. 
c. Work several mornings each summer at a transitional residence complex in Rochester for men recently released from prison. 
d. Clean trash from along the highway near our church twice each year as part of NY State’s “Adopt a Highway” program. 
 

Disciples in Action/New Beginnings

Overview
One of the Great Ends of the Church is to exhibit the Kingdom of God to the world. We are actively striving to do just that- showing by our actions who God is and how God cares for the world with love, mercy, compassion, and grace.
In 2015 WPC discerned a need to reassess where we were as a Church and what God might be calling us to undertake in new ways, through a process called New Beginnings. After much study, prayer, and evaluation of our gifts, resources and our passions, God led us to reach out in new avenues to the people outside of the Church and in our hometown of Webster. Among many things that the church had already been busy with, four new ways to serve Christ were determined. Since then we have been active as a Church and as individuals living the love of Christ, building relationships of love and caring, and offering time and support to those in need.
 
Phillips Village Dinners
Prior to the Covid Outbreak, Individual members from WPC prepared and served a dinner to whoever came to join us from Phillips Village, (a community of 1800 people).  Meals were offered for free and while living the life of Christ, we met, became friends with and built a caring relationship with them.  However, because of the Covid Pandemic, this initiative is currently on hold.  We look forward to restarting our association in the near future with a slightly different but loving plan. 
 
Challenger Miracle Field
Miracle Field is a newly built sports opportunity, constructed so every individual with challenges can utilize the field to bring out the joy, teamwork, and aliveness of team sports. WPC has raised over $10,000 through our Summer Mission project to support this endeavor.  Church members attend games to support players and their families from the sidelines as well as helping on the field during events. What a wonderful blessing for our Church to participate with this group!
 
Meals on Wheels
Numerous Members of WPC have chosen to serve the community by delivering food to those unable to leave their homes. This is an opportunity to bring meals, to offer a smile and encouragement, and to support those in need of having food brought in. As the Pandemic loosens its grip, we look forward to seeing our members rejoin or newly join this team of dedicated drivers, who, like mail people, deliver in rain, snow, sleet and wind (but only if its safe).
 
HOPE House
HOPE Ministry is a Social Justice Ministry founded by Holy Trinity Catholic Church that responds to the special or emergency needs of Webster, NY residents. WPC has joined with them in serving the needs of the community by helping with organization and distribution of food, clothing, and furniture. There are ongoing volunteer opportunities with food distribution such as picking up food from local businesses that donate free or discounted items as well as delivering to community members in need. As Hope House resumes their normal activities curtailed by the Pandemic, we look forward to continue serving with their volunteers in this wonderful ministry.
 
 
The idea of New Beginnings is to energize our congregation in local community service: Living the Love of Christ! If you are willing to help, please contact the WPC office (585)265-9700 or Kathy Barbehenn (585)748-6000.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

New Beginnings

Challenger Game 

Praying for HOPE Ministry and Miracle Field

We are asking our congregation to lift up our New Beginnings ministries in prayer. At this time our focus is on HOPE Ministry, and Miracle Field in Webster.

We pray that each Webster residents who comes to the Hope Ministry is received in a spirit of compassion, care, faith and hospitality. That all of our eyes and hearts are opened to see and respond to those in need, those struggling with addiction, those who are limited by the weather, those in need of healthcare.

We thank you dear Lord for Challenger Miracle Field, a joyous sports venue serving children with special needs allowing all to play baseball just like everyone else. We pray many will come to cheer them on as they play and participate as we can. Our presence reminds us we are all children of God.