Mission: In Service to Others
APC Mission Council: Mission Opportunities
Mission Council activities reflect a growing focus on support
that is both financial and hands-on. The Council believes that
hands-on mission helps us develop a sense of partnership with the
ministries we support, promotes social and intergenerational
interaction among APC members and, most importantly, makes a
substantial difference in the lives of the people we touch. To
participate in any of these mission opportunities, please contact a
member of Mission Council or call the Church Office at
215-887-4530.
Yellow pew envelopes can be used at any time for
contributions to support any part of APC's mission work. Simply
mark the envelope with the name of the cause and put it into the
offering plate.
Special Offerings Received by the Presbyterian Church
(USA)
Christmas Joy Offering: Received the
Sunday before Christmas
50% distributed to the Board of Pensions
- Assistance programs that provide support to
church workers & their families.
50% to National Ministries Division of the General
Assembly Council
- Supports eight Presbyterian related racial ethnic schools and
colleges.
One Great Hour of Sharing:
Collected during Lent and offered on Easter Sunday
$11,378.98 was donated by generous contributions from the
congregation during 2011.
36% for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Programs:
- Disaster response
- Refugee assistance
- Resettlement
- Homelessness and affordable housing
32% for Presbyterian Hunger Programs:
- Ministries that work to alleviate hunger and
eliminate its causes
32% for Self-development of
People
- Partnerships with groups of people who are oppressed by poverty
and & social systems
Outreach Programs that Mission Council supports with your
mission dollars.
Presbyterian Children's Village.
Presbyterian Women from churches
throughout Philadelphia founded Presbyterian Children's Village as
an orphanage in 1877. While programs have changed during the years
as the needs of children have changed, its mission has remained the
same-to heal the spirits of children, families and communities
broken by violence, addiction, poverty, mental illness, racism and
other serious social problems. Today, PCV serves more than 2,000
children and their families annually through a variety of child
welfare, behavioral health and educational programming.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Thousands of people face real
disasters every day. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA)
program enables congregations of PC(USA) to witness the healing
love of Christ by caring for communities adversely affected by
crisis and catastrophic events. Church World Service (CWS) and
Action by Churches Together (ACT) provide rapid response to
disaster events worldwide. Supporting these organizations allows us
to work together, affirming our unity in times of disaster. We have
sent mission dollars to Iran, Haiti, Liberia, the Sudan and the
Belsan school tragedy in Russia. We collected toys and sent them to
the Iraqi children and purchased games for the mentally challenged
at the Abington Consumer Center. We have given mission dollars to
Florida for relief from the 2004 Hurricane damage and to Illinois
after tornados struck the area, and now we are giving to PDA for
the Hurricane Katrina emergency.
Meditation Network for Northern Ireland
Letters from Doug Baker, our PC
(USA) missionary with the Mediation Network for Northern Ireland,
helped us understand the peacemaking ministry he is involved with
as a member of the Partners in Transformation team. He writes, "As
we go through yet another period of political wrangling in the
'start and stop' peace process in Northern Ireland, we are grateful
for the faithful financial and prayer support of congregations like
your own in the U.S. that sustain our ministry here."
Each one should use whatever
gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering
God's grace in its various forms. If anyone serves, he should do it
with the strength God provides, so that in all things, God may be
praised through Jesus Christ. I Peter 4:10-11.
APC Hands-On Mission
C.A.P.T.
Citizens and Police Together is a
volunteer multigenerational organization that raises money to fund
grants to the Abington community involved in educational, anti-drug
and anti-violence projects. APC members have teamed up with
C.A.P.T. by serving on committees, donating funds for Christmas
presents, and assisting those members of the Abington community in
need.
Interfaith Housing Alliance
Interfaith Housing
Alliance provides hands-on mission opportunities for
volunteers to assist local families who find themselves temporarily
homeless. APC collaborates with Supplee Presbyterian Church in
Ambler to provide meals to these individuals during the month of
December. Teams of volunteers prepare dinners, provide childcare,
and/or stay overnight at Supplee. This is a wonderful opportunity
to feel the joy of giving to others during their time of need.
West Kensington Ministries
West Kensington Ministries is
located at the former Norris Square Presbyterian Church, located in
the Kensington section of Philadelphia, offers after-school
programs, computer classes, tutoring for neighborhood youth, a
place to hold community gatherings and Sunday afternoon worship at
3pm. We first supported Norris Square with financial
assistance, but saw an opportunity to get more involved, and took
on the responsibility of sanding, scraping, plastering and
re-painting the spacious vestibule.
By wisdom a house is built, and
by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are
filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs
24:3-4
Abington Presbyterian Church Mission Council Members
- Chad Pilling, chair
- Lisa Goetz-Spitko
- Georgene Pilling
- Joyce McCormick
- Joe Porter
- Bill Miller
- Ruth Miller
- Jean Coe
- Alan Keiter
- Jack Waters