Mission: In Service to Others

APC Mission Council: Highlighting 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)

The Christmas Joy Offering is received the Sunday before Christmas. Fifty percent of the receipts are distributed to the Board of Pensions for assistance programs that provide support to church workers and their families. The remaining 50% supports the eight Presbyterian related racial ethnic schools and colleges through the National Ministries Division of the General Assembly Council.

One Great Hour of Sharing is collected during Lent and offered on Easter Sunday. It is distributed as follows: 36% goes to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance programs for disaster response, refugee Assistance, resettlement, homelessness and affordable housing; 32% goes to the Presbyterian Hunger Program for ministries that work to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes; and 32% goes to Self-Development of People for partnerships with groups of people who are oppressed by poverty and social systems.   This year we raised $12,821. Mission Council thanks you for your ongoing generous support of this highly responsive ministry of the Presbyterian Church.

Visit this Web site for more mission information: Presbyterian Church USA: http://www.pcusa.org  

Outreach Programs that Mission Council supports with your mission dollars.

Medical Benevolence Foundation. MBF is an arm of the International Health Ministries of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It provides supportfor medical personnel, equipment, supplies and financial aid to hospitals, medical outposts and clinics. MBF raises funds to support the medical mission work of PC(USA), working with pastors, sessions and presbyteries to recruit physicians and other volunteers for mission health care programs outside the United States. APC raises additional funds through the “Alternative Gift Giving” program that takes place in December.

The Theological Education Fund supports funding for theological seminaries related to the Presbyterian Church (USA).

PresbyHomes and Services ministers to older adults at 12 locations in the Philadelphia area. For 47 years, it has served the Presbytery by providing residential apartments and cottages, assisted living/personal care and skilled nursing facilities to needy residents. Continuing Care programs are provided for over 1,000 people at five locations, including Rydal Park.

Kirkwood Camp is an active outdoor ministry of the Philadelphia Presbytery located near Stroudsburg, Pa. The 280-acre site ministers to youth by providing a wide range of activities in a Christian environment. APC youth groups enjoy retreats at Kirkwood, taking advantage of the beautiful outdoors, high ropes courses and camping facilities. Kirkwood ran a camp at John Gloucester House this past summer for urban youth. Mission Council supported this new effort with additional funds.

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.

Disaster Relief. 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.

The Summer Evangelistic Committee helps plant Presbyterian churches, launches evangelistic campaigns, funds summer outreach programs, and places ministry candidates in churches under the supervision of experienced pastors.

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

John Gloucester House is located on Federal Street in Philadelphia, and is a Presbyterian sponsored community center. JGH serves the neighborhood as a safe, supervised place for children and youth to meet after school, on weekends and during the summer. Inside you will find an active tutoring program, computer lab and soup kitchen. APC mission supports this program with funding and hands-on ministry such as gardening, preparing Thanksgiving turkeys, collecting toys for the holidays, and donating office equipment.

C.A.P.T./24-Hour Challenge Relay: 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. Mission Council supports this exciting event each May with a financial contribution. APC members team up with C.A.P.T. by serving on committees, while our youth group participates in the 24-hour relay, running last as “The Trojans.”

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.

Interfaith Houses for Habitat (IHFH) is a collaborative hands-on mission that supports

Habitat for Humanity/Philadelphia by raising funds and providing volunteer help at the work site. APC/IHFH has completed funding and building two houses in Germantown. In addition to the $50,000 IHFH raises, we tithe an additional $5,000 to build several houses in the Piesang River Valley in Southwestern Africa. IHFH is raising funds for a third house. APC volunteers are needed at the work site the third Saturday of every month.

Welcome Kits. Prime Ecumenical Commitment to Refugees, a non-profit organization affiliated with Church World Service, distributes Welcome Kits to refugee families who arrive in the Philadelphia area. The families are overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers when they receive such a simple gift of everyday items. Last March 2004, we assembled 35 Welcome Kits that we delivered to the center, located in Clifton, Pa.

Through the Electronics Recycling Program, outdated or broken electronic equipment—computers, monitors, fax machines, printers, VCRs, phones, cell phone, CDs, printer cartridges, videotapes and diskettes—was collected and either safely disposed of or recycled.

Norris Square Presbyterian Church, located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, offers after school programs, computer classes, tutoring for neighborhood youth and a place to hold community gatherings. 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.

The Abington Consumer Center (Mental Health Association for Southeastern Pennsylvania) is a local non-profit center that provides services and support for people with mental illnesses. In 2004, we contributed financially to the center and purchased board games for the folks who “drop in.”

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

The Reverend Scott Nowack,  Georgene Pilling, Chair, Anne Barnes, Jean Coe, Janet Frank, Glenn Hostetter, Alan Keiter, Eric Lindhult, Ellen McDevitt, Chad Pilling, Bonnie Staats, Jack Waters, Shirley Waters