Christ Church serves its community by focusing monthly on a variety of local and global missions and ministries.
Click on the Friend To Friend in the menu at left for a downloadable listing of this month's ministries and mission focus!
Springfield Open Pantry
Open Pantry Community Services, Inc.'s Loaves & Fishes Kitchen and Holiday Meals program has provided prepared meals to Greater Springfield's homeless population on a daily basis since Loaves & Fishes Kitchen began in 1980. Lunch and supper are available seven days a week to anyone who comes to their door. In 2005, they served nearly 98,000 meals. The majority of guests are homeless or near to becoming homeless. These people may be living on the streets, in cars, in shelters, or with other people. Some have disabilities and they are seeing an increasing number of working poor. Guests include children, adults, and elderly. If you would like to make a contribution to the Open Pantry you may contact them at 413-731-5668.
Or email them at kitchen@openpantry.org.
Walk for Easter Seals
Easter Seals provides exceptional services to ensure that people living with autism and other disabilities have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play. If you’d like to sponsor one of our walkers please go to www.easterseals.com and follow the links to the Springfield walk in October. You can then look for Open Arms Child Care Center and sponsor one of our teachers. Watch for the Easter Seals Hop-N- Ning in the spring when our Open Arms children join in the fun.
Springfield Rescue Mission
For over 115 years, the Springfield Rescue Mission has been feeding and sheltering the Greater Springfield area’s neediest people. Once again they will be serving many meals this fall season. Just $1.92 feeds one hungry person or helps provide the shelter and other care they so desperately need. Please join your friends and neighbors who support this life-changing work, and send a special Thanksgiving gift to the Springfield Rescue Mission today. Donations may be made online at www.springfieldrescuemission.org. If you would like to donate food, clothing, gift certificates, or volunteer your time, please call the Mission at 413-732-0808.
Food Bank of Western Mass
This is the time of year when household budgets get stretched to the breaking point, and food pantries, meal sites, and shelters need to feed more people than ever—working poor families with young children, elders, individuals, veterans. The Food Bank distributes food to every corner of our four-county region. Your gift will reach people in need of extra help putting food on the table in every city and town. If you would like to help this worthwhile mission please make out a check to Christ Lutheran Church with “food bank” clearly noted in the margin.
Westfield Soup Kitchen
Our Community Table, the Westfield Soup Kitchen, needs your financial support. Did you know they serve an average of 60 needy individuals nutritious, wholesome meals, six nights per week? The soup kitchen is located at 101 Meadow Street in Westfield and is fully run by volunteers and the financial generosity of the greater Westfield community. Please consider them in your annual giving. Your tax deductible donation may be sent to the Westfield Soup Kitchen, PO Box 2017, Westfield, MA 01086-2017. The soup kitchen is also looking for groups of people to help them prepare meals. You may contact them at 413-572-9147.
Operation Hope Tote
Join Springfield Rescue Mission’s Operation Hope Tote outreach to Greater Springfield’s homeless men and women. The goal is to provide basic, personal hygiene items to thousands of needy men, women, and children in our communities. It’s easy! Just fill a bag with items such as: toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap/body wash, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lip balm, socks, brush/comb, pocket pack tissues, hand/body lotion, body powder, disposable razors, and shaving cream.
Habitat for Humanity
Our mission focus this month is also the Habitat for Humanity project. If you aren’t particularly skilled at building things you can still help by making a cash or in-kind donation to Thrivent. Our church has a goal of $1,300. In-kind donations include skilled labor, such as electrical work, as well as building supplies. For cash donations, just make your check out to Thrivent and clearly mark Habitat for Humanity in the memo section. If you’d like to help by donating materials for the project please speak to Roy Cook at 569-6850 or Kathy King at 569-5151, extension 13.
CROP WALK
People all over the world are walking to get water, to work in the fields, and to collect firewood. Sunday, June 1, we put our faith into action and walked with them in the CROP Walk. The walk began at 1:00. More than 2.3 million people in some 2,000 towns and cities nationwide took part in their community’s CROP WALK this year. They walked to help stop hunger around the world – in more than 80 countries, and around the block – more than $3.3 million will be shared with food banks, pantries, community gardens, and other local hunger-fighting agencies.
Memorial Golf Tournament
The Elsie Osman, Esther Cressotti Cancer Awareness Memorial Golf Tournament was held Saturday, August 9 at East Mountain Country Club this year. All proceeds went to Cancer Research for a Cure at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Inner City School Supply Drive
August’s Mission focus was the Springfield Rescue Mission’s School Supply Drive for Inner City Children. Backpacks, pencil cases, subject notebooks, composition notebooks, pocket folders, 3-ring binders, calculators, highlighters, erasers, pens (black & blue only), pencils, crayons, markers, plastic rulers, white out, protractors & compasses, and blunt-tipped scissors were all at the top of the list.
Nothing But Nets
Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. A simple, cost-effective donation of $10 can purchase a bed net, deliver it and explain its use. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria for up to four years. When enough nets are used, the insecticide used to deter mosquitoes makes entire communities safer.
