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5/10/04
- Outreach at Christ Church
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As Christians, we are taught to serve others, and “do the deeds of Christ.” Throughout the world, the United States, and even Boston, there are countless opportunities for us to serve Christ through outreach—though some of us may not be exposed to the work that needs to be done, while we are living in the suburb of Needham. Many parishioners already do wonderful outreach work in affiliation with the Church. It is my hope that with this brochure, parishioners will learn more about some of the outreach that already happens here, and how it can be further helped. No matter how much or how little you can contribute, anything you can give makes a difference, and it may be an entire world of difference to someone else.
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African Baobab
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Currently, there are two million orphans in Uganda, who have been taken in by relatives, or neighbors in their villages. They live with inadequate shelter, education, healthcare, and nutrition. Most children have been orphaned as a result of the AIDS virus. The non-profit organization African Baobab works to collect resources to send to these children, and “implements programs in health, education, and agriculture, improving the quality of life of orphans and other vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS.”
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African Baobab embarked on its Education Project in July of 2003, sending educators to Uganda to identify its main problems in educating the public. Much of the Ugandan population is illiterate, one reason for this being that a high school education is not free. Many children leave school after finishing primary school, simply because no one has the 600 dollars per year to spend on high school tuition.
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In addition to supporting education, African Baobab is also involved with agricultural projects in Ugandan villages. The organization provides seeds, fertilizer, milling of grain, and plowing services, as well as animals. These products allow families not only to obtain food, but also to become economically independent.
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As with all volunteer organizations, African Baobab is constantly looking for monetary donations, which will provide Ugandan families and orphans with school scholarships, goats, chickens and cows, emergency food baskets, medicine for those with AIDS, electrical generators for schools, textbooks, teaching materials, and more. If you are interested in this ministry, please contact Sue Fleming.
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African Team Ministries
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African Team Ministries, founded in 1984, provides money for orphan and refugee relief, missions, and evangelism, in Eastern Africa. This organization currently sponsors children in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda by sending money to the Bishops of these countries. This money is then distributed and used on school fees, tuition, textbooks, and uniforms, so that children can receive a quality education. For example, in Tanzania, although public school is free, children must be equipped with shoes, supplies, and uniforms to attend. Many families who have adopted children, orphaned by the AIDS virus, do not have the money to buy these items for them. There are 2000 children that need these supplies in one part of Tanzania alone. For twenty dollars per month, your donations to African Team Ministries can provide a child with these items, and thus, an education.
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African Team Ministries holds craft displays at churches including Christ Church to raise money to send to Africa. Purchasing the jewelry and other items they sell will provide funds for African orphans, unemployed women, and refugees.
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Community Concerns
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The Community Concerns Committee at Christ Church distributes resources from the church’s budget to smaller organizations, serving in all areas of the world—be it locally or internationally. In 2002, the Committee allocated close to 5000 dollars to 15 different outreach programs, from programs serving homeless veterans to orphaned Palestinian children. Members of the Community Concerns Committee research organizations and agencies and develop ongoing relationships with people in these programs.
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Companions in Transition
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The Companions in Transition ministry is a guided Bible study and Fellowship group, which takes place in our own Church. This group is open to everyone, and especially encourages those who are in a period of transition in their lives (making a career change, considering retirement, etc.) The group meets every month, but is a source of support through the entire month, not only at meetings. Group members send encouraging prayers or notes to others who are in transition, as well as provide job networking tips and identifying nearby community resources.
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Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries
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Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries is a program that links many ministries together. It comprises 68 churches, temples, and mosques. All of these programs are devoted to fighting racism, encouraging relationships regardless of ethnic, economic, and geographic differences, and providing resources to programs, which support at-risk youth. There are many ways you can help these causes, including holding book, bike, clothing, or school supplies drives, or tutoring in Boston Public Schools.
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Episcopal Relief and Development
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Episcopal Relief and Development is an organization that acts globally to help communities recover from natural and man-made disasters, and to improve the quality of life for their residents. Working through the Episcopal Church for 60 years, ERD provides food, water, shelter, and emergency assistance to these communities. The organization constructs and repairs buildings, clinics, and schools, plants crops, and helps restore water systems, to ensure that communities are not left without basic necessities after a disaster. As of this year, ERD has established communities in Honduras, Turkey, and Kosovo, and are now working in Belize and El Salvador.
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After helping communities survive after disaster strikes, ERD’s next goal is to help communities rise above poverty. Communities are given seeds, livestock, and training, so that people can earn a living. Also, because disease spreads very quickly in small, rural communities, ERD establishes medical centers, and trains health workers how to prevent contagious diseases.
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However, without the help of parishes and individuals, ERD could not exist. Like any non-profit organization, ERD relies on donations to support their programs. Parishoners can also help by volunteering to travel to disaster-ridden communities, to help build homes, paint schools, dig wells, and more. However, simply by praying for those less fortunate, you help support ERD’s cause.
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Garage Ministry
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The Garage Ministry collects new and slightly used clothing, shoes, toys, and household goods (towels, kitchen items, lamps, etc.). These items are delivered to homeless shelters in Boston, as well as other organizations. This ministry got its name because collected items are stored in Barbara Waterhouse and Carolyn Panasevich’s garages. Donations are always needed to support the sick, poor, and elderly in these shelters. In addition to donating, volunteers sort and pack clothing, and help drive it to the shelters.
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The Giving Tree
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Every year during Advent, a small Christmas tree stands in the Upper Parish Hall at Christ Church, decorated not with ornaments, but colored tags. As many of you know, (because this outreach program has been so successful in the past), each tag has a person's name and a “wish list” item written on it. The item is usually an article of clothing or a toy, to be given to someone living in one of two homeless shelters in Boston. When all the gifts are collected, children from the church school process down the aisle with them, and they are blessed. Afterwards, they are delivered to homeless shelters in the Boston area.
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Habitat for Humanity
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The Habitat for Humanity organization works globally to provide housing for low-income families. Christ Church’s Youth Group has been involved with the organization for many years, each year traveling to a state in the Southeast for a week, and building a Habitat house. The trip itself is open to high school students, but there are many other ways to get involved. Just by attending the fundraisers the Youth Group holds, such as Coffee Hour or the Pancake Dinner, you support both the youth in the church, and the low-income families who are in great need of decent housing. Along with attending fundraisers, parishioners can also help by donating food, money, or water for the trip.
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The Needham Interfaith Habitat for Humanity does the same type of work, except their mission is to build affordable homes right here in Needham. Christ Church parishioners have also participated on these kinds of trips in the past. Watch out for them in the next year if this ministry to Christ interests you.
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Haiti Mission
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The Haiti Medical mission is led by Emilie Hitron each spring, to provide the Haitian people with medical care and medication. A group of parishioners travels with Emilie, to treat the patients of rural clinics, and dispense the medicine they have brought with them. Even without traveling to Haiti, there are ways to help, by donating non-prescription medicines, first aid items, and medical equipment. For Haitians, there is no access to the type of equipment and medicine that parishioners will be bringing along, so donations are very important. Specific items needed are child, infant, and adult vitamins, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, antacids, Zantac, Pepcid, antibiotic creams, Band-aids, ace bandages, reading glasses, hand sanitizers, elastic stockings, and any other medical supplies you may have.
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The Mitten Line
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At Christ Church, there are even ways that children even as young as 3rd and 4th grade can make a difference. In church school, children cut out paper mittens, and then hang them on the mitten line, to be replaced by parishoners with a pair of real mittens. The mittens are given to shelters in Boston, so they can be distributed among those who do not have someplace warm to sleep on a winter night.
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One Family Campaign
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The One Family Campaign is dedicated to ending family homelessness in Boston, “one family at a time.” They do this through providing direct aid to families, informing the general public about homelessness, and through working to change the systems in Boston. Homelessness has become a predominant problem in Boston; in Massachusetts on any given night, 1000 families are in shelters, and still others left on the streets. The One Family Campaign works to get families out of shelters, and living independently. However, just as these families depend on support from this program, the campaign depends on support from individuals and parishes, including Christ Church. Families moving in and out of shelters always need practical items, such as cleaning supplies, linens, and other household goods, to be donated by congregations. Parishes can also do drives to collect winter wear, and clothes.
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Individuals also have the opportunity to volunteer with children and adults at the shelters. Parishioners can tutor an older child at a shelter, or help mentor a woman seeking employment. You can help provide rides to appointments, or even invite a family for an outing to a museum or a beach. Any way you can reach out to these families is appreciated by everyone.
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There are other opportunities as well, such as volunteering with shelter maintenance, (landscaping, gardening, or painting), or at shelter holiday parties or other events. There are many opportunities to get involved with an outreach program like this, and many ways to help makes a difference.
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Search for Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel
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This organization, based in Framingham, which promotes non-violence between Palestinians and Israelis was established in 1972 by Ned Hanauer. Search “believes that justice for Palestinians and security for Israeli Jews are not mutually exclusive, but interdependent.” Search works to accurately inform journalists about the Israeli Palestinian situation, and to use that information to promote peace through the conflict.
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Shelter Cooking
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Shelter Cooking is another ministry whose work takes place right inside Christ Church. Every month, food is prepared to serve 150 people at The Cathedral Soup Kitchen at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston. Volunteers at Christ Church prepare not only a warm lunch, but also 150 bag lunches for the guests to take when they leave the shelter. The Shelter Cooking Committee donates the food, but there are many other ways to volunteer in this ministry. Volunteers can help serve food to the soup kitchen guests on the second Monday of each month, or volunteer to drive the food to the kitchen the day before.
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The Walk for Hunger
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Every year, Sunday school participants at Christ Church have the opportunity to take part in the Walk for Hunger, as does the rest of the congregation. Project Bread, the organization that sponsors the Walk for Hunger is committed to ending hunger in Massachusetts. The Walk for Hunger is a one day event, but the money it raises helps serve families for the entire year. The walk in its entirety is 20 miles, but it is possible to do as little or as much as you want. Other ways to get involved with the Walk for Hunger more include volunteering to paint signs to advertise, or to help out on the day of the walk.
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