Parkway United Church of Christ Missions and Outreach
Missions Committee Co-Chairs:
Susan Dyer and Esther Mendez
Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.
The next meeting will be March 24 at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.
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Parkway UCC is involved with the following organizations:
CHANGE Communities
Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment
CHANGE is made up of faith-based organizations, neighborhood groups and
other interested groups.
CHANGE is one of the 57 affiliates of the oldest and largest community
organizing networks in the United States, the Industrial Areas
Foundation (IAF). CHANGE is committed to building a stronger community by developing
relationships across racial, ethnic, economic, political, social, and
religious lines.
CHANGE is not a movement, a protest group, a political action committee
or a service organization. We do not run programs, endorse candidates or
take government money. But what we do is to cultivate the skill of our
local leaders by identifying shared concerns and needs so that we may
act together for the common good.
For more information, visit CHANGE
CHANGE UPDATE
CHANGE (Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment)
has much work/action in progress now. Planning meetings, relationship building
meetings, and community organizing training meetings are scheduled for the
winter months. New congregations and organizations were voted into CHANGE as
well as new strategy team members at the Metro Council potluck meeting January
21 at Shiloh Baptist Church. Approximately 80 members and visitors
attended. Ann McLain and Nancy Vargas represented Parkway.
The Health and Wellness Action Team members have been
researching and meeting with agencies in Forsyth County to establish VOAD
(Voluntary Organization Active in Disasters) or COAD (Community Organizations
Active in Disasters). The Health and Wellness Team hosted a meeting at Parkway
of voluntary agencies to discuss the role of each agency in disasters.
Some of the agencies that attended were the American Red Cross, United Way,
Salvation Army, Crisis Control, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC,
Sunnyside Ministries, ESR, Urban League, Senior Services, SORT, Mental Health
Association, Catholic Social Services and NC VOAD President.
CHANGE member congregations/organizations will be asked to be
involved in providing “people power” and a designated contact person for VOAD.
The Alder’s Point fire in July of 2009 was a reminder of how quickly Forsyth
county citizens became victims of a fire (disaster) and showed the need for
community coordination to respond effectively to needs of victims. The next
Health and Wellness meeting is scheduled for February 9 at Green Street
Methodist Church at 6:00 p.m.
We heard at the Metro Council Meeting about the history of
CHANGE’s involvement in education in Forsyth County starting with the 2004
school audits, 2005 school bond vote, monitoring the bonds, and the 2009
legislative vote for a Forsyth county nonpartisan school board. The
Education Team will be selecting areas this next year on which to focus energy
and work.
The scheduled March 11 Metro Council meeting will be a voting
meeting on the Education Action Team’s plan presented on February 25. This
will be a potluck meal. The place for this meeting will be forthcoming.
Please check your calendar and plan to attend. Contact Ann McLain or
Nancy Vargas if you are able to participate.
Crisis Control Ministry
GIFT OF THE MONTH: Laundry Detergent
Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY COLLEGIATE LUNCHES – The dates available to provide lunch for college students working at Habitat Forsyth County during Spring Break are as follows: Friday, March 12 – Gettysburg College & Virginia Tech – 30 lunches; Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26 – Cornell University & Hamilton College – 30 lunches. Please contact Martha Ruskai if you are interested in helping with these lunches.
Kids Cafe
Samaritan Ministries
Red Cross of Northwest North Carolina
Prodigals Community
The Center for Development in Central America
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