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And the Lord said…”for I was hungry and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25: 35-37
Mission Possible, Volume 2, Issue 2, June 2007 Mission Possible, Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2007 Mission Possible, Volume 1, Issue 1, November 2006 Mission Committee is responsible for supporting three major offerings throughout the year for the Presbyterian Church USA.
We need you to make Missions work. Please consider your place of service and support in the mission and ministry of First Presbyterian Church. Over the years, the faithful giving and stewardship of the members and friends of First Presbyterian Church have made Mission work possible. Each year we respond to special needs all around our world in the name of God. We are grateful for special gifts that have allowed us to begin new ministry services and to keep up with established ones. Our congregation is committed to Mission work. We have a long history of giving time and talents to meet the growing needs of local Mission agencies such as GRACE, the area relief agency, and of Mission outreaches around the world.
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Opportunities
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Members of our church work in the GRACE food pantry and make sure clothing and food needs are met when people in our area need help. Call GRACE at 817-488-7009 for additional opportunities to volunteer. Others have served faithfully on the GRACE Board or walked in the annual Church World Services CROP Walk to fight hunger globally and locally. We continue to need your help with the many mission opportunities facing us! GRACE Emergency Financial, Food, Clothing, Counseling and Household Items for families and individuals in crisis. GRACE transitional housing is designed to provide homeless individuals and families with safe housing and supportive services that enhance self-sufficiency. Carefully chosen residents have a place to live while they work, pay off debt, learn new skills and regain confidence. They work directly with a professional Case Manager and trained Case Aides. Most residents have completed a program at one of the area shelters pior to acceptance in Transitional Housing. CROP Walk/ Church World Services : FPC is one of the leading churches for the annual Cropwalk, which is sponsored by GRACE and held in October. Our Cropwalk is one of hundreds held across the nation. Each year several million dollars are raised to aid those primarily in third world countries to help feed these people such as farmers in Bosnia. Money is also used for projects, such as de-mining of areas in Cambodia.
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Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian housing organization. They welcome all people to join to build simple, decent, affordable houses in partnership with those who lack adequate shelter.
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Every month that has a fifth Sunday, we serve meals to those in need at the Presbyterian Night Shelter. A group of 6 to 8 members travel to the Presbyterian Night Shelter near downtown Fort Worth and serve meals to several hundred homeless people on Sunday nights several times a year. For 2004, the last Sunday of June, August, and December and the fourth Sunday in October are on the calendar. In addition, our youth make periodic trips to the shelter where they prepare sandwiches for the clients. The church also contributes monetarily to the PNS. http://www.homelesstarrantcounty.org/
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At our annual Giving Fair, Heifer Project Animal Cards are offered as an alternative to traditional Christmas Gifts. Today, millions of people who were once hungry will be nourished by milk, eggs and fresh vegetables. |
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Families who for generations knew only poverty will be building new homes and starting businesses. Children who once headed out to the fields to do backbreaking work will be heading into schoolrooms to learn to read. People who never thought they'd be in a position to help someone else will be experiencing the joy of giving. |
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How is this possible? With Heifer's proven approach – almost 60 years in the making – to helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income. Cornerstones guide our efforts to alleviate hunger and care for the earth. “Passing on the Gift” means recipients agree to share the offspring of gift animals with others in need, making them equal partners with Heifer in the fight against world hunger. Community Involvement drives our work, because we provide animals and training to organized local groups that request assistance. Caring for the Earth & Agroecology infuses everything we do, because a community's ability to support itself depends on its ability to preserve and protect its land, its water and its other natural resources. |
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Cookies bring prisoners to Christ; it sounds simple but it is surprisingly successful. Our members help provide 200 dozen cookies used to reach out to those incarcerated. The Kairos Men's and Women's Ministry addresses the spiritual needs of prisoners. Kairos volunteers go into prisons in teams of 30 to 40 to pray, share the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, share meals, and fellowship with the incarcerated on a one-to-one basis. The first visit is a three-day event, during which time the team teaches a short introductory course on Christianity. Subsequent visits are monthly half-day reunions with the prisoners over a twelve-month period. Cookies baked by volunteers are served to the prisoners at these events. Kairos Kookie Preparation The types of cookies that are generally acceptable are: Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, Molasses, Chocolate Chip, Ginger and Sugar. Check with your local institution for specifics on the type of cookies that are allowed. Cookies should be between 2 inches and 2-1/2 inches in diameter and not more than 1/2 inch thick. It is very important not to use icing, sugar or any other type of coating on the outside of the cookie. Do not add any kind of fruit or nuts to the cookies.
Pray individually or as a family over the ingredients before and during mixing. Pray over the cookies as you drop them onto the cookie sheets and bake them. Ask God to use your cookies as a source of His love to shine on the prisoners and staff on the Kairos weekend. Pray that each cookie brings the inmate, officer or warden who eats it closer to God. We want every person to become part of the family of God. Kookie Recipes Peanut Butter Combine peanut butter, shortening, sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl and mix at medium speed until well blended. Add egg and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda, mix well. Add flour mixture to peanut butter and mix until just blended. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with the tines of a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes until set. Makes 3 dozen cookies. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, egg, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until well blended. Combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl, mix well. Add to Crisco/sugar mixture until just blended. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 2-1/2 dozen cookies. Combine shortening, sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl, mix until well blended. Add egg and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda, mix well. Add to shortening/sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies. Makes 3 dozen cookies. |
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Every spring and fall, First Presbyterian Church has a blood drive to help the community. The Sunday events run during both services and Sunday School. |
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In conjunction with the Women's Division of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce, we gather food and gifts starting in November for 120 area elderly and disabled to have at Christmas. Look for the Christmas Wish tags in the Narthex starting in late November. If you can contribute a full basket of food, that would be lovely. But even a single jar of peanut butter, (creamy, not crunchy) is appreciated. Why creamy? Because getting a crunchy nut in your dentures hurts. All of the food items are geared to older people who are potentially diabetic or on sodium restricted diets. Food ListStove Top stuffing mix |
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Tarrant County Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is an organization that delivers a lunch meal to elderly and disabled home bound residents. First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine is associated with Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, located in Fort Worth. Two or four volunteers from our church deliver the meals every Monday, except holidays, to residents in Grapevine, Southlake and Colleyville. Since this is the only contact some of these folks have all day, the service is very important. A couple of years ago two of our volunteers saved a woman's life while delivering meals. The lady had gone into diabetic shock, so the volunteers called 911 and stayed with her until the rescue squad came. Delivering the meals usually takes about one hour and with the number of volunteers we have, our volunteers usually deliver about once a month. So come join us for a truly worthwhile mission close to home. |
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As a mission of Grace Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Grace Presbyterian Village offers the amenities of a larger campus combined with small town friendliness in a loving community where everyone knows your name. The Village has a capacity of 310 residents and enjoys a long history of earning state and national recognition. First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine has been active in its support of Grace Presbyterian Village through not only monetary donations but also through the Presbyterian Women's visits to GPV. |
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Drs. Leslie and Cynthia Morgan are missionaries of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A.). They serve in Bangladesh as staff physicians at Christian Mission Hospital in Rajshahi and as advisors for the health programs of the Church of Bangladesh. They live next door to the hospital, a short walk from the banks of the Ganges River as it enters Bangladesh from India. The Morgans assist Christian Mission Hospital in a healing ministry of compassion that reaches out to Muslims, Hindus, and Christians. At the heart of their personal ministry is their bedside care for sick people. Les takes care of adults, while Cindy manages the care of infants and children. They also help the hospital provide primary care services, such as immunizations, health education, antenatal care, nutritional rehabilitation, and family planning. As advisors for the health programs of the Church of Bangladesh, the Morgans regularly travel to rural areas of the county to assist the church's community health programs. Here the Morgans have an opportunity to visit the homes of the some of the poorest people in Bangladesh and to support the church in its ministry of understanding and hope. They have helped the church initiate village health seminars that allow villagers to discuss ways the church can work with them to address their most important health problems, such as malnutrition, tuberculosis, and problems during pregnancy and delivery. First Presbyterian Church provides financial support and prayers for our medical missionaries in the far reaches of Bangladesh. These two people are God's hands and feet in Bangladesh. From Dr. Cynthia Morgan “At CMH my primary ministry is among children and their mothers. As I place my hands on these little ones during ward rounds each day, I realize more and more the sacredness of the opportunity that has been given to me. In silence I offer up prayers of intercession, asking for God's healing mercy in each of their lives. Fully aware that what we offer is as nothing in the sea of suffering that floods this land, still we feel compelled to let our two meager grains of wheat fall into this soil, and pray that they will bear fruit.” http://www.pcusa.org/health/international/profiles/rajshahi.htm |
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Steve and Nancy Peifer went to Kenya in 1999 after the loss of an infant son to a rare genetic disease. With their older sons, JT and Matthew, they went seeking healing through an effort to lift themselves out of their sorrow by serving others. Their service was through Africa Inland Mission and involved being house parents to children at Rift Valley Academy (RVA). What began as a year experiment turned into a full time way of life, as they sold everything, left corporate America, and have now been full time missionaries at RVA for five years. The service of the Peifers is not limited to their duties at RVA but has extended into the surrounding poor Kenyan communities through beginning and sustaining a lunch program to feed desperately poor school children and even provide amazing computer centers at two schools. Both of these projects are ongoing and growing through funds donated by hundreds of people throughout the U.S. who follow the Peifer mission through thoughtful emails Steve periodically sends out. In these messages filled with humor and frustration, sadness and joy, Steve gives a glimpse into his life and those of the Kenyans he has come to love. The past emails have been collected and published in a book. Following is a link which will give more detail about the Peifers and access to all Steve's past emails. |
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Hondouras Outreach International: Our team of 21 adult missionaries built 9 latrines and laid concrete for 6 houses in Guapinol, La Venta, Honduras in 2003. But that was only one aspect of a multi-pronged mission. The missionaries had several areas of work that included Making Friends : Candy and Tennis Balls were the icebreakers for the initial making friends with the village. The children readily accepted us. The adults were a little more skeptical until we all worshipped together, led by Pastor Edgardo Turcios. School Supplies were provided for the village school. You and I have never seen students so excited about school supplies. Notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers were provided in the hundreds. It takes 12 notebooks, pencils and a uniform for any student to attend the school. We would like to assure that any Guapinol children who are not currently attending because they lack such simple things as notebooks, pencils and a uniform will be provided with what they need. Through First Presbyterian Church, education can be provided. Bible Study for the children was an incredible challenge since the assumptions of age groupings and abilities got thrown out the window on the first day. Crafts were adapted. Lessons changed. Tape was used to form rows and chairs provided for mothers’ with babies. The mothers learned as much as the children when the Bible stories were told and then acted out by the children. Soccer Uniforms, Shoes, Balls were the way to the hearts of the young men. Rumors filtered through the village that we had brought soccer balls. We brought over 100 and every one was distributed, not only in Guapinol but also throughout La Venta. Enough uniforms had been gathered to outfit eight teams. In memory of Allison Horne, a Colleyville Heritage High School soccer player who had been killed by a drunk driver, a girls’ soccer team was given uniforms and balls. Young men cleared fields and picked up trash to earn their soccer balls. And a highly entertaining game was played between the missionaries and the local men’s team. Due only to the men’s team’s kindness and an impending storm, the missionaries scored. The Medical Mission involved professionals who gave of their time and talents to see the villagers and anyone else who could make it to the make-shift clinic. Many were referred to the clinic at Rancho de Paraiso, where the missionaries lived. The clinic at the Ranch has the only ultra-sound machine for 300 miles and has a continual stream of residents who need care. Now that the missionaries have been exposed to the needs of the residents they are collecting eye drops, anti-acids, vitamins, antibiotics, Tylenol and other medications. Dental supplies were one of the most useful items taken. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and other basic items were provided for each student of the school. So many toothbrushes were donated that each family also received them. Family Gifts were an unexpected bonus. Missionaries didn’t realize they would be allowed to leave a gift for each of the 48 families. In addition to soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, each received a Spanish Bible with color pictures. The Bibles were instantly opened and families gathered to read and look. In 2004, the missionaries hope to take hammers, pans, nails, silverware, shovels and other garden tools. Some things, like nails and shovels will be bought in Honduras to support their economy. Other things like hammers and notebooks are much cheaper to buy in the US. In 2004 the missionaries hope to take a Village Gift, not unlike the family gifts. A generator is already in the plans. An Egg Hatchery or other means of generating income for the barrio is needed. Sewing machines are being collected as well. Nothing given to the Hondurans can come close to equaling the gifts of friendship and faith the missionaries received from the people of Guapinol. You do not have to speak Spanish to be a part of the Honduras Mission team, The Apostle Group or TAG. A willing heart is all that is needed. Missionaries range in age from 20 something to 70 something. All are used by God to be His Hands in Honduras. Leslie’s Account of Trip We flew from Dallas to Miami with the people who were to become our new family. In Miami, we met other missionaries headed to Honduras to work with street children. How odd to think of us as missionaries. It is easier to see ourselves only as travelers but we are arriving in Tegucigalpa to do God’s work. They will stay in the city and we are heading for Orlancho. Our guide, Lukas is from Honduras Outreach, International, a non-denominational group. He takes us to the Mennonite Bakery where we have lunch and on to Juticulpa, our halfway point. Honduras is where US school buses go to die. The streets are lined with the big, yellow buses that are used for everything. Ours takes us through the mountains to Orlancho, which Lukas tells us is the Honduran Wild Wild West. Later he confides that there is a blood feud in the Agalta Valley and over 80 people have died in the past decade. But for now, he assures us that no one messes with the HOI bus because they know we are missionaries who have come to help. We arrive at Rancho de Paraiso and the dorms we will call home for one week. People pay thousands for the view we now have. Verdant mountains with clouds hiding in valleys, trees filled with sunlight and complete calm. The lunch bell rings and we encounter our first but not last meal of beans, rice, watermelon, pineapple and tortillas. Meat is added in small quantities. Everything is grown on the ranch to demonstrate farming techniques to the villagers and to feed the weekly stream of missionaries. We are anxious to see ‘our’ village and take a 3-mile bus ride to the barrio. The next days are a blur of smiles and trying to cross language barriers. Even those who don’t know any Spanish learn that agua is water as we mix the concrete for floors. We learned caballo as the men showed off their horses. Les, a soccer ref in the states, brought more than 100 soccer balls and enough uniforms to outfit 8 teams. He is a bear of a man who the Hondurans like immediately. Soccer is the universal language. Somehow we got through the miscommunications, the miscounting of how many children we had school supplies for, and the ‘what do you mean we left the cross that we are donating to their church back at the ranch?’ We stood in front of their church on the last day to present that cross. The school children sang the Honduran national anthem to us. And we sang the Star Spangled Banner. Had we ever had greater appreciation for all that the US had given us? Before I began this trip and went for my shots, the doctor told me how long the shots were good for. I told her I was just going this one time. “No one goes once,” she shot back. Well, she was right. I’ve been taking Spanish lessons at the church with the others who felt the sting of not being able to communicate. I don’t know that I really helped that much in Honduras. The villagers did most of the work. I took digital photos and showed them to the kids. I smiled a lot. I did the chicken dance, which means that any of those Honduran kids can attend a wedding in Texas and fit right in. Others felt the same. We could do so much more. I made a list of the families to make sure every one got a Bible, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste. I looked at that sacred list and cried when I got home. All I could think of was Schindler’s List. But he only had one shot. We get to go back. |
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Whether First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine, Texas is sending missionaries to Honduras, the Mexican border or to Uganda, it takes funding. $5 of each Entertainment Book sold goes to underwrite the costs associated with our missions. Bible school and home construction happen in Honduras because we are sent there to spread the Word. AIDS orphans in Uganda rebuild families at the Watoto Villages. The Mexican partner churches on the Texas border help us to work with people in need. Thank you for being a part of the Adult Mission Trip Fund. |
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The SoupMobile is a nonprofit mobile kitchen dedicated to feeding the homeless in Dallas. "SoupMan" David Timothy and his volunteers serve thousands of meals a month to the hungry, finding them in camp sites under bridges, in the woods, and on the streets. First Presbyterian Church supports the SoupMobile financially, and with volunteer help. A donation of $25.00 to the SoupMobile can feed a homeless person for two weeks. |
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Brenton Thompson Brenton served with the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) Program for two years. The YAV program is a one year mission volunteer position with national and international placements that is coordinated through the PC(USA) offices in Louisville, KY. He served in Belfast, Northern Ireland from Fall '03 – Fall '04 doing cross-community work through community work. He also served in Mukachevo, Ukraine from Fall '04 – Fall '05 working on education projects with Roma (Gypsies). If you would like to read his Mission Update Letters and view pictures from those years, his mission webpage is http://brenton-ni.blogspot.com. Brenton is no longer part of the YAV program because he will be attending seminary. If you would like to learn more about this program, a link to the website with more information is included below. Also, if you have any questions about his service or the YAV program, email Brenton at Brenton_NI@yahoo.com. |
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Missions at First Presbyterian - Get Involved today. Give us your helping hand. Contact the church office now to find out how you can be a part of our Mission. |
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