Our Mission & Outreach Committee is committed to providing opportunities of service for members of this Congregation whereby we as a Congregation reach out to those both inside and outside of ourselves to share the love of Christ with those in need.
Various Church Projects:
- Easter Baskets - put together by members of the church and distributed to children in needy families in the community, children in the Pediatric Unit of the Ephrata Community Hospital, and children at Lancaster's Milagro House, a home for homeless mothers and children
- Feeding The Homeless at 1st Reformed Church in Lancaster - twice per year a team makes a complete hot meal for over 100 men and women who are homeless in Lancaster city
- Christmas Gifts To The Needy - members will provide wish-list and need-list gifts for local families, wrap the gifts, and deliver them for Christmas
- Food Bank volunteer work - several times per year we provide scheduled volunteers to bag food from the local food bank (Northeastern Lancaster County Food Bank) and distribute the groceries to needy families coming to the food bank; we also assist with a two-Saturday food drive effort to replenish the food bank in November
- Hat & Glove Project - a Christmas tree is placed in our church foyer and on it, throughout the Advent season, people place new winter hats and gloves which are then distributed to needy families through our Christmas Gifts to The Needy project
- Back Pack Project - in August members of the congregation purchase backpacks and fill them with school essentials for local elementary school children of needy families in the community
- REACH Workcamp - each year, for a week in the summer, youth and adult leaders attend a REACH Workcamp where they join hundreds of other youth from the eastern coast and midwest to work in a local impoverished community to provide needed home repairs
- Feeding The Homeless at 1st Reformed Church in Philadelphia - once a year a team of youth and adults make a Saturday evening meal for homeless men who sleep overnight in the church
- Hurricane Katrina Relief Work - we have sent three groups so far since the hurricane, one for each past three years, to work with various ministries in clean-up, home restoration work, and caring for the displaced and homeless
As a congregation we also budget giving to a variety of local ministries. Besides financial support, we also attempt to find ways to encourage our congregation to do some hands-on volunteer work with these ministries. The hope is to, as best as possible, intentionally support ministries with which we can have a hands-on relationship and who work to fulfill Christ's call as outlined in Matthew 25 . . .
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty 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. . . . Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
Local Ministries Supported this Year:
- Northeastern Lancaster County Food Banks
- Terre Hill Ministerium
- Bridge Of Hope
- A Relay For Life team from the congregation
- Community Action Program of Lancaster County (CAP)
- United Church Of Christ Homes
- New Holland Ministerium
- Lighthouse Rehab Center
- Water Street Rescue Mission
- Transitional Living Center
- Milagro House
- Teen Challenge
- Support For Prision Ministries
We also support several missionaries and mission organizations who are seeking to spread the good news of Jesus and do so in a relational manner reflective of our own sense of purpose.
Missions:
- Alan and Carol Wert & Family serving in Wales with Petra Christian Fellowship
- Dawn Crowther with Mercy Ships
-We also sponsor several children through HOINA (India)- - - - - - - - -