Mission & Service

First Parish Of Westwood, United Church
Celebrate the Spirit at the Crossroads

MINISTRY OF MISSION & SERVICE

Ministry Members: Tish Verzino (Chairperson), Peg Underhill, Carol Maynard, Martha Crawford, Michael Gettings, and Doug Joseph

About the Ministry:

The Ministry of Mission & Service is responsible for the church's outreach and service, both locally and globally. It seeks to support the mission efforts of individuals and groups; educate the congregation about giving and service opportunities; advocate for mission and justice issues; and advocate and interpret the church's world wide mission.

Mission & Service welcomes both input and participation by individuals and groups with a "passion" for any kind of outreach or advocacy work. Please contact the church office if you would like information about any Mission & Service program.

For Information: Contact Martha Crawford at mscwestwood@msn.com

PROGRAMS

Help Furnish a Room for a formerly Homeless Person

For our Easter Offering this year, the Ministry of Mission and Service has adopted a living unit in a building that the Pine Street Inn is converting to 20 units of supervised housing. These units will provide safe, secure homes for formerly homeless persons. Each person will have a one-room unit on a floor that will have a kitchen, bathrooms and communal space.

We will be making our living unit a home by raising $2,000 for furniture, and by providing a number of new household items, such as pillows, sheets, towels, blankets and lamps. Our Easter offering, taken during the worship service on Easter Sunday, will be applied toward our $2000 goal. Donations will be sought from the congregation for the household items. A list of needed items is posted in the Parish Hall. Families and individuals may sign up next to the item(s) they would like to donate, and bring the items to the Parish Hall by Easter Sunday.

While it is important to help feed and temporarily house the homeless, the long term solution is to provide housing. We are fortunate to have the opportunity this Easter to do just that!

Rosie's Place

SANDWICHES: On the third Monday of every month, October through May, First Parish prepares and delivers ten dozen ham & cheese sandwiches to Rosie's Place in Boston. Sandwiches are prepared and donated by volunteers, coordinated by parishioner Thelma Bruno. If you would like to help with this long-standing volunteer effort, please contact the church office at 781-326-5344. CLICK HERE FOR 2005-2006 SCHEDULE

ROSIE’S PLACE WISH LIST: Donations of the following items are needed for Rosie’s Place.

Coffee Mugs: Regular size mugs are used every day and many get broken or cracked. Promotional mugs are fine.

	School supplies: unsharpened pencils, packages of pens, and pads of paper.
	Toiletries: shampoo, lotions and soaps. Both hotel size and full size are needed .

Donations may be brought to the Parish Hall any time prior to May 14^th and left in the labeled box. Thank you for your generosity!

Pumpkins With a Purpose

Every fall, First Parish hosts the "Pumpkins With a Purpose" pumpkin patch, where the community is invited to purchase beautiful pumpkins and gourds. The Patch, staffed by volunteers, runs from mid-October through Halloween and provides a wonderful gathering place for friends and families while they search for that perfect pumpkin.

Why "Pumpkins With a Purpose"? Because our pumpkins have a mission! All proceeds from their sale benefit First Parish outreach efforts, with disbursement determined by First Parish's Ministry of Mission & Service. Each pumpkin is not only a decorative symbol of the season, but also a way to help others. It doesn't get any better than that!

The 2006 Patch will be open from Saturday, October 14th through Wednesday, October 31st, 10-5:30 PM (Mon-Sat) and Noon-5:30 (Sundays). See you then!

Click here for pictures of the Patch!

Minutes