Our Team’s mission is to provide opportunities and support for the members of TCPC to go forth into the world to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and to minister to God’s people in our community, our region and nation, and around the world as Christ commands that we do.  As part of the TCPC Vision Statement we support the specific focus on hunger through our own Food Pantry, our 5-Cents-a-Meal special offerings, and other mission projects.

Reflection on 2011 Activities

LOCAL ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS

TCPC Food Pantry:

            Our Food Pantry, which was started in January of 2010, is now a Partner with the Central Virginia Food Bank. The Pantry is open for guests on Tuesday evenings between 5:30 and 7:00. We are currently working to expand the types of food items, as well as services, available to our guests. We always need additional volunteers to help with serving visitors or work behind the scenes.

GO! Projects

            The GO! Projects are once-a-month, local mission projects for small groups of all ages. Church members sign up to go into the community to assist individuals or other service organizations that need groups of volunteers. Previous GO! Projects have helped such agencies as:

• Camp Hanover
• Lamb’s Basket Food Pantry
• Central Virginia Food Bank Backpack Program

Look for sign-up sheets for GO! Projects in the Upstairs Fellowship Hall during the months of September through May.

CARITAS

TCPC has traditionally hosted a group of homeless individuals or families for one week during the year. Our members provide meals, a safe and warm place to sleep, services, such as trips to showers and laundry facilities, friendship, and some other nice surprises during the week. It takes a lot of volunteers and there is an opportunity for all - large and small.

Advent Giving Trees

            In December, TCPC members have the opportunity to help our neighbors by supplying Christmas gifts to the needy, whose names are supplied to us through our local schools and a local prison ministry.

Refugee Resettlement Projects

            TCPC has helped with the resettlement of refugees in the Richmond area several times in the past. At present we are assisting another Richmond church in helping to settle a family of 7 from Ethiopia.

REGIONAL / NATIONAL PROJECTS

            The following are examples of some of our on-going and periodic projects:

• Youth Mission Trips to the Washington D.C. area, to help in soup kitchens and in other projects in the area.
• Mission trips to Appalachia, which involve building and remodeling projects.
• Monetary contributions to Presbyterian Church (USA) Disaster Assistance for the United States.

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Mission Trips to Haiti

            The focus of these trips is to help residents of several homes for orphaned boys in the impoverished country. The trip is organized by our Pastor and our young adult members.

Contributions to the Presbyterian Church (USA)    

            Through these monetary contributions TCPC supports our broader denomination’s international mission programs. These contributions are supplied through a percentage of our members’ pledges and through Special Offerings throughout the church year.

For further information about any of these opportunities, or to see how you can volunteer, please contact Carol Lancaster, Chair of Mission and Service Ministry Team at 357-1056

2011 Reflections:

WHAT DID THE MISSION AND SERVICE MINISTRY TEAM DO IN 2011?

This is a question that we have heard many times in many different venues and discussions in the last year - and rightfully so - as a much larger budget than usual was put under the control of our TCPC M&S Ministry Team this past year. As this decision was a surprise to M&S, as well as the congregation, we spent a lot of time discussing how to be good stewards of this money. So this article is to communicate to you the results of our deliberations and spending for 2011, which fall naturally into three categories.

By far the largest amount of money given to a single project was spent in-house to support our TCPC Food Pantry, which was started as a result of our last church visioning project. Our goal was and is to help the hungry people in our community. During the last year we have been accepted as an official Partner of the Central Virginia Food Bank, which allows us to buy some of our food at reduced prices. The partnership, however, also required us to expand our previous offerings of nonperishable foods to include fresh vegetables, dairy products, and frozen meats. To support this ministry in 2011, M&S spent $3,048 for food, and $5,025 for the construction project to move the Pantry facilities into the downstairs kitchen and purchase a refrigerator for the Pantry. The byproducts of this project resulted in a new closet for Promises Preschool, so we could use their space in the kitchen, and the return of our previous space in the Junior High Room to the Youth. It was definitely a win-win-win situation!

Our second category of budget expenses was for mission trips and projects. Mission and Service sponsored one mission trip to Newark, New Jersey, last summer ($1400). This is a ministry we have supported for a number of years. We also supported the Helping Hands Children’s Mission Event in July ($144). We are committed to helping with expenses for mission events for our children and youth. We also became involved in two partnerships in the last year: Christ Church Refugee Settlement Partnership ($1200), to continue our historical interests in helping refugees in our community get a good start in life in this new land; and Camp Hanover Adopt-A-Building Program ($1114), a program of renovation of camp buildings that are desperately in need of new electrical systems, fresh paint, and other smaller projects. We have now had three different work days at Camp Hanover.

Our third category of budget expenditures is a list of monetary donations to the Presbytery of the James and to local agencies with which TCPC has historical connections. M&S sent checks through the POJ for the following three programs: Presbyterian Disaster Relief-U.S. ($1000) in response to the floods and storms in the spring of last year; POJ-International Hunger Grants ($1000) in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan; and the 5-Cents-a-Meal Program ($500). In addition, we sent $950 to Haiti Outreach Ministries, a local agency that was recommended by the POJ.
TCPC has a long history of monetary donations to several local and regional agencies that we have been involved with over the years. We remembered them again this year with gifts ranging from $500-$750 each to: CARITAS, Freedom House, Richmond Hill, Cross Over Health Care Ministry, all in Richmond, and Zuni Presbyterian Home in Zuni, VA.

We thank you for your trust in M&S as stewards of these funds, and welcome your feedback as we plan our 2012 budget year. If you have questions, please contact Carol Lancaster or Jim Behne.