Mission and Outreach
Several of this year’s educational programs spurred us to view our local mission work through the lens of race and economic disparity: the documentary films Against All Odds by Bob Herbert and 13th by Ava DuVernay, the books Waking Up White by Debby Irving and Evicted by Matthew Desmond, and the Faith for a Fair New York and Poor People’s Campaign event in October. We also continue to keep in mind the book Toxic Charity by Robert D. Lupton and the work that was done by the Building Our Community Task Force.
Our most active Mission and Outreach projects are the Community Meal, the Sewing & Quilting Group, and the Care & Share Program. You can read about these projects in detail in the Opportunities for Service section. More of our Mission & Outreach programs are described below.
Future Plans: Our greatest challenge in the year ahead is figuring out how to restructure so that people can work on those projects that give them the greatest energy, and yet there is coordination and oversight among the project teams. We welcome your thoughts and ideas, and we would be glad to have you join us in any of the work that we do.
Carolyn Cummings, Missionary in Kenya
Carolyn has been serving with Africa Inland Mission in Kenya for 29 years. She started out as a Bible school teacher, then became the Children’s Ministry Facilitator for the Mission. She is now an administrator in the office that covers Kenya and Tanzania, providing office administration, contingency planning, project administration, and unit leadership for the missionaries working in Eastern Kenya. On weekends, she has a Bible club for teenage boys from a large slum area in Nairobi.
Carolyn Cummings and the boys from Kibera on a camping trip at Lake Naivasha in Kenya.
News from Carolyn (received June 1, 2018):
Dear Friends,
Today is Madaraka Day in Kenya, one of our two independence days — yes, Kenya was very happy to stop being a colony of Britain.
It was a welcome day away from the office and I spent most of it with the soccer team in Kibera. I watched them play football, checked on the library and then visited several homes to meet parents and pray with them. I was stretched using my Kiswahili, which was good except for the time I told a father he had a very good daughter, referring to his son! After that I stuck to the generic word for “youth” which is used for both genders.
I ended the day’s celebrations with some colleagues eating at… an Ethiopian restaurant! Sorry Kenya, but Ethiopian food is better. And more colorful.
Caro Football team (yellow jerseys) in action.
Kids in the library listening to the President’s Independence Day speech.
Sitting with one of the mothers in her shop where she makes and sells samosas and chapatis.
Praying with a boy and his mother.
Yummy and pretty Ethiopian food.
I trust you all had a nice Memorial Day. Next year I’m planning to be home for the 4th of July (my birthday) for the first time since 1993! I’m looking forward to seeing fireworks over the Charles River again.
Please continue to pray for my work in the office and my unit leadership of the missionaries at the coast. We all have our challenges, but people are hearing the Word and being encouraged by our ministries.
Thanks for praying, Carolyn
Other Mission & Outreach Projects in 2017–18
Fresh Start Program and Mission-Funded Staff: Through our Community Meal, we continue to offer training to formerly incarcerated individuals in our community who are in need of “on the job” training in order to reenter the work force. This year we’ve employed a Dishwasher and a Dishwasher Helper who worked with us on Tuesdays. Other “on the job” training positions during the week included Housekeeping and Welcome Desk staff members. We thank Building Manager Eugene Favor and Community Meal Coordinator Katie Kukol for their ongoing training and support of our Fresh Start employees. The Personnel Team, after evaluating the program to date, is working on developing an oversight team that will provide more structure and measurable goals so that the program can offer a more consistent experience to participants.
The Mom’s House “angel tree” has tags hung on it with children’s ages and Christmas gift requests.
Mission Loan Program: We initiated a program that provided micro-loans to pay security deposits when individuals found themselves moving into a new apartment. This was an extension of the pastor’s discretionary funds which had been used for similar purposes. The loans could be paid back in small increments over time, as well as by providing volunteer service to the church. The program was running smoothly in the fall, but after the new year, budget cuts experienced by other organizations resulted in a flood of applications for our program. By the end of January we had exhausted more than half of the 2018 budget allocation for this program. We then suspended the program to evaluate the application criteria and provide it more structure. We anticipate resuming the program later this year.
Christmas Gifts: This project began as a relationship with Mom’s House. It has been going on for several years, and we always have more people who are willing to give than children at Mom’s House, so this year we added two other giving opportunities: people were invited and encouraged to bring gifts for the Urban League “Santa’s Shop,” which allows parents to select gifts for their children from the donations received, and the Broome County Council of Churches Jail Ministry, which provides small, low cost gifts to people who are incarcerated in the holiday season. The congregation responded with its usual generosity, providing bright holidays to children and youth as well as adults in the greater Binghamton community.
Presbyterian Mission: The Presbyterian Mission Agency is the ministry and mission agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Four ministry areas carry out the work of the PMA: Compassion, Peace, and Justice; Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries; Theology, Formation, and Evangelism; and World Mission. The PMA strives to inspire, equip, and connect all Presbyterians for the church’s work. In addition to UPC’s “hands-on” mission programs, our congregation actively supports the PMA through special offerings: OGHS (One Great Hour of Sharing), $1,377; Pentecost, $345; Peace and Global Witness, $154; Christmas Joy, $613. We also hosted a presentation in November by Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee, PC(USA) mission co-workers in Korea, on the topic of reconciliation and peace-making.
PC(USA) mission co-workers Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee with their son, Sahn.
Mobile Food Pantry: The Mobile Food Pantry is a program of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. This program delivers fresh produce, dairy products, and other food and grocery items directly to distribution sites where people need food. When the truck arrives at a site, volunteers place the food on tables surrounding the truck. Clients are then able to “shop,” choosing items that they need. We supported and staffed the Mobile Food Pantry at UPC in August and November, but chose not to continue with this program in 2018 in order to refocus our efforts and energy on other projects.
Broome County Council of Churches: Projects UPC is involved with include CHOW/Broome Bounty, Faith in Action (trains volunteer care givers), Hospital Ministry (serves both UHS hospitals with 24/7 pastoral care, and trains volunteers for support and advocacy), Ramp It Up (builds wheelchair ramps to make people’s homes accessible), and the “Encounter” radio and TV program.