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Edison School Project
The First Presbyterian Edison School
Project began its ninth year in the fall of 2008; a total of 52
tutors and classroom helpers participated. Each volunteer spends an
hour or more each week in a classroom. Many of them also accompany
classes on field trips; adopt a classroom and provide birthday
treats, snacks or school supplies on a regular basis; or donate
money to the Edison Fund. In December, each student received an
appropriate book as a gift. This year, five “canine companions”
brought their dogs into classrooms, and the children loved reading
to them.
Free Clinic of Kalamazoo
The Free Clinic of Kalamazoo was founded in 1993. It is a
volunteer-based health clinic that provides medical treatment,
health education, advocacy, and referral services without cost to
the estimated 30,000 uninsured residents of Kalamazoo County.
Ghana Partnership
Members of the church attended the Ghana Mission Network meeting at
Stony Point Presbyterian Center, Stony Point, NY as representatives
of the partnership between the Presbytery of Lake Michigan, PC(USA),
and the Ho-East Presbytery, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.
Plans are under way to bring representatives of our partner churches
in Ghana to Michigan in 2010 for the first general council meeting
of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), to be held at
Calvin College in Grand Rapids. Several members of our church who
have traveled to Ghana contributed money towards scholarships for
senior secondary school students from the village of Sokode Bagble,
Ghana.
Habitat for Humanity
This was the 22nd year that volunteers helped support the Kalamazoo
Habitat Blitz sponsored by Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity.
Volunteers participate in the blitz each year on one or more of the
four Saturdays in June. The projects include clearing debris,
renovations to the interior and exterior of the houses, and
preparing and serving lunches for work crews. Also, members of the
church have participated in five annual mission trips to Slidell,
LA, to help the East St. Tammany chapter of Habitat for Humanity
build new homes for those who lost their homes in Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita.
Kalamazoo
Loaves and Fishes
For more than 27 years, Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes (KLF) has been
the main charitable source of emergency grocery/ food assistance for
the hungry in Kalamazoo County. Established as a collaboration of
approximately 20 Kalamazoo area churches, each operating an
independent food pantry, KLF was founded in 1982 to provide a
central access point for individuals and families seeking emergency
food supplies, and for efficient collection and distribution of
grocery resources throughout the Grocery Pantry Program Network.
Martha’s Table
Martha's Table, started in November, 2007, is an ecumenical ministry
for God's children who currently have no spiritual home. At 4:00
p.m. each Sunday, Martha's Table partner churches and guests—many of
whom are homeless—come together to experience Christian fellowship
through worship and a meal hosted by First Congregational United
Church of Christ in downtown Kalamazoo. Through this ministry, in
addition to supporting the guests in the challenges they face, we
gain a better understanding of the realities of poverty and what it
means to live “on the street” in Kalamazoo.
Michigan
Organizing Project
First Presbyterian Church has been a member of the Michigan
Organizing Project (MOP) since the fall of 2007. The group has four
issue campaigns: (1) Housing for the Homeless, (2) Immigration
Reform, (3) Jobs, and (4) Racism/Profiling. The Outreach Committee
has chosen to participate primarily in the Housing for Homeless Task
Force, consistent with our church's commitment to address
homelessness in the Kalamazoo community.
Ministry with
Community
MwC is a haven in Kalamazoo for people who are hungry, lonely, or
homeless. Staff and volunteers welcome "members" when they drop in
to do their laundry, take a shower, get a haircut, volunteer, pick
up their mail, enjoy a cup of coffee, find support for their
recovery, seek help in sending for birth records, see a social
worker, or simply rest. The resulting relationships begin to form a
positive community for many. Through this community, people who
"drop in" also help to serve meals, clean, unload groceries, make
candles, and organize social events. These valuable contributions
help members to build self-esteem, positive relationships, and hope
for the future.
Nicaragua Partnership
During the summer of 2008, the
Presbytery of Lake Michigan hosted a delegation of ten partners from
Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua. Our church and North Presbyterian Church
jointly hosted the visitors to the Kalamazoo area over the Labor Day
weekend. Six families served as home-stay hosts and others helped by
providing local transportation. Pastors, staff, and the members of
both churches enthusiastically welcomed the visitors and
participated with them in various activities.
Open Door/Next
Door Shelters
The Open Door Shelters provide transitional housing to low?income
working people. The Shelters invite several churches to renovate and
furnish apartments in newly purchased buildings. Last spring the
Outreach Committee offered to renovate and furnish one of these
apartments. Several church volunteers performed the necessary
cleaning, painting, and repairs, and many others donated
furnishings.
Transformation Prisoner Re-entry
The goal of the Transformation Prisoner Re-entry program is to
increase the success rate of offenders who transition from prison.
The program fosters effective risk management and treatment,
offender accountability, and community and victim participation.
United Campus
Ministry
The mission of United Campus Ministry (UCM) is “to infuse the task
of education with a vision of the redeemed world where the hungry
are fed and children are nurtured, where the homeless find shelter
and the prisoners are set free”. Each year UCM provides
opportunities for hundreds of college students to work with children
in the Kalamazoo area, with Habitat for Humanity, and with the
homeless, the hungry, and the underserved in urban areas throughout
the region. Students are trained to take leadership roles in “urban
plunge” trips, such as weekends working in Detroit or Chicago soup
kitchens, and on Alternative Spring Break trips. In addition to its
Bible study component, UCM involves students in putting their faith
to work and encourages them to continue to serve "the least of
these" throughout their lives.
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