Sunday Service at 10 a.m.
Supporting the Work of Our SROs
From the 25% amount of The Peace & Global Witness offering that stayed with our congregation, and keeping the peacemaking and reconciliation in our own community, the Mission & Outreach Committee chose to gift the SROs (School Resource Officers) in the schools with bags of candy. Jill Cook and Carol Gneckow delivered the candy at Helena Middle School, CRA Anderson, Helena Indian Alliance, Capitol High School and East Helena Middle School. The picture is at the East Helena school. The candy provides a wonderful avenue to open conversations with the students.
Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
The Prison Fellowship Angel Tree program equips churches to strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and their children by delivering a gift, the Gospel message, and a personal message of love on behalf of a parent, grandparent, or other family member behind bars.
Packing Party
Once again this year, we joined with our neighbors at Temple Emanu-El to pack Chanukah boxes.
Coffee for Vets
We gathered and delivered donations of coffee, coffee pods, sugar, and shelf-stable creamer to Veteran Centers on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
Bibles for Prisoners
This giving campaign, Crossroads Prison Ministry, was presented to FPC in October. Every $10 given sent a Bible to men and women in prison who are desperate for God's word. First Presbyterian Church’s donation of $704 bought 70 Bibles for prisoners.
Hosting Special Olympics Teams
The Miles City Bandits and Mt. Powell Stars came to dinner at FPC on Nov. 7. These Special Olympics athletes were in town for a tournament, and we were honored to serve them dinner Friday night.
Pumpkin Patch Party!
The Pumpkin Patch Party was held in conjunction with our annual Pumpkin Patch, and featured bounce houses, games for children, treat bags, and hotdogs.
Party-goers pose for pictures.
Backpacks & Sundries
In August, we collected backpacks and sundries for United Way, which will distribute the items to homeless people.
Cuddle Buddies
Soft, cuddly “buddies” were created from flannel, and a group of friends gathered to stuff and complete them. More than 100 Cuddle Buddies were distributed to local groups in April to bring comfort to children in stressful situations.
Dipes & Wipes
In response to our local YWCA’s drive for diapers and baby wipes for Mother’s Day, we collected 15 boxes of diapers and 10 boxes of baby wipes. The YWCA will share the items with The Friendship Center and Florence Crittenton.
Family Promise Fundraiser
Once again, FPCH participated in the Comfort Food Challenge fundraiser, offering pulled pork sliders. Additionally, small brownie bites were offered and larger brownies sold to benefit Family Promise.
Point-In-Time Dinner
In January, FPC volunteers prepared and served dinner at God’s Love during the annual Point-in-Time Survey. Conducted by United Way of the Lewis & Clark Area, this survey of the unhoused population helps the agency plan for community resources to help those in need.
Honoring Special Women & Men in Our Lives
For Mother’s Day, the congregation donated
feminine hygiene and personal care items for distribution to women living at The YWCA, The Friendship Center, and Florence Crittenton.
For Father's Day socks, shaving products,
and other personal care items were donated for men. The products were distributed to God's Love, Our Place, and The Pantry at Good Samaritan.
The products were donated as a way to
honor our mothers and fathers or any special woman
or man in our lives.
Mission Activities Throughout the Years
Our Focus:
We focus our giving on the “least of these” as specified in Matthew 25: The hungry, The thirsty, Strangers, The naked, The sick, and The imprisoned. And although not specifically mentioned in Matthew 25, we also support those who are unsheltered and struggling to support themselves and/or their families.
Following is a partial list of the activities of FPCH for each of these groups of people:
For the hungry and thirsty:
Committed to collect food items and monetary donations for distribution to local organizations supporting the hungry and thirsty as an ongoing ministry; Committed to assemble and distribute bags of food and water to local panhandlers as an ongoing ministry; Committed to collect and distribute coupons for food items to assist individuals or families who struggle with hunger; purchased food baskets for refugee families around the world;
For strangers:
Committed to smiling at strangers and invite them to participate in worship services and fellowship activities; Committed to providing monetary support for a local missionary assigned overseas and other missionaries activities, Committed to providing financial support for our Presbytery Camp open to youth of all denominations; Provided dinner for Special Olympians visiting our community for a State sporting event. Engaged with local college students to invite them to participate in our church activities; sent encouragement to local young women and children through a cards outreach activity.
For the naked:
Committed to collecting and providing warm clothing to local organizations supporting the homeless; Committed to collecting blankets, towels & washcloths for underprivileged. members of our community; collected diapers and baby products for distribution to local organizations supporting young mothers and babies; collected and provided clothing and personal care items for distribution to war veterans in transitional housing,
For the sick:
Committed to providing homemade lap quilts to members of the congregation in poor health or experiencing a difficult time in their lives; Committed to providing monetary donations to a local children’s’ home.
For the imprisoned:
Participated in a Prison Angel Tree Program, providing Christmas gifts to children of incarcerated family members. Collected puzzle and activity books for a boys' correctional facility as well as monetary donations to purchase sports equipment; made and gave lap quilts to members of the congregation isolated due to Covid19. Several members participate in Crossroads Prison Ministry, reviewing lessons of Bible students and writing letters of encouragement and support.
For the disadvantaged:
Committed to participating in community fundraisers, providing meals, overnight supervision and monetary support for families in transition; Committed to providing monetary support for a local home for pregnant mothers & their babies; Committed to providing monetary support for abused women and children; helped assemble curriculum boxes for The Montana Jewish Project, collected and distributed personal care and cleaning items to local organizations supporting disadvantaged families; collected and distributed menstrual products to local organizations supporting disadvantaged women; provided monetary support for a disadvantaged youth organization; ; provided monetary support for war refugees.