Caring for Children,
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Supporting our Troops through
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The Community Giving TreeGifts ready for distribution.
Chatham Congregational Church donates annually to the Community Giving Tree, which serves the local school district (SAD72) and is sponsored by churches, service organizations and businesses.
In 2008 the Giving Tree helped 1325 families, 298 children, and provided 1,530 gifts of clothing and toys. The Mission of the Giving Tree is to make the most of the opportunity for community giving during the Christmas season. The community is asked to give generously of time, talent and treasure, so all may experience the joy of the season. Compassion InternationalLetter from Alex in Ethiopia
In partnership with Compassion International, the Chatham Congregational Church sponsors a child at the Kara Kore Emmanual Presbyterian Church Student Center in Addis Ababa. The project provides funds for food, clothing, education, and family support.
Children in this small corner of Ethiopia know little of Christmas celebrations. Parents who make less than 50 cents a day can rarely afford gifts, and the story of the Saviour's birth is seldom told in this predominantly Muslim region. Through the Compassion International project, more than 200 children attended the annual Christmas party, where each received gifts of toys, books and new clothing. Learn more about Compassion International's mission here. |
United Church of Christ military chaplains have found an old way to invite U.S. soldiers into a safe and informal place where they can receive spiritual care and good coffee. Congregations and individuals can support the Coffee House Ministry and simultaneously participate in the UCC Coffee Project by sending Equal Exchange Coffee to the military chaplains in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
Coffee may be an unlikely ally of the Gospel yet in the hands of a chaplain it can enable meaningful ministry. By offering a place to come, relax, and talk with chaplains, the “Coffee House and Café Ministries” provide our military personnel with a place where they can be emotionally and spiritually renewed and have a moment of peace as well as a cup of gourmet coffee. It opens doors to communication and allows troops to begin to heal their concerns and relieve their burdens related to the home front or their deployment. In 2015, thanks to you, 151 Chaplains are able to participate. At this time our troops continue to be deployed in many countries where they encounter very difficult, life–threatening situations. Their daily experiences extract an extreme physical, emotional and psychological toll. Our chaplains are the first line of defense against the emotional and psychological issues faced by our troops. Whether or not we agree with our country’s foreign policy, we continue to offer our troops a cup of coffee and support them through the military chaplain’s ministry. Please participate in this ministry -- supporting our troops as well as small coffee farmers around the world -- by sending Equal Exchange Coffee to military chaplains. In Chaplain (Ret) Andrew Sholtes words: “Holy Joe’s Cafe is a place where chaplains in the Small Forward Operating Bases, hangar bays, hospitals, aid stations and their makeshift chapels are able to bring a taste of home to the tired, the anxious, the angry, the lonely and the wounded. They can all get gourmet coffee, a reminder that the world they willingly left behind still cares.” Donate Coffee to Holy Joe’s Café through Equal Exchange & the UCC Coffee Project Go to Equal Exchange’s webstore with your Visa or MasterCard. If you order as a congregation or other organization, you will receive wholesale pricing. If ordering as an individual, you will pay retail. To get wholesale pricing, hover over Wholesale (upper right corner of page) and choose the type of account (for example, congregation). |