The Outreach and Advocacy Ministry Team meets monthly to plan and implement important community, state, national, and world programs.
Projects include:
Help for Haiti: Children Assemble Health Kits
CHOiCES Charter School on TV
Courtney Graham has begun a new program on channel 4 highlighting businesses and institutions that operate on and communicate important values. The first for Central, to begin in mid-October, is a short piece on CHOiCES. It will run on channel 4 each day for one month at 5:30pm, 8:30pm, and 10:30pm. You may view it now, however, by clicking this link.
Peru Medical Mission Trip: June 9-19, 2009
The medical mission team had a very successful trip to Huancayo, Peru. 1,500 doctor visits were recorded during our stay. The medical areas provided were General Medicine (Dr. Bill Hazelwood and Beverly Hazelwood), Pediatrics (Dr. Karen Hill and Dr. Patrice Minter) a dentist, and Ob-gyn (Mrs. Sloan Bateman). In addition, a pharmacy was provided and staffed by Mrs. Susan Williams assisted by Ellen Smith and Sarah Harlan. Triage was staffed by Mrs. Diana Ward and Mrs. Stacy Yale. Assisting them were Bob Wells and Tom Pietila. Translators were Amy Hazelwood, Tara Knopp, and four students from the United States doing mission work in the area. The clinic traveled to five different locations around Huancayo: Concepcion, Azapampa, Victor Raul, San Jeronimo, and El Tambo. We are pleased to report the church and multi-purpose building in Concepcion has been built. Central provided the money for the construction of this building. We also provide ongoing funds for a children’s feeding program there where approximately 25 children are fed twice a week. In addition, we provided funds for the new playground and repairs to the parsonage in Concepcion. Rick Knight and Wright Turbeville organized a hospitality area for children at each of the sites that attracted hundreds of children for play, reading and games. Helping in that area were Sarah Harlan, Ellen Smith, Cameron McCarthy, and Robert Wells.
The above slide show will give you a glimpse of the work we did, the beautiful locations we worked in, and, most especially, the beautiful people we met and treated. A fuller program of our work will come later.
Rebuilding Together: April 25, 2009
Children of Peru Food Fund A group from Central traveled to Huancayo, Peru early in the summer of 2007 to construct a shelter for women and children and offer medical assistance. The shelter has been finished thanks to the money you donated and the workers who traveled there. We have discovered the shelter does not have enough money to provide a reliable and regular meal for the children. Currently they are receiving a meal just once a week. Our goal is to raise $20,000 in 2008 to provide two meals per day for the children. It costs just $40 per day to provide a meal each day for fifty children, less than $1.00 per day per child. Send your contribution to the church office or place it in the offering plate and mark on the memo line or the envelope, "Children of Peru Food Fund." Click here to view a slide show of pictures of the building in Concepcion, Peru, which Central sent a team to assist in building and has worked to fund. The building is complete and feeds needy children from that community each day. It also serves as a worship center and has other functions throughout the week. It is our hope that a second-story may be added one day that will serve as a safe-house for women and children escaping abuse.
Going Green At Central! The "Going Green" task force had their first meeting recently. Seven persons are participating in this important area of ministry with great enthusiasm. We have identified our purpose as follows: As a beginning expression of our care for God's good creation, we will examine practices, facilities and activities of Central United Methodist Church to discover ways we can be more environmentally friendly. We identified a number of practical areas where Central's ministries and facilities can be more environmentally friendly. These include:
An "Energy Audit" by Progress Energy
Reducing the number and use of flourescent bulbs in less critical areas
Placement of recycling bins in strategic areas of the church for plastic, cans, and paper
Find a way to sell our recycled cans and use the proceeds for mission needs
Recycle used ink cartridges
Look for ways in conjunction with the city to recycle glass and paper
Work with the city in securing a date, time, and place to drop off hazardous waste such as batteries, old paint, etc.
If you have ideas, or would like to participate in our "Going Green" task force, please contact the office!
Darfur Educational Task Force
This group works on keeping members of the church and community informed about the atrocities in Darfur and suggests ways that people can help. Frequency: Ongoing
Monthly Small Group Construction Team This small group meets monthly for reflection, prayer, and work to improve living conditions for a local resident. Frequency: Monthly
Santahatchie Christmas Work Team Middle School and Senior High School students work the week after Christmas repairing homes in the Florence area. They sleep and eat during that week at the church. Frequency: Yearly, week after Christmas Day
Alternative Gift Giving Program ...for the Christmas Season to benefit Habitat for Humanity, The Heifer Project, Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem and other local ministries. Frequency: Yearly, Thanksgiving through Mid-December
The "Going Green" task force had their first meeting recently. Seven persons are participating in this 
