June Mission Opportunities
This month, we invite you to join us as we share hope, meet practical needs, and show Christ’s love through missions in our church and community.
Thursdays in the Falls
Thursdays, 5pm, at First UMC, 8210 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls
Contact: DJ Mahar
Warmer weather seems to have taken its ol’ sweet time getting here this year, but at last, it’s here! We like to show our response to the warm weather with what we serve our Thursday night guests. Our menu selections are cooler and lighter, and we are trying to serve up some of the fruits and vegetables that are going to be available fresh from the garden. If anyone is looking for a way to help us out, any donations of produce from your gardens would be greatly welcomed! When those zucchini plants start giving you way too many zucchinis, we would love to use them! When cucumbers, tomatoes, beans etc. grow and give you more than you can handle, send them our way and we will find a way to use them! I know it’s early in the season, but do keep the Thursday Night Dinner in mind if your garden grows so well! We serve about 250 dinners per week and would be glad to share your bounty with our friends! For more information or if you want to share some produce, contact DJ Mahar!
Feeding Hope
Next Meal: Wednesday, June 10
Contact: Sandy Houck
The weather is in that in-between stage, but the Code Blue shelters have closed for the season. This puts those unhoused back out onto the streets and the cry for a meal increases. Last month, we served 150 chicken dinners and began distributing T-shirts.
Remember, the T-shirt drive runs through August, and each month we will take what we have and hand them out. We are currently looking for new or gently used men’s and women’s T-shirts in all sizes.
Our June meal will be a chicken noodle casserole. We’re looking for donations of canned chicken, canned cream of mushroom soup, canned cream of chicken soup, egg noodles, canned fruit, and boxed brownie mix. The meal will be served on Wednesday, June 10. Join us in the church kitchen at 2pm to help prepare the meal. We will leave the church at 6:30pm to serve downtown at 7pm. Please consider helping with meal preparation, serving, or both.
Intergenerational Angel Wings
Contact: Ms. Becky H.
It has been an eventful season, which has now come to an end. Thank you to all who participated, supported, and prayed for this ministry.
We will begin again in October. Upcoming mission projects we will be participating in are: Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Journey’s End, adopting a veteran’s family at Christmas, and Operation Christmas Child, to name just a few. Our yarn project also continues, as hats and children’s blankets are still greatly needed.
Please keep in mind that the following items will also be needed for OCC shoeboxes:
New, simple clothing for children ages 2–12
Socks
Toothbrushes
Coloring books
Notebook paper
Small toys
Adult sized shoeboxes
Many of these items go on sale over the summer, so if you are able, please consider purchasing some and placing them in Mission Central.
Family Promise of WNY
A homeless shelter for families
It is always good news to hear families are kept together under one roof while transitioning from homelessness to stable housing. We can help with that by providing two $35 bags of groceries a month to the shelter to help with feeding the families housed there.
It's our giving and many others that help with that stability. Consider donating financially to Feeding Hope to help out. They give me a list a few days before it is due and makes it impossible time wise for you to donate items. These items are purchased before our sign up date and taken there.
If you’d like to contribute, please donate financially to Feeding Hope, and funds will be put toward these two monthly bags.
Current Mission Collections
Alongside our ongoing mission ministries, we are highlighting special mission needs this month. For more information, contact Sandy Houck.
Luggage of Love
Imagine being a foster child removed from your home and placed in a strange home. Things may settle down, but then you have to leave and be placed in another strange home. You have stuff - all that you have is packed into a trash bag. What happens to trash? It gets thrown away, but it's your stuff, all you have. “Am I trash?” I heard this at a testimony at an alumni foster event. As I heard that story, I was also looking at little ones with their foster families.
Help make a difference to a child and even a young adult who ages out of the foster care system by donating new or gently used luggage to Mission Central. The collection drive will continue through Sunday, June 7. So far, some of the luggage was taken to the Luggage of Love mission.
As a bonus, you may also include basic personal care items and even a stuffed animal. For $25–$50, a new piece of luggage or a two-piece set can often be purchased. Financial donations to help purchase new luggage are also greatly appreciated.
Spring Has Sprung T-Shirt Drive
From May through August, we will be collecting new or gently used men’s and women’s t-shirts. These shirts will be made available to the homeless and individuals in need that we serve in downtown Buffalo during our monthly Feeding Hope meals.
A collection tote will be located in Mission Alley to drop off donations.
PB&J Drive - Help Fill the Pantry
Our church family continues to make a difference in our community! We are still collecting peanut butter and jelly to help keep local food pantries stocked for families in need. You’ll find the blue collection bin in the Fellowship Hall. Every jar makes an impact, and together we can ensure no neighbor goes without.