Missions

Our “Holy Buckets” are green and located in the Foyer, under the Volunteer Opportunities Board. We are collecting winter outerwear for children at Bdecan Church on the Spirit Lake Reservation. Winter coats, hats, and gloves or mittens are needed for school kids of all ages. Winter boots are also desperately needed. If they are not suitably clothed for the weather, they are not even allowed to board their school buses. Please bring new or lightly used winter gear to the Holy Buckets by Sunday, Oct. 20th. This annual clothing drive is conducted with congregations across the Presbytery of the Northern Plains. 

The YWCA continues to count on us to provide pillows for the women and children at the shelter. They are so appreciative of your generosity! Hundreds of pillows are needed every year to give to those who live at the shelter for any length of time. They take their pillows with them when they secure more permanent housing. This is a joint ministry between PW and the Mission Committee of the church. Pillows may be left in the West Foyer Coatroom. Help us to provide a soft and safe place for women and children to lay their heads.

Thrivent Financial and Samaritan’s Feet are teaming up to distribute tennis shoes to children in need. Our Mission Committee invites you to participate in the following way:
Sponsor a pair of shoes! One brand new pair of shoes is just $20.
 
Watch the bulletin, Messenger, and posters for further information on registration and donation! If you know a child or family who may benefit from a new pair of shoes for their grade K-5 kid(s), email [email protected]. They hope to distribute 1000+ shoes and socks to local elementary school children!

In 2018 we began a new ministry to provide single/queen-sized mattresses for those in need. We are working with Slumberland to provide children and their parents a good night’s sleep. Last year we provided new mattresses for a family displaced due to a house fire, along with others moving into permanent housing. Watch for the Sweet Dreams tree in the Festival of Trees for further details. In the meantime, you may make a donation toward new mattresses anytime during the year!

Garden Ministry: Summertime
This ministry collects fresh vegetables to be donated to Churches United where they are used in a sit-down meal for those in need. Vegetables should be dropped off in the church office on Sunday for Monday delivery. For more information, contact Casey in the church office at [email protected].

The Emergency Food Pantry is a long-standing mission in the FM area, providing food baskets for those who are hungry. The need for families continues to increase every year. For two weeks a year (spring and fall), our congregation provides several volunteers to help put together the baskets and fill orders. If you would like to volunteer for this ministry, please contact Marcia Foss at (701) 840-1986. There is a tote in the West Foyer Coatroom for ongoing donations. Most needed items are deodorant, feminine products and toiletries, men's razors, paper products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, laundry soap, shampoos, and diapers for all ages.

On the second Thursday of each month volunteers from First Pres have the opportunity to minister to the homeless of our community by creating and serving the evening meal at the Churches United shelter in Moorhead. There are a variety of ways you may wish to help: 1) you may wish to participate in the meal prep and/or serve from time to time.  2) you may wish to get a group of 4-7 people together and serve a time or two during the year. 3) Or, perhaps, you’re feeling God’s call to take on an organizational role in this service ministry. If you are able to answer “Yes” to any of these three options, please, contact the chair of the Mission Committee, Colleen Ford-Dunker, or Pastor Mary. This is a fun way to get to know other members of the congregation while serving a real need in our community!

Dedicated on World Communion Sunday.
A gift to this Offering enables the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of injustice across the world. Gifts given to this offering are divided in the following manner: 25% retained by congregations for support of their own peacemaking ministries; 25% used to support presbytery and synod peacemaking efforts; and 50% forwarded to the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program of the Presbyterian Mission Agency so that it can continue to provide assistance and resources for congregations and other bodies of the PC(USA).

Each year during the Advent and Christmas season, we turn our eyes to Bethlehem and celebrate the wondrous gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior. By giving to this Offering, you honor this gift by providing assistance to current and retired church workers in their time of need and developing our future leaders at Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges.

A gift to this Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. Forty percent of the Pentecost Offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community. The remaining 60% is used to support ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

A gift to this Offering enables the church to share God’s love with our neighbors-in-need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters, providing food to the hungry, and helping to empower the poor and oppressed.