Leap Into Mission!

Volunteer Opportunities and Ideas

Every person can be involved in mission! 
There are a number of ways to be in mission and ministry in your local community. Some of the involvements and activities of our New England United Methodists include:
  • Prayer Quilt Ministry
  • Prayer Shawl Ministry
  • Open Pantry
  • Medical Clinics
  • Parish Nurses
  • Prison Ministry
  • Shelter
  • Clothes Closet
  • Meals
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Community Centers
  • Camps
  • Pre-Schools
  • Teen Drop In Center
  • After School Program
  • Helping Hands
  • Thrift Shop
  • Tutoring/Literacy Program
  • Community Clean-up
  • Prayer Groups
  • Cards to Missionaries
  • Visitation/Companionship
Volunteering within the New England Conference
If you are looking for ways to volunteer beyond your local community, check out the New England Conference Advance Specials. Not only do these groups and organizations need your financial support, but many also need volunteers to help in a variety of areas of their ministries.
 
In addition, you may want to consider hands-on mission opportunities with independent and partner organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. See the Mission Spotlight below for Habitat's Merrimack Valley Chapter.
 
Leap Into Mission at Annual Conference!
 
There are a number of mission opportunities being offered during the Annual Conference sessions on June 17-19, 2010. For an Updated Listing of All Leap Into Mission Projects at Annual Conference, Click Here 
 
Featured Opportunity:
Hattie B. Cooper Community Center Leap Into Mission Project
at Annual Conference - June 17, 2010
 
The Hattie B. Cooper Community Center in Roxbury, MA was founded in 1916 by two Methodist women, Mrs. Edith Scott and Hattie B. Cooper, who saw a need in the Boston community to provide services to inner city children.  Today, Cooper is the only mission site in New England supported by the General Board of Global Ministries.
 
On Thursday, June 17th, we will be assembling back packs for Cooper’s summer camp program, Camp Unity.  For eight weeks every summer, 80 inner city youth board a bus in Roxbury each morning and are transported to the beautiful Hale Reservation in Westwood, MA where they attend an amazing day camp program.  Camp Unity provides all the essentials of a summer camp experience including swimming, boating, hiking, and arts and crafts.
 
Won’t you “LEAP INTO MISSION” by helping prepare Cooper campers for Camp Unity?
 
We will be collecting the following new items by June 15, 2010 and assembling the backpacks at Conference on Thursday morning.  We would appreciate it if your group could purchase items in increments of 10. 
 
For more information and a list of items needed, Click Here 
Suggested Mission Activities for Children and Tweens
Looking for ideas on how to involve children and tweens in mission activities? Following are some suggestions that are simple and easy to pull together that will help make a difference in people’s lives. Note that some of these activities can also work well for all ages - even the oldest members of your congregation!
  • Gather baby items such as diapers, wipes, pacifiers, shampoo, etc. for mothers living in women’s shelters.
  • Put together Get Well Kits for children who are sick or are in the hospital. Kits might include books, crayons and coloring books, and stuffed animals.
  • Visit nursing homes, independent living or assisted living facilities for an afternoon of crafts and games.
  • Create and send greeting cards to soldiers stationed away from home.
  • Ask church members for donations of teddy bears. Spend the day creating tags for each bear and ask the children to write a note on each tag. Laminate the tags and secure to each bear. Deliver the bears to a local police or fire station or women’s shelter where the bears can provide comfort to children in crises.
  • Create an adopt-a-grandparent program where children/tweens can spend time one-on-one with a homebound senior or a senior living in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
  • Collect non-perishable food items for the local food bank, or help your church create a food pantry for the community.  
For more information, this link http://blogs.gbod.org/younger_children/ contains information and ideas in celebration of Earth Day and “Change the World” for those engaged in ministry with children.
Get inspired by our New England churches!

New England churches of all shapes, sizes, and locations are involved in life-changing, world-changing mission! Click here to get inspired by some of the stories of our New England churches moving out into their communities to Change the World. You may find an idea here that is right for your church too. Then, go and do likewise!

Think your church is too small, too "financially challenged", too ____ (you fill in the blank!) to undertake a mission project or to make an impact? Think again!  Click on the video below to see how some small churches in New England have turned their vision outward and are making a difference in the lives of others!

Sharing your story
We hope your congregation will extend your mission work and participate in the call to Leap into Mission.   And no matter when you undertake a mission project this year, we invite you to share what your congregation is doing. We are collecting stories from around the conference - we want to hear and to share what God is doing in your congregation and community.
 
Click Here to share a brief story about a mission activity in your church.
Get involved! Find new ways to serve in your community, and be a part of Christ's mission to transform the world!