A Year of Milestones
For a full directory of all of MCC’s outreach and service ministries, visit the ministries page at www.mcchurch.net. A description of each ministry is provided, along with a list of volunteer opportunities and the skills and time commitment required. The ministries highlighted below are just a few of our many outreach efforts, focusing on those that are currently celebrating major milestones.
Meals on Wheels: 30 Years of Service
Meals on Wheels is celebrating its 30th year serving home cooked meals to the elderly, handicapped, and those convalescing. Our Community Breakfast will be held on April 21 at First Campus. We have recently had some challenges with some of our equipment, having to repair our range and an upright freezer. Our convection oven has had some age-related issues and we will be receiving a new oven thanks to Clark Services.
Our client numbers have been low due to many illnesses and moves to nursing facilities, so we are currently able to take on new clients. Those in need of meals can call 872-2415.
Romanian Mission: 20 Years of Service
On June 20th six people from Lancaster County will once again travel to Romania to visit the children at the Casa Ray Orphanage. Three of the team, Scarlett Morris, Mary and Mike Heisey are from our church. For Mike and Mary this will be their 20th year to help organize these trips.
We go to help the children and the Gavril family, who founded and run Casa Ray Orphanage. We will be having Bible studies, crafts and games; but mostly spending time with the kids and just loving them. There will also be opportunities for the team and kids to go out into the community and help others.
We ask that you hold the team up in prayer. They ask for the Lord’s presence and direction to be central in all our efforts. We also welcome financial donations. All donations designated for the Romania trip or Casa Ray will go directly to meeting the needs of these children. Please note Casa Ray or Romania trip on the memo line of a check made payable to Millersville Community Church and put it in an envelope in the offering or Mike and Mary Heisey's mailbox.
Homes of Hope: 10 Years of Service
In October 2017, Penn Manor Homes of Hope celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Over the past decade we’ve served more than 30 homeless families, providing transitional housing, budget training, and counseling. We are looking forward to building upon that success in the years to come.
Unfortunately, the property we have been using as our transitional home is no longer at our disposal. The property owner is experiencing some financial shortfalls and needs to sell the unit. Therefore, we have begun the process of exiting the unit.
The ministry team has been exploring options for acquiring a new transitional house, but so far none of our leads have panned out. We are hoping that someone who owns rental properties might learn of our need and loan one of their units to the ministry. Until this need is filled, Homes of Hope is unable to accept any new clients or furniture donations. We are also in need of volunteers to fill several vacant positions on our steering Committee, including Chairperson, Inventory Coordinator, and Secretary.
MCCares: A Record-Setting Year of Service
In 2016 Love INC asked MCC to revive our partnership with the Love INC Clearing House, which matches church volunteers with specific needs in the community. I appealed to our MCC family to step up, and you made 2017 a record-shattering year. We successfully filled 85 requests for volunteer drivers, house cleaners, etc.
Beginning in 2018, I turned over the responsibility for coordinating Love INC’s requests and finding volunteers to Jill Billman. I thank her and pray that you all will show her the same dedication this year that you showed me in 2017.
Garden of Grace: Another Record-Breaking Year
In 2017, the Garden of Grace delivered a record 6,217 pounds of produce to area food distribution agencies and families. Since its inception in 2010, we’ve delivered more than 37,800 pounds (nearly 19 tons) of produce to those in need in the Millersville and Lancaster area. Lancaster County Council of Churches and Water Street Outreach were the biggest recipients. Other local agencies served included Arch Street Center, Domestic Violence Services, The LOFT, Millersville Meals-on-Wheels, Millersville Manor Apartments, and MCC’s own Cancer Care Ministry.
For the Garden of Grace to continue serving the community, we need more people willing to help out. This past summer, 44 volunteers (22 from MCC and 22 from the community) worked in the garden. Unfortunately, only a handful of those people served on a regular basis. In order to sustain this important ministry, we need more people to become involved even if it’s only for a day.
Volunteering with the Garden of Grace is very flexible. Though there are some scheduled group activities like spring planting and fall cleanup, most of the work can be done independently. Spending a day in the garden weeding and harvesting produce is a great small group service project. If you don’t have a green thumb, you can help put up the fence or clean out the shed or rain barrel. If you don’t like the dirty work, you can consider delivering to the produce to local food banks. There are many ways
you can help out with the Garden of Grace. Contact Joy Olcott at garden@gracemillersville.org to found out how.
Celebrating Our 10th Church Plant in Partnership with Glad Tidings India
Since 2008, MCC has partnered with Glad Tidings India to spreading the gospel in India by planting churches among some of the largest unreached people groups in the world.
In January, 2018, MCC sponsored the planting of our 10th missionary church. Each church plant requires an investment of $3,600. Funds for these churches were provided out of annual outreach allocations, the Luke 19 Project and other fundraisers, and individual givers. The Luke 19 Project generates seed money by giving volunteers $10 and challenging them to invest it in a fundraising effort, similar to Jesus’ parable of the Minas in the 19th chapter of Luke’s gospel.
Our latest missionary/planter, M. Sakthivel, will preach God’s word in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India. The region has a population of 70.4 million, of which only 6.1% is Christian. Pray for M. Sakthivel’s church and the success of all our missionaries throughout India. Throughout 2018 we’ll receive reports about the progress of this new congregation, which we’ll pass on to the congregation as they arrive.
But we’re not done yet. In 2018, I will be looking for some generous individuals who are willing to partner with me in winning even more unreached people in India to Christ. If you are as excited as I am by this opportunity to advance the gospel, please don’t wait to hear from me. Contact me at bruceheydt@gracemillersville.org for more information.
The Cottage: Casting a Vision
The board of this new outreach proposal met for the first time on April 4 to begin formal discussions aimed at launching a ministry that provides secure, low-cost temporary housing for women and their dependent children who need respite from the difficulties of stress-filled lives. The board’s biggest initial challenge is finding overnight accommodation in which to house clients. The board will continue to meet and to pray for God to provide the resources we need in order to serve displaced women. For information about The Cottage, contact Diane Duell at dduell204@gmail.com.
Respectfully submitted by Bruce Heydt with input from our volunteer ministry leaders
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