Outreach

CONNECT!

Snack Bags

Exit 0 is a homeless ministry based in Jeffersonville near where Exit 0 on I-65 use to exit. They do an amazing number of things to help the homeless population in their area, including Sunday meals, Showers, Laundry, Worship, and other services. We reached out to them asking how we could help and they responded with two requests.

The first are snack bags. The Young At Heart senior luncheon collect items and assemble simple snack bags that Exit 0 can have on hand to help those who are in need. Below is a list of the items they collect. There is a table in the fellowship hall where these items are collected. You are always welcome to come to the Young At Heart Luncheon and help assemble them, or make some on your own. They are also good to keep in your car to hand out to the homeless you may see on a street corner. It is a far better gift than cash.

Items in 1 Snack Bag:

1 gallon size plastic bag
1 can of meat (Tuna or chicken salad kits, potted meat, Spam, Vienna Sausage – pop top cans)
1 granola breakfast bar
1 bottle of water
1 flavored drink packet
1 Pop Tart (Donuts, Little Debbie’s, Snack Cakes, etc.)
1 Slim Jim
1 Variety Snack Bag (Chips, Gold Fish, Cheese Nips, Pretzels, etc.)
1 Peanut Butter Cracker or Cheese Cracker packet
1 Fruit Cup including plastic spoon or fork
5 pieces of wrapped hard candy
1 Pair of socks

In addition to the snack bags, Exit 0 shared with us a need for Sunday meals on the 5th Sunday throughout the year. Our church took on that challenge and now provide the meals each 5th Sunday. The Missions Team gathers volunteers and they make over 100 simple meals and deliver them to Exit 0 on Sunday afternoon. Volunteers usually stay and help serve the meals. On Sundays, clients of Exit 0 come to a worship service and then enjoy the meal in the safe and clean environment of the church where they are based. About half of the meals are boxed up into to go containers and prepared to be delivered around the community by Exit 0 volunteers to those who cannot get to the center.

5th Sunday Meals

Food Pantry

Sellersburg UMC does not have its own Food Pantry, but we partner with the Silver Creek Food Pantry which serves the children and families of the Silver Creek School District. There is a shopping cart in the Entry way of the church which is there to collect items for the food pantry. Pastas are the primary food request, and then toiletries such as deodorant are always in high demand as well.

In November, we do a special fund raiser for them to help with providing complete Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for families. In February, the Missions Team holds a Soup Contest known as Soup-er-bowl Sunday. The funds and grocery items collected at that event also go to the Silver Creek Food Pantry.

Angel Tree

In late November, Angels appear in the sanctuary. Each Angel represents a child or youth who is need of help for the Christmas Season. Volunteers take one or more angels and return with the items listed on the back of the Angel card. In early December all of the gifts are gathered and turned in so that the children will receive the gifts in time for Christmas. Full instruction are available where you find the Angels.

UMCOR

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) strengthen United Methodist response to humanitarian crises around the world through disaster relief and recovery, migrant and refugee support, environmental sustainability, agriculture, and food security. With donations from United Methodists around the world, they provide disaster response, relief supplies, care for migrants worldwide, environmental projects, and training to communities to improve food security. Conferences (areas overseen by United Methodist bishops) apply for grants for the above or request for relief supplies.

In the United States specifically, they provide training to conference leadership, so that they can respond effectively to natural disasters. They provide Early Response Training for volunteers who can then go, when invited, into an area and provide clean-up and other services. They offer disaster case management training in areas where there is a higher need for help.

The United Methodist Church is know for being one of the first to arrive and, sometimes years later, one of the last to leave after a natural disaster. Donations and trained volunteers have even worked in Indiana over the past year, after tornados and flooding.

Perhaps one of the most surprising facts about UMCOR is that they have only 5 full-time staff for their global efforts. They rely heavily on a vast volunteer network. One Sunday a year, usually in March, churches around the world including us, dedicate a special offering to cover their overhead and employee salaries. That means that for the rest of the year 100% of all other donations go to those in need.