Outreach Ministries at FCC

The First Congregational Church is called to transform the world with Christ’s love. FCC’s Outreach and Service Committee inspires all to make the world a better place by offering ways to give and volunteer through:

1. Local missions that address the needs of Bristol and our surrounding community;
2. Supporting the wider mission of the United Church of Christ;
3. Global missions that address the needs of the world.
   

Local Mission & Volunteer Opportunities

• First Fruits Garden

  The First Fruits Garden is a garden ministry of the First Congregational Church United Church of Christ.  Every year, volunteers plant, nurture, water, and grow fresh vegetables that are donated to our local soup kitchens and food pantries.  Financial, time, and talent gifts are always much appreciated.

• St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter Meals

  Throughout the year, members of the FCC Bristol community make Saturday night meals for the clients of the St. Vincent DePaul Homeless shelter.  This is a wonderful ministry and fellowship opportunity.  Please see the Event page or a member of the Outreach and Service committee for upcoming events and information.

• Meals for our Neighbors at Zion Lutheran

  On the fourth Monday of January, March, May, July, September, and November, FCC provides volunteers to host dinner at Zion Lutheran’s Meals for our Neighbors.  Please see the Event page or a member of the Outreach and Service committee for more information.

• Family Resource Center Backpack Program

  Throughout the school year, FCC volunteers provide fresh fruits and vegetables for children who participate in the Family Resource Center Backpack program.  This ministry provides nutritious food for children who might otherwise go hungry on the weekends.  Volunteers are always needed to shop and deliver the fresh produce.

• Kids Cook for a Cause

  Beginning in the winter of 2019, kids in fourth grade and older are invited to cook lunch for themselves and cook a meal for Agape House or Brian’s Angels, two organizations that provide warming centers for the homeless.

• Family Promise

  FCC has joined with nineteen other faith communities to form Family Promise of Central Connecticut, an interfaith ministry that houses homeless families.  Families spend one week at a time sleeping at a host church. They eat supper and breakfast. Support churches help supply food and volunteers.  Throughout the year, there are volunteer opportunities to be a meal provider (providing a cooked dinner for Family Promise guests); dinner host (coordinating dinner and playing games with families or helping children with homework); night hosts (2 people who spend the night at church in case any Family Promise guest has an emergency and setting out breakfast in the morning); and a participant in the Family Promise of Central Connecticut Walk Away Homelessness Walk-a-thon.

• School Supplies, Easter & Christmas Gifts

  Outreach & Service with the help of Men’s Fellowship also coordinates a school supply drive to supply Bristol’s Youth Services with Back to School Backpacks and Supplies for youth who need them.  At Christmastime and Easter, Outreach and Service provides opportunities to buy Christmas gifts or Easter baskets for children in Bristol’s Family Resource Center program.

Wider United Church of Christ Missions

Through special financial offerings taken throughout the year as well as FCC’s gift to Our Church’s Wider Mission, FCC supports the mission and ministry of the United Church of Christ both in the United States and around the world.  These ministries include disaster recovery relief, support of global missionaries, justice ministries, and outdoor ministries that nurture the faith journeys of children, youth, and adults.  See “Change the World” on the United Church of Christ’s website for more information.http://www.ucc.org

Global Missions

Each year, FCC’s Outreach & Service committee chooses to financially support a non-profit that addressed the needs of the world.  In the past, Outreach & Service has donated an orphanage in the Phillippines.  Currently, Outreach & Service donates to Smile Train, which fixes cleft palates for children in some of the poorest countries in the world.