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Community Involvement
LOCAL : Serve Framingham |Bridge House |Salvation Army | Backpack to School | Thanksgiving Baskets |Angel Tree
God has blessed each one of us in so many ways. Our natural (maybe it is actually more supernatural!) response is to want to be a blessing to others. There are lots of ways that our church is already involved in serving our community. Here are just a few that you might want to consider checking-out:
The Bridge House mentoring program has need of men to share some time and encouragement with men in the program. Contact Tom Emmons, 508-429-8075. For rides to and from church on Sunday mornings, contact Jot Ross at 508-881-3693 or email Jot.
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Serving dinner the third Wednesday of the month. You and/or your family are welcome to join us, choosing a time frame that suits your schedule. Call Mildred Emmons (508-429-1529) for more information.
Dinner preparation is from 4:45-5:30 pm
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A ministry of the Vineyard Metrowest that provides backpacks to 3 different groups of children: those transitioning into foster care, those in protective custody and to families that are struggling financially. The backpacks are given to the Social Workers at Framingham Department of Social Services. Many times these social workers are dealing with very frightened and confused children and we pray that these small gifts will let the children and parents know that there is a church in the area that thinks of them. We also provide gift bags for women at this time. Too often domestic violence situations require emergency shelter, leaving women with very little belongings. The bags may include: shampoo deodorant, toothbrushes, and a small card with an encouraging word. Contact Claudia Vanderpool @ 508-435-0104 or e-mail her @ vanderpools@gmail.com.
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Every year over 100 international students attending school in the NE region of the U.S. come to Boston for sightseeing, workshops, Christian speakers, and a home stay with an American family. Many international students will be alone in their dorm over the Thanksgiving holiday. As a host family, Christians have an excellent opportunity to give students a chance to see and hear the Gospel - demonstrating Christ's love, and perhaps earning a chance to "give a reason for the hope within us." This is the second year that the Vineyard will be participating in this great opportunity to show Christian hospitality. For more info on being a host for an international student, grab a brochure this Sunday, or speak with Bill Coolbaugh. To sign-up as a host family online, visit International Students. “This Thanksgiving we will not be preparing baskets for needy families. However, we will collect can goods for anyone who would like to donate them this Thanksgiving season. We will bring them to A Place To Turn, a local food pantry in Natick.
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Angel Tree is a ministry of Prison Fellowship which provides Christmas gifts on behalf of children whose parents are incarcerated. The Vineyard Metrowest has been involved with Angel Tree for several years running. Our Angel Tree point person receives the information from Prison Fellowship and contacts the caregiver to find out what they would like for their child.
This past December, we decided not to have our annual party but deliver the gifts to each family in person.
As a church body we were able to provide 2 gifts per child for over 3o children.
For the caregivers of each family, we gave them a gift bag with some candy, an angel pin and 2 tickets to a local cinema; our way of saying "make sure you care for yourself this season."
We value the sacrifice in being the sole oversight for the children during the year.
We were also able to come alongside a couple of families that live in our local area and had a great time meeting the caregivers and children and providing some extras for the season.
We're praying that we can check in on those families over the year and see how they're doing.
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