At Providence, serving our community is not just what we do, but who we are. As people of faith, we are called to share God’s love and light to all, but especially those in need.
Matthew 25:35-40
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
We have a diverse array of opportunities for our congregation to serve those in need in Charlotte and our surrounding community. To serve the hungry, we work together at the Loaves and Fishes warehouse a few times a year and have food barrels on our campus for food donations year round in order to help keep their pantries filled.
For our homeless neighbors, we offer our campus and facilities for 12 women from the Salvation Army Center of Hope for 2 weeks each year for housing, meals and respite. Another way we help provide shelter is through work with Habitat’s Critical Home Repair program to help repair 1 home each Fall so that it’s owner is able to stay in their home.
For those in need of clothing, we collect gloves, scarves and mittens in December and January for the Urban Ministry Center and collect donations for babies helped through Bright Blessings.
Now an annual event, we hold a Weekend of Service as a way to celebrate our congregation’s commitment to service and a way to introduce folks to new ways to serve. It also serves as a good way to jump start our giving mindset. In 2017,+ we had 13 opportunities to help 10 different organizations over a 5 day period in September. Those included:
Galilee Center
Baby Bundles
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Habitat Critical Home Repair
Friendship Trays
Matthews Help Center
Loaves and Fishes
Crisis Assistance Ministries
Urban Ministry Center
QC Family Tree
Through our church budget, our benevolent giving also supports a variety of community ministries:
Camp Grier
Charlotte Rescue Mission
Children’s Hope Alliance
Dove’s Nest
Friendship Trays
Habitat Critical Home Repair
House of Mercy
Lily Pad Haven
Loaves and Fishes
QC Family Tree
Salvation Army Center of Hope
Samaritan House
Urban Ministry Center
Urban Promise
Many other organizations are supported by groups within the church (Circles, Men and Women’s small groups, Sunday school classes, etc.) and individual church members work with other organizations as well. Many of those lead to a greater involvement by our congregation. We are always seeking new ways to extend the love of Christ out into the community.
