Page 29 - Final Annual Report 2020

Missions Ministries 2020 Annual Report
Nancy Buehler, Jim Byrnes, Cindy Maguire, Eve Smith

Our Missions Ministries provide outreach, hands-on opportunities and monetary donations to local, national and
global causes. Our primary focus is to inform the congregation about who we help and the hands-on opportunities
that are available for all to participate in. Our annual hands-on ministries include the October Clothing Drive, serving
meals at the Pine Street Inn and the United Way’s Miracle Kitchen in Framingham ( formerly the Salvation Army
Dinners), the Miracle on Main meal preparation day, the Angel Tree, the knitting of baby blankets and hats and
hosting homeless families here at the church through Family Promise. We also support the wider church of the
United Church of Christ's missions through five special offerings throughout the church year. These include Our
Churches Wider Mission, One Great Hour of Sharing, Strengthen the Church, Neighbors in Need and The Christmas
Fund.

While many of our hands-on outreach ministries were done very differently this year due to the pandemic, we still
managed to get clothing, food and Christmas gifts to those in need. Our Missions Ministries go hand-in-hand with
Stewardship. Stewards are those who are tasked with “ looking after and taking care of something.” We are all
stewards of Pilgrim Church. The Missions Ministry stewards met in November to discuss the annual disbursements
to local charities. The non-profits we support are an extension of our Pilgrim community in our shared values and
the work that they do. The amount we have to work with for these donations is based solely upon how much we, the
congregation, donates to missions giving during the Stewardship campaign. This year, on behalf of Pilgrim Church, a
little over $18,000 in donations was sent to local organizations. Please see our disbursement spreadsheet for the list
of organizations and donation amounts. Every year Missions keeps an eye out for potential new organizations to
support. This year we added Medicine Wheel Productions in Boston. Medicine Wheel focuses on inclusion and civic
engagement, using art as a threshold to help individuals gain awareness of self, community, and the human condition.
Pilgrim Church and Sacred Arts have worked with their Director, Michael Dowling, in the past and again in 2020 in
creating our multidimensional projects for Tales from the Stoop: A Call to Truth, Reconciliation and Racial Justice.

To support global mission work we also sent a donation to the UCC’s Wider Mission fund. These monies go to
global causes and disaster relief.

Thank you again for this tremendous privilege to represent Pilgrim Church as your stewards of the Mission
Ministries. In both the old and new testaments, God speaks often of the poor and needy. He instructs us to show them
compassion, give generously, and to speak up on their behalf. We thank you for your continued generosity to help
make our corner of the world a better place.

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