The Christian Outreach Committee

    At First Church, we dedicate a portion of our resources and our energy to outreach into our community and our world.  Our primary vehicle for this ministry is the Christian Outreach Committee made up of approximately a dozen individuals elected by the congregation. However, their work is supplemented by many others and supported generously by the congregation. 

   We maintain a food pantry at First Church and working with local welfare agencies, we make food available to individuals in emergency situations as well as during holidays.  Groups of volunteers serve meals at the Beth El Shelter, work on Habitat for Humanity projects in New Haven, and especially during the holidays, deliver food to families in need in our community.

    The Christian Outreach Committee will often bring before the congregation the special needs of people throughout the world who are suffering from natural disasters or war, and working through the United Church of Christ and Church World Service, we bring our offerings to those in need. Although what we bring often seems small in comparison to the overwhelming suffering in our world, we give consistently and in covenant with other churches. Above all, we know that our giving will help to feed some hungry people, give some poor children a chance at an education, and make some people a few degrees warmer. It is what Jesus has called us to do.

The Christian Outreach Committee is also responsible for allocating our resources to organizations and service groups within our community.  Some of the groups supported in the past include the Pivot Ministries (a Christian based residency program for former prisoners and addicts), the Milford Rape Crisis Center, the Nathan Smith Clinic AIDS Care Program at Yale New Haven Hospital, the Milford Young Parent Program, the Milford Anti Hate Task Force, the Inter Faith Refugees Ministry, and the YMCA Summer Camp scholarship program.

The Combined Parish Action Committee and the Beth El Shelter

    The Combined Parish Action Committee is the primary outreach organization of the churches of Milford for the care of the hungry and the homeless in Milford and it is an important part of our mission in the community.  First Church has a representative on the Committee who reports back to the Christian Outreach Committee and we support the shelter financially and in other ways. The Combined Parish Action Committee hires a director for the Beth El Shelter and governs the work of the food kitchen, the pantry and the shelter. The Committee and the Shelter are a wonderful example of what churches working together can accomplish in the community.

Sojourner’s Haven  

    The Sojourner’s Haven is a two-bedroom furnished  apartment that is used as transitional housing for families in our community.  The Sojourner’s committee working with the Beth El Shelter or other social service agencies in town works with a family that is trying to make the move from the shelter to permanent housing in the community.

    The committee helps the family with budgeting and other organizational activities.  Rent is generally set at one third of the family’s income and occupancy is limited to one year.  However, a major portion of the rent is returned to the family as they move on to more permanent housing and even furnishings, which are donated by Church members, are given to families that move on to help them get established in their new residence.  The Sojourner’s Haven has been serving families in need for fifteen years.

The Emma Davis Service

      The Emma Davis Service is a medical equipment clearinghouse ministry that was established by the Deacons of First Church and has been operating for several decades.  Emma Davis was a member of the Church who spent a lifetime reaching out to the needy in Milford.

    When Emma died in 1968, the Deacons were led by the Holy Spirit to continue part of her ministry.  Ever since, members of First Church have been gathering used medical equipment, wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, etc., repairing the equipment and making it available free of charge all over the state. In 2001, the service gave out over 25 hospital beds along with many other items.  Information about available equipment can be obtained by calling the Church at 203 877-4277.

Covenant to Care

     For over ten years, First Church has participated in the Covenant to Care Program, which links churches with DCF Social Workers. By adopting a Social Worker, our Church is able to help that Social Worker meet the needs of the children and families under his care.

    In the course of the year, the members and friends of First Church donate furniture, appliances, household items, school supplies, clothing and shoes, groceries, Easter Baskets, and other items that our social worker might need to help him in his work with families. Christmas gifts to the children in our Covenant to Care program come from our White Gift Pageant, which is directed by our Christian Education Ministry.

    When we are made aware of a need by our Social Worker, a notice is placed in our Church Bulletin or an announcement is made on Sunday morning, and the people of First Church respond.

The Milford Pastoral Counseling Center

      The Milford Pastoral Counseling Center is housed in our Plymouth Building. The Counseling Center was established and is supported by a group of churches in Milford, and is directed by Dr. John Sandel.  First Church not only supports the work of the Center but it contributes to the Center’s Good Samaritan Fund which allows the Counselors to provide services on a sliding scale of payments making counseling available to many who cannot afford it. 

“PASTORAL COUNSELING is the professional therapeutic discipline which helps people to apply the hope and wisdom of Biblical Faith to the difficult and painful problems of depression, anxiety, abuse, marital/ adolescent/family conflicts, and recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.”

    The Center’s Power of Two pre-marital counseling program is recommended by many pastors in our area for couples planning a marriage service in the church.  For more information on the Milford Pastoral Counseling Center, go to their Web Site.

Other

            We have listed here the primary outreach programs of our Church.  More is accomplished through our covenants with the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ and with our national church and its mission programs as well.  We also know that our capacity to reach out to those in need, our desire for peace and justice rests on the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We gather each week to worship, hear God’s word in the scriptures, join in fellowship in our community, and to discern the true meaning of what is involved in loving God, loving our neighbors, and loving ourselves in our time and place.  

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