Outreach Ministries
Sunday Sharing Table
Each Sunday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. church members welcome homeless men and women to share a healthy, hot meal. Volunteers prepare and serve the meals, set the tables and welcome our guests to them. Four volunteers are needed each Sunday, and this is a perfect volunteer experience for families and covenant groups to do together. For more information or to sign up, please visit the Connections Center during Coffee Hour, call the church office, or contact Marsha Askins, the program coordinator.
Saturday Kids Program
One Saturday a month Christ Church volunteers work in partnership with an elementary school in the south Bronx, from which a core group of students participate in a mentoring and cultural development program. Throughout the year, volunteers serve as mentors to the students and join them in all manner of cultural enrichment opportunities, including dance performances, museum visits, symphony concerts and days spent in city parks playing and building community. Volunteers build relationships and establish bonds with the students, and find that the mutual enrichment is transformative. If you're interested in learning more, please sign up at the Connections Center during Coffee Hour, call the church office, or contact Aubrey Miller, the program coordinator.
Methodist Home for Nursing and Rehabilitation
Once a month, church volunteers visit the Methodist Home in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, where they spend time with the elderly residents. Some volunteers share their musical and artistic talents with the residents, while others simply sit and talk, listen and share with the men and women of the home. This important ministry enriches all who are involved, and is also a way of dignifying and serving the aged of New York City, a population often forgotten and underserved. For more information, please sign-up at the Connections Center during Coffee Hour, call the church office, or contact Melissa Bauman, the program coordinator.
Dan Damingo Honored at Methodist Home Gala
Tutoring Program
Christ Church has partnered with the Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day School (MCNDS) in order to help its students achieve their goal of high school graduation and college admission. MCNDS is a unique public high school, where 800 older, nontraditional students, ages 17 to 21 work tirelessly to earn their diploma. Students, many of whom are recent immigrants, can attend either night or day classes, while working full-time and attending to adult responsibilities. Over 90% of seniors graduate, one of New York City's highest rates; 60% go to college immediately. Tutors work with students in a wide range of subjects, including English as a Second Language and math, and do so at hours that are convenient for student and volunteer alike. The flexible volunteer commitment makes this a great way to serve, and to make a real, tangible difference in the life of students. For more information, please sign-up at the Connections Center during Coffee Hour, call the church office or contact Ward Smith the program coordinator.
Concourse House
A residential facility for homeless women and their children, Concourse House seeks to help families secure adequate, dignified housing and employment for its residents. Christ Church has partnered with Concourse House in a number of ways that serve the residents, children and staff of the House. If you're interested in learning how to serve the women and children of Concourse House, please sign-up at Coffee Hour, call the church office, or contact Lara Theriault, the program coordinator.
Yorkville Common Pantry
With the prolonged financial uncertainty of our present time, the need in our neighborhood for food and other social services has increased. Christ Church partners with the Yorkville Common Pantry to help meet the needs of those in our community. At the YCP, guests can receive a healthy, hot meal, as well as avail themselves of a number of social services provided to any and all. Christ Church also collects a monthly food item to donate to the Pantry, and the current Food of the Month is always listed in our weekly Sunday bulletin. Collection baskets can be found in the Duke Room following the 9:00 a.m. service, and in Phillips Hall following the 11:00 a.m. service.
Service Beyond New York City
Faith and Hope Methodist Church, Cartagena, Colombia
Since 2007 Christ Church has been in partnership with the Colombian Methodist Church (CMC), providing financial, spiritual and physical support to its fledgling mission. Unique in its approach to ministry and its understanding of what it means to be the Church, the CMC seeks to serve those at the margins of Colombian society, those victimized by the ongoing armed conflict, and those forgotten and underserved. Among the many ways we have been in partnership, Christ Church is presently building the first Methodist Church building in the entire country—Faith and Hope Methodist Church in the beautiful and historic city of Cartagena. More than 60 church volunteers have participated in its construction, and the first phase was dedicated in February of 2010. The work continues, however, and the multi-purpose structure, which will house a worship space, health clinic, vocational training center and social welfare offices, is a major ongoing project for our congregation. Three teams a year from Christ Church work in Cartagena building the structure, while ongoing support continues throughout the year. If you'd like to learn more, please sign-up at Coffee Hour, call the church office, or contact Jerolyn Morrison the program coordinator.
Through our support of the mission work of the United Methodist Church (UMC), Christ Church is a part of a global effort to eradicate poverty, train leaders, respond to crisis situations with recovery and relief services, and provide healthcare and social services to people throughout the world. Methodist missionaries and institutions are found throughout the world, including hospitals, universities, schools, nongovernmental organizations, and community service organizations that serve people regardless of creed, race, national origin and other identifiers. If you'd like to learn more about the global work of the UMC, or wish to contribute to Christ Church's support, please contact the church office. To learn more about the work of the General Board of Global Ministries, click here.
