Christmas with our Northside Neighbors
Thank you for bringing light to our neighbors at Christmas!
WELLBEING
So many factors influence our health and wellbeing on a daily basis. We support and encourage each other as we seek to extend the love of Christ into our community and beyond. If you would like to learn more about how to become involved in our service opportunities, please contact Lisa Enright, Interim Director of Mission.
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Thank you for bringing light to our neighbors at Christmas! Each Advent season we bring the light of Christ to more than 125 families with food, gifts, clothing, and more!
In addition to Christmas with our Northside Neighbors, Deacons are working closely with Northside Mission Ministries to support our local families throughout the year. For example, the Winter Warmth coat drive in the fall brings warm outerwear to children and adults as the weather begins to cool.
Traditionally known as Christmas Benevolence, this ministry has been a vital mission of our church for decades and continues to focus on extending kindness to members of our local community -- reflective of the Matthew 25 initiative.
Second's outreach this year will serve to foster deeper engagement with our neighbors who visit the Northside Food Pantry. We will focus on pantry clients this Christmas and continue to serve between 120 and 150 families in the area. You are welcome to donate funds to support this vital ministry.
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Disaster Relief
Emergency cleanup buckets and hygiene kitsIn the fall, our church parking lot serves as a collection site for area churches and families to drop off emergency cleanup buckets and hygiene kits. Church World Service distributes these much-needed supplies to those affected by wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters in the U.S. and around the world.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance(an organization within our denomination) partners with Church World Service to collect, store, and distribute relief kits.
The Church World Service website has details about the emergency cleanup buckets and hygiene kits, including printable shopping lists and videos showing how to pack the kits.
For five years, our church has been a collection depot for Church World Service, facilitating the gathering and storage of emergency cleanup buckets and hygiene kits. We are united in our mission to serve those in most need.
Who is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance?
Here are some quick facts from 2021:
- $3.1 million granted in 30 states and 15 countries
- 60 National Response Team members deployed to 19 presbyteries.
- 112 Presbyterian Women trained in Disaster Preparedness
- 400 work team volunteers served in CA, NC, NE and NJ
- Developed a new grant opportunity supporting refugee and asylum advocacy programs
- Hosted more than 500 people in 41 Emotional & Spiritual programs
- In partnership with Church World Service, assisted in the collection and distribution of 191,182 Gift of the Heart kits and blankets
THANK YOU for helping your church help those in need!
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Congregational Care Network Team
Second has partnered with IU Health to be part of the Congregational Care Network (CCN). We have a trained CCN team that, alongside other local Christian, Jewish, and Muslim congregations, seeks to address loneliness and social isolation in our community.
Prospective CCN volunteers receive training in listening skills, understanding HIPAA laws and community resources, and more. After receiving training, CCN volunteers, called “connectors,” are matched with IU Health patients, called “companions,” who have self-identified as lonely and desiring of additional support after being discharged from the hospital. Through regular conversations with their Companions, Connectors provide a compassionate, listening ear and help patients ease back into their normal, at-home routines, identify sources of support in their existing circles, and connect to new sources of support and community.
Read more about CCN here, or watch the video testimonial below featuring Second member Deborah Tobias.
To learn more about serving as a Connector, please contact Lead Connector Brittany Babbitt.
