Serving the wider community
Here are just a few ways Old South is currently active in our wider community:
Stan Wheeler at Community Lunch
Old South Community Lunch: Prepare or serve lunch to our neighbors the second Saturday of each month (September through June). If you can't come Saturday mornings, join the peeling-and-prep party the day before! Please contact Stan Wheeler for more information.
Summer Lunch Program: This summer, from June 27th–July 28th*, we will be serving free lunches to all children and accompanying adults Mondays–Thursdays. Join us at Bjorn Park at the intersection of High
Street and Route 2 or at the Mallett School from 12:00-12:20 p.m. Free breakfasts will also be served at the Mallett School from 9:00-9:15 a.m. Monday–Thursday. *We will not be serving lunch on July 4th or 21st.
Winter Warming Center: Help our neighbors get some respite from the cold by volunteering at our Ecumenical Warming Center. Old South hosts the FAEM warming center each Thursday in January and February. Shifts are available between 10 am and 2 pm. Make a pot of soup, help sign people in, or just play a game of checkers with a new friend. Please contact Betsy Riley for more information. Click here for more information about other warming centers in the area.
Coat & Cupboard: A coat re-homing project led by our youth. During the winter months, Coat & Cupboard is open on the first Sunday of the month.
Summer Lunch Program: This summer, from June 27th–July 28th*, we will be serving free lunches to all children and accompanying adults Mondays–Thursdays. Join us at Bjorn Park at the intersection of High
Street and Route 2 or at the Mallett School from 12:00-12:20 p.m. Free breakfasts will also be served at the Mallett School from 9:00-9:15 a.m. Monday–Thursday. *We will not be serving lunch on July 4th or 21st.
Winter Warming Center: Help our neighbors get some respite from the cold by volunteering at our Ecumenical Warming Center. Old South hosts the FAEM warming center each Thursday in January and February. Shifts are available between 10 am and 2 pm. Make a pot of soup, help sign people in, or just play a game of checkers with a new friend. Please contact Betsy Riley for more information. Click here for more information about other warming centers in the area.
Coat & Cupboard: A coat re-homing project led by our youth. During the winter months, Coat & Cupboard is open on the first Sunday of the month.
Wall of Crutches at Annie's BeanPole
Annie's BeanPole: Know someone in need of free medical equipment? Old South has recently taken over Annie’s Beanpole, a medical equipment lending library. There are no fees and no due dates – just sign the waiver and the equipment is yours for as long as you need it. Donations of good quality equipment are gratefully accepted. We currently offer several kinds of crutches and walkers, as well as hospital bed rails, wheelchairs, wheelchair ramps, shower seats, grab bars, tub rails, glucometers, and more. Please contact the church at 778-0424 for more information.
Care and Share Food Closet: Support our Ecumenical food pantry through food or financial contributions. Bring canned goods and nonperishable donations to the church every Communion Sunday. If you prefer to make a financial contribution, please feel free to give through our Sunday offering, by noting “Food Closet Contribution” on the memo line. Every summer, we help increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables by planting another row of seeds in our gardens and donating the harvest directly to Care & Share. In November, we do a special collection for Thanksgiving baskets.
Western Maine Homeless Outreach: Volunteer your time to sign people in, offer skills training, or provide a meal. WMHO provides emergency shelter to homeless families from Western Maine and provides support so these families can once again become self-sustaining. In addition to the 16-bed shelter, guests are provided case management and life skills training to help them transition to permanent housing. Please contact Betsy Riley for more information or find them on Facebook.
Care and Share Food Closet: Support our Ecumenical food pantry through food or financial contributions. Bring canned goods and nonperishable donations to the church every Communion Sunday. If you prefer to make a financial contribution, please feel free to give through our Sunday offering, by noting “Food Closet Contribution” on the memo line. Every summer, we help increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables by planting another row of seeds in our gardens and donating the harvest directly to Care & Share. In November, we do a special collection for Thanksgiving baskets.
Western Maine Homeless Outreach: Volunteer your time to sign people in, offer skills training, or provide a meal. WMHO provides emergency shelter to homeless families from Western Maine and provides support so these families can once again become self-sustaining. In addition to the 16-bed shelter, guests are provided case management and life skills training to help them transition to permanent housing. Please contact Betsy Riley for more information or find them on Facebook.
Polar Bear "Plunge for Funds"
ECU-Heat Fuel Assistance: Make the gift of heat a reality for those who cannot afford to fill their heating oil tanks by attending our EcuHeat Concert fundraiser in December or the Heat Dance in February. In the 2013-2014 heating season over 300 households were served. Read more about them here.
Operation Santa Claus: Join our youth in supporting Operation Santa each December by donating your time to wrap gifts or participating in the Polar Bear Plunge on Chester Greenwood Day. Operation Santa Claus works with local businesses and organizations to provide Christmas gifts to over 1,200 children and elderly individuals in Franklin County.
Kiva Loans: Make a microloan through our Outreach, Justice & Witness team. You can help a woman in the Congo buy a cow to support her family, or help a farmer in El Salvador buy agricultural supplies. In an effort to eradicate world poverty, Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. Click here to learn how Kiva works.
Heifer International: In lieu of traditional gifts, honor a friend or loved one by empowering an impoverished family through Heifer International. At our alternative giving fair in December you can purchase food- and income-producing animals like goats, bees, chicks and heifers for resource-poor families working to improve their lives.
Operation Santa Claus: Join our youth in supporting Operation Santa each December by donating your time to wrap gifts or participating in the Polar Bear Plunge on Chester Greenwood Day. Operation Santa Claus works with local businesses and organizations to provide Christmas gifts to over 1,200 children and elderly individuals in Franklin County.
Kiva Loans: Make a microloan through our Outreach, Justice & Witness team. You can help a woman in the Congo buy a cow to support her family, or help a farmer in El Salvador buy agricultural supplies. In an effort to eradicate world poverty, Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. Click here to learn how Kiva works.
Heifer International: In lieu of traditional gifts, honor a friend or loved one by empowering an impoverished family through Heifer International. At our alternative giving fair in December you can purchase food- and income-producing animals like goats, bees, chicks and heifers for resource-poor families working to improve their lives.
Other ongoing justice-based ministries at Old South:
Equal Exchange: EE trades directly with democratically organized small farmer cooperatives, gives farmers advance credit, and pays an internationally established minimum price, allowing co-ops to make investments in their land and production and improve their communities. We serve only Equal Exchange fair-trade coffee at coffee hour, and we periodically sell their coffee, tea, and chocolate. Please contact Myrna Vallette for more information.
Sustainability and climate change: We are passionate about sustainability and bringing more public attention to the critical issue of climate change. We understand ourselves as co-creators with God and stewards of God's amazing Creation. To this end, our Outreach, Justice & Witness team is educating our community about sustainability issues and is working toward making our building more energy-efficient and sustainable. As part of this effort, Old South hosts an E-Waste drive each April.
Bread for the World: Jesus said it pretty clearly: "Feed my sheep." In that spirit, our Outreach, Justice & Witness team leads a semi-annual letter-writing campaign, urging our nation's leaders to enact legislation to help end hunger here and abroad. They also actively educate the congregation on domestic food insecurity. Find out more about Bread for the World here.
Equal Exchange: EE trades directly with democratically organized small farmer cooperatives, gives farmers advance credit, and pays an internationally established minimum price, allowing co-ops to make investments in their land and production and improve their communities. We serve only Equal Exchange fair-trade coffee at coffee hour, and we periodically sell their coffee, tea, and chocolate. Please contact Myrna Vallette for more information.
Sustainability and climate change: We are passionate about sustainability and bringing more public attention to the critical issue of climate change. We understand ourselves as co-creators with God and stewards of God's amazing Creation. To this end, our Outreach, Justice & Witness team is educating our community about sustainability issues and is working toward making our building more energy-efficient and sustainable. As part of this effort, Old South hosts an E-Waste drive each April.
Bread for the World: Jesus said it pretty clearly: "Feed my sheep." In that spirit, our Outreach, Justice & Witness team leads a semi-annual letter-writing campaign, urging our nation's leaders to enact legislation to help end hunger here and abroad. They also actively educate the congregation on domestic food insecurity. Find out more about Bread for the World here.
Click HERE to learn more about about how to serve our church.
