Mission and Outreach

“Let your light so shine before all people, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Our mission and outreach programs are a vigorous and integral part of our church community. Most of our mission funds are dispersed through our Board of Community and World Service.

Compassionate concerns range from serving dinner once a week at our local homeless shelter to funding a healthcare clinic in Bawa, Cameroon.

We are engaged in partnering with local social service agencies to provide food, clothing, and holiday gifts for children and families. Our church hosts community holiday dinners, and our youth groups collect food for these dinners as well as for our local food pantry. 

Family Life sponsors a golf tournament every year to raise money for breast cancer research.  We are the founding church and supporter of Holy Joe’s Cafe, a unique coffee ministry to our military.

Our church’s Youth Groups are involved in mission activities, which we support with funds to help pay for their annual Mission Trip,  as well as contributing to their winter effort of 26 Random Acts of Kindness.

There are many mission projects that energize and excite our congregation at the local, regional, national and international level.  Some of the organizations and programs we currently support:

The Wallingford Emergency Shelter.  As well as financial support,  volunteers from our congregation serve dinner every Thursday evening from November 1 to April 15. 

We collect food throughout the year to support Master's Manna, a local food bank.

Through the Covenant to Care program, we’ve adopted a Department of Children and Families social worker.   We provide monthly gift cards, backpacks for the children at the beginning of each school year, Christmas gifts fulfilling children's individual wishes, and holiday Easter baskets.

The Meriden-Wallingford Chrysalis Center offers emergency shelter and transitional living for victims of domestic violence.  We also give backpacks and Easter baskets to children of those families.

Regionally, we’ve developed a relationship with Ebenezer Holy Temple in Hartford.  We’ve added food to their Thanksgiving dinner so they can offer a complete holiday meal to more families, and collected items such as sweat pants and other winter items.  They have reciprocated by sharing their worship in Wallingford, lifting the rafters with their joyous music and inspired preaching.

Our mission and outreach includes support of organizations ranging from Liberty Community Services, which works with the homeless in New Haven, to sponsoring a child’s special travel experience through Scow, Inc., an organization serving the Hispanic community in Wallingford.

Nationally and internationally, we support:

Back Bay Mission, a United Church of Christ mission in Biloxi, Mississippi.  We also participate in various UCC funds which impact people around the world. 

Through the Child Fund International, we sponsor two children.  The girl lives in Gambia and is studying to be a nurse. The boy lives in Uganda and aspires to be a doctor.  One of our Church School classes wrote to the boy and he responded by asking children question about their lives.

Doctors Without Borders helps people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from health care.

We at First Church are dedicated to sharing God’s light and love with those in need.




Top ] [ Back ]