The Southern District is excited to be joining in other United Methodists around our conference. We will be hosting our day of service on June 4th. This is a great opportunity to serve the community and help out with different projects. There will be four different sites to choose from, so you can pick the one that best suits your interests and skills. Whether you want to help with Mary’s Cradle, 5 Loaves and 2 Fish, Hope in the Mountains, or the New Vision Depot there will be a place for you to serve!
Churches and parishes are also encouraged to host their own service project. More information, including ideas and ways to register your service project can be found here: Day of Service 2022 | West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church (wvumc.org)
Mary’s Cradle – 12-2pm – Service Project: Sorting and Organizing Donations
Mary’s Cradle is a Maternity and Infant Community Outreach Center located in Bluefield, WV. The organization is a donation-based center which provides the basic necessities for families in the community as well as the surrounding areas.
Mary’s Cradle began in 1995 as a ministry of the United Methodist church but has since become a community project – meaning it’s a ministry of the “church”. In this sense, the word “church” is not tied to a building or a denomination but a body of believers. WE are the church – the United Body of Christ – and our goal is the be the hands and feet of Jesus.
5 Loaves and 2 Fish – 10:30am-2:30pm – Service Project: Food Distribution
Hope in the Mountains – 10am-2pm – Service Project: Moving Furniture and Community Engagement
Hope in the Mountains, Inc. is a community-based project with services located in The Hope Center at 410 W. Main Street in Sophia. The Hope Center began through the realization that for many vulnerable individuals, children, families, and seniors living in our local community of Southern Raleigh County, experiencing hope is not a daily security. There is a great need in our surrounding communities to provide the simple necessities in life most of us enjoy and take for granted. The guarantee of permanent housing, steady employment, the opportunity to learn new and practical life skills and improve their life situation.
The mission of Hope in the Mountains is to be an outreach for Jesus Christ in communities where there is need, offering a connection to Christ by offering an environment of hope and practical ways to improve lives.
New Vision Depot – 10am-2pm – Service Project: Flood Bucket Preparation
Our West Virginia Conference ministry work at New Vision Depot continues to grow and become more efficient. Many visiting teams have worked on our buildings throughout the past year, creating a new production room which is fully functional at the time of this report. Many groups from around the West Virginia Annual Conference have shared time with us at the Depot helping to assemble or inspect flood buckets, hygiene kits, and school kits. These groups have also helped us to perform other work on the buildings and infrastructure of New Vision Depot.