Merry Christmas

This is from the Presbyterian Hunger Program staff in Louisville, Kentucky who have asked me to share it with all who give so much to help hungry people here and all over the world.

New Jersey Council of Churches Launches "Clip Campaign"

Bring your coupons to the Presbytery Center--we will collect and make them available on request to hunger ministries or send them on to NJCC

In these times of unprecedented fiscal uncertainty, the NJCC is launching a new campaign to help people in need. Every week thousands of coupons that can be used to help purchase necessary items are thrown in the trash.

The NJCC would like to ask its local churches to begin an organized collection process of coupons for distribution.

Here is how it works. Churches will collect coupons in four categories:

1. cereal
2. baby products
3. detergents/cleaning supplies
4. miscellaneous (a particularly good coupon in any area)

The coupons should be distributed either:

1. to the NJCC office; we will see that they are given to those in need
2. to members of the church who need them
3. to another local church
4. to a local food pantry or soup kitchen
   

Please consider having your church participate by taking this step and helping in another way to make a difference.

For questions or comments, please respond to this email or call the NJCC at 609-396-9546.

How Brightly Shines Our Morning Star Food Pantry

Morning Star’s building at 1 Morning Star Drive in Bayville is new, but its hunger ministry is not. “We’ve had a food pantry for many years,” says Rev. Myrlene Hamilton Hess, “but we didn’t have a facility appropriate for a public food bank, so it remained small and grew through word of mouth.”

The new Morning Star Food Pantry opened to the public on August 10, 2008. It has grown to handling over 150 people with food on a monthly basis and continues to grow each month. As part of Morning Star’s Loaves and Fishes Ministry. Special projects in 2008 include backpacks for children in September, Halloween costumes for children in October, Thanksgiving turkeys in November, and Christmas presents to families in December.

[read entire article]

Current sources of funding for this ministry include 50% of the money collected from Cents-Ability and donations and food from the congregation and the general public.

At a time when so many families and individuals find themselves in need, however, the food pantry needs sponsors and donations of money, food, health and beauty, cleaning items and clothing. Local businesses are ideal for partnerships with the church as are nearby congregations. Monmouth Presbytery is proud to be a new partner: at its November meeting, the Cents-Ability Grants Committee approved a $1,000 grant.