SHARING OUR STORY FOR 2023
Serving God and Our Neighbors
Through Acts of Kindness
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ (Ephesians 2:10)
SHARING OUR STORY
We seek to live Jesus’ command to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We endeavor to demonstrate this commitment in various acts of service locally, regionally, and internationally
BUILDING OUR FUTURE
Mountainside UMC service-related missions in 2022 drew many volunteers, participants, and served many needs:
- Bought new tires, named them as women from the Bible, and repaired a trailer to store tools and materials for a local Maintenance Ministry.
- Sponsored Mission/Generosity Moments during church services to introduce our congregation to leaders and goals of our Missions.
- Supported UPWARDS Basketball as a faith-based program bringing Christ into the lives of over 150 children while teaching them how to play basketball and cheer. Each week over 300 people visited our church to see 22 teams compete on Friday nights and Saturdays.
- Began a bi-yearly commitment to a Highway Clean-up program along a mile stretch of Old Highway 66.
- Raised $3000 from a church garage sale that benefitted our local and state-wide missions.
- In the summer of 2022 Mountainside made 140 pies for the Asbury Pie Cafe at the NM state Fair. All proceeds went to local charities that feed people. (East Mountain Food Pantry being one of the recipients).
- Organized a Mission Fair in our MAC gymnasium that was open to our congregation and local community. Twenty missions/ministries were represented and food and music were provided.
- Participated in FILL THE PANTRY and BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS fundraising events benefitting the Dream Center ministry for homeless youth in ABQ.
- Donated groceries and pet food to the East Mountain Food Pantry to address food insecurity throughout the year.
- Through our Christmas Food Baskets drive, we provided boxes of food for a holiday meal to 30 families with 7-10 members.
GROWING OUR DREAMS
In 2022, our congregation, through its generous giving and resources donated $43,541 to our missions.
Alleviate Human Suffering
- East Mountain Food Pantry/Christmas Baskets for East Mountain food insecurity
- Asbury Pie Cafe for Albuquerque food insecurity
- Dream Center/Harbor for homeless and trafficked youth
- Habitat for Humanity/Maintanence Ministry for adequate housing
Strengthen Christian Communities
- Juntos for families near Wyoming and Central Ave. ABQ
- Pure Water Navajo Rez for fuel, water, pastors, school supplies
- McCurdy Ministries in Espanola, NM for preschool, before and after school, and mental health programs
Seek Justice, Freedom, and Peace
- Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) in El Paso, TX advocating and providing for immigrant legal services
- Kairos Prison Ministry to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus with the incarcerated and their families.
Missionaries: Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World
- The Lighthouse in Brno, Czech Republic: Jason and Kerensa McFrederick
- Wesley primary School in Morogoro, Tanzania: Ngoy and Umba Kalangwa
- UMCOR: United Methodist Committee on Relief: Disasters, Haiti, Ukraine