by Alison Pierce

Thanks to the generosity of our congregation, the Missions Committee was able to lend a hand to many in need this month. As we are all aware, the devastation and destruction left behind by  hurricanes Helene and Milton are leaving many impacted residents without food or water. World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team was on the ground in Asheville just one day after the flooding to
provide meals and to assess food and water needs in the community immediately and was equally nimble in Florida where they repositioned from those areas impacted by Helene to address those communities hit by Milton, which is why the committee voted to donate $500 to their ongoing mission.

In addition, the committee decided to send $500 to the UCC National Office for Hurricane Relief to help UCC churches impacted by the hurricanes.Several UCC churches have suffered extensive damage to their church buildings and surrounding communities. The UCC has a long history of supporting impacted communities as they recover from disaster and their plights fade from the
headlines. Our support will ensure that these communities are supported for years as they rebuild.

The Men’s Shelter in Woonsocket will reopen their doors on November 1st.Slatersville Congregational Church, UCC will once again provide a hot meal, funded through your donations to Missions, in collaboration with the Broaster House on the first Saturday of each month. This meal is always so appreciated by the men who visit the shelter.

As Thanksgiving is soon approaching, the Missions Committee reached out to the North Smithfield Food Pantry. We will once again be able to purchase gift cards for the Food Pantry clients to help them celebrate the holidays. The committee voted to purchase 65 $40 gift cards for a total of $2,600.

Lastly, the Blessing Bags donations have been over the top! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who donated and all who filled bags with us on Sunday! And a special thank you to Kristen Koloski who stepped up and did a fantastic job promoting and organizing this event for our church. The Missions Committee spent only $597 to flesh out some of the supplies.The rest was supplied by all of you! Your generosity enabled us to fill over 150 bags on October 20th during Coffee Hour.