Since the beginning of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) our purpose has been to bring healing and hope to a divided world. The Week of Reconciliation Special Offering which we receive Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 helps fund ministries in Kansas and throughout the United States and Canada that feed the hungry and heal divisions in the lives of people.
This year, we have received funding requests for $9318 from:
- Home Sweet Home homeless ministry in Independence
- Books for Prisoners program sponsored by Wichita’s North Heights Christian Church DWF
- Birthday Backpack Ministry out of Pine Valley Christian Church in Wichita
- Peace Camp sponsored by West Side Christian Church in Topeka
Home Sweet Home serves men, women, families and veterans in housing crisis. They have houses to meet each of these needs. We have a variety of programs to help people establish a stable living way of life. HSH provides life skill training through Moving Forward with Momentum and employment help through Kansas Works. A staff chaplain provides spiritual and emotion support. Mentoring is also provided. They help with health needs, food, clothing and identification recovery.
Books for Prisoners, a new ministry sponsored by The North Heights Christian Church DWF group, will collect paperback books, and copy color sheets for inmates at the Butler County Jail and the Sedgwick County Jail. Reading is a coping strategy for their mental health. It’s something they can do at night when they can’t sleep, which is often. They can read at night because the lights never go out. Short term, this project’s goal is to help people just survive their time in jail, and for some, to help them prepare for a long term haul in state or federal prison.
Birthday Backpack Program, sponsored by Pine Valley Christian Church, surprise backpacks filled with items a family needs to celebrate a child’s birthday along with personal hygiene items, a book, coloring book/crayons or notebook/colored pencils and flashcards or calculator. They are given to economically at-risk children, whose families might not otherwise be able to materially celebrate their child’s special day, providing a message that children are loved and remembered.
Peace Camp, sponsored by Topeka’s West Side Christian Church, for the elementary age children of the church and children in the surrounding community, takes place for approximately 3.5 hours each day for the week in the summer. Peace Camp offers a fun setting to teach young children the skills that will help them communicate positively with a variety of people.
Our goal for this special offering is to receive $25,000 to help fund these ministries which are making a positive difference in hundreds of lives in Kansas. We encourage all members of our congregations in Kansas to give generously. Be watching the regional Facebook Page, Web page, and the Sept. Kansas Messenger for more details about each of these ministries.