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Brookside Congregational Church
About Brookside Congregational Church
 

 


Outreach

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According to its mission statement, the Board of Christian Outreach views as its purpose "To represent the congregation of Brookside Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in a responsible manner, while responding at the local, national and global levels to the need for food, clothing, shelter or means of attaining self-sufficiency. To keep the congregation advised of progress achieved and opportunities available for continued enrichment of living life as faithful followers of Jesus Christ."

There are many ways to get involved in Brookside Outreach:
Local, National & Global Efforts
Holiday Baskets
Families in Transition
• Loaves and Fishes
• New Horizons Soup Kitchen
• Partners in Health

Please feel free to contact any member of the Outreach Board* should you have questions or have an interest in participating in any of the Board's many worthwhile projects and partnerships.

* You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the PDF file. Click here to download it for free.


Local, National, Global Efforts

Local All-Church Offerings
Brookside participates in three special all-church offerings during the year: Neighbors in Need, One Great Hour of Sharing, and Blanket Sunday. Announcements concerning the specific events are publicized prior to each collection. Local community support includes participation in the annual interfaith Religious Response to Hunger, falling between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and hosting New Horizons' Empty Bowls Project.

National & International Programs
Brookside is proud to provide ongoing support to two children through the Compassion International chid sponsorship program. We also support Andover Newton Theological School, Bangor Theological Seminary, Pastoral Counseling Services and people in need of catastrophic dental and medical service.

Partnership with Sakubva Church, Zimbabwe
Our ongoing relationship with Sakubva Church in Mutare, Zimbabwe continues to flourish. Each month, members of the Outreach Board and Brookside's congregation conference call with members of Sakubva Church to receive updates on current events and projects. The calls, in addition to letters, have provided us with a way to keep our connection alive and find ways to work on a shared mission.

The Outreach Board, on behalf of Brookside Church, offers monetary support to help Sakubva Church provide for the basic needs for orphans they care for. Outreach has also sold linens and other goods made by our brothers and sisters of Sakubva Church. All proceeds from the sales are sent to Sakubva Church to be used to build a guest house at the church.

Youth from Brookside and Sakubva Church:
Phone Conference

Following morning worship on Sunday, May 4 a conference call will be made between the youth of Sakubva Church in Zimbabwe and Brookside Church here in New Hampshire.

How are our youth and the youth of Sakubva alike or different? What are the burning issues in the minds of young people from different hemispheres and continents? Encourage the young people in your life to be part of the conversation!


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Holiday Baskets

One of the highlights of Brookside's outreach for many families is the collection, preparation and distribution of Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. In 2005, we added to the Brookside holiday baskets tradition by successfully filling and distributing Easter food "baskets." These baskets directly assist the clients of organizations such as the Salvation Army, Greater Manchester AIDS Project, Southern NH Services/Head Start, Child Health Services and Families in Transition.


Families in Transition

Families in Transition (FIT) is a Manchester-based nonprofit organization that offers low-cost transitional housing and on-site supportive services to homeless women with and without children, as well as men with children.

Over the past few years, Brookside has been involved with FIT in a variety of ways: by providing the necessary furnishings and household items needed for FIT's new interim housing unit, through monetary contributions, and by encouraging Brookside families to support FIT through volunteer efforts.


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Loaves and Fishes

On the first Sunday of every month, we collect canned goods, staples, dry goods, and personal toiletry items to help stock the shelves of the New Horizons Food Pantry and Shelter. The congregation's response to this program has been tremendous, with an average monthly donation of 60 bags of goods.

In April, we collected 26 bags of groceries and other non-perishables for New Horizons. Let's try to double that amount in May! Please consider putting some extra items in your supermarket basket for the food pantry. Their wish list currently includes: diapers, baby formula, peanut butter, jelly, baked beans, macaroni & cheese, canned goods, tomato sauce, pasta, and tuna. Our next collection is Sunday, May 4.

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New Horizons Soup Kitchen

Volunteers from Brookside serve the evening meal at New Horizons' Soup Kitchen on the fifth Tuesday of the month. A 4-6 member team spends approximately two hours serving dinner to an average of 120 people.

Since 2005, Brookside members have participated in the annual Walk for Hunger to benefit New Horizons. Our annual goal is to have 100 people from Brookside participate by walking and/or through donations.

Top Ten Reasons to Participate in the Walk Against Hunger

10.

The weather just has to be better than last year!

9.

We can all use the exercise.

8.

You get a snazzy T-shirt advertising your affiliation with Brookside UCC.

7.

It's a great opportunity to see the mill buildings up close.

6.

Teach your kids social responsibility; bring them along and make it a family tradition.

5.

Fellowship - you can learn a lot about your fellow church members over a four-mile course.

4.

On any given day in New Hampshire, 2,248 people are homeless.

3.

New Horizons provided 68,199 meals to those in need during 2007.

2.

16,347 bags of food were distributed to the hungry last year.

1.

"When did we see you hungry and feed you, or see you thirsty and give you drink?" ... "The truth is, every time you did this for the least of my sisters or brothers, you did it for me." (Matthew 25:37-39)

The Details: The Walk Against Hunger will be held on Sunday, May 18, starting at 12 noon. Pledge sheets will be available at coffee hour during the weeks prior to the walk. On the walk day, come to church in your walking clothes (including your snazzy Walk Against Hunger T-shirt) and carpool with others to the starting line at Victory Park. If you are concerned about walking the four miles, Brookside is conveniently located along the course. If for physical or other reasons, you cannot join us, please consider sponsoring our team!


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Partners in Health

In 2005, Brookside expanded its global reach through a donation to Partners in Health (PIH), an international nonprofit organization that strives to increase access to health care for those who most need it. Begun by Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH brings the resources of the world's leading medical and academic institutions to some of the world's poorest and sickest communities in Haiti, Rwanda, Peru, Guatemala, Russia, and Boston, Massachusetts.

To read more about this work, check out the website (www.pih.org) or read Tracy Kidder's best-selling book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World.


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Brookside Congregational Church
2013 Elm Street ~ Manchester, NH 03104
Telephone: (603) 669-2807 ~ Fax: (603) 668-9041

Sunday morning worship and Sunday School: 10:00 a.m.

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