OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES

Together we shall serve the Lord with gladness.

Volunteer Ministry Center

Volunteer Ministry Center reaches out to many homeless and impoverished individuals and families in our community. Their ministry provides food, clothing, counseling, temporary housing, and emergency funds for utilities and rent assistance. Members of the Congregation volunteer their time each month to prepare and serve meals to the hungry at the Volunteer Ministry Center. A sign-up sheet is posted in the Narthex for each date. Assistance is also given in the form of clothing, toiletries, and gifts for their Christmas Store.

Lakeshore Mental Health Institute

Lakeshore Mental Health Institute provides mental health education, support, and advocacy for adults and children with mental illness. The Institute provides a wide range of services from crisis care and safe respite, to vocational programs and housing services. Semi-annual donation drives are held to collect warm clothing and shoes, reading materials, stationary, used Bibles and other religious materials, and items for awards on Bingo night! We also have started a gift card program, providing homemade cards to residents on special occasions.

Sunset Gap Community Center

The Sunset Gap Community Center is the focal point for community outreach in this impoverished community. The Center offers teaching, training, and service programs to the residents. The Community Center also supports a Day Care Center, Thrift Store, and Food Pantry. Farragut Presbyterian’s support of this vital ministry includes financial support in addition to:

The Back-to-School Program supports children with backpacks, school supplies, clothing, and a winter coat.
The Christmas Store is stocked for residents to purchase gifts for their families.
The Angel Tree is used to fullfill children’s Christmas wishes
Donations drives are held to collect clothing, furniture and other household items to support the community Thrift Store

Mobile Meals

Mobile Meals is a voluntary nonprofit organization that provides a nutritious meal and a wellness check to the frail, homebound senior citizens living in Knox County. To many of these elderly, the visit may be the only person that they speak with that day. The volunteers keep close watch over these seniors and any needs or emergencies are reported to the Mobile Meals network staff. Farragut Presbyterian provides two volunteers each Friday for delivering meals in addition to financial support to this wonderful ministry. Special packages of fresh fruit are pulled together by the children of our church at Thanksgiving. Then at Christmas, the children donate, wrap and decorate many special items for Christmas gifts to be provided with the Christmas meals.

Presbytery Center at UT

The Student Presbytery Center at the University of Tennessee provides a Christian atmosphere and a place for refuge and spiritual renewal for college students. Farragut Presbyterian’s support of the Presbytery Center includes: a Lay Pastor who provides a Wednesday night Bible Study and gathering time for the students; and a member of our church who is on the Center’s Board of Directors, who organizes fund raisers through the Men of the Church to provide funding for Interns for the Center.

Habitat for Humanity

In 2007, Farragut Presbyterian, in partnership with other churches provided a home for a deserving family through Loudon County Habitat for Humanity. This was our sixth house provided through the Habitat for Humanity Programs. Many members of our congregation remain active in Habitat projects throughout the year.

Mission Trips

Each year, members of Farragut Presbyterian Church are given the opportunity to travel to areas outside of Knoxville to reach out to others in need. In 2006 and 2007, we have supported a village in Belize, Central America. In addition, our Middle School and Senior High Youth have recently traveled to a Native American Reservation in Arizona, New York City, and Charlotte, SC.

Living Waters

Living Waters for the World is the global mission resource of the Synod of Living Waters (Presbyterian Church USA) that trains and equips church mission groups and others to share the gift of clean water with communities in need, and to empower their partners to continue purifying their water on an ongoing basis. Trained volunteers from our church are working with other area churches to partner in providing clean water to a community in Belize and rural Appalachia.

Interfaith Health Clinic

Interfaith Health Clinic plays a vital role in our local community providing medical, dental, and mental health care to the working uninsured and others in need. Farragut Presbyterian is proud to have members active in providing medical services at the clinic as well as providing financial support for its mission and much needed supplies.

Camp John Knox Center

Camp John Knox is a Presbyterian Youth Retreat that provides weekend and summer camps to the youth of our church and the community as well as training events for church officers. Our ongoing support of this ministry includes volunteer workdays as well as financial support.

Court Appointed Special Advocates

“A Child’s Voice in Court, Inc.” helps improve the lives of abused and neglected children through trained volunteers who advocate for a safe, loving, and permanent home. Farragut Presbyterian is proud to have a member who has completed the training and become certified as a certified Court Appointed Specialist with CASA, in addition to providing financial support for this wonderful mission.

Family Promise of Knoxville

Family Promise of Knoxville is a non-profit organization uniting the faith community and other area social services to provide shelter, meals, and comprehensive support to families without homes, enabling them to achieve sustainable independence. The cornerstone of Family Promise of Knoxville is the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). IHN has united 12 "host" congregations and 19 "support" congregations in the Knoxville area, numerous volunteers, our core staff, and local social services agencies into a synergistic team that provides temporary housing, meals, and assistance to families without homes to help them become self sufficient.

Second Harvest

Second Harvest recovers food that is canned, packaged or perishable to distribute to 350 plus agencies in an 18 county area. These agencies provide emergency food assistance in the form of bags or boxes of groceries to take home, or hot meals served in a soup kitchen or group home. Second Harvest also provides food for The Kids Café and Food for Kids: two programs aimed at ending childhood hunger. In the Food for Kids program, participating students receive a backpack full of food for themselves and, if needed, their younger siblings on a regularly scheduled basis.

Morgan-Scott County Project

The Morgan Scott County Project exists to identify specific needs and initiate programs to help the poor, elderly, and disabled in this rural part of Appalachia. Morgan Scott is also involved in providing food, clothing, and other necessities, especially in emergencies. The focus of the Morgan Scott Project is not simply to give handouts, but to help area residents establish a better life for themselves. Area residents can see the love and compassion of Christ in action through this mission.

Coalition for Appalachian Ministry

The purpose of CAM, is to make a positive impact wherever the Reformed tradition and Appalachian culture come together. It does this by networking with church and community to provide education and volunteer opportunities.

Ulster Project International

The Ulster Project is dedicated to promoting a peaceful parity of esteem between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland by building tolerance, trust, and ongoing positive relationships among potential leaders from these Christian traditions. Under the sponsorship of the various US city Ulster Projects, teens (half Catholic and half Protestant; half girls and half boys) from their paired Northern Irish communities come to the United States to live in private homes for a month. During the month, the entire group of Northern Irish and American teens meet almost daily for activities, including encounter sessions, social activities, community service projects, and worship.

FISH of Knox County

FISH works to reduce hunger in our community by providing small supplies of food at no cost to those needing temporary assistance. People in need contact FISH to request food assistance. There is a “no screening, no questions asked” policy for callers. The food provided by FISH is a three-day emergency supply of nonperishable items, such as canned foods, dry cereal, and bread products. FISH began as, and has remained, an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff members. Our church provides food and volunteers for one week of each year for this important Mission.