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Covenant
of Dissent
and Support  We welcome diversity and sing our differences in harmony and without fear. |
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| Our Church and World Board Serves the Community |
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| Overview |
| Presbyterian General Mission |
| Eco–Faithfulness — Caring for the Creation |
| Local Mission |
| Other Local Mission Activities |
Overview:
The purpose of the Church and World Board is to administer mission programs and be a supportive influence and resource for the congregation in its ministries for compassion, concern and transformation in the local community and the world. We provide funds to the National Presbyterian Church’s General Mission, and also actively support local mission. While it was active, we were part of a rotating homeless shelter for many years. The Board invites church members to consider service to the ministries of Church and World.
Here are links to some of the organizations we support by giving time, talent and money:
Presbyterian General Mission:
The National Presbyterian Church is very active in the world, and this is where the Stone Church commitment to mission begins. In 2006, we gave $24,000 to our church’s general mission. For more information on the national Presbyterian Church’s many mission programs, click Here.The Board also supports and interprets several special offerings that the National Church sponsors:
- One Great Hour of Sharing;
- Pentecost Offering;
- Peace Offering; and the
- Christmas Offering.
Eco–Faithfulness — Caring for the Creation:
In response to our understanding of stewardship, our church’s teaching and the current state of our planet, we have taken steps to educate ourselves, and to act, in ways that will protect the livability of our earth. We have made a number of of New Year’s Resolutions for 2008 which provide steps anyone can take throughout the year.
To see our New Year’s Resolutions,
We are also responding to the global warming situation. For further information, click HERE.
Local Mission:
Stone Church contributes financially to each of the following organizations and activities. Often, its members volunteer their time and talent as well. While this is a partial list, it covers the vast majority of the groups we support in these ways. Note that links to websites are provided for most of these groups.
InnVision:
InnVision provides shelter, comprehensive supportive services, and a variety of affordable housing options. Each of its programs provide an uplifting environment that enables and empowers each client to become self–sufficient. Stone Church’s involvement in the Rotating Homeless Shelter takes place through Community Inns, one of InnVision’s programs. For more information on InnVision’s programs and activities, click Here.
Sacred Heart Community Service:
This community organization’s mission is to change lives and impact poverty by providing essential services, offering tools for self–sufficiency, and ministering with dignity, compassion and respect. For more information, click Here.
Emergency Housing Consortium:
EHC is the largest provider of shelter, housing opportunities and supportive services to people in crisis and those experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara County, California. Through award winning housing programs and vital supportive services, EHC provides people with the safety and stability they need to rebuild their lives, manage their crises and end their homelessness.
Bill Wilson Center:
The origins of the Bill Wilson Center go back to 1973 when a prominent Santa Clara citizen, Bill Wilson, Jr., worked with troubled youth in addition to owning Wilson’s Jewel Bakery and serving as a Santa Clara City Councilman (1963–1971), with a term as mayor in 1965. For more information on the Center's current activities, click Here.
Friends Outside:
The mission of Friends Outside is to assist families, prisoners, and ex-prisoners with the immediate and long-term effect of incarceration and to act as a bridge between those we serve, the community at large and the criminal justice system, thereby enhancing the character of justice. For more information, click Here.
CROP Walk:
Since 1979 Stone Church has participated in the South Bay Walk for the Hungry, the local Church World Service – sponsored CROP Walk. Stone Church members have also provided key leadership to this effort, helping it become the largest CROP Walk on the West Coast of the USA. This year, the CROP Walk takes place on April 30. For more information about Church World Service CROP Walks, click Here.
Men’s Mission Work Trips:
Handymen from Stone Church have made several trips to help in light construction projects. They have built an outdoor stage, replaced decking and wired offices for new computers at Westminster Woods, a Presbyterian camp near Sebastopol, CA. They have repaired fences and decking, and built an arbor at Camp Mattole, another Presbyterian camp near the “Lost Coast” of Northern California. That’s just a partial list. To see photos of a recent trip to Camp Mattole, click Here.
Youth Mission Work Trip:
In early 2005, young people from Stone Church travelled to the Central Valley to work on a Habit for Humanity sponsored project, to build homes for needy families. They were accompanied and mentored by a number of our adult handymen. To see photos of this trip, click Here.
Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center:
Church and World provides financial support for this important regional Presbyterian conference facility, located on the shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. Stone Church members have also provided leadership for the conference center organization, and are frequent visitors to its programs. For more information on the Conference Center, its facilities and programs, click Here.
Other Local Mission Activities:
We also provide encouragement, volunteers and financial support for the following activities:
- Shopping trips to purchase clothes for needy children;
- Various Social Justice ministries;
- All–Church Work Day;
- and more ...