In the Community
Guilford Park members volunteer in ministries of hunger relief, homelessness, aging, adult education, the environment, and care-giving. Our established programs are open to participation by new friends, and we are always open to new opportunities to serve in our community. Our program coordinators can answer questions and help members find their niche to serve.
You can help serve by volunteering, coordinating a mission initiative, or by contributing financial support. Any member of the GPPC Mission Committee or any pastor at Guilford Park will be glad to help find the best ways for you to lend a hand.
Below are a just a few examples of mission initiatives through which Guilford Park members serve our community and the world.
You can help serve by volunteering, coordinating a mission initiative, or by contributing financial support. Any member of the GPPC Mission Committee or any pastor at Guilford Park will be glad to help find the best ways for you to lend a hand.
Below are a just a few examples of mission initiatives through which Guilford Park members serve our community and the world.
Guilford Park Guys is a mentoring and recreation program that Guilford Park church offers to positively impact the lives of young men of high school and middle school age who live at Partnership Village. A transitional housing service of Greensboro Urban Ministry, Partnership Village hosts formerly homeless individuals and families for up to two years. What started as a time for the guys to play basketball in the GPPC fellowship hall has evolved into an opportunity for our members to make connections and share friendship and, leadership skills. The initiative also includes homework assistance to develop the boys’, academic performance and approach to life.
Guilford Park Guys is a “signature ministry” started by, led by, and staffed by members of Guilford Park. Our vision is to expand the program to offer opportunities for young ladies from Partnership Village, but we need your help and your ideas! Please contact Mike Sasser sassers3 at aol dot com to get involved. You can click here to learn more! Greensboro Urban Ministry has a mission to express the love of God to people in need through practical action in the Greater Greensboro area by offering emergency financial assistance, food assistance, emergency and transitional shelter, and rapid re-housing. GUM helps individuals and families break the cycles of poverty, hunger, addiction, and homelessness. Guilford Park members support GUM by serving breakfasts or dinners at their shelter, collecting food at regular food drives at our church and at local grocery stores, and through financial support. Contact Jenny Beale jennybeale1 at gmail dot com to help support Greensboro Urban Ministry. Hot Dish and Hope is another opportunity to put our faith into action as we serve dinner and a “measure of hope” to individuals and families in need. Any hungry people are welcome to eat dinner at this event held twice each week at First Presbyterian Church. One evening each month, Guilford Park members greet the guests, serve a meal, and provide a brief program of music and a message of God’s love and grace. We also provide a number of gift bags during the Christmas season containing practical items needed by guests. Interactive Resource Center is an innovative day resource center for people experiencing homelessness or trying to keep from becoming homeless in Guilford County. Guests get help finding jobs, housing, and medical help. Once each month, Guilford Park members prepare light lunches at the church to be served to guests who are attending IRC programs. If you can come to the church and help assemble sandwiches, or are willing to deliver them downtown, please contact Marti Randall randall dot marti at yahoo dot com or Kay Cheshire kcheshire at triad dot rr dot com. Muslim Outreach Read the article about our congregation extending an unwavering welcome to Muslim neighbors. |
Blood Drives are held three times each year at Guilford Park’s fellowship hall. Donating blood is a simple thing to do, but it can make a big difference in the lives of others. If you want to give blood, that’s great! If that’s not something you’re able to do, we need help to make snacks, sign people in, or just talk to our donors. Contact the church office to be a donor or a helper at our blood drives.
CROP Hunger Walks raise money to support the overall ministry of Church World Service, especially grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts around the world. The Greater Greensboro CROP Hunger Walk & Run returns 25 percent of the funds it raises to Greensboro Urban Ministry's Potter's House Community Kitchen. Greensboro’s CROP Walk held in October each year is the second largest in the United States. GPPC’s Lynn Carey has walked every year since the event started in 1981. Get in touch with Lynn Carey lynn at careysound dot com or Gary Stephenson gnswave83 at gmail dot com to donate or walk to raise awareness … and money. Honor Card Sales are the perfect remedy for buying gifts that may not be right for your friends. Each Christmas season, the GPPC Mission Committee sells Honor Cards that you can send to your friends to let them know that you honored them by making a donation to a worthwhile cause. Honor cards are available to support Greensboro Urban Ministry, Habitat for Humanity, and many other popular charitable organizations. Look for the Honor Card table outside the sanctuary during the Christmas season. Angel Tree Ministries - offers another gift-giving option during the holidays. Prisoners’ children all over the country suffer through the confusion and shame that comes with having a parent who is incarcerated. GPPC makes an effort to demonstrate our love to these innocent kids by offering them gifts at Christmas time. If you want to make a child’s Christmas happy and show them an example of grace through your generosity, please look for lists of Angel Tree children and their wish lists outside of the sanctuary during November and early December. Sign-up is through Prison Ministry in August. Montreat Conference Center For over 100 years, Montreat Conference Center has been a place set apart for those who journey here seeking a closer relationship with their Creator. The conference center is one of the largest affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and is under the management of the Mountain Retreat Association, which formed in 1905 and is a church-related institute. Montreat annually hosts over 5,000 youth at our six Youth Conferences, offers over 40 conferences and programs year-round for individuals of all ages, and welcomes hundreds of church-related and non-profit guest groups who come to private retreats held at our center. Nestled in a peaceful mountain cove and surrounded by natural beauty, the conference center permanently protected 2,500 acres of pristine wilderness as a dedicated wilderness area registered in the NC Registry of National Heritage Areas, resulting in more than 40 miles of hiking trails for all to enjoy. www.montreat.org |