Worldwide Ministries

Worldwide Ministries Blog

Would you like to learn more about the work of SPC's Worldwide Ministries committee? You can receive up-to-the-minute information about our meetings, trips, partners and friends and everything else we do on the WWM Committee at new blog site! To subscribe, simply click on http://spcwwm.blogspot.com.

Shallowford Presbyterian Church expresses a strong commitment to mission by reaching out to help others.  This commitment takes many forms within Worldwide Ministries.  We support the following missions through volunteerism, financial contributions, or both:

Agogo Hospital Nursing School – Shallowford has helped provide financial resources for this hospital and school, located in central Ghana since 1981.  The nursing school serves over 200,000 people, responding to over 75,000 outpatient visits each year.

Burkina Faso – This country sits on the edge of the Sahara Desert and has a population of 12 million people, 90% of who are illiterate and live on less than $200 per capita annually.  Shallowford provides support to the African Sustainable Development Council (ASUDEC) as it develops grass roots, village-level programs to alleviate poverty and food scarcity, reduce illiteracy, and restore and preserve biodiversity.

Carmel Community Ministries – Carmel Community Ministries, located in the Govindpuri Slum of Delhi, India, is operated by the Reverend Kosy Baby and his wife, Joicy.  The ministry includes a school, literacy center, youth club, Sunday school, church and a Prayer and Counseling center.  It also offers free medical care to the poor and destitute.  The ministry school serves over 1,000 children who otherwise would have no chance at an education with a focus on academic, moral and spiritual development.  Shallowford Presbyterian Church, through your support of World Wide Ministries, is contributing to the efforts of Carmel Community Ministries to provide for the needs of these children.

ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) – This non-profit Christian organization networks global hunger solutions with a primary mandate to strengthen the ministries of missionaries and churches as they work with rural farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries.  ECHO is a growing network for sharing information, ideas, plant seeds, training, techniques, books and solutions to agricultural problems.

Frontera de Cristo – This, our most visible mission project, has been a part of our mission program for over ten years.  Over 75 Shallowford members have participated in annual mission trips to Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, helping to construct a community center and a seminary student dormitory; participating in bible study and worship; and visiting the homes of members of the Lilies of the Valley Presbyterian Church.  We have also supported CRREDA (CENTER for the Recovery and Rehabilitation from Drugs and Alcohol) by providing financial aid to upgrade their electrical system and purchase a truck.  We continue to support the Just Coffee initiative and the Fair Trade Center to help provide an alternative to immigration due to poverty.

Living Waters for the World – This mission of the Synod of Living Waters brings the gift of clean water to communities around the world.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three million people die each year from water-related illnesses. To date over 148 systems have been installed in 17 countries.  Shallowford installed a clean water purification system in Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico in 2006.  Plans are currently underway to install another water system in a nearby village.  Living Waters for the World is a clear example of Shallowford being involved in people’s lives in a real, tangible way.

Heifer International – This program provides animals to needy families around the world who, through the care of animals are able to feed themselves and become economically self-reliant.  Farmers learn sustainable, environmentally sound agricultural techniques.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance – This program provides emergency funds to enable quick response to disasters.  Funds were provided to assist tsunami survivors in Asia in 2005, and Shallowford has made a commitment to send several work teams per year to Gulfport, MS as part of the ongoing reconstruction effort after hurricane Katrina.  Workgroups have been established to develop emergency church evacuation procedures, home preparedness, and communication with emergency agencies.