MISSIONS MINISTRY
Coordinator: Billy Hair
Contact Billy
The Mission and Benevolence Committee’s mission is to further the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind by encouraging gifts of time, talent and finances to service and benevolent causes.
Mission & Benevolence
Billy Hair / coordinator; Peggy Thompson / Chair, Mission & Benevolence Committee
Local Missions & Benevolence
(Peggy Thompson)
Coastal Jail Ministries of Georgia – Laurel McKeith
Inner City Night Shelter – Annita Parmelee
SAFE Shelter – Judy Gandelot and Diane Krstolic
Savannah United Ministries (Emmaus House/Helping Hands) – June O’Hearn
Union Mission – Sandy Ljungdahl
Habitat Savannah – Allan Pulaski
Denominational Causes
(Sandra Stutzman)
Angel Tree – Josephine Baird
Presbyterian Homes of Georgia
Christmas Joy Offering
Mother’s Day Offering
One Great Hour of Sharing Offering (Easter)
Savannah Presbytery
Stand Up For Jesus Program – Sonny Jones
Foreign Missions
(Sherry LeBlang)
Costa Rica – Cedcas
Guatemala – Common Hope
Guatemala – Faith in Practice
Indonesia – Mission Aviation Fellowship
South-Central Africa – The Outreach Foundation
Special Events
(Sandy Mayer)
Guatemalan Coffee sales – (Sherry LeBlang)
Annual Shredding Event for Safe Shelter – (Diane & Ray Krstolic)
2014 Local Missions and Benevolences: Peggy Thompson
Coastal Jail Ministries of Georgia – provides a Christ Centered Life Learning Program to selected male and female prisoners at the 1800-inmate Chatham County Detention Center. The Program has been extremely effective in reducing the recidivism rate among its graduates.
Contact: Laurel McKeith
Inner City Night Shelter – provides the homeless with food, clothing and overnight shelter.
Contact: Annita Parmalee
Savannah United Ministries (Emmaus House/Helping Hands) – offers daily breakfast (averaging 130/day) to homeless, day workers and at-risk populations in downtown Savannah. A service of Emmaus House, Helpings Hands provides financial support to those at risk of becoming homeless due to non-payment of rent or utilities. Priority is given to those with children, the elderly and the disabled.
Contact: June O’Hearn
SAFE Shelter – Safe Shelter’s Mission is to prevent domestic violence, protect victims, and promote change in lives, families and our community. The Mission of Shredding for Safe Shelter is to support Safe Shelter through an Island wide Shredding Event at SIPC which, on a specific day, shreds valuable papers in a secure, confidential manner. We have the support of the Savannah Shredding Company which donates its personnel and equipment to accomplish this goal on the Church property. We have the added support of the Island Churches, the Boy Scouts, the Landings First Responders, and many, many Island volunteers.
Contact: Diane Krstolic
Union Mission – provides emergency and supportive services for disadvantaged men, women and children throughout the city of Savannah. In addition to reaching those impacted by HIV/AIDS or other substance abuse, people with disabilities receive access to health care, employment training, life skills training and counseling.
Contact: Sandy Ljungdahl
Habitat Savannah – Habitat Savannah is the Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity. It is a non-denominational Christian housing organization. It seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness. It was founded, locally in 1983 and its supporters have built 107 homes for families throughout Savannah.
Contact: Allan Pulaski
Birthday Fund – The money contributed to this fund is used to supplement the Mission budget. Each member is sent a Birthday card and asked to donate one dollar ($1.00) in thankfulness for each year that God has given them. Contact: Peggy Thompson
2014 Denominational Causes – Sandra Stutzman
Angel Tree – extends the Christmas gift-giving spirit by offering SIPC members the opportunity to be ‘angels’ for low-income children served by several Savannah-area social service agencies. SIPC members purchase requested gift items which are then distributed anonymously to needy children.
Contact: Josephine Baird
Presbyterian Homes of Georgia – provides quality of life services to senior adults on four campuses. The “Caring Hands Fund” extends health services for residents whose funds have been depleted. Gifts are sent to homes in Quitman, GA and Austell, GA by way of “The Santa Claus Express” in early December.
Contact: Sandra Stutzman
Christmas Joy Offering – helps those less fortunate, nationally and internationally, through the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
Contact: Sandra Stutzman
Mother’s Day Offering – provides charitable care for the residents on the four campuses of the Presbyterian Homes through the Caring Hands Fund.
Contact: Sandra Stutzman
One Great Hour of Sharing Offering (Easter) – assist those in need to better their lives in the world through an ecumenical offering.
Contact: Sandra Stutzman
Stand Up For Jesus – collects loose coins and ‘pocket change’ in blue buckets at the sanctuary doors on the first Sunday of each month. These collections go to help hunger programs and are divided as follows: two thirds to Presbytery, with one third going for world hunger and one third going for national hunger; the remaining one third to local programs. This is SIPC’s version of the world-wide 2 cents a meal offering to help feed the hungry.
Contact: Sonny Jones
Savannah Presbytery – In support of SIPC’s home Presbytery, SIPC’s contributions help with salaries and expenses and support programs including School of the Laity, Officers Training and Lay Ministers Programs. Savannah Presbytery, in turn, supports the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. in its service. SIPC members actively serve on various Presbytery committees.
2014 Foreign Missions – Sherry LeBlang
Costa Rica(CEDCAS) – For over 30 years, Bob and Ann Jeffery have served the Lord in Costa Rica by feeding children, working on microeconomic projects, furnishing health care and treating drug and alcohol abuse under the auspices of the Latin American Mission in Los Guidos. CEDCAS states that “Our reason for being is the health of your family.” Link for information: www.cedcas.org ( in Spanish)
Contact: Sherry LeBlang
Guatemala – The heart of Common Hope’s work in Guatemala is education and its mission is “educating children, empowering families.” It provides the necessary resources for over 2,700 children to attend school each year in 17 villages outside of Antigua and Guatemala City. Common Hope understands that education is about more than books and uniforms – a comprehensive approach is critical to help students and their families reach their full potential. For this reason it also focuses efforts on health care, housing and family development. In Guatemala, Common Hope is called “Familas de Esperanza” (Families of Hope). Link for information about sponsoring a child: www.commonhope.org
Contact: Sherry LeBlang
Guatemala-Faith in Practice – This non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization seeks to improve the physical, spiritual and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term integrated surgical, medical and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs. Recent SIPC participants include Tom and Cathie Inglesby, Dennis McKeever, Sr. Pastor John Wall, Bob and Carolyn Ernest and Sherry Leblang. Link for information: www.faithinpractice.org (teams 235, 237, 239, 240 and 241)
Contact: Sherry LeBlang
Indonesia (Mission Aviation Fellowship) – MAF fosters evangelism and church support throughout Africa, Asia, Eurasia and Latin America by connecting missionaries and local pastors with people in remote areas. Its stated mission is “Sharing the love of Jesus Christ through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed.” MAF supplies and transports Christian staff and supplies, provides evacuations for medical emergencies and performs other humanitarian efforts. SIPC’s missionaries, David and Natalie Holsten and their 4 children, have been living in Indonesia since 2001. David is an instructor pilot and Natalie leads weekly prayer and Bible Study groups. Link for information: www.maf.org (click on list of missionaries)
Contact: Sherry LeBlang
South/Central Africa (The Outreach Foundation) – The Rev. Ted Wright and his wife, Sue, live in Zambia and minister to churches in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe as PC (USA)regional liaisons for southeast Africa. Link for information: www.theoutreachfoundation.org
Contact: Sherry LeBlang
Special Events
Guatemalan Coffee Sales
Contact: Sherry LeBlang
Annual Shredding Event to Benefit Safe Shelter
Contact: Diane & Ray Krstolic
Mission and Benevolence Committee:
Session Coordinator: Howard Gandelot
Chair: Peggy Thompson
Secretary: Carolyn Ernest
Emmaus House: June O’Hearn
Angel Tree & Union Mission: Josephine Baird
Inner City Night Shelter: Anita Parmelee
Presbyterian Homes: Sandra Stutzman
Cell Phones for the Military, Coastal Prison Ministry, Shredding: Laurel McKeith
Safe Shelter: Judy Gandelot, Diane Krstolic
Stand Up For Jesus: Sonny Jones
Birthday Cards: Peggy Thompson
Union Mission: Sandy Ljungdahl
Early Childhood Education: Carrie Stoltz
Assisting with Mission and Benevolence:
Salvation Army Kettle Volunteers
Men’s Saturday Morning Bible Study Class: Jim Fendig, Bill Foster, James Garrison, George Hensley, Jim Higbee, Sonny Jones, Doug Stutzman, John Vergoz, Bob Yeomans