… It is important to remember that we can make a difference.
The very act of giving can lift a person’s spirits and connect them with the giving nature of Christ.
Disaster and Community Relief (UMCOR)
Whether wildfires, hurricanes, tornados or other natural disasters, the United Methodist Committee on Relief is always part of the response team. If you’d like to see more of what they are doing and to donate, simply visit their website.
We continue to collect food on an ongoing basis. The food bin is located in the back of the church, with donations given to the Sayville Food Pantry. More people are hungry than ever before, so please give generously to your community!
The Sayville Food Pantry is open from 9:30-12 Tuesday-Thursday. In addition to food, they also have a limited amount of funds available for anyone who may need monetary assistance. The pantry is located at 47 Gillette Avenue in Sayville. They are accepting food donations as well as gas and supermarket gift cards.
Our Church’s Regular Mission Activities
Clams for Christ!
The Sayville UMC participates in a number of outreach programs throughout the year. The church is best known for the annual Clamfest, which takes place during Sayville’s Summerfest in August. During this event, the church prepares and sells clams, clam fritters, clam pies, clam chowder, lobster bakes, baked goods and more, then gives all of the proceeds away to local and global missions. The event is a shining example of what God’s children can do when they team up for a good cause.
Joy in the Harvest Mission Support:
We are active supporters of the mission work led by Lowell and Claudia Wertz in Tanzania. Joy in the Harvest ministers to thousands of needy people on a daily basis. For further information on the Tanzania mission, please contact Al Croce or the church office.
Sharing a Meal:
We staff the local dinner outreach every 2nd and 4th Thursday at the Sayville UCC. As the cost of living keeps rising, the need for free meals has never been greater. Volunteers prepare and serve the food for an average of 20-30 guests, then do the dishes afterwards and leave happy: “I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink.”
Other annual missions include Operation Christmas Child. Ongoing missions include our Thrift Shop, which offers low-cost alternatives to the community; and various missions sponsored and supported by the United Women in Faith.
History of United Methodist Churchwide Special Sundays with Offerings
Human Relations Day
The 1972 General Conference established Human Relations Day to promote support for Community Developers, United Methodist Voluntary Services and Police-Community Relations programs. In 1989, the Youth Offender Rehabilitation Program replaced the Police-Community Relations Program. More than 30 church-based Community Developers work in racial- and ethnic-minority communities in the United States and Puerto Rico (57 percent of the offering). A multiracial network of grassroots social-justice organizations related to United Methodist Voluntary Services provides vital outreach (33 percent). Christ-centered Youth Offender Rehabilitation projects give teenagers a chance to succeed (10 percent.
In 1946, One Great Hour of Sharing began as a special effort of the Episcopal Church. In 1949, the observance became ecumenical. Originally, congregations reserved one special worship hour during the year for people of faith to contribute over and above their regular offerings. Today different denominations celebrate UMCOR Sunday on various dates, but the cooperative spirit remains.
In a petition to the 1988 General Conference, the Native American International Caucus proposed and delegates approved Native American Awareness Sunday. The 2000 General Conference changed the name of the observance to Native American Ministries Sunday.
The 1980 General Conference created a churchwide Peace with Justice program assigned to the General Board of Church and Society. The 1984 General Conference voted to support the program with an annual Special Sunday offering on World Order Sunday, established more than half a century ago to build recognition and support for the work of the United Nations. While World Order Sunday was set traditionally in October, churches were encouraged to observe it any time during the season of Pentecost. The 1988 General Conference established Peace with Justice Sunday as the first Sunday after Pentecost to give churches a single, more convenient date for the offering and a name that clearly identifies the ministries it supports.
In 1940, the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America established Worldwide Communion Sunday as a global, interdenominational event. Prompted by the impact of World War II, the Methodist Church received an offering on this Sunday for the Fellowship of Suffering and Service. In 1971, The United Methodist Church changed the name of the observance to World Communion Sunday and redistributed the offering to support the Crusade Scholarship Program (begun in 1944), the Ethnic Minority Scholarship Program and the Division of Chaplains and Related Ministries. In 1980, Chaplains and Related Ministries was moved to World Service funding, but the World Communion Sunday offering continued to assist racial- and ethnic-minority persons pursuing various avenues of ministry. In 2008, “Crusade Scholars” became “World Communion Scholars.”
In 1866, a special fund was established for the advanced education of Sunday-school children and the educational preparation of persons for the ministry and missionary service. The 1940 General Conference established Methodist Student Day with a churchwide offering. The 1968 Uniting Conference continued this connectional student-aid program to be funded by the United Methodist Student Day offering. Dates for taking the offering have changed through the years
U.S. Address:
P.O. Box 496
Lansing, IL 60438
P.O. box 1344
Kigoma, Tanzania
email: wertz@joyintheharvest.com
Orlando, FL 32862
PO Box 628222
Orlando, FL 32862
1543 Montauk Hwy.
Bellport, NY 11713
631-758-7584
http://www.lighthousemission.net
Sayville UMC 