Missions

Missions

Local Projects (click for details)

Backpack / School SuppliesBaltimore County Christian Workcamp (BCCW)
Camp Hope
Catonsville Emergency Assistance (CEA)
Chillim Youth ProjectChristmas Angels
Feeding the Homeless
Middle School Summer Experience
Mustard Seed ProjectNight of Peace
Rummage SaleThanksgiving Food Baskets
United Methodist Men Spaghetti DinnerWestside Shelter


National Projects (click for details)

  • Disaster Relief VIM Teams

 International Projects (click for details)

Fisher’s of Men in Costa RicaSteps of Hope in Guatemala
St. John’s Ministry in Dominican Republic

Local

Backpacks/School Supplies
Catonsville UMC provides backpacks filled with school supplies for area school children in need.  Church members fill at least 100 backpacks with donated school supplies. Also, extra school supplies are collected and donated to the schools. The school administrators and guidance counselors are always grateful for the generous support in helping their students.

Contact: Janice Barber 410-747-1886


Baltimore County Christian Workcamp (BCCW)
The task of the BCCW is “to share the love of Christ by repairing the homes of some limited income families in Baltimore County.” BCCW is led by lay people and is an ecumenical organization, with representation from 30-40 churches. During one week in July each year 150-250 volunteers work to repair 25-40 homes throughout the county. BCCW is a “commuter’s work camp” where it is possible to commit to working as little as one half day or the whole week. Homes are suggested by the County Department of Social Services, Department of Health, food banks, churches, personal referrals, etc. Sites are then prioritized. The site on which work is performed depends on the number of volunteers, their expertise, and the magnitude of each project, the weather, and BCCW’s finances. Each work day starts with breakfast prepared by members from a local church at the host church (Hunt’s UMC in Lutherville, MD), then the volunteers prepare their own bagged lunches, go to the sites, and have dinner each evening at various local churches. All types of work (e.g., wheelchair ramps, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, interior and exterior painting, caulking, inside and outside clean-up) are performed by workers of all ages. 

Contact: CUMC Church Office 410-747-1886

C.A.M.P. H.O.P.E.  (Christian Appalachian Mountain Project Helping Other People Enthusiastically)

Camp Hope is a non-profit organization in the Frostburg, MD area consisting of over 400 youth and adult volunteers who gather each summer to repair between 55 and 60 homes during a four-week period. The homes are rehabbed, prepared for winter and made safer. The home owners have an experience of Christian fellowship and new hope for the future. The home owners cannot work on their own homes due to physical inability or a financial one. The youth are in charge of all aspects of the camp, with adult supervision.

Contact: Loriann Hughes  410-747-1886

Catonsville Emergency  Assistance

Catonsville UMC is part of a ministry of local churches who provide assistance with emergency food, eviction prevention, medical help, utility cut-off prevention, and other essential aid and services for those in need. One goal is to help people attain self-sufficiency through behavioral change by helping them find affordable housing through employment opportunities. The service area for CEA includes approximately the Baltimore City line to the Howard County line, and from Security Boulevard to Rolling Road. CUMC supports CEA through the Mission Committee budget as well as donations of non-perishable food, grocery gift cards, and money from the congregation. In November and December, CEA gives their clients an extra bag of Holiday food. In 2018 CEA gave food assistance to approximately 150 households in November and December. Also, due to generous donations, CEA was able to give a grocery store gift cards to each household.

Contact: Julia Rohde  410-747-1886

Chillum Youth Project (CYP)

Created in 1967, the mission of the Chillum Youth Project (near the Langley Park, MD area) specializes in helping bright at-risk children whose ability is hidden by the baggage they carry in low-income families. The purpose is to support them on their journey from kindergarten through high school so they will do well in life. Their goals are to raise sufficient funding to carry out their educational endeavor, partner with neighborhood schools and agencies to identify at-risk children in need of our services, provide quality assistance to children and their families, and maintain partnerships with service and health care agencies to ensure the well-being of their clients. The children enter the program well below grade level. Within a year, they are usually proficient and competing with more privileged students. Even first and second graders start talking about going to college, and most stay connected with CYP until they finish their education. Since the beginning of the project, several thousand young people have been helped to stay on the right path and have been encouraged to remain in school. About 85% of the alumni graduated from high school and many have gone to college and have successful careers. The Project provides young students with the opportunity to participate in a number of academic and character building activities. In the spring and fall the Project holds a program several Saturdays at a local university in which the children partner with a college student mentor. Not only do the older students help the children socially and academically, they also serve as much needed role models. In 2007, the traditional summer remedial classes were replaced with a novel approach called “Academy on Wheels” (a classroom bus). This allows the children to get away from the dangerous, crime ridden, neighborhood that they consider home. Boredom is replaced by experiencing a whole new world that helps them develop new ideas and goals for a brighter future. This is reflected through their new-found academic success when they return to school in the fall.

Contact: Ed Johnson  410-747-1886

Christmas Angels

In conjunction with CEA, Christmas gifts are provided to local Catonsville children and senior citizens in need. Children must be currently enrolled in school, attending a local school, or be of preschool age. Usually the families assisted at Christmas are the same families assisted at Thanksgiving. Church members select a gift to purchase or provide gift cards to help make Christmas a joyous time. The gifts are distributed through CEA about a week before Christmas. Grocery gift cards are also provided to the family. 

Contact Christine Call 410-747-1886

Feeding the Homeless

Food and personal hygiene items donated by church members are prepared by and transported by the CUMC Youth Group to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and distributed to the homeless.

Contact: Susan Kenney  410-747-1886

Middle High School Students Team Effort

Team Effort focuses on middle high students and their leaders in the town of Altoona, PA. The experience allows the youth to serve families and ministers to those in need though hands-on projects such as painting, home repair, roofing and building wheelchair ramps. Also local churches are served by the group to help maintain and improve their facilities and showing the love of Christ throughout an area in need. The experience helps the youth have a better understanding of servitude, appreciation for what they have, a fire for Christ with a passion for serving others, and an overall closer bond within the youth group. The youth are exposed to a life changing experience without unnecessary distractions.

Contact: Loriann Hughes  410-747-1886

Mustard Seed Project

Each fall the United Methodist Women’s Abigail Circle coordinates the Mustard Seed Project. Many church members donate homemade crafts to the project to make it a success. All proceeds directly support mission outreach for the church.

Contact: Mary Coates  410-747-1886

Night of Peace

Night of Peace is a Baltimore County homeless shelter that provides emergency shelter for families in need. Once referred, guests stay an average of three months while they work on goals such as finding employment and working with other agencies to assist in a permanent housing situation. Guests are allowed to stay overnight and are provided dinner (such as provided by the CUMC youth group on a school year monthly basis) and breakfast. In Luke 4, Jesus essentially talks about helping people who have less than you. The shelter is putting into practice what He has commanded us to do. Night of Peace has a capacity of 28 people. Each family sleeps in a cubicle, which holds two to three people. There is privacy and each cubicle has a dresser in which to store personal belongings. The shelter’s goal is to prepare each family to be able to care for themselves. They have access to showers, laundry facilities and computers. Night of Peace offers weekly classes on topics like financial/ credit building, how to write resumes, and other life skills. The shelter functions with part time staff and volunteers to assist with extra activities for the children such as tutoring, reading, assisting with crafts, and playing sports. Donations to the CUMC youth group assist as they prepare their meals for those at Night of Peace.

Contact: Loriann Hughes  410-747-1886

Rummage Sale

The United Methodist Women coordinate the collection of clothing, household items, electronics, and furniture for an annual rummage sale. Led by a Lead Volunteer, other volunteers in the church help to make this large project a success. All proceeds from the sale go directly to support mission outreach.

Contact: Church Office 410-747-1886

Thanksgiving Food Baskets

In conjunction with CEA, CUMC collects non-perishable food items and gift cards for families in need. Last year CEA gave food assistance to approximately 150 households in November and December. In November and December, CEA gives their clients an extra bag of Holiday food and gift cards.

Contact Christine Call  410-747-1886

United Methodist Men (UMM) Spaghetti Dinner

Each spring the United Methodist Men make homemade spaghetti for their spaghetti dinner. The proceeds from the dinner support the CUMC various mission projects.

Contact: Don Holler  410-747-1886

Westside Shelter

Westside Shelter is a 100+ bed facility providing shelter, food, access to showers, bathrooms, laundry, bus tokens, nursing services, referral services, and case management to homeless men in Baltimore County. Their goal is to provide a safe and secure place for men to come to terms with their present situations and provide resources that will enable them to become self-sufficient.  It is operated by Community Assistance Network and is a member agency of Community Action Partnership. Volunteers from Catonsville UMC assist the homeless men at Westside Shelter with creative art and food needs.

Contact: Ed Johnson 410-747-1886

National

Disaster Relief Volunteer in Mission (VIM) Teams

As the need arises from national disasters like Hurricane Katrina or Sandy, Disaster Relief VIM teams from CUMC form to meet the needs in specific locations. Teams use the UMVIM motto “Christian Love in Action” taken from 1 John 3:18, in which Christians are instructed to love their neighbor, not just in word but in truth and action. Living out faith through volunteerism is at the very heart of our Christian faith and calling, and it reflects the purpose that has grown out of our understanding of who we are and what we want to be: those who express “Christian Love in Action.” Team goals include working in the disaster area; participating in various construction and improvement projects and homes in the area; engaging in other types of ministries; growing in faith in Jesus Christ; and sharing Jesus with others. Although the mission is primarily to those affected by the disaster, it is important to recognize the life-changing experience that it brings to those who participate on the team.

Contact: CUMC Church Office  410-747-1886

International

Costa Rica Fisher’s of Men Ministry

Answering God’s call on his life, Steve Semler has been living in Costa Rica since 2002. After working in San Carlos with the Central Methodist Retreat Center for eight years, he is now an independent missionary in the capital, San Jose. Steve’s ministry is varied and growing. On Saturday afternoons he assists with a Bible School for children in the “precario” (part of the city in desperate need), Valle de Sol, an impoverished neighborhood formed near one of San Jose’s trash dumps. His connections in this precario have opened doors to better the homes of the residents living in this community. With donations, he has been able to fund material costs for additions and repairs to these homes. The residents and their neighbors have done the actual construction, and Steve’s mission has enabled them to help themselves. “Teach a man to fish.” In addition to helping with construction projects in Valle de Sol, during the week he works with inner city children in a Soccer Ministry and teaches English classes at their school in the Clinica Biblica downtown San Jose. He collects and hands out used clothing and household goods to adults and children.  He also works with abused children and provides them with guidance and gifts that they would not receive without his ministry. At times, teams from the US join him in ministry in San Jose. His ministry continues to grow, and the Lord is continually using him to open doors, plant seeds and invite people to grow in their relationship with Christ.

Contact: Marge Odom  410-747-1886

Guatemala VIM Team

The Guatemala VIM Teams assist the Steps of Hope ministry to support the children of Santa Maria de Jesus by assisting them and their families to live an abundant life empowered by educational opportunities and physical and spiritual assistance. Because the basic Biblical understanding is that of being called and sent is at the foundation of faith in God. The scriptures are full of stories of persons who responded to a call and were sent on mission for God. Jesus spent his ministry calling persons and sending them on God’s mission. Putting faith into action is at the very heart of Christian calling. The New Testament instructs those who would be followers of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, heal the sick, care for the widows, and nurture the children. Through the volunteer teams, they provide Vacation Bible School experiences, assist families by building separate beds for the children, roof repairs and cement floors. The vision is to positively affect the course of the children’s and families’ lives. The volunteers are able to reach out and use what God has given them in the service to others and have a life-transforming experience.

Contact: Donna and Jeff D’Arcy 410-747-1886

Steps of Hope – Guatemala

Steps of Hope ministry is led by Jessalyn Waddell. The Steps of Hope Vision is To Bring God’s Hope to the Children of Guatemala with the stated Mission as a Christian learning resource center that supports the children of Santa Maria de Jesus by assisting them and their families to live an abundant life empowered by educational opportunities. The vision is to positively affect the course of a child’s life through learning in Spanish literacy, math, English and the Bible. The Resource Center in the form of classroom instructions and providing school materials that each student needs at the beginning of the school year to be successful in their public education. The Center is also the means of connecting with the children and their families to allow them to know who God is and that He is with them even in the most difficult circumstances.

Contact: Donna and Jeff D’Arcy  410-747-1886

St. John’s Ministry in Dominican Republic

Since 2002, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Phoenix, MD, supported by several churches in the greater Baltimore area, has sent a group to San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic (DR) to share God’s love through medical clinics, children’s ministries, and work projects. The purpose of the trips is the need to relieve the suffering of the poor in the DR. In addition to providing supplies, the mission, united with Dominican Christians, seeks to carry the love of God into the lives of those who are marginalized, outcast, or even forgotten. The mission team seeks to bring and instill hope with all those served. In the process of serving others, no team member leaves the DR the same. In the midst of their hardships, the Dominican partners serve with a faith and joy that is infectious. Although the mission is primarily to the poor of the DR, it is important to recognize the life-changing experience that it brings to those who go. The DR team collects donations for the mission trips; for example, used children’s summer clothing and shoes, especially Croc’s, as they are light and versatile.

Contact: Rev. David Jacobson 410-747-1886

ANNUAL HOMELESS TRIP, WE COULD USE YOUR HELP!

During the winter, the homeless are helped by volunteers handing out bagged meals, warm clothes, blankets, backpacks, and health kits. This has become an annual event coordinated by our church. We reach out to those individuals that cannot get into a shelter at night or who will not go to a shelter. We go to them! 
Please consider helping us collect a few items :

Always Needed:

  • toothbrushes
  • mouthwash
  • toothpaste
  • razors
  • packs of socks for men and women.
  • hand warmers
  • blankets (used is fine…comforters are usually too big to carry around) Mylar blankets are great!
  • drawstring backpacks and other types (old ones are great)…they need these and often we run out very fast!
  • deodorant
  • band-aides
  • packs of individually bagged chips for the meals

NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL!
How to donate your items? Easy!
Take donations to the church at 6 Melvin Avenue, Catonsville, MD
     (ring the bell at the parking lot door between the hours of 9am and 3pm)
Questions, please call Susan Kenney 410-404-3227, or email sckenney@hazardwastepros.com