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Click here to view the Community Ministries Brochure (PDF)

Every Member CAN

Every Member CAN collects nonperishable food items for the Venable Food Pantry. How can you help?

  • Bring food items every week and deposit them in the bin located near the reception desk in the main building or in the Community Ministries office on the 2nd floor.

For more information, contact Mary Joe Dellinger at 404-228-7766 or at mjdellinger@firstpresatl.org.

Sunday Morning Prayer Breakfast

During the renovation of the kitchen and dining hall the Sunday Breakfast is being housed in a location off site and is feeding 200 persons each Sunday morning.  We hope to be back in our newly renovated facility in early October.  In the interim we are extremely limited in the number of volunteers we can use.

For more information and to find out how you can be involved when the renovation is complete, contact Mary Joe Dellinger at 404-228-7766 or at mjdellinger@firstpresatl.org.

  • Help prepare or serve breakfast one or more Sundays a month. Plan to arrive between 6 and 6:15 A.M.
  • Help clean up after breakfast any Sunday morning from 7:45 to 8:45 A.M
  • Help set up for breakfast on Saturday afternoon, or pick up donated food from vendors.

 

The Venable Food Pantry

The Venable Food Pantry distributes food to the working poor who need emergency assistance in making ends meet because of illness, temporary job loss, or reduced work time.

In one year, approximately 131,000 pounds of food is dispensed through the pantry. That's nearly 62 tons of food, and the pantry meets or exceeds that total each year. The need for food is always great, but the November and December holidays present the most critical demands. Hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1 to 3 P.M. The Food Pantry needs volunteers who can:

  • Donate a couple of hours on Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday to help interview people, pack food bags, and distribute food.
  • Help with picking up food at the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
  • Help with donations of canned goods.
  • Help one afternoon a week, packing food bags and serving clients.

For more information, contact Nita Pierce at 404-228-7724.

Men's Clothing Closet

Open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3 to 5 P.M., the Clothing Closet enables homeless men to take showers, shave, get clean clothing, and have their clothing washed. It also provides work clothing for the working poor.

The Men's Clothing Closet has an enduring need for pants and jackets, plus clothing appropriate as the weather turns colder in the fall and winter. To the security desk in the lobby of the Community Ministries building, you may:

  • Bring donations of men's clothing, especially shoes, dark pants, work pants, tee shirts and socks.
  • Bring sample size toiletry items and disposable razors.

Contact Joseph Wallace at 404-228-7766 or 404-228- 7747 for more information.

Mentoring Ministry

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 1 to 4 P.M., volunteers counsel, pray with and provide various services to help homeless men and women who are disabled. Church members may:

  • Volunteer to greet or counsel with visitors to this ministry. On-the-job training is provided.
  • Bring or provide soup or sandwiches for the guests.

To volunteer or for more information, contact Alan or Nancy Harris at 404-315-3225.

Alice Brown Art Therapy

The Alice Brown Art Therapy Ministry, provides a ministry of compassion and friendship to indigent persons with severe psychiatric disabilities. It also provides a ministry to adults living in near by highrises.

Through the use of various art materials, clients are given the opportunities to express their feelings and experiences. The group process offers the clients a safe and caring environment where acceptance and affirmation can be given and received. For more information,contact Suzanne Fincher at 404-228-7776.

Judith A. Richardson Foot Care Ministry

Every Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 5 P.M., volunteers provide footbaths and foot care for homeless men, after they have taken their showers at the Clothing Closet. Church members may:

Volunteer to provide foot care one or more Wednesdays a month. Training is provided.

Serve as a team member for the Foot Care Ministry. Purchase supplies, handle publicity and recruit volunteers.

Call Coordinator Dan Richart at 770-682-8418.

Hunger Issues Committee

First Presbyterian Church has a number of ministries in the war on hunger. Several of these ministries deal directly with hunger, and this committee helps direct all First Presbyterian Church efforts through:

  • Coordinating efforts related to the Venable Food Pantry (handle publicity, organize periodic food drives, promote Every Member CAN, and recruit volunteers).
  • Working with representatives of Project Connect to plan the Annual Empty Bowl
    Dinner, publicizing and selling tickets.
  • Promoting the Annual Hunger Walk that benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
  • Serving on the Presbyterian Answer To Hunger (PATH) Board, a long-standing ministry of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

For more information, contact Adele Shepherd at 404- 365-8876.

The Genesis Shelter

The Genesis Shelter provides transitional housing for homeless newborn babies and their families. First Presbyterian Church is one of the founding member churches of this vital ministry to newborns and their families. The program provides homeless families with shelter 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year round.

With its complement of services, Genesis Shelter helps to stabilize families by offering job training and other life skills needed to help parents meet the needs of their children and families in order to keep the family together.

For more information, contact Mary Joe Dellinger at 404-228-7766 or at mjdellinger@firstpresatl.org.

Midtown Assistance Center

Formed in 1986, the Midtown Assistance Center (MAC) comprises 10 congregations
along the Peachtree Street corridor that seek to serve the needs of the working poor in midtown Atlanta. MAC provides temporary emergency financial assistance in the form of rent, utilities, transportation, and non-perishable food. First Presbyterian Church takes a special offering each Communion Sunday for MAC.

Volunteers to help interview persons seeking assistance are always needed. For more information, contact Dorothy Chandler at 404-681-5777.

Our House

Our House is a facility that provides daycare and after-school care for the children of families living in shelters in the Decatur area. For more information, contact Mary Joe Dellinger at 404-228-7766 or at mjdellinger@firstpresatl.org.

Habitat for Humanity

Each year since the mid-1980s, First Presbyterian Church has partnered with other Atlanta churches to build one or two Habitat houses for working families in need of affordable and decent homes. Church volunteers need not be skilled, but be available to work one or more of the seven Saturdays needed to complete the house. Volunteers will enjoy a most rewarding day helping others.

Spring 2008 Habitat House 2008 Habitat

Photographs of the Dedication of Spring Habitat House -
Special thanks to the many volunteers who helped, Ms. Diane Jones, her son, daughter and mother will be moving in mid-June to their brand new four-bedroom, two-bathroom Habitat home in Southwest Atlanta. Their beautiful, energy-efficient home, located in a well-kept, established neighborhood, was completed on Saturday, May 17th, by First Presbyterian Church volunteers in partnership with volunteers from four other Atlanta churches.

Those who volunteered are:  Quillan Arico, Lisa Arico, Bill Barber, Kacy Brubaker, Chip Bullock, Sean Bullock, Frank Brannon, Andy Burran, Susan Burran, Dan Chandler, Harrilee Cheshire, Jennifer Cowart, Bill Duke, Norman DuPre, Bill Earnest, Jennifer Farmer, Thomas Farmer, Daniell Gilbert, Tom Gordon, Carrie Hughes, Tommy Hughes, Ruth Ann Little, Susan Loftis, Eddie Newsome, Doug Orr, Cindy Pfeifer, Alex Piper, Don Piper, Karl Powers, Greg Smith, Mike Stashak, Sarah Stashak, Matthew Traylor, Renee Tveraas, Terry Tveraas, Gail White, Knox Wilmer, Jim Wise.  Charles Black, Connie Lee, Laura Kite, Susan Prutzman, Charlotte Shields and other members of the First Presbyterian/Hillside Presbyterian Partnership provided delicious lunches served to the construction volunteers.

First Presbyterian volunteers will help build another Habitat home later this year.  Contact Bill Earnest (williammearnest@yahoo.com or 404/351-8030) for more information.

Multi-Faith House completed December 2, 2007 by Christians, Jews, and Muslims.


Open Door Community

The Open Door Community is a ministry where resident volunteers and staff live with the disadvantaged and poor. They advocate for the homeless as well as provide meals, showers and clothing. They also are involved in prison ministry.
For more information, contact Mary Joe Dellinger at 404-228-7766 or at mjdellinger@firstpresatl.org.

Visitation Program for Childern in Foster Care

This ministry, a collaborative effort between the Fulton County Juvenile Court, the Fulton County DFCS and First Presbyterian Church, offers the opportunity for birth parents and children in state custody to visit each other. The goal of the program is to help prepare families for reunification. In its first year, the Visitation Program witnessed several reunifications of children with families.

  • Volunteers are trained by the Court to observe visits and complete reports that are forwarded to the Court.
  • Volunteers commit to two Thursday evenings per month to supervise a visit, to greet the families, or to coordinate volunteers.

For more information, contact Sally Cannon at 404.467.7765 or at sallycannon@mindspring.com.

Jamaica Partnership

In a unique relationship, First Presbyterian Church and Hillside Presbyterian Church have formed a joint effort to work with the people of Jamaica to develop a friendship and share our mutual gifts as we get to know each other on a personal level. This is not a mission of giving, but one of learning from each other and building relationships.

Frequent trips to Jamaica by a team from both churches will develop a bond that will transcend cultural, economic, and political differences. For more information, contact Connie Lee at 404-228- 7741.

Atlanta Enterprise Center Employment Program

Founded in 1984 and now a partner ministry of First Presbyterian Church, Atlanta
Enterprise Center (AEC) provides homeless and other high risk persons with opportunities for self-sufficiency through job readiness training and assistance in finding and holding full time jobs. Through counseling and clients' acceptance of personal responsibility, AEC has helped 1,141 persons gain full time employment over the past 3 years.

Contact Jim Morgens at 404-364-0967 to volunteer to help with office duties or to learn more.

 

Edna Raine Wardlaw Coker Women's Shelter

The Edna Raine Wardlaw Coker Women's Shelter provides a safe, supportive transitional living environment for guests with the goal of achieving self sufficiency in an independent living situation. The Shelter accommodates up to 12 guests at any time, serving over 60 women per year. Each year over 150 volunteers participate by spending the night, bringing dinner, or serving as coordinators for the volunteer calendars. [more information]

  • Volunteer to spend the night at the Shelter (two volunteers stay each evening, and many come with their family, including children). New volunteers work paired with an experienced spend-the-night volunteer.
  • Volunteer to bring dinner for our guests and volunteers (max. 15 persons).
  • Volunteer to serve as a coordinator who calls the food or overnight volunteers to remind them of their assigned day.

To volunteer, call Gail Ramey at 404-228-7767 or email her at garamey@mindspring.com. For more information on the Shelter or volunteer opportunities, call Harrilee Cheshire at 404-355-3930.