Mission
 Westminster Presbyterian Church
 
Your Hometown Church in the Heart of North Dallas
 
 
As individuals and as a congregation, Westminster members answer the call to mission. We are a family and fellowship where everyone, young and old, work together to feed, clothe and serve as a witness to God's caring intention for His creation. Strongly committed to global, national and regional missions through the PCUSA, we are actively involved in local mission with our time, talents and treasures to demonstrate God's love and our commitment to His purpose.  General Mission Westminster Church supports the General mission activities of the General Assembly, Synod and Grace Presbytery. Through the General Assembly we provide Directed Mission Support to Scott & Melanie Smith, Presbyterian Missionaries currently serving in India. Scott grew up in Westminster. He is the son of Westminster members and the grandson of deceased members. ALL CHURCH Workdays / Events At Westminster Mission is a verb. We gather frequently to live that. Check our Church Calendar for current and upcoming activities. info@wpcd.org MELANIE & SCOTT SMITH Read about their mission work in India. Mel’s Musings http://www.pcusa.org/http://www.synodsun.com/http://www.gracepresbytery.com/http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/smiths.htmCalendar.htmlmailto:info@wpcd.orgMission_files/Mel%27s%20Musings.pdfMission_files/MEL%E2%80%99S%20MUSINGS.docshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7
 
Austin Street Centre Austin Street Centre for the Homeless is a residential, pastoral care program offering help and hope to 350+ men, women and children each day. The Centre provides a Christian caring community by providing a safe, clean, comfortable environment for those wishing to get off the streets and needing help in returning to the larger community. Persons staying at the Centre are provided with their basic needs such as; food, showers, clothing, personal items and over-the-counter medications. One hundred and twenty different churches, schools, and service organizations provide food. In addition to the core services, Austin Street provides medical and psychiatric clinics. Each third Sunday of the month, Westminster makes and delivers 250-600 individually wrapped sandwiches to the Austin Street Centre to feed street people in Dallas. Sunday School classes, the Choir, Committees, the Preschool, Youth, Vacation Bible School children and other groups take the lead each month. Westminster provides direct financial support, clothes/glasses/personal toiletries, sandwiches, and volunteer hours to Austin Street Centre. Boy Scout Troop 35  Boy Scouts of America Troop 35 is over 70 years old and is based in the University Park area. Troop 35 memberships are available to boys who have earned the Arrow of Light Award, have completed the fifth grade, or who are 11 through 17 years old. The Troop meets every Monday night at the church from 7:00 to 8:00pm. The Troop participates in camping or excursion activities once a month besides joining with Westminster in several mission projects through out the year. The Troop participates in other community activities and projects like scouting for food, delivering food bags and then collecting the filled ones in the Park Cities, tree planting and conservation, and service projects at the Buckner's Boys Home. The Troop provides the Scouts programs for effective character, citizenship, and personal fitness training. Westminster sponsors a Scout Sunday each February. English Learning Project At Westminster The English Learning Project (ELP) provides inexpensive English classes to those who have a desire to learn. Classes are held at Westminster 2 mornings a week, September through May. Students are placed in specific classes depending upon their skill level. The Basic Class is for those who speak no English. Levels I, II and III gradually move students to more advanced language abilities, and Level IV polishes their English skills. Students graduating form Level IV are ready to go out into the work force. The teachers are dedicated volunteers who make a commitment of 4 hours per week in the classroom, plus the preparation time. Teachers do not need to speak Spanish and over the years of this program there have been very few bilingual teachers. ELP is a well established, low cost program. It greatly benefits many in need that may not be able to afford English Language programs. Good Shepherd Community Center The Good Shepherd Community Center is located in West Dallas. The center serves as a preschool and daycare program for primarily Hispanic children. Good Shepherd maintains food and clothing supplies for those in need as well. Westminster families and classes give clothes, food and gifts to Good Shepherd families needing some help providing for Christmas. Westminster provides direct financial support and volunteer hours to the Good Shepherd Community Center. Grace Presbyterian Village  Located in Oak Cliff, this outstanding retirement village and nursing home is owned and operated by Grace Presbytery. Grace Presbyterian Village commits to care for its residents regardless of their ability to pay. As a longtime partner, Westminster supports GPV though direct financial support, special offerings, volunteer hours and special events for our loved ones at the Village. North Dallas Shared Ministries For 25 years, North Dallas Shared Ministries (NDSM) has given a hand-up and transitional help to Dallas' working poor, elderly and unemployed. An outreach service of 46 congregations of multiple faiths, last year NDSM's 500 volunteers screened and tracked 53,491 individuals with services including: food, rent and utility assistance; clothing, medical/dental/vision services, employment and other counseling, ESL and adult literacy classes, transportation, school supplies and advocacy services. The underlying goal of all programs is to help clients help themselves to the degree they are able. Over 88% of contributions to NDSM directly aid its clients. Westminster provides direct financial support, food, clothing and over 1500 volunteer hours per year to NDSM. Presbyterian Children's Home and Services  Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services began in 1903 as an orphanage. This ministry has changed and expanded to meet the differing needs of children and families in crisis today. PCHS serves children who have suffered neglect, abuse, and abandonment, or children whose families are experiencing a family crisis such as the death of a parent, divorce, illness, violence, homelessness, parental alcohol or drug abuse, and other issues, which threaten family stability. Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services has 5 Basic Components: • Group Homes - Family-style homes, serving 6-8 children per home, with trained professional childcare staff who provides a nurturing environment for children to practice positive behaviors and healthy family relationships. • Foster Care - Provides individual foster family care to children from birth through 18 (or high school graduation). • Child and Family Programs - Provides crisis intervention and family preservation services. • Advanced Education and After-Care Services - Gives youth who have aged out of PCHAS care support and guidance as they continue their education or enter the work force. • Single Parent and Child Programs - Offers transitional support and life skills training for single parents and their children. Bright Futures  Bright Futures is a Westminster Presbyterian Church mission that ministers to young adults' individual needs after graduation from high school and leaving the Presbyterian Children's agency residence. Working with Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services, our congregation offers friendship and a support system for kids in our area, because many have no nurturing family support. Our efforts include care packages to let college kids know somebody is thinking about them, high school graduation celebrations, Christmas gifts, short-term loans, financial and life skills counseling, and responses to other needs and concerns. The Stewpot The purpose of the Stewpot ministry is to address the needs of the whole person, such as food, clothing, shelter, employment and self-esteem. In addition to providing the nourishing meals that its name implies, it protects the homeless from the chills of winter and the heat of Texas summer. On average, The Stewpot serves over 400 meals (lunch) daily. In the calendar year 2002, 98,078 meals were served. From 1975 to the present, The Stewpot has served over 1.8 million meals. The Stewpot, located at 1822 Young Street (at the corner of Young and Park) is open daily from 7 a.m. (winter) or 8 a.m. (summer) to 12 noon and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Coffee and doughnuts in the morning and a free noon meal are available to all homeless people in the downtown area. In addition to noon meals, the Stewpot provides the following services: • Medical and psychiatric care • Free dental clinic, treating more than 3,500 patients each year • Mail room service for those with no other permanent address • Casework assistance to obtain legal documentation for work or benefits • Drug and alcohol programs • Representative payee program for clients eligible for benefit payments • Year-round educational and recreational programs for inner-city children Westminster provides direct financial support and volunteer hours to The Stewpot. Visiting Nurses Association / Meals On Wheels  The VNA provides Home Healthcare. Hospice Services, Maternal and Children's Care, Long-term Care, Eldercare and Alzheimer's and Homemaker Services to families in the North Central Texas area. Westminster provides direct financial support to the Visiting Nurses Association. Meals on Wheels delivers more than 2,600 nutritious hot meals to homebound ill, elderly and disabled persons in Dallas County each day. In 2002, 3,849 clients received 696,603 home-delivered meals prepared in VNA's Beatrice M. Haggerty Kitchen. Westminster makes a direct financial contribution to Meals on Wheels and members drive/deliver two meal routes per month. Theological Education Westminster Presbyterian Church supports many Presbyterian Seminaries through the PCUSA Theological Education Fund. http://www.austinst.org/http://www.gsccweb.org/http://www.ndsm.org/http://www.pchas.org/http://www.presbyterians.org/stewpot/http://www.vnatexas.org/http://www.pcusa.org/seminaries/funds.htmshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3shapeimage_3_link_4shapeimage_3_link_5shapeimage_3_link_6