Our main local mission is Loaves & Fishes Ministry, cooking for the homeless at the Baptist run City Rescue Mission in Hammond, Indiana. Westminster coordinates over 25 various churches and organizations to make sure the men at the shelter have lunch and dinner every day.  Westminster's teams prepare and deliver at least 1200 meals each month.

 

 

We are working with Heart for Africa to help educate and feed AIDS orphans in Swaziland Africa.  Since Christmas we have made over 800 hats for these children to be given at a grand celebration in July. 

 

One of our church members is from Haiti with family living in Port a Prince, so an immediate response for money and goods brought in over $47,000 which was donated to Doctors without Borders, the International Red Cross, Yele Foundation and the World Food Program.  We have been very supportive of the relief efforts.

 

Our youth are also currently working with Barefoot4Haiti, a ministry of Soles4Souls to collect shoes for the people of Haiti. I participated in the Webinar on Haiti last month and we are looking into a future mission trip once organization and structure is in place, perhaps, in 2011.

 

At the present time, our congregation is corresponding with the Rev. Mary Ferris in Romania. One of the youth on our Mission Team is an adopted orphan from Siberia- thus our response to New Opportunities for Romanian Orphaned Children and Mary Ferris' ministry in Romania.  At present, we have not sent money, but have chosen to pursue a relationship with her as Westminster's adopted mission co-worker. This correspondence began in January, 2010 and I am eagerly awaiting more information.  All I have is a recent newsletter. I participated in our presbytery's Mission Co Worker presentations while serving on our presbytery (Wabash Valley) Council.  We hope to build on this relationship.

 

Institute for Theological Education of Bahia (ITEBA)

Westminster also supports the Institute for Theological Education of Bahia (ITEBA), an independent ecumenical seminary for impoverished Indian, black, female and poor people in Bahia, Brazil. We have had several individuals including our past and present pastors participating in mission trips to ITEBA.  Though supported by a grant from Presbyterian Women a few years ago, ITEBA is not included in the Mission Giving Opportunities for some reason. Sherron George, the regional liaison for South America would be the person with information about ITEBA in northeast Brazil.

 

We also support The Servant's Heart, a mission in Guatemala, formerly headed by a local Munster woman who began a ministry to the women and children of the Guatemala City Dump. We are not as actively involved in this mission project as it has changed it's location to another part of Guatemala and re-defined it's ministry to poor women and children in Amititlan, Guatemala. Our church scool sponsors a child associated with The Servant's Heart.