MISSION TRIPS
Mission work is a cornerstone of Youth Ministries here at First Congregational United Church of Christ. We believe that given the chance, our youth will grow their walk with God in leaps and bounds when working in the Mission Field. Hands-on connections with peers and adults from our own Congregation, as well as with folks from the communities they are serving, give our youth a tangible and meaningful role in the Body of Christ. These experiences are nothing short of life-altering.
DuPAGE PADS
This program designs, implements and manages programs and services for men, women and children who are homeless in DuPage County.
The development of the services provided over the years has worked to:
- Advocate against barriers that cause homelessness.
- Encourage responsibility and offer opportunities for self-sufficiency.
- Share knowledge with the community.
- Vital to this commitment is our collaboration with religious and community groups in DuPage County.
GLOBAL MINISTRIES
Global Ministries is the common witness of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) responsible for ministering to God’s people in need with and through over 270 partner churches and organizations in about 70 countries around the world. Never before have two denominations partnered together to more efficiently do global mission through a common structure.
Global Ministries Mission Statement: We commit ourselves to a shared life in Christ and to an ecumenical global sharing of resources and prophetic vision of a just and peaceful world order, joining with God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. This commitment will be reflected in common decision-making for mission program which will visibly witness to the oneness of mission in and through the Church of Jesus Christ.
DE COLORES
Children from more than six surrounding suburbs come together for a week of fun and interactive activities. This program introduces youngsters to specking and listening to Spanish while also learning about Latin America and the Caribbean. The program is entering its fifth year and has been steadily growing. First Congregational United Church of Christ in Elmhurst is proud to be living out its mission to equip children to be Global Citizens.
Grace Café
Several years ago, a group of community churches launched a Lenten program called Food, Faith and Fasting. From this was born the Grace Café, churches working together to provide free meals for those in need. This program began because there was a need – people going hungry right here in our community. It is run September – June every other Monday evening here in Elmhurst. There are 25 churches that participate, each hosting one or more of the evenings throughout year.
Grace Café is a night on which we open our doors to the Elmhurst community and serve a delicious, hot meal to anyone who wants to come in. While there are food pantries to turn to, this is meant to be a special night-out where people can find not just food, but a home-cooked meal and camaraderie with people who care. We serve 50-60 guests and our volunteers help to set up, clean up, serve, provide meal items and/or come and join in to simply make our guests feel welcome. This is a wonderful opportunity to help serve those in need in our community and we find it very rewarding.
GREEN TEAM MINISTRIES
The Green Team is a ministry team to work on issues and projects to help our congregation and our community become more environmentally aware and make some changes to become more energy-efficient. The goal is to make us a leader in our faith and in our community in implementing and sharing ideas to better protect the world the Lord has blessed us with.
The Tree of Life Green Team seeks to:
- Make the facilities of First Congregational UCC of Elmhurst more environmentally friendly;
- Make our congregation more environmentally aware;
- Work with other churches and community organizations to advocate better use of environmental resources
