During the season of Lent, we practice sacrificial giving as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for each of us. The gifts received towards our Lenten offering are divided among the following local and global ministries.
Lenten Mission Offerings
During the season of Lent, we remember Christ's sacrifice and give sacrifically to the designated ministries listed below.Short Term Projects/Honduras: $2,500
Our partnership with our friends in Honduras continues to thrive into 2023. In January, a construction team of individuals from FUMC traveled to the community of Quimistan to work on the Honduras Independence Bilingual School. Your gifts support the growth and education of students in Honduras as well as allowing families to create small businesses so that they can support themselves.
Youth Missions: $6,000
This summer, June 25–30, FUMC students will travel to the community of Niagara Falls, NY, on a Youthworks mission trip. During the trip, students will support local ministries and initiatives, learn about what God is doing in that community, and dive into how service connects to their personal faith. Your gifts allow students to attend these trips and supports various student mission projects throughout the year.
Food Ministry: $7,000
Our food pantry has grown! This ministry, which served 20 families when it was founded two years ago, now serves over 70 families in some months. We recently partnered with Sysco Foods so we can buy food in bulk to provide to these families. We also purchased an industrial-sized fridge for the food pantry to store perishable items and plan to add a freezer as well. Your generosity literally puts food on families’ tables and enables us to serve more and more people each month.
UMCOR/Emergency Response: $2,000
UMCOR is an arm of the United Methodist Church that provides humanitarian aid in the wake of disasters around the globe. Fairfax UMC assists with UMCOR’s ministry by assembling hygiene kits and flood buckets that help meet the basic needs of people affected by such calamities. In October 2022, we assembled over 50 flood buckets and 300 hygiene kits. Through your giving, we continue to support UMCOR and people affected by natural disaster.
FISH: $500
FUMC supports the needy and elderly in the greater Fairfax City area through FISH (For Immediate Sympathetic Help), an all-volunteer, ecumenical outreach organization founded over 40 years ago and comprised of 14 churches located in the vicinity of Fairfax City. FISH responds to requests for life’s necessities: food, clothing, and financial assistance for delinquent rent, mortgage, utility bills, and prescriptions. Your giving allows FISH to continue meeting these many needs. If you would like to know more about this ministry or volunteer for a phone captain shift, please contact Tony Almond at almond@cox.net.