FoxChaseIndex

Memorial Presbyterian Church of Fox Chase

7902 Oxford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111

Phone (215) 745-2844
Fax (215) 745-2205

Mission

Mission is one of the most important parts of our witness. God calls us to do more than worship. We are called to action in service to our Lord. That service takes the form of volunteering as well as the devotion of our material and fiscal resources. The donation of our facilities has been a long standing mission. If you want to understand the values of this congregation, look at the works we support.

Aid for Friends	Alcoholics Anonymous
Cents-Ability (2¢ a Meal)	Church World Service
Community Care Center at the Northeast	Girl Scouts and Brownies
Greater Philadelphia Food Bank	Habitat for Humanity
Heifer Project International	Literacy
Medical Benevolence Foundation	One Great Hour of Sharing
Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness	Philadelphia Protestant Home
PresbyHomes & Services	Redcross Bloodmobile

Aid for Friends

Aid for Friends is a non-profit agency that provides meals, visits, and other services to over 2200 shut-ins in the Greater Philadelphia area. The Deacons of our congregation support Aid for Friends through their budget, and by preparing breakfast bags of non-perishable items that are distributed to the elderly.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alocoholics Anonymous is an organization dedicated to supporting sobriety among its members. Our congregation supports this ministry through the donation of our facilities. AA meets in our fellowship hall every Wednesday and Friday at 7:00PM. You are welcome to attend. The link above will direct you to the Alcoholics Anonymous web site for information about their program.

Cents-Ability

Formerly 2¢ a Meal, The Cents-Ability program promotes donations to stop hunger. The simple thought that donating as little as two cents per meal can add up is remarkable. Since the inception of this program, our congregation has donated over 500,000 cents, or $5,000.

Church World Service

Church World Service is an international organization focused on relief, development and refugee ministries. They work to meet human needs and foster self-reliance overseas, and in the United States they provide disaster relief. Our congregation participates in the "Gift of the Heart" program, donating items for baby kits and school kits.

Community Care Center of the Northeast

Community Care Center at the Northeast is a community based agency that provides Christian nursing care to the elderly and homebound. We are proud to support their work through our annual budget.

Girls Scouts and Brownies

We celebrate Scouting Sunday by including our local troop in worship. This congregation also supports Girl Scouting through the donation of our facilites. Several troops meet in our Fellowship Hall. To learn more about Girl Scouts click on the link above.

Greater Philadelphia Food Bank

Greater Philadelphia Food Bank is a primary source of nourishing food for many of our neighbors. We support "Baby Manna," a program that provides infant formula to babies in need.

Habitat for Humanity

Featured as part of our Alternative Gift Program, we collect contributions to Habitat for Humanity during the Advent season as a way to refocus the meaning of giving. Habitat for Humanity builds houses for needy families every week of the year throughout the United States and in many other countries. Habitat's unique shared-work program helps the needy help themselves.

Heifer Project International

Heifer Project International works by giving animals to individual and groups of farmers who request assistance. During the Advent season, we feature Heifer Project International as one of our Alternative Gifts and collect donations in order to further Heifer Project's mission of eliminating hunger around the world by training individuals and groups for self-reliance.

Literacy

In 1991, the Mayor's Commission on Literacy identified a need for a tutoring program in our neighborhood, and contacted our church as a possible site. In response to that need, our Literacy Tutoring Program began in 1992 under the leadership of Marguerite Kroekel. More than ten years later, our program is still going strong. Our program encompasses three adult literacy areas: ABE (Adult Basic Education), GED (General Education Diploma), and ESL (English as a Second Language). We average about 20 students a year, and each student receives one-on-one tutoring sessions once a week. Tutoring services are completely free, and all of our tutors are volunteers. Potential students are referred to us by the Mayor's Commission on Literacy, or they may contact the site coordinator, Marguerite Kroekel, by calling the church office at 215-745-2844. The program runs from mid-September through mid-June. Tutoring sessions are held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30 to 11:00 am, and Monday evening from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, and other accommodations can sometimes be arranged. Due to limitations in space and number of tutors, we meet each student once a week. We are currently maintaining a waiting list of students, and so we are in need of tutors for all areas of adult literacy. The Mayor's Commission has tutor training classes throughout the year. For more information, please call the church office.

Medical Benevolence Foundation

The Medical Benevolence Foundation is another part of our Alternative Gift Program during the Advent season. The foundation is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (USA), and its mission is to support the healing ministries of worldwide partners. Our gifts help obtain and ship medical supplies overseas, and recruit physicians and volunteers for health care programs outside of the United States.

One Great Hour of Sharing

One of the four major offerings of the Presbyterian Church, One Great Hour of Sharing is an ecumenical offering that promotes the feeding of the hungry and disaster relief. Born out of the post WWII famine, OGHS has benefited the hungry since 1949. For more information about how this offering is used, use the link above to connect to the PCUSA page supporting the offering.

Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness

The Philadelphia Committee to End Homlessness has a mission to work toward the elimination of homelessness. They do this by encouraging the development of neccesary resources in the public and private sectors including housing, income, health care and other basic life supports, and by raising and maintaining public awareness of the causes of homelessness in a way that contributes to its elimination.

Philadelphia Protestant Home

Philadelphia Protestant Home is a home for older adults living in the Lawndale neighborhood. Over 500 adults reside in both independent and assisted living facilities. Our annual budget includes a gift to PPH to help support care for elderly residents.

Philadelphia Society for Service to Children

Philadelphia Society for Services to Children is a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of child abuse, neglect and abandonment. A wide variety of voluntary programs are offered to families at risk. Our congregation supports PSSC through our annual Benevolence budget, and during Advent through our participation in their "Angel Tree" program, in which children are provided with holiday gifts.

PresbyHomes & Services

PresbyHomes & Services is a mission of the Presbyterian Church that supports senior living and promotes quality of life issues for seniors. Please visit their web site to find a listing of their facilities and explore their rich mission.

Red Cross Bloodmobile

We support the American Red Cross through biannual blood drives held at the church, once in the fall and again each spring. Through the providence of God's grace our fall 2001 blood drive was scheduled for September 11. By afternoon, the church was filled with people eager to give blood.

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