Mission, Social Concerns Committee (2006)

It has been a hectic but rewarding year. I sincerely thank my committee for all their help and enthusiasm: Janet Gunkler, Vice Chair, Madelyn Jagger, Irene Fadden, Marie Curran, Sylvia Lyon, Rochelle Morse, Ruth Dantz, and Bernita Jones.

Over half of the budget for Social Concerns goes directly to the Presbytery for Mission projects. We continued to provide funds to a number of other local missions as well such as the Good Neighbor Fund, Habitat for Humanity and the Food Pantry.

The major highlight and focus for Social Concerns this year was the visitation of Pastor Ricardo and his wife, Marta Leydi from our partner church in Chemutal, Mexico in May. Randy Kennard was and continues to be instrumental in the ongoing fellowship with this wonderful Presbyterian community. The pastor and his wife enjoyed home visitations, a boat ride on the Canal, a beautiful potluck supper featuring a very funny presentation from our own Jim Bush, and even a visit to the Mayor’s office. Pastor Ricardo assisted in our service and how lucky we were to have an interim pastor that is quite fluent in Spanish. On behalf of Social Concerns, many thanks to the numerous members of our congregation that made their visit such a success. I was very proud to call Western Presbyterian Church my home.

The Angel Tree project continues to grow. This year over 80 families with a total of 214 children will be served. Technology has made this project a little easier to manage as all labels for the angels are generated through a database, eliminating the handwriting of over 200 labels. Working on the Angel Tree project has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had while serving on Social Concerns. If you have never participated, I urge you to get involved in some way next year. Many thanks to the Lions Club for making all our deliveries and to the staff and kids at Creative Environment for cutting out our angels.

Faithfully yours,

Alicia M. Lynch