As a congregation, we decided to designate $150,000 of our Capital Campaign resources to support our church’s mission “beyond our walls”.
At the Fall Church Meeting this Sunday, October 13, the Missions Committee is bringing a recommendation to the congregation that one half of our Capital Campaign Community Connections funds ($75,000) go to Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN) to support the building of the Welcome Center at Catawba Trail Farm. On September 18, the Missions Committee emailed detailed information to the congregation about this proposal and why the Missions Committee is so enthusiastic about partnering with UCAN. A church supper/presentation by the Missions Committee and UCAN staff/board members was held on Wednesday, October 9 and Watts Streeters are invited to volunteer/visit the farm on Saturday, October 12 at 9 a.m.
The Missions Committee also recommends that the remaining $75,000 go into a Missions Restricted Fund for now. This gives us time for the Capital Campaign donations to come in (which may take up to 3 years), see what needs emerge in this time period (acknowledging that the upcoming election may have a significant impact on social service needs), and do more research on how our funds can have the biggest impact.
If you have questions for the Missions Committee, please contact committee chair Allyn Damman (allyn.meredith@gmail.com) or staff liaison Kelly Sasser (kelly@wattsstreet.org).