Local Missions
As part of the community of the new covenant with Jesus Christ, we reach out with Christian love and compassion to meet human needs locally, nationally and globally.
Guiding Principles:
1. Sharing our resources, we give priority to agencies, organizations and individuals that work to alleviate hunger, poor health, lack of shelter and poverty.
2. We are accountable for our decisions and funding, evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of the agencies, programs and projects we support.
3. We actively seek the time, treasure and talents of the congregation to meet our mission objectives and apply these resources to realize the greatest good.
4. We strive to communicate effectively with our congregation and the community to educate, gain support and increase participation in meeting human needs.
Missions News - Updated December 1, 2023
Our missionary Ellyn Dubberly, sends the latest news of her work in El Salvador. You can read her reports here: September 2023 Mission Report – Part 1 and September 2023 Mission Report – Part 2.
Read the latest report of missionaries Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena, and “Give Ye Them to Eat,” the impressive community development project near Puebla, Mexico–a United Methodist Global Ministries Advance Special in part supported by Central:
CENTRAL SUPPORTING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN MEXICO
Our Missions Council is providing limited funding for four “Advance Special” projects this year. Advance Specials are a long-standing mission outreach of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, by which congregations or individuals may contribute funds through the Board directly to projects they choose or have a personal knowledge of. We have chosen four this year–Give Ye Them to Eat (GYTTE) in Mexico, Grace Children’s Hospital in Haiti, Mission for Migrant Workers in Hong Kong, and Justice for Our Neighbors, a migrant ministry here in the United States. We will be sharing news from each of these from time to time.
First, GYTTE, which is an integrated development program in Puebla, Mexico, run by a Mexican staff, accompanied by veteran United Methodist missionaries Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena. It consists of: a life training center offering workshops on construction skills and appropriate technologies; the raising of goats, turkeys and chickens; irrigation for a garden for vegetables, bananas, and papaya; and most recently repair of roads and water pipes from storm damage.
CENTRAL EQUIPS CLINIC IN KENYA
In a collaborative effort between the Missions Council and our Reconciling Ministries Group, Central has recently provided funding to equip a medical clinic operated by the Moheto UMC in Kenya. Moheto, pastored by Rev. Kennedy Mwita–the first Reconciling Congregation in all of Africa (there is now a second, also in Kenya)–has an extensive community development program serving the people in its vicinity. The church displays a large sign in front, similar to Central’s ad, proclaiming its welcome of all persons.
Their clinic needed lab equipment to be able to test patients for flu and malaria (they have not yet received Covid test kits from the government). So, once our funds were received, they began providing this service. Our grant qualified them to receive government funds to pay medical personnel to staff the clinic. Not only has this provided a much-needed service in the name of Jesus, but it has also attracted many new persons to the church so that they are now building a much larger sanctuary to accommodate up to 800 worshippers.
This project originated with the visit to Central more than a year ago of Ms. Leah Wandera from Kenya, here for deaconess training at Brooks-Howell Home (Leah is now an MDiv candidate at Drew Theological Seminary). Ms. Wandera told our Reconciling group about the Moheto church, and later put us in touch with Rev. Mwita.
This developed into a series of monthly Zoom meetings (which are continuing), during which he shared by Power Point their impressive community development efforts. We expressed our support of their inclusive witness in the face of predictable opposition, and we became quite well acquainted. Ms. Wandera then connected us with the treasurer of the Kenya-Ethiopia Annual Conference, who facilitated the electronic transfer of funds, which represented a grant from the Missions Council augmented by individual contributions. We expect the relationship to continue, as it has been a blessing and learning experience both ways. “God works in mysterious ways God’s wonders to perform!”
Congregations for Children
C4C is a partnership of people and projects dedicated to transforming the lives of children and their families through nutrition, education, provisions, and opportunity.
C4C’s Current Projects Include:
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Angel Tree—Christmas gifts are provided to children and youth at Black Mountain Children’s Home and Eliada Home to match their Christmas Wish Lists.
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Dorm Room Sponsors—College dorm room supplies are provided to graduating seniors preparing to attend college but whose budgets do not include housing extras.
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Emma Community Market Partnership—CUMC and community volunteers gather at Emma United Methodist Church on the 1st Monday of each month to support the Emma Community Market partners by assisting with the assembly and distribution of food boxes for families.
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Food Supply Drive—Food and grocery store gift cards are collected in November and early December for distribution in mid-December to local families in the Emma community through the Emma Resource Center.
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Reading Buddies and the Book Barns—The Reading Buddies Program is a partnership between volunteers, Emma Elementary School students, teachers and an on-site reading specialist. Students are matched with a volunteer in a supervised coaching collaboration that provides support to young readers in grade levels K-4. The Book Barns are “drive by” small libraries in two locations on the Emma campus and provide bilingual reading materials for any Emma student to select a book.
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School Supply Drive—School supplies are purchased, collected and provided in a resource cupboard at Emma Elementary School for students throughout the school year.
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Summer Food Service Program—A Federally funded Summer lunch program in which volunteers feed children weekly from mid-June to mid-August at specified sites across the Asheville area.
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Teacher Appreciation—CUMC volunteers put on special Thank You events for Emma Elementary School teachers whose dedication and service to their students inspire us all.
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Winter Coats and Accessories—Winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves are purchased, gathered and distributed to Emma Elementary School students.
To join the family of volunteers supporting C4C projects, please contact Peter Barrett for Reading Buddies and Mary Beth Tanner for the other projects at Central UMC’s C4C general contact email: <c4c@centralumc.org>
Haywood St. Congregation
In November 2006, Central United Methodist Church and Haywood Street United Methodist Church merged, creating two campuses under the name of Central United Methodist Church. CUMC made the commitment to maintain the historic Haywood Street Church building and use the Haywood Street Campus for mission-oriented activity.
In 2009, Rev. Brian Combs came to Asheville. Understanding his call to be in ministry with folks on the margins, Rev. Combs spent his first four months here in the soup line and under the bridge, staying overnight at the shelter, loitering downtown with an ear bent towards the cracks of poverty, always listening for the voice of Jesus among the disinherited. And what he heard was, “Offer me a congregation of absurd grace, a meal of scandalous abundance, a kingdom glance of heaven on earth.”
And so began the Haywood Street Congregation.
CUMC offered space for the new ministry on its Haywood Street Campus, and many CUMC members lent time and talent toward developing it. Haywood Street Congregation was formally established as a UMC mission congregation in Spring 2010. CUMC continues to be its most significant ministry partner.
There are many opportunities for involvement at Haywood Street Congregation, with the church’s core programs:
• Downtown Welcome Table
• Haywood Street Respite
• Haywood Outfitters Clothing Closet
• Loaves and Fishes Bountiful Garden
• Prayer Ministry
Worship with communion takes place in the sanctuary on the Haywood Street Campus each Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:15 p.m – all are welcome!
For more information, visit www.haywoodstreet.org or attend an orientation on the first Monday of any month at 5 p.m. We are located at 297 Haywood St. in downtown Asheville, on the corner of Patton Ave. and Haywood St.
International Missions
Central United Methodist Church reaches out in Christian love and compassion to meet the needs of people in the United States and around the world by:
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Providing financial support and volunteer assistance for numerous local agencies and national projects.
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Sending work teams and ongoing financial support around the world to places like Casa de Esperanza in Bolivia.