In response to God’s call in Jesus to love and serve our neighbours, the Mission & Outreach Committee of Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church works to help our congregation live out this ministry. We recognize that all are created by God and deserve to be treated with dignity, free from abuse, hunger and homelessness. By inviting speakers and providing both financial help and our presence at events, we support groups in our community, and the initiatives of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and abroad which work towards meeting these ideals now, and provide opportunities and hope for a better future.
Our church has a long history of supporting mission and outreach activities, with up to 20% of our church budget directed to local and international mission organizations. Apart from the annual support by our church for Presbyterians Sharing and the Presbytery Assessment, the Mission & Outreach Committee is responsible for coordinating and promoting our church’s mission and outreach activities.
Current and past projects and ministries supported by Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church include:
- ARISE Ministry
- Boarding Homes Ministry
- Compassion Canada
- Evangel Hall Mission
- Knox College
- Portland Place
- Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D), generally to funds designated for specific projects, including:
- Rohingya crisis
- maternal and child health in Afghanistan and Malawi
- Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities food bank
Major mission projects in recent years:
- Wells for clean water in Malawi through PWS&D ($25,000.00)
- Raise the Roofs Project – raised funds to repair GCPC roof and to put roofs on 3 churches in Malawi (almost $40,000.00)
- Raised funds for two programs under the common theme of assisting to rescue at risk youth and young adults
- A computer lab for the youth program at Evangel Hall Mission (over $11,000.00)
- ARISE program to reclaim young people involved in the sex trade ($13,000.00)
- PWS&D programs to aid Syrian refugees trapped in refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan ($20,000.00)
- Portland Place to refurbish the kitchen ($10,000.00)
Our church also raised $10,000 to address structural problems with our church’s sanctuary front windows.
Other Mission & Outreach Committee Activities:
- Mission Moments – periodically there is a speaker or presentation during a worship service to highlight to the congregation the work of charities which we support
- Christmas hampers – provide Christmas hampers for 8 needy families
- Fundraising and social events, such as chili lunches and a Caribbean dinner evening
- Photo Directory of all members of Guildwood congregation who would participate.