Third Presbyterian plans events to support mission work
?Third Presbyterian Church in Uniontown is serious about missions.
“We’ve done 14 trips since 2006,” said congregation member Marilyn Fitzsimmons. “Our first trip was to Kenya in Africa. We’ve made five trips to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, three trips to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where there was flooding, two trips to Galveston, Texas, after Hurricane Ike and two trips to Chinle, Arizona and a trip earlier this year to Haiti.”
Why so involved in missions?
“Because that’s our call,” said Fitzsimmons. “Jesus expects us to help each other – not just in Uniontown and Fayette County because we do that, but our brothers and sisters are all over the world.”
“We have signs up as you are leaving our driveway – ‘You are now entering the mission field’ – because it’s anywhere,” said congregation member Denise Engel, who noted with Fitzsimmons that they borrowed the idea from other churches who share their same philosophy.
In fact, Third Presbyterian, located at 425 Union St., is planning to lead another mission team to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Az., in September. They will put a roof on a building that is leased as a day treatment facility for schizophrenic patients. Last year, they put in eight new thermal windows.
They are traveling back to Haiti in February where one team will fly to Cap-Haitian to put a roof on a missionary’s home and another will travel to Port-au-Prince to build a home out of concrete blocks for a Hatian family.
Missionaries pay for their own transportation, food and lodging but the church is raising money to pay for supplies for these projects, including a benefit auction in August and an evening of singing hymn and praise songs in September.
The church will host The Best Auction Ever 2011 at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27 with auctioneer Sandy Brittingham of Rittenhouse Auction Co.
Fitzsimmons and Engel, who are co-chairwomen of the auction, explained there are items such as a banjo, black-and-gold afghan and outdoor flags as well as a free loaf of bread each week for a year from Panera.
The committee is also setting up packages from cities throughout the country. Most will include a hotel stay as well as tickets for attractions and/or merchandise. Some of the cities include Philadelphia with tickets to the National Constitution Center and Please Touch Museum, Baltimore with Raven merchandise, Cumberland with tickets to the Western Maryland Railroad Historic Tour, Kentucky with tickets for the Creation Museum, Branson, Mo., with three sets of show tickets as well as New Orleans, New York City and Ohio.
There are tickets to attractions in Fayette County as well as Pittsburgh, including the Pittsburgh Zoo, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Pittsburgh museums.
There will be about 100 items for sale. Patrons can visit the church office the week before to see a booklet listing the items. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 27 to register and also look at the booklet. No credit cards are accepted at the sale. Light refreshments will be available for sale.
Fitzsimmons said that people have been very responsive to the requests for items.
“They feel they are a part of our team,” she said.
“I Love to Tell the Story: A Time of Inspirational Singing and Praising Our God” will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 in the sanctuary. A freewill offering for the mission work will be taken.
The event will offer appearances by local talent, including Paul and Barb Cramer, Kenann Hruby and Still Waters plus the Rev. Chris Enoch, the chancel choir and the praise band of Third Presbyterian.
Fitzsimmons said, “The main reason is to praise God. We want to come together in an evening of singing. Our sanctuary will hold 500 people and we’d love to see it full.”
For more information on these events or the mission work, call 724-366-4068.