Mission & Justice
St. Croix Valley
Elementary Tutoring and Snack Packs
Our members tutor students in math and reading at local schools, who blossom with one-on-one attention from tutors. The Snack Pack Program provides healthy shelf-stable foods to the students to help sustain them over weekends and holidays.
Valley Outreach
A bridge between the crisis of the moment and the solution of the future, providing food, clothing, and emergency support. FPC helps by:
- Coordinating essential volunteer opportunities four weeks throughout the year
- Organizing food donations, assists with deliveries helps shoppers and provides significant financial contributions
Share the joy of helping. No experience needed and first-time volunteers are warmly welcomed! Learn more.
Supportive Housing
A unique partnership between FPC and the St. Croix Family Resource Center to support one family in the community each year, walking with them to work on stable housing, budgeting, job support, and overcoming other challenges to help them thrive.
Last Sunday Supper
A partnership with Ascension Episcopal Church & Trinity Lutheran Church.
- Provides an opportunity for a great hot meal and warm fellowship that may be especially welcome when money is in short supply at the end of the month
- A great opportunity for friends, small groups, or families, including children to serve together as well as eat with the guests.
- Work is divided into several different responsibilities which allows volunteers to choose how much time they’d like to spend
- All meals are served at Ascension, with First Presbyterian taking a turn to plan, cook, serve and clean-up four times a year – Won’t you join us?
Project Home
An interfaith program that provides emergency shelter for families who are struggling with paying rent and feeding their families. In cooperation with White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church, our members help by serving as evening and overnight hosts, providing hospitality to families in need and transition.
Hope For the Journey Home
A collaboration of care among several East Metro churches, and provides meals, homework assistance, and shelter services to families who would otherwise be homeless. Our church members volunteer as meal preparers and servers, as well as provide overnight assistance.
Twin Cities Metro Area
Liberty Community Church
(formerly Kwanzaa Community Church)
We have a long-standing partnership with this church in North Minneapolis — helping with meals for the Freedom School and after school programs, providing support for the on-going ministry of the church including the development of a new outreach in the area of AIDS/HIV ministry. The partnership offers us the opportunity to give of our prayers, talents, and resources to meet some very special needs in this difficult part of the city.
Northside Healing Space
Serves women who are caught up in human trafficking.
The drop-in space at Kwanzaa is intended to connect women and teens in North Minneapolis to both non-judgmental people who care and needed services. Our members provide financial and in-kind support to the organization.
Tubman Center East
Tubman helps women, men, children and families struggling with relationship violence, substance abuse, and mental health.
Solid Ground
Solid Ground helps families transition to a higher level of self-sufficiency and break the cycle of homelessness and poverty for the next generation.
Women Build-Habitat for Humanity
GIRLS PLAY HOUSE, WOMEN BUILD THEM.
From fundraising through construction, this group builds two Habitat homes each year and repairs another through A Brush with Kindness. Women Build attracts women from all walks of life who want to make a profound difference for families and the community. No experience necessary! Learn more.
National
Mission Trips
Each year, we take a trip to a region of the country that has suffered from a natural disaster to rebuild houses.
Past trips include Loveland, CO, Minot, ND, and New Orleans.
Global
Daylight Model School
Located in Kapenguria, Kenya: FPC is one of the primary sponsors of an innovative Model School in rural Kenya that feeds, houses, and educates many orphans of tribal violence in the Pokot region of Kenya. In addition to making annual trips to the Daylight School to build relationships with students and teachers and work on projects like the computer lab, solar power, and water pumps, we also send money throughout the year to help with food and teacher salaries.
Ethiopian Refugee Ministry
FPC supports the new Anuak Refugee Ministry in the Twin Cities led by Rev. Gilo Agwa with the joint support of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities (PCUSA) and the Saint Paul Area Synod (ELCA). We also work with Pastor Gilo to support the Anuak community in Gambella, Ethiopia.
Earth Care
Our church is an Earth Covenant Congregation, a designation granted by PC-USA, in recognition of our work in establishing rain gardens in the parking lot that reduce runoff and filter contaminants. We have also replaced most conventional lighting throughout the building with energy-saving LED fixture. We have made significant strides in reducing our waste stream by converting to cups, plates napkins and silverware which can be composted along with food residues that would normally be placed in the trash. A “pollinator friendly” approach to landscaping is also underway.
Other Regional Mission Support
The need for good, clean, affordable housing for all God’s children has been an emphasis in our regional giving, with support for Habitat for Humanity, Metro Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH), and Presbyterian Homes. Gifts to the St. Paul Area Council of Churches help them with their work on housing the homeless, feeding hungry families, persuading public policy makers to address poverty and injustice, studying racism and taking steps to dismantle it, visiting people in prison, and tutoring and supporting children towards success in school.
One Great Hour of Sharing
Received on Palm Sunday and Easter, half of this offering is kept at FPC for the Pastor’s Emergency Fund to help members and neighbors in need. The other half is sent to the Presbyterian Church USA to support the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and Self-Development of People.
Pentecost Offering
Received on Pentecost Sunday, this offering supports children, youth, and young adults who are at risk. 40% of the funds are kept at FPC for local mission benefiting children and young people. 60% are sent to the Presbyterian Church USA for national ministry including Young Adult Volunteers, Youth Ministry, and Child Advocacy.
Peacemaking Offering
Received on the first Sunday in October on World Communion Sunday, this offering supports the efforts of Presbyterians in their churches, presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly to walk in God’s paths of peace. 25% of the funds are kept by FPC for local peacemaking and advocacy, while 75% are sent to the Presbyterian Church USA for national and global peacemaking.
Christmas Joy Offering
Received at Christmas, 100% of this offering is sent to the Presbyterian Church USA to supports assistance programs of the Presbyterian Board of Pensions and racial ethnic schools and colleges of the PC(USA).
Other worldwide mission giving was directed through the General Assembly of the PC(USA). Donations included: shared gifts, with no restrictions, used to support the entire PC(USA) mission budget; directed gifts to Frontero De Cristo, the Presbyterian Border Ministry along with the U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona; and special offerings.
The special offerings include: