Missions
At FVPC, we believe that God calls us to work beyond the doors of our church building in order to make a difference in the world, for Christ’s sake. Mission and ministry to our neighbors both near and far are essential to living out Jesus’ commandment to love one another as God has loved us.
The members of FVPC are involved in a variety of missions throughout our community and our world. From making sandwiches for the residents of Lazarus House, to inviting the entire community in for dinner every second Sunday, to installing water filtration systems in remote areas of Guatemala, we are making a difference and living out our faith. Regardless of how you are called to serve, we want to help you to find a way to serve God and God’s people here at FVPC.
If you have questions about the missions below or other missions of Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, please contact Michelle Hwang, Associate Pastor for Discipleship, (630) 232-7448.
LAZARUS HOUSE
The Lazarus House Center for Transitional Living in St. Charles is the ONLY Transitional Housing Program in the tri-cities area. Lazarus House serves men, women and children connected to the school districts of St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and western rural Kane County who are homeless or are at risk. Their mission is to provide hospitality, food, safe shelter and support services to persons who are homeless or in need. FVPC serves this mission in two capacities:
Provides lunches
Provides dinners
Typically, the FVPC youth groups prepare the lunches. That same evening, a volunteer heats up leftover food from the Second Sunday Community Dinner and takes it over to Lazarus House by 6:00 PM. Volunteers need not stay to serve.
LIVING WATERS
Fox Valley Presbyterian Church partners with Living Waters for the World, a global mission resource of the Synod of Living Waters (Presbyterian Church USA). Living Waters for the World is a Christian ministry that provides sustainable clean water, fostering long-term, mutually beneficial, relationships between volunteers and communities in need.
REBUILDING TOGETHER AURORA
It is said that many hands make light work.
For the past 6 years, FVPC has used its many hands to transform the lives of people in our community through Rebuilding Together Aurora. RTA helps homeowners living on, near, or below the poverty line make repairs to their homes that they would be otherwise unable to attend to, because too often families must choose to address other basic living needs instead.
In a 2010 report, greater than 30% of homeowners in Aurora were living in substandard conditions and/or struggling with chronic housing issues. For those that are low-income, costly home repairs are essential to the family’s health and living but are rarely financially feasible. FVPC in partnership with Rebuilding Together Aurora helps make that happen.
Every last weekend in April, FVPC and RTA volunteers work together to assist families with needed home repairs. We always need volunteers to assist – both with skilled and unskilled labor.
SEWING CIRCLE
The Sewing Circle of Fox Valley Presbyterian Church was formed in 2009. Its purpose is to provide a creative way to show God’s love and care to people in need.
The circle’s first three projects were quilts for ill and traumatized children and teens through Linus Project, quilts sent to soldiers in Afghanistan to distribute to residents there, and knitted Prayer Shawls. Quilts are no longer sent to Afghanistan, but a number of other projects have been added: pillowcase dresses and shorts for Guatemala, baby quilts for The Home and Aid Society of Chicago, quilts for returning soldiers through Quilts of Valor, school bags for Presbyterian Women, quilts for the children baptized at Fox Valley Presbyterian, seasonal quilts for our preschool, and several other one-time projects as well as Linus Project quilts and Prayer Shawls.
The Sewing Circle meets every Monday from 10 AM until 2 PM in rooms 2 and 3. Members bring their own lunches and have lunch and fellowship in the café at noon. Over the years, quilts have been produced at the rate of about 100 per year. Circle members enjoy picturing the happiness their creations bring to the recipients and like to say a prayer of blessing over the items before they are distributed.
New members are very welcome and do not need to know how to sew. There are many tasks such as pinning and tying with yarn that do not require sewing. Knitters are needed to make Prayer Shawls as well.
SECOND SUNDAY COMMUNITY DINNER
On the second Sunday of every month, Fox Valley Presbyterian Church provides a free dinner to anyone who would like a delicious meal and friendly fellowship. No reservations are needed and all are truly welcome. We serve dinner in the Great Hall from 4:00-6:00 pm. Guests are welcome to dine in, carry out, or both.
The menu changes monthly and is available on our answering machine recording in advance, or call the church office (630-232-7448) to receive a monthly email with the menu.
Volunteers are always welcome to help with meal preparation, service in the kitchen or the dining room, and take down and clean up. Contact Pastor Michelle Hwang if you or a group you represent would like to help out with this meal.
STYROFOAM, PLASTIC BAG/BUBBLE WRAP RECYCLING
As curbside Styrofoam recycling is not available in our area, and there are only two locations in all of Kane County accepting Styrofoam recycling, our Earth Stewardship team sponsors a monthly Styrofoam recycling event at FVPC. We have now added plastic bag and bubble wrap recylcing to this event.
Our Styrofoam recycling event takes place on the first weekend of the month. We set out a large blue recycling cart near the preschool entrance at 10:00 am on Saturday. The cart is generally full by 11:30 am on Sunday. As we do not have facilities for long-term storage, Styrofoam containers that are dropped off at church at other times will not be recycled.
Hard Styrofoam packing material (#6) and clean foam food containers are welcome. As the #6 Styrofoam breaks up easily, we ask that you break it down to make more space in the collection bin. No straws, plastic, paper, soft flexible packing foam, packing peanuts, or other materials, please.
Clean plastic bags and bubble wrap will be recycled. Please turn the bags inside out, to assure there are no receipts, etc., in the bag. Place smaller bags inside a larger bag. Remove any plastic shipping tape from bubble wrap.
Organizer for this event: Jeff Mengler
GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Our church co-sponsored a gun violence prevention program for National Gun Violence Prevention Day and Wear Orange Weekend. Working in partnership with First Presbyterian Church of Sterling, IL and Kane and Kendall Counties Moms Demand Action, we hosted a webinar featuring the Rev. Sharon Risher, author of For Such a Time as This. The event was made possible by financial support from the Synod of Lincoln Trails, Blackhawk Presbytery, and the Diversity Committee of the Sauk Valley. You can watch the recording of the webinar here on our website.
THE EMPTY BOWLS PROJECT ARTISAN EVENING
The Mission Committee of Fox Valley Presbyterian Church is hosting The Empty Bowls Project, at FVPC on Saturday, November 9, 5:00-8:00 pm. The Empty Bowls Project is a dinner event where people and pottery come together to raise funds for food insecurity. Proceeds from this event will be donated to help those in need in the Fox Valley area.
The Empty Bowls Project is an artisan evening including beverages, hors d’oeuvres, live music, ceramics exhibits, and a unique meal. Each guest will take home a ceramic bowl crafted by a local potter to remind them that too many bowls are too often empty. Tickets are $50.00 and will be available online, starting in August, 2024, and also at the door.
Interested in getting involved? Here are some opportunities:
Help with planning the event
Sourcing food, musicians and decorations
Teams for hosting, serving, setting up and clean up at the event
Marketing, programs and ticket handling
To learn more and to sign up, contact the event organizers: Karla Lynch, Pat Sage and Liz Holding.