A Worshiping Community Loving God and Serving One Another
The vision for the Outreach Ministry of The Parish Church is to foster love for others by meeting physical and spiritual needs while sharing the Gospel of Jesus. The goal is to emulate the spirit of Habersham’s unselfish care and giving for those around us. Habersham is like a step back in time...a modern day Mayberry, where people know their neighbors, check in on them and step up to help without question. This was Jesus’ example and is played out daily in this amazing community many of us call ‘Home’. We are anointed by Jesus to minister to others and called to live life in a discipleship fashion.
What We Do
The Outreach Ministry initiatives are focused on the meeting of everyday needs in ‘Blue Sky’ seasons and needs in times of disaster for under-served families in the surrounding Burton area. Funds raised from a weekly Wednesday morning Vegetable Market in the Habersham Village will allow for 100% of the profits to meet these needs.
What will these needs be?
- Paying an electric bill (Ex. For a working single mom)
- Buying groceries or a gas card (Ex. For a family trying to make ends meet)
- Light home repair, yard work or the building of a wheelchair ramp (Ex. For our fixed-income elderly)
- Buying a bus ticket (Ex. To see a sick family member)
- Supplemental payment for a child’s school lunch
How will we know what those needs are? We will partner with United Way as a member of their 211 service. Through this avenue, The Parish Church will be listed in their system with the needs we have determined we can and will meet so we can be notified immediately.
For the Parish Church’s Disaster Response, we would look to provide basic needs, care packages and 72-Hour Blessing Buckets before and after major storms targeted to hit coastal South Carolina. Our Disaster Response team would be trained in safe debris removal, roof tarping and the mucking/gutting of homes affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, surging water or flooding. We will work closely with our local Emergency Management for updates, information and where we can respond. We hope to have a seat in the Emergency Operations Center to receive ‘real time’ information. Trainings for anyone interested in being a part of the disaster response team will be provided.
We cannot forget prayer, a listening ear/spiritual counseling at these times. Only 30% of response efforts are focused on spiritual care. As the church, we are called to be a loving shoulder to lean on.
What can I DO?
No matter where God has us in life, we each have giftings that can be a blessing to others. Here are the current initiatives where you can make a difference:
SOUND TEAM MEMBER
Join us on occasional Sundays as a Sound Team Member! Hands on training will be provided. Contact David Woodward by text, 843-575-7062.
Home Repairs Team
This team would consist of those who are skilled in electrical, plumbing, heating & air, yard clean up and building wheelchair ramps. These needs would be light home repair only, not demolition and remodeling. This team would respond when light home repair needs come into the 211 system that alert the Parish Church.
Spiritual Counseling Team
This team consist of those who find counseling, a listening ear, a comforting presence and/or grief specialties to be your gifting and a place you feel God has equipped you. This team would respond anytime we see a need for prayer around loss come into the 211 system. They would also respond when disasters strike our area and people are affected.
Disaster Response Team
This team would be trained in roof tarping, debris removal and chain saw operation. We will work closely with local Emergency Management to best determine where we can help. This team will deploy in Tier 4 of disaster response efforts after a major storm or flooding affects our area.
Welcome Team
This team will be helping people get connected in relationship to our congregation. This is an extremely important work and a major part of our identity and vision.
If it is in your heart to be one of the friendly faces and warm-hearted welcomers to the new folks joining in, then please let Annis Lyles (annislyles@icloud.com) know so that she can equip you and add you to the team.
If it is in your heart to be one of the friendly faces and warm-hearted welcomers to the new folks joining in, then please let Annis Lyles (annislyles@icloud.com) know so that she can equip you and add you to the team.
GOD'S WORKER BEES
This team would help with putting care packets together, Blessing Buckets and any other type of assembly needed to care for the people of Burton and Habersham. Having volunteers to help in this regard will be as important as any other initiative we do.
As you can see, there will be many opportunities to serve on one of our outreach teams. We want to begin small with just a few outreach initiatives so that we can make sure we are successful in our mission to help our fellow community. Your input, volunteerism and outreach ideas are truly important. If you have an idea for another outreach or expansion of an existing initiative, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Please feel free to reach out to Annette Girman to speak with her about this work: annette.girman@protonmail.com.
We want this to be a church that works outside of our 4 walls to help God’s people where they are. Jesus has called us to be a 24/7 ministry where coffee tables are turned into pulpits and the home, the sanctuary. Jesus proclaimed the church as the Cornerstone of any community and asked us to go out and serve. The Parish Church looks to live out what Jesus expects of us and we are so grateful He has called The Parish Church to step into that opportunity to glorify Him.
Meet Annette Girman
Annette’s background includes 18 years running her own businesses, 4 years creating trainings including the writing of a manual for churches who desire to respond to disasters, and she has spent the last 6 years in the disaster response realm, partnership development, resource logistics and the meeting of everyday needs through the non-profits she has worked with. She also assisted the Outreach Director at her former church in these efforts. But first and foremost...she loves the Lord, has witnessed the presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of disaster and wants to do His will on earth through her calling to serve His people.
