Focus on Outreach

Outreach can be defined in the context of our church experience as a process whereby our congregation reaches out to those in the surrounding area who have real and immediate need for help. Outreach has long been a focus and a priority for Hingham Congregational Church - an elemental part of the church's core identity.

In recent years, while the operating budget for HCC has remained relatively flat, part of the reason has been that the Outreach portion of that budget - the amount being given to Wellspring, Father Bill's/MainSpring and the many other wonderful organizations we support - has declined. In 2005, Outreach spending represented almost 22% of HCC's budget. In years prior, the annual target for Outreach spending had been 25% (or more). By contrast, this year's Outreach spending will be closer to 3.5% of the budget; it had been hovering just above 10% for the three years before.

Clearly, Outreach as an HCC "core identity" is under attack - at least in dollar terms. The good news is that we continue to do a really good job at rolling up our sleeves and giving back in other ways, some that are more focused on local causes, others that go well beyond Hingham. I'm thinking in particular of HCC's sponsorship and the significant effort we put into staging the "Taste of Hingham", which typically brings an additional $20,000 or more to local charitable organizations each year. Bucks for Birds, the Good Friday Walk for Sharing, Inc., our monthly meal support for Pine St. Inn, the Giving Tree, Christmas and Easter food boxes, and on-going operation of the Consignment Center are all causes that throw our collective effort into the Outreach mix. We also send a group of teens to help the less advantaged in other parts of the country each year through the annual high school mission trip, and provide on-going support to our HCC colleagues who have made significant commitments to the orphanage in Haiti. These efforts can't be measured as easily as the dollars we commit through our budget, but they are significant, and they add up.

But Outreach spending still matters at HCC, and that long-held, seemingly bygone goal of 25% of the budget is an idea that at least a few in the HCC community are reluctant to relinquish. Many were hoping that the sale of the Rust House might provide an easy answer to our declining Outreach commitment - a "pot of gold" that could be used to augment when necessary the annual giving amounts available. As the Ad Hoc Committee reviewing proceeds from the sale of the Rust House will report at the Annual Finance Meeting on January 28th, that is not likely to be the case. HOWEVER, the committee will be able to present to the congregation a plan that, if we as a community implement effectively, will begin to take us down a path that should help ensure that Outreach in all respects remains part of HCC's core identity. I encourage everyone who cares about HCC, and about our Outreach efforts, to attend the Annual Finance Meeting after worship at 11:30 on Sunday, January 28th to learn more.

Thank you!

Peace and blessings,

The Pine Street Inn monthly meal is back to being prepared at HCC. On the third Monday of each month, HCC is responsible for providing the evening meal for about 100 women at the Pine Street Inn in Boston (http://www.pinestreetinn.org/).   The meal, consisting of Boston lasagna, tossed salad, fruit, bread, and desserts, is prepared in our renovated church kitchen at 8:00 AM on the third Monday of each month.   The women at Pine Street Inn love the hot meal that we provide!

Everyone can assist in our outreach to Pine Street Inn.

• Kitchen help is needed at 8:00 AM on third Monday of each month for meal preparation.
• Driver/servers are needed to take the food from HCC to Pine Street Inn and to serve the meal.
• Donations of desserts - Cookies, Brownies, Cupcakes, etc. -brought to the church on the Sunday prior to the third Monday or on that Monday by 9:00 AM. (Labelled: Pine Street Inn)

January 15 (MLK Day) is the next Pine Street Inn meal for HCC. Please contact us if are available to help with the kitchen or would like more information about driving/serving.

Ruth Whitner ( [email protected])

Caroline Gibson ( [email protected])

Marcia Sinclair ( [email protected])