Chair: Kathy Huffman

The Nurture Committee meets six times a year on the first Monday of the meeting month at 7:00pm in members' homes. The committee's purpose is to nurture the membership of Grace Church by provifing opportunities for socialization and support.

 

 

Meets monthly under the leadership of Carole Ellis. Provides care and contact to a number of church households.

 

 

 

A caring and support ministry in the time of bereavement and illness, coordinated by Darlene Tyndall and Sandra Miller.  We are always welcoming new volunteers to this significant ministry.

CDs of the Sunday Service are recorded and distributed to church members unable to attend in person.  Call to request copies.

Stephen Ministry is a program of our congregation that equips lay persons to provide distinctively Christian one-to-one care to those who are experiencing all kinds of life needs and circumstances, both in our congregation and community.

For more information, contact us

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is a local food pantry which is affiliated with Grace UMC.

Our mission statement is: Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is called to serve those who are hungry in the Wilmington area through distribution of non-perishable emergency food. This service is provided by volunteers in partnership with the community, without regard to race or religion and with care to preserve the dignity of the individuals being served.

The Cupboard is housed in a building owned by Grace and staffed on two days by Grace volunteers. The church also provides clerical support (copying, giving out keys, answering questions). At least two of our members serve on the Board of Directors. The Cupboard was started in Wilmington in 1985 by Sister Mary Isaac in a space beside the Food Bank. It moved to a site in the Grace UMC facility in 1997 and to its current location in 2004.

The Cupboard is run entirely by volunteers. Rules, regulations and problems are dealt with by a Board of directors, which meets once per month at Grace. We have 200-300 people volunteer at the cupboard each month from various congregations and businesses. We are open from 1-3pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We provide 3-4 days’ worth of food, given out once per month. The exception is homeless who are able to come weekly and receive a smaller portion of items which are smaller servings and don’t require cooking. Less than 10% of people who receive our food are homeless. We provide pre-packed, non-perishable food.

Food for the Cupboard is obtained through donations of food or money and through the local Food Bank, which gives us 10,000-15,000 pounds of food each second Wednesday. We also have quarterly food drives where volunteers ask for donations at local grocery stores. The next food drive is October 24-25.

Volunteer jobs include food collection, receiving and sorting food, purchasing food at local stores with donated money, unloading vehicles, stocking shelves, providing custodial services, creating and maintaining client records (computer-literate people for data entry are needed!!!), packing food boxes and distributing bags and boxes of food.

To make a donation of food or money or to volunteer, please call Jane at 392-1551. If you would like to volunteer collecting food during the food drive, please call Donald at 763-3900.

Every year for the past 14, Grace has hosted an Alternative Gift Market and Craft Fair.   Shoppers buy support for local and international non-profits and give this support as a gift to their friends and relatives.  Booths are set up to describe the various projects, shoppers choose and pay for their gifts.  They then receive a card, stating what was given in honor of the recipient, to give as a Christmas or holiday gift.  

Local groups which are “gifts” in the market include the Carousel Center, Dreams of Wilmington, Wilmington Interfaith Hospitality Network, Full Belly Project, Heifer International, Our Children’s Place, Tileston-St Mary Outreach, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Early Bread, Carolina Canines for Service, Wilmington Health Access for Teens, Mercy House, First Fruit Ministries and Good Shepherd Center.  To see the international gifts for this year, go to http://www.alternativegifts.org/


All Christmas orders should be placed by Sunday December 14. Orders may also be placed, throughout the year, for birthday's, anniversaries, memoriums, etc. by contact Jane Spicer at 392-1551. 

Crafts at the fair are from Ten Thousand Villages, who find artisans in remote areas of Third World countries, buy their goods at fair market value, and sell them in North America, using the profits to do it all again!  These crafts are hand-made, unique and very reasonably priced. To see samples of what might be available, go to http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/

 If you would like to help with the market as a cashier or making and manning a booth, please call Jane at 392-1551.  Please call if you have questions!