Making a Difference

Sycamore is committed to reaching out to those in need in the name of Jesus Christ.  In doing so, we reach out locally and across the world.

Our church sends teams and individuals on mission trips.  We have a United Methodist Women's Group and a United Methodist Men's Group, both working hard to be in mission in the world for the sake of Christ.

Many activities and projects are sponsored throughout the year with the purpose of extending God's love through giving, collections and drives, service, or hands-on work.  Some recent projects of our church have included:

• Annual week-long mission trips to Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky to support an impoverished community with hands-on mission work and love.  We also give financially as a mission partner to the work of the mission outreach in Kentucky.  Read more about Red Bird Mission at:  rbmission.org. 
• Hands-on and financial support of UMFS, a Richmond-based ministry to children, youth and families in crisis.  Read about UMFS at:  umfs.org.
• Feeding needy senior citizens with a hot meal and expressions of love and caring.
• Support of Stop Hunger Now (stophungernow.org) an international hunger relief organization.  In 2009, we packaged 15,000 meals for hunger relief in a project led by our Sycamore Youth Group.  Mission workers from our church also helped package over 200,000 meals in response to the earthquake in Haiti.
• Repair work on Camp Happy Acres, a local camp ministry for the developmentally disabled.
• Our United Methodist Men work to do home repair work for local families that are in crisis.
• Gleaning fields and gardening food for the hungry.  We support Shalom Farms (shalomfarms.org) and the Society of St. Andrew (endhunger.org).
• Providing funds so that a family can have a heifer from Heifer International to give them a means of earning money to help with their situation of poverty.
  
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• Regular support to a home that provides services and shelter to battered women and children.
• Mission trips and for hurricane recovery to help rebuild and clean up homes in Mississippi.  We have sent four teams to the hurricane-ravaged area and expect to return for further work.  Our church has sent the largest teams of any church in our area.
• Monthly food drives for the Prince George Area Food Bank.
  
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• Support of Super Kids, a local ministry to developmentally delayed adults and their families.
• A "Potato Drop," which involved the bagging and distribution of 40,000 pounds of potatoes to the hungry in our local community.
• A gleaning mission called "Harvest of Hope" in which we sent adult leaders and youth to glean apples for the hungry and to learn about hunger and ways to combat it.
• Support of our military through care packages and contributions to provide "Strength for Service" devotions to the troops.
• A cookie ministry to a local prison as part of an evangelistic mission there.
• A drive for school supplies for local needy children.
• Support of a malaria net ministry to help stop the spread of malaria in Africa.
• A drive for suitcases for foster children in need of a suitcase for their belongings when they are moved.
• Collections and a supply drive for victims of natural disasters, like the earthquake in Haiti.
• Gifts and expressions of love to needy and shut-in individuals.
• A Brunswick stew cooking and bake sale that benefits missions.
• Support of impoverished children through a United Methodist center in Rocky Mount, Virginia called The Henry Fork Center.
• And many other church-wide and individual projects.
  

Come join us in mission!

Make a Difference in the Aftermath of A Disaster

An UMCOR Early Response Team (ERT) certification training course will be held at Sycamore United Methodist Church 9209 Old Stage Road, Prince George, 23875 on Saturday, November 5^th, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Registration fee is $55, which covers the cost of a mandatory background check, class materials, snacks, drinks, and lunch. Payment is due on the day of training. You may register by emailing Becky Paxton at JamesRiverDistrict@vaumc.org.   When e-mailing please include all of the following: name, address, home phone number, cell phone number, and the name of your home church and district.

• Is NOT a “first responder;” therefore it does not perform search and rescue, nor does it provide emergency medical treatment
• Responds to a local, state, or regional disaster (usually a natural disaster such as a tornado, earthquake, or hurricane)
• Provides a Christian presence to survivors by helping them through the initial phase of their grief and loss
• Is a mission outreach of UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) and UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission). The United Methodist Church has a long history of assisting persons affected by disaster. The ERT ministry helps provide organization, certification, and support at the local level, as well as providing a standard protocol for teams to be prepared and ready to deploy.
• Enters an area after it has been reopened to homeowners. Teams stay only three days.

What does an ERT do?

tarp a damaged roof to prevent further damage to a home.

help a family clean up debris and ruined belongings and move them to the curb

remove drywall that has been soaked and mildewed to the point where it can be repaired.

provides a caring  presence in the aftermath of a disaster

However, it does NO “repair” work.   That is for later UMVIM or others teams to do.

Who can participate?

Anyone physically capable, male or female, 18 years old and older. There are needs for various types and levels of skills. 

Trained persons receive an ERT badge as evidence of training which authorizes them to enter a disaster area and help survivors as part of a team but only after United Methodist leaders in an affected area call for help. (ERTs do not self-deploy.)