How We Are Responding to Human Need

Mission and outreach work is sharing God’s transforming love with the world through Serving, Loving, Caring.  It is Faith in Action. Mission work is compassion in practice.

If you are interested in information about any of the following, including volunteering, please contact the Missions Coordinator.

Family Promise

Family Promise helps families experiencing homelessness find lasting independence and security.  Various congregations, including Christ UMC, take turns opening their doors and providing temporary housing which keeps families with children out of the shelters.

Congregation members provide meals and supervision when Family Promise guests stay at Christ UMC. 

familypromisesaltlake.org

Crossroads Food Pantry & Thrift Store

Christ UMC is a collection point for Crossroads Food Pantry and Thrift Store.  Donations are delivered to the pantry and thrift store on a regular basis by church volunteers. 
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On occasion, special collections are held depending on the needs of the community - such as diapers, baby formula, and summer food collections.

crossroadsurbancenter.org

Check out the latest information and events at crossroadsurbancenter.org and watch the interview with our own Mary Ann Allison!

Sandwich Service Project

Once a month, families and groups in our church and the community gather in the CUMC kitchen to make over 500 sandwiches. The group delivers and serves the sandwiches to the homeless at Catholic Community Services.​

ccsutah.org

Meals on Wheels

Our church is one of the distribution points for the Meals on Wheels program.  After meals are prepared at the County Complex, they are delivered to our kitchen, Monday through Friday.  Volunteers from our congregation pick up the meals and distribute them to those who have signed up for the program.

mealsonwheelsamerica.org

Palmer Court

Palmer Court is The Road Home’s permanent supportive housing development to help the homeless transition into permanent housing.  

The Palmer Court Pet Food and Supplies Service Project is a churchwide service project.  In addition to the donations of pet food and pet supplies, the project needs support in re-bagging the pet food.  You may wonder why the food is re-bagged.  It is cheaper to buy the large bags of pet food. So, more pet owners can get food, the larger bags are re-bagged into smaller bags for distribution. You can do this at your own convenience at your home by picking up the pet food and re-bagging supplies from Patsy Simons.  It is very easy to do.  Also, a re-bagging session at Patsy's house can be set up for a weekday evening or a weekend morning or afternoon.  8 people can complete the re-bagging in about 45 minutes. The project will occur in August, November, February, and May. The residents of Palmer Court are very thankful for our donations for their pets. Contact Patsy for more information.

theroadhome.org

making cat toys as a service project

rebagging pet food to give to pet-owning residents of Palmer Court (homeless transitional housing)

Youth Resource Center

The Youth Resource Center provides various needs and resources for young people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk for being homeless. 

CUMC collects donations of needed items. Congregation members can also volunteer at the center if they so desire. Lists of current items needed can be found at the collection point by the CUMC kitchen, in the monthly newsletter, and on the Home Page of this website under Announcements.

voaut.org/homeless-teen-services

Give a Gobble & Turkey Toss

Each year donations are collected during November to help provide Thanksgiving meals for those in need through Crossroads Urban Center.  The youth of CUMC along with other church members help distribute the food the day before Thanksgiving.​

crossroadsurbancenter.org

Early Response Teams

Early Response Teams (ERT) are a collaborative effort between  UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) and UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission). The Mission of an Early Response Team is to provide a caring Christian presence in the aftermath of a disaster.  The ERT is not a first response group of emergency workers, but rather fills a specific need in the early days after a disaster to establish the caring presence of the church and to provide hope for the survivors. ERTs are trained primarily to respond within their own conference, but may be invited to travel to another district, conference or jurisdiction. 

Early response training is an 8 hour class offered through the Mountain Sky Conference and covers the basics of early disaster response, including roof tarping, cleaning out damaged homes, spiritual and emotional care, team protocols, and more. The purpose of the training is to prepare our ERT Volunteers to do good and do no harm.

Training sessions are open to all people ages 18+. All participants will complete a background check through UMCOR and must complete Safe Sanctuary training.  For information about upcoming ERT training classes, email Jim Robinson-Cox.

Here are a few photos from the 2019 trip to Texas. Below you will find links to photos from previous trips

​Tulsa ERT photos   July 2019: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XTAmKgk7dNYTWMov9

Puerto Rico photos  November 2018:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/inyrH1ZwKhdh3k9x5

Harvey ERT  September 2017:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/fXJX2aPIf53SlLYC3

Missionary Outreach & Education

Our congregation helps to support United Methodist missionaries with their work through Covenant Relationships. CUMC provides education events when missionaries are in town to share with us information about their important work and helps us to realize the impact of our donations.

umcmission.org