Deacons & Jubilee

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:40

First Presbyterian Church takes these words of Jesus seriously, that when we reach out to serve those in need, we are serving Jesus. And to meet those needs, we have the ministry of the Deacons.

Based upon a model found in the early church, the church elects this team of folks to lead our church in meeting the needs of those most in need both in our church family, and in the community at large. And on the Sunday each month when we come together for communion, we collect a special offering to address those needs. We know that even as Jesus shows his selfless love for the world at this table, Jesus calls us to move out from that table to share that same love with our neighbors in need.

So as the Deacons become aware of needs in the congregation, they use the offering collected to address those needs. That has meant items ranging from providing needed dental work for a disabled woman to helping a single father pay rent when a job injury prevented him from working. 
And as we reach beyond our immediate church family, we join with other churches and community groups to partner with Jubilee (whose ministry you see pictured on this page) as it cares for those in need in the larger Hollywood area.
Each weekday, the Jubilee ministry provides a hot meal to the hungry, along with maintaining a food pantry and clothes closet. It provides social services to help folks get the services they need, and just as crucially, the folks at Jubilee provide a listening ear to folks, who are undergoing very difficult challenges in their lives.
At First Presbyterian, we strive to be a church where no one in need is turned away, where Jesus’ words in the verse above from Matthew 25 isn’t something we just read, but work to live.