PW – Faith Presbyterian Church – Huntsville

  This has been a busy and productive year already for Faith Presbyterian Church in Huntsville.  In September they donated paper, shower and feminine personal hygiene products to Hope Place for their local ministry project.  Several attended the Fall Gathering in Florence.  In October the Blount Hospitality House in Huntsville was their local ministry project.  They had a kitchen shower of non-perishable food items and donated them to Blount HH.  In November, their local ministry project was Food Kits for the Homeless.  Eighty 1-gallon plastic bags were packaged each with a spoon, napkin, can of meat, crackers, fruit, cookies, juice, and miscellaneous items.  In December, they are ministering to a two year old Foster child.  January will bring their Women’s Retreat at Maranatha and they will be packing Hygiene Kits for the local homeless. 

 PW – First – Huntsville

 Circle 2 got off to a running start with a 40 dozen homemade cookie project for the Kairos Prison Ministry program.  This mission is an interdenominational ministry (30 churches in Huntsville participate) that is given to select prisoners at the Limestone Correctional Facility.  The program lasts for three days, consisting of sharing the news of the gospel and home cooked meals together, while remembering that God loves them in spite of what has happened in the past.  Hopefully, this helps them to stay on the right track after their release from prison.  This was a most rewarding and rather easy project.  Circle members baked five dozen cookies each, while praying for the recipients. 

 December 3 is our Christmas Gathering.  Circles are bringing goodies for our soldiers (that belong to our church) boxes.  Circle 6 will be packing the boxes and then mailing them to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Items packed will include granola bars, cookies, individual packets of coffee, creamer, sugar, nuts, cheese crackers, etc. 

 St Andrew – Decatur

St Andrew PW collected donated shoes for the National Organization called Shoes 4 Souls that sends shoes to Iraq for Iraqi women and children.  Collected shoes were taken to a location site in Decatur from which they were mailed.  For more information check out their web site, www.soles4souls.org

Westminster – Decatur

Westminster PW assisted a younger women's group with the project Operation Christmas Child that was developed by the Rev. Franklin Graham.  The PW purchased 30 plastic shoe boxes to fill with fun items like crayons, tablets, pens, pencil, etc. and personal item like a tooth brush and tooth paste.  PW created a bulletin board at the church, that highlighted items that were needed for the boxes, as a way to involve the whole church.  This project was done in cooperation with other Decatur churches.  Items were taken to a Methodist church that mailed the boxes to a collection headquarters from which they are sent to overseas missions.  Also, the ladies have helped a special friend--a foster child--for several years.  Their child is now seventeen and will soon go to independent living. This year her gift will be a microwave to use when she is living on her own, and a gift card for clothes.

First – Sheffield

An ongoing project of Sheffield PW is to knit shawls that are kept in the vestibules of the church for use by women who find it more comfortable to have a wrap during the church service.  When they get enough for their own use they plan to make some for other churches in the area.

First – Athens

About 45 Presbyterian Women gathered together for their annual Harvest Dinner on November 3.  Wonderful food was lovingly prepared by great PW cooks.  $762 was collected for the 2007 Thank Offering and the Palm Project was introduced to the group as a new project for the group to begin in 2008.  Also collected at the meeting were items for Crisis Services of North Alabama.  The ladies fill up the car trunk (big car) of our Together in Service Coordinator!