Helen Tharrington – Chair

John Dancy – Elder Liaison

Betty Berghaus - Staff

Dottie Bartholomay

Dot Borden

Nancy Chaffee

Bonnie Derr

Bill Hatch

Debbie Hatch

Helen Harrison

Judy Lamon

Mark Landis

Jeff Laufenberg

Michael Jackson

Eileen McAvoy

Chick Palermo

Fred Starr

Global Missions Committee

 The mission of the Global Missions Committee is to foster awareness of and coordinate the response to needs and concerns beyond the immediate Durham area.

 Biblical Focus:

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”  (1 John 3:17-18)

 Purpose:  The purpose of the Global Missions Committee is to:

• Raise awareness of denominational global mission efforts
• Assist in the coordination of fund-raising and publicity for global mission projects
• Construct an annual asking budget based on anticipated need for global missions
• Prioritize Global Mission funds for Session approval.

 Meeting Schedules:  The Global Missions Committee meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 PM.  Subcommittees meet as needed and report to the whole committee at the monthly meeting.

 Domains of Responsibility: This was a Session Committee when it originated in July 2001 and became a committee of the Diaconate in 2005. The Global Missions Committee’s current responsibilities include:  

• Responding to natural disasters within North Carolina, the United States and abroad.

·         Contributing to Music Mission Kiev and the Widow’s and Orphan’s Program.

·         Contributing to AIDS relief work and education

·         Supporting our missionaries, the Wehmeyers in Mexico, and our youth mission trips.

·         Sponsoring the Alternative Gift Fair to encourage donations to our local and
global mission organizations and support the fair trade mission of One World Market.

·         Assisting with World Communion Sunday.

·         Hosting visiting mission groups.

·         Supporting other mission work that meet the following criteria for funding:

o   Church member(s) are involved in, on the board of, or otherwise represent the organization being funded.

o   The proposed mission project is consistent with our Mission Statement.

o   Evidence that the organization group is financially responsible.

·         During its lifetime, the committee has responded to requests for flood relief assistance in Hyde County, disaster relief in the Gulf and in tsunami-ravaged areas of Southeast Asia, AIDS relief and education (for the M'tendere Church School in Lusaka, Zambia, and 2 primary schools in Arusha, Tanzania), and hosted mission groups’ visits to Durham (specifically the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Congo Choir in 2006 and the Boyd family, missionaries from Cameroon, in the summer of 2007). 

 Summary of Global Missions for 2009 

The Global Missions Committee funded, through the Deacon Benevolence Budget,

Music Mission Kiev and the Widow's and Orphan's program;

PC(USA) Missionaries Don and Martha Wehmeyer

These missions met funding criteria and were approved in 2009 from either the Hurricane Relief Fund or the Global Missions Project Fund.  

·         MERCI - Supporting those who are affected by disasters, poverty and adversity.

·         Church World Services Blanket + Program – Providing blankets and shelter in the wake of disasters.

·         NCCU Presbyterian Campus Ministry – To send students to the Gulf Coast to do hurricane relief work during spring break. 

Other Global Missions Work in 2009  

·         Alternative Gift Fair – Alternative Gift Fair - Dec. 6, 2009.  One World Market sold $1,500 in merchandise of which 10 percent of the proceeds will go to the Global Missions Projects Fund.  Twelve agencies that Westminster supports through local or global missions were representated at the fair and collected an estimated $2,300 in contributions.

·         Shoebox items for Widow's and Orphan's program - Through donations from the church, we were able to provide presents for 10 men and women.