Outreach
First Presbyterian Church is deeply committed to community outreach. We attempt to alleviate the stress of life on the streets or in substandard housing, by providing needed items such as food staples, pants, shirts, socks, hygiene kits and blankets in addition to a hot meal served every Sunday afternoon. If you are seeking active involvement in Christian outreach, there is ample opportunity here. Most of our ministries are based around the Soup Kitchen.
Soup Kitchen
The Soup Kitchen was started more than 20 years ago to provide a hot meal on Sunday afternoons to the homeless and hungry of Memphis. Prior to our Soup Kitchen, there was no organization that offered such a service on Sunday. First Presbyterian Church provides the facilities and the leadership while volunteers from churches throughout the Mid-South assist in the weekly food service. You don’t have to be Presbyterian to help in the Soup Kitchen; Temple Israel and St. John’s Greek Orthodox church send volunteers.
We currently serve an average of 150 men, women and children on Sunday afternoon. Twenty to 24 volunteers assist each Sunday. In addition to the hot meal we hand out hygiene kits containing the basic essentials and a few extras when our supplies permit.
The Soup Kitchen also sponsors special occasions like a Christmas Dinner where gifts of warm winter clothing and accessories are distributed. We also serve a festive meal on Souper Bowl Sunday raising money that will support our services in the coming year.
Birth Certificate Program
You probably haven’t thought about your birth certificate in years. You don’t need to. You are thoroughly documented with driver’s licenses, social security cards, utility bills and bank statements. Most of our homeless and needy clients are not. Their valid IDs have expired and they cannot begin to rebuild their identity without a certified birth certificate. On the first two Sundays of each month, we interview clients, process and pay for their birth certificate applications. This past year we interviewed 366 clients and processed applications to 22 states from Maine to California. Since many of our clients are in a residency transition, their birth certificates are returned to the church and we allow the clients to receive mail and use our church address for their correspondence.
State Photo ID Program
Having acquired their birth certificates, our clients can apply for a photo ID. In 2010 our ID Program helped 230 clients acquire their IDs and 9 renew their driver’s licenses. We transport 10 to 18 clients to the state licensing bureau on the first two Tuesdays of each month, escorting our clients through the procedures and paying for their application. It may seem like a simple process. But if you are among the dispossessed , governmental procedures can be complex, confusing and expensive. With a photo ID our clients can apply for food stamps, stay in a shelter, cash their checks, get a job or apply for housing or other life-sustaining needs.
Food Stamps (SNAP) Assistance
The Tennessee Department of Human Services uses our Fellowship Hall on most Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9:00 am until approximately noon to interview applicants for Food Stamps assistance. Volunteers from the church oversee the process, assisting applicants in filling out their forms and providing sandwiches when they leave. No appointment is necessary. Note that if a month has a 5th Monday or a 5th Wednesday, there is no Food Stamps assistance on that day.
Memphis Youth Mission
Part of the larger Youth Mission organization headquartered in Asheville, Memphis Youth Mission brings in groups from around the country and provides these groups with meaningful volunteer work opportunities in order that they can learn about this important crucible of the Civil Rights Movement.
Thistle & Bee
First Presbyterian Church partners with this unique non-profit that helps women recover from a life of prostitution in a variety of ways. Their granola makers use our kitchen to bake their wonderful-smelling granola every Thursday. Check out their website here.
Clothes Closet
On Sunday afternoons we continue to provide men’s and women’s seasonal work clothing for those in need. We expect the need to increase in the coming years and welcome contributions in kind from churches and organizations throughout the Mid South. As with the Soup Kitchen we welcome volunteers to help with the sorting and distribution of garments and accessories.
The Hospitality HUB
First Presbyterian Church is a founding member of The Hospitality HUB, and continues to support The Hospitality HUB at 146 Jefferson. Created by the Downtown Churches Association in 2007, The Hospitality HUB provides spiritual sanctuary for Memphis’ homeless and particularly to the newly homeless. The HUB connects its clients to resources that help them achieve physical, mental, spiritual and economic stability. The HUB provides counseling, processes birth certificate applications, interviews for state IDs and makes their own runs to the licensing bureau on the 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. In 2008 they processed 345 state ID acquisitions.
MIFA Meals on Wheels
Volunteers from the congregation of First Presbyterian Church have assigned days and routes with the MIFA Meals on Wheels program.
Soup Kitchen
The Soup Kitchen was started more than 20 years ago to provide a hot meal on Sunday afternoons to the homeless and hungry of Memphis. Prior to our Soup Kitchen, there was no organization that offered such a service on Sunday. First Presbyterian Church provides the facilities and the leadership while volunteers from churches throughout the Mid-South assist in the weekly food service. You don’t have to be Presbyterian to help in the Soup Kitchen; Temple Israel and St. John’s Greek Orthodox church send volunteers.
We currently serve an average of 150 men, women and children on Sunday afternoon. Twenty to 24 volunteers assist each Sunday. In addition to the hot meal we hand out hygiene kits containing the basic essentials and a few extras when our supplies permit.
The Soup Kitchen also sponsors special occasions like a Christmas Dinner where gifts of warm winter clothing and accessories are distributed. We also serve a festive meal on Souper Bowl Sunday raising money that will support our services in the coming year.
Birth Certificate Program
You probably haven’t thought about your birth certificate in years. You don’t need to. You are thoroughly documented with driver’s licenses, social security cards, utility bills and bank statements. Most of our homeless and needy clients are not. Their valid IDs have expired and they cannot begin to rebuild their identity without a certified birth certificate. On the first two Sundays of each month, we interview clients, process and pay for their birth certificate applications. This past year we interviewed 366 clients and processed applications to 22 states from Maine to California. Since many of our clients are in a residency transition, their birth certificates are returned to the church and we allow the clients to receive mail and use our church address for their correspondence.
State Photo ID Program
Having acquired their birth certificates, our clients can apply for a photo ID. In 2010 our ID Program helped 230 clients acquire their IDs and 9 renew their driver’s licenses. We transport 10 to 18 clients to the state licensing bureau on the first two Tuesdays of each month, escorting our clients through the procedures and paying for their application. It may seem like a simple process. But if you are among the dispossessed , governmental procedures can be complex, confusing and expensive. With a photo ID our clients can apply for food stamps, stay in a shelter, cash their checks, get a job or apply for housing or other life-sustaining needs.
Food Stamps (SNAP) Assistance
The Tennessee Department of Human Services uses our Fellowship Hall on most Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9:00 am until approximately noon to interview applicants for Food Stamps assistance. Volunteers from the church oversee the process, assisting applicants in filling out their forms and providing sandwiches when they leave. No appointment is necessary. Note that if a month has a 5th Monday or a 5th Wednesday, there is no Food Stamps assistance on that day.
Memphis Youth Mission
Part of the larger Youth Mission organization headquartered in Asheville, Memphis Youth Mission brings in groups from around the country and provides these groups with meaningful volunteer work opportunities in order that they can learn about this important crucible of the Civil Rights Movement.
Thistle & Bee
First Presbyterian Church partners with this unique non-profit that helps women recover from a life of prostitution in a variety of ways. Their granola makers use our kitchen to bake their wonderful-smelling granola every Thursday. Check out their website here.
Clothes Closet
On Sunday afternoons we continue to provide men’s and women’s seasonal work clothing for those in need. We expect the need to increase in the coming years and welcome contributions in kind from churches and organizations throughout the Mid South. As with the Soup Kitchen we welcome volunteers to help with the sorting and distribution of garments and accessories.
The Hospitality HUB
First Presbyterian Church is a founding member of The Hospitality HUB, and continues to support The Hospitality HUB at 146 Jefferson. Created by the Downtown Churches Association in 2007, The Hospitality HUB provides spiritual sanctuary for Memphis’ homeless and particularly to the newly homeless. The HUB connects its clients to resources that help them achieve physical, mental, spiritual and economic stability. The HUB provides counseling, processes birth certificate applications, interviews for state IDs and makes their own runs to the licensing bureau on the 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. In 2008 they processed 345 state ID acquisitions.
MIFA Meals on Wheels
Volunteers from the congregation of First Presbyterian Church have assigned days and routes with the MIFA Meals on Wheels program.