Outreach
Fairport United Methodist Church has numerous ways to get involved. Here are some of our outreach opportunities:
Sunday Dinner
Sunday Dinner is a free, Sunday afternoon home-delivered dinner that serves our local community and is designed to help those who are in need. The people we serve are typically the elderly and/or people who are struggling to make ends meet.
We do the deliveries on the 4th Sunday of every month.
We prepare the food on the Friday morning just prior to the Sunday we are serving. We start the prep at 9am and are finished by Noon. Then we get together again on the 4th Sunday morning from 10am until 12:30pm to heat it all up and put all the components together in takeout containers for the delivery people to pick up.
Volunteers pick up the dinners from the kitchen around Noon and deliver them to approximately 6-10 homes or apartments in the Fairport/Perinton area.
A typical dinner would consist of Salad, Banana, Roll, Vegetable, Main Course (Goulash, Mac & Cheese, Baked Chicken, etc.), and Dessert. Desserts are provided by the local Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Sunday Dinner volunteer opportunities are:
Cooks – This is the group that plans, cooks and puts the food into delivery containers. You can help with the prep either on Friday morning or on Sunday morning, whichever best fits your schedule. The time commitment would be 2-3 hours on Friday and/or 2-3 hours on Sunday.
Deliveries – These are the people/families who pick up the dinners from the kitchen and deliver them to people’s homes/apartments. The time commitment is usually 30-45 minutes.
Volunteers will be scheduled to work as often as their schedules allow, usually anywhere from every month to once every 3 months.
If you would like to volunteer for Sunday Dinner or would just like more information about Sunday Dinner, you can call Mark Renfro @ 585-721-2513 or email him at [email protected].
Here is a typical “Sunday Dinner” Sunday for us:
- 9am Cooks arrive to start preparing the dinner
- 10am Setup crew comes in to set up the dining area
- Noon Guests start arriving, Servers arrive, Deliveries get staged
- 12:15pm Deliveries get picked up crew arrives
- 12:30pm Blessing, dinner serving starts, Cleanup
- 1:00pm Everything is served, cooks go home, some guests start to leave
- 1:15pm Most guests are gone, servers are finishing cleaning up the dining area and putting tables and chairs away, vacuuming the floor
- 1:30pm Servers are done and gone
- 2:00pm Cleanup crew is finished washing and putting away all dishes and goes home
- Set-up – This job takes about 30 minutes.
- Cooks – This is the group that plans, cooks and puts the food on the plates.
- Servers – These are the people who take care of our guests.
- Clean-up – these are the folks who wash all of the dishes and put everything away.
- Deliveries – these are the people who pick up the dinners from the kitchen and deliver them to people who cannot come to the dinners.
- Greeters – these are the people who stand at the doors to welcome people to dinner. They start at noon and leave when we do the blessing around 12:30pm.
- Desserts – all of our desserts are home-made by the congregation.
- Volunteers are usually scheduled to work once every three months (once per quarter), and quarterly “team” listings are emailed.
Shelter Visits & Cooking Ministries
Sanctuary House women’s shelter and Francis Center men’s shelter are visited monthly, taking a hot meal and fellowship. St. Josephs House of Hospitality is a shelter we visit on Mondays during the winter months, and small groups from the church choose a Monday to prepare and serve a meal. Help prepare food for delivery by teams going to the city shelters and tutoring program.
Learning Links
This is a weekly tutoring program at the Pines of Perinton. Find additional information at this link.
Gleaning
“And when you reap the harvest…leave the gleanings for those in need”. Leviticus 19:9-10
Every fall since 2015 a group of volunteers have been going to Bejo Seed Farm, outside of Geneva, on Saturday mornings, to collect fresh produce that gets distributed to outlets throughout our area where it is made available to people who otherwise might not have access to free, fresh produce.
Our group goes out every Saturday mornings from 9am until around Noon, weather permitting, from the start of September until mid-November. Volunteers of any age, who are willing to spend 2-3 hours on a Saturday morning digging vegetables out of the ground or picking them off vines, are welcome to join us.
Many of the people in our group have connected with a local outlet for the produce (a church, shelter, soup kitchen, or food pantry that they are collecting for) and act as that organization’s representative. Many others come out just to help collect.
If you would like to be part of this awesome group of amazing, hard-working, dedicated gleaners who were a blessing to so many people in our area who are food-insecure, please contact Mark Renfro at 585-721-2513, or [email protected].
United Women in Faith
The work of the United Women in Faith is mission, which includes advocacy and service. As United Women in Faith we raise up women as leaders and encourage acts of service through the large group activities. We join together in God’s mission through prayer, study and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Our emphasis is children, youth, and women. Some of our yearly activities include our reading program and our Advent Communion Service. We also enjoy fellowship at our annual picnic and monthly meetings. All women are invited to our events and do not need to be a member of the organization or the church. All are welcome. For more information contact Jennie Guy 377-5876 [email protected] .
Under the Umbrella of United Women in Faith, we have two Circles that meet each month:
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- Naomi Circlemeets the second Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the church parlor. They come together in God’s name for fellowship, service and learning. Their activities include soup and bread outreach, favors for nursing homes and an annual field trip. Contact Ellie Robinson at 433-8188 [email protected] for more information.
- Ruth Circleis a group of women who meet at church on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. in the parlor. They engage in a book review each year, a nursing home project and invite speakers to share mission opportunities. Contact Lori Lorraine at 223-2924 [email protected] for more information.
- Book Clubmeets the fourth Monday night each month at Panera Bread on Rt. 31. They meet at 7 p.m. to discuss a chosen book. You do not need to have read the book to attend. Hope to start this again in the fall.
United Methodist Men
UMM is a group of men that are devoted to serving God, our church, its members, our local community, and our world.
For spiritual programming, our group offers regular small group meetings, as well as periodic retreats. These retreats are theme-based with a facilitator and music. Our small group meets on Monday evenings and discusses topical books, articles, movies, YouTube videos, etc. This group has met for 15 years and is open to all men.
We are supportive of our church, its staff, and congregation, both financially and by giving our time to events such as picnics, family-fun nights, Shrove Tuesday dinners, pancake breakfasts, etc. In addition to providing meals at church gatherings, we provide fellowship opportunities such as multi-generational game nights and Euchre tournaments.
Lastly, we support special projects financially, whether it’s purchasing special items for the church, donating to church programs, or donating to local or global charities. For example, for many years we have supported a scholarship enabling a student to attend high school in Kenya. These donations are enabled by our periodic fund-raising events, such as dinners and breakfasts, which also provide opportunities for congregational fellowship.
Feel free to contact Dave Dupont at 585-425-4079 for more information or if you have questions regarding this ministry. Come join us for fun, food, and fellowship and in service to others!
Perinton Congregations for Flower City Habitat for Humanity
Congregations for Flower City Habitat for Humanity is one of the ministries of Ecumenical Ministries of Perinton, Inc., a “member” nonprofit corporation. Fairport UMC is one of a dozen Fairport/Perinton Churches that are members of the corporation and provide oversight of the ministries by appointing members to serve as corporate directors.
This year the eighth Habitat home has be built and dedicated by the Perinton Congregations for Flower City Habitat since 1999. Perinton Congregations raise $65,000 to help build for Flower City Habitat every 3 years or so. Fairport UMC’s own 50/50 fund contributes $5000 each year.
Volunteer work on a new house will begin in July. Volunteers can work individually or assemble in groups of 8 to 20 depending upon work requirements. New for this year, the work to be done for each day will be listed online so you can choose a job that interests you. No experience is necessary and all tools will be provided. Volunteer workdays are 9 AM to 4 PM, Wednesdays through Saturdays. and will continue through the fall. Youth ages 16 and 17 can volunteer with written parental permission.
Small Groups
Please pick up the brochure in the Parlor that describes all our small groups.
Volunteer
There are many opportunities to volunteer in, or with, the church: Sunday School teachers, greeters, groundskeepers, VBS, shelter visits, and many more. Contact the church at [email protected]. And check out our events page!
Links
Upper New York Conference
Genesee Valley District
The Religious Institute
The United Methodist Church
Reconciling Ministries Network
Learning Links of Fairport
Advent House, comfort care for the terminally ill
Perinton Churches Housing, Inc.
Fairport/Perinton Senior Living Senior Council, Inc.
Resolve (formerly Safe Journey) help for survivors of domestic abuse
Perinton Food Shelf
Perinton Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. (PEM) and Ecumenical Ministries of Perinton, Inc. (PEM)
Perinton Congregations for Flower City Habitat for Humanity
Prison Ministries of Upstate New York
Stop the Stima Roc (teen and young adult suicide prevention)
Flower City Habitat for Humanity