Missions Updates.
Hi COTC,
As followers of Jesus, we are called to be a light to the nations, to share the gospel far and wide, and to love our neighbors. In the busyness of our lives, it can be easy for much of our faith life to be focused on Sundays and our own receiving, but our call to be on mission with God extends far beyond Sunday worship and the walls of our church.
When COTC was first planted over 7 years ago, we've had mission partners that we work with in various ways. Our ongoing prayers is for missions to become even more central to who COTC is, but we are also thankful that good work is already being done. As we head into wrapping up our April/May missions project with Hope Clinic, I wanted to take the opportunity to share a bit with y'all about missions at COTC.
One way that COTC has engaged in missions is through the implementation of a missions team. The team meets every six weeks, with additional work and communication happening between meetings. Last summer, the missions team started a new focus on church-wide mission projects that not only serve some of our mission partners but provide an opportunity for the entire church to learn more about our partners and to take part in a meaningful way in their work. It's been a joy to offer these opportunities to COTC and to press deeper into the Kingdom work they are doing. For a quick review of the projects we've engaged in since September 2022, see below.
September— Lunch with Intervarsity graduate students lunch. We are so thankful that from this lunch some ongoing relationships between COTC parishioners and UT students have formed. Some families were able to host students for Christmas meals as well.
October— In October, COTC hosted and helped with some of the logistics for the first Diaspora Conference. This was especially significant because in doing so, we were able to support the work of Fr Jonathan. If you haven't already, mark your calendar for this year'sDiaspora Conference on 7/28 & 7/29. Those of us who were able to attend were so blessed by the event. Also, if you'd like to volunteer at this event, contact
Jonathan.
In December, we provided Christmas gifts for students at Harris Elementary. Harris is a neighborhood school close to where our old parish house was located. It primarily serves Latino students and we hope to build even more relationship with the school in the coming years.
Each February, we celebrate World Missions Sunday. Leading up to this Sunday we have many of our mission partners come and share about the work they are doing with the congregation. We're starting to ramp up planning for World Missions Sunday 2024. Pray for the team as we plan this!
April/May— Hope Clinic One is one of our oldest mission partners. You may remember Jodi, from Hope, coming to share with us earlier this year about the good work they are doing to provide free medical care to those in need in Austin. On May 4th several COTC parishioners toured Hope Clinic to learn more about how they serve the community and to learn about volunteer opportunities. We are so grateful to Hope for providing this opportunity and we can't wait to see the fruit that comes from it. Additionally, as a church, we have the opportunity to provide hygiene bags for Hope patients this month. So far, we have had great support for this project, but we still need7 hygiene bags and 31 care bags. You can sign up to provide bags and learn more onour website. Bags can be dropped off at the church on 5/14 or 5/21 in the box in the lobby. If you need to drop bags off during the week, please contactKellie to make arrangements. The final day to get your bags turned in is May 21st.
You can learn more about our current partners on ourwebsite. We encourage you to pray for our partners, explore how you can volunteer with them, and consider supporting them financially.
The peace of Christ,
Kimberly