OUTREACH & MINISTRIES | first-and-central

Outreach &

Ministries

At Home

Our mission is to seek the challenges of the city and to be a part of downtown Wilmington as we live into the realities of urban life.

1 in 7B Shower and Laundry Volunteering

F&C is volunteering as a group the first Saturday of every month through October. If you’d like to join us, you can click here to sign up.

Summer Sanctuary

Following last summer’s success, F&C will once again open Memorial Hall in July and August to neighbors in need of a place to get out of the heat on Saturday afternoons from 1 to 5 pm. Volunteers are needed. Click here to sign up.

Friendship House Dinners: One or more volunteers prepare and take dinner to typically ten women residing in Friendship House's transitional homes. Volunteers are invited (and encouraged!) to share the meal and hear the stories of the women. To offer assistance, contact the church office.

Wilmington Kitchen Collective: In May of 2022, First & Central became an official part of this community development program, which provides culinary entrepreneurs access to commercial kitchen space. This is a partnership with the Wilmington Alliance, Grace United Methodist Church, and the Riverfront Church.

Giving Tree: During the Sundays in Advent, First & Central congregants donate gift cards, food, clothing or other products for distribution to organizations and programs with whom we partner. In 2024, recipients included Independent Living for Young Adults, Meals on Wheels, the Haiti Reforestation Project, and Winter Sanctuary. Although the Giving Tree is Advent-focused, donations to all of these programs are welcomed year-round. Click here to give.

Meals on Wheels: This renowned program delivers hot meals to the homebound. A First & Central member and pastor brought Meals on Wheels to Wilmington 40 years ago, and it continues to be an important volunteer opportunity for our members.

Serving special youths: In cooperation with PFLAG of Delaware and various schools' Gay-Straight Alliances, we have hosted Prom-style dances for the LGBTQIA+ youths in our community. As well, in partnership with the Down Syndrome Association of Delaware, we hosted a Valentine's Day Dance.

I was originally drawn to First & Central to join the choir, and I realized my spiritual journey also would include the Mission at Home program. This gives me an opportunity to serve the poor in the urban setting of which this church is an integral part.

Mac

Our Larger Community

Appalachian Service Project: In many summers, a group of F&C youth volunteers travels with their chaperones to the mountains of Appalachia to participate.

Cuba: In 2014, a group from F&C traveled to Cuba, taking sewing materials, tools, and other much-needed goods. The travelers learned a great deal about Cubans and their worship during the visit, and also enjoyed talking with the hosts about life in the US. In return we have welcomed leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Cuba to worship with us, as we maintain an ongoing relationship with the church in Placetas, Cuba.

First & Central member Grace Fulda is spending a year as a YAV (Young Adult Volunteer) in the Republic of Korea (beginning September, 2021). Follow her blog, and keep her in your prayers.

Team Hope, based at First & Central, is helping to resettle an Afghan family following takeover of their country by the Taliban. The family of three are now living in Wilmington, adjusting to their new lives here.