Our Mission
RECONCILING MINISTRIES NETWORK
Our purpose is to worship God, share the gospel of Jesus Christ, welcome all who come, celebrate and pass on our rich Christian heritage, nurture our fellowship, and discover our place in God's creation.
As a reconciling congregation, our intention is to love our neighbor in the Spirit of God's reconciling love.
In this Spirit
We welcome people of all ages, races, national origins, economic abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, family configurations, and mental and physical capacities.
-
All ministries and sacraments of our fellowship are available without discrimination.
-
Together with our neighbors, we work for social and personal transformation, justice, healing, and peace.
Our Missions
Missionary work, so important to the world church, has been exercised from our congregation consistently over our entire life, from trips to India in the 19th Century through work in Russia, the Philippines, the Balkans, and England today. These efforts, in turn, have spawned new mission projects to other countries. In Mozambique when a hospital was failing due to poor management, we paid for the education of Jeremias Franca so that he could become the administrator. Mission work this expansive is highly unusual for a church of our size and is something of which we should be proud.
The congregation of Middlebury United Methodist Church supports:
Globally
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) provides immediate assistance in disasters and supports ongoing ministries of food, shelter and medical care.
Chicuque Rural Hospital, Mozambique (dedicated fund for hospital support)
In the USA
Our gifts on Special Sundays support these United Methodist ministries:
Native American Ministries (equips and empowers Native American ministries and outreach)
Human Relations (work with at-risk youth and social justice)
Peace with Justice (supports peace and justice in local communities)
World Communion (supports scholarships, ethnic scholarship and in-service programs)
United Methodist Students (scholarships for United Methodist college, university and graduate students)
Golden Cross Sunday (provides financial assistance to retired clergy and their surviving spouses)
Locally
Charter House Coalition (we hold an annual Christmas concert to raise funds for the homeless shelter)
CVOEO (Champlain Valley Office for Economic Opportunity; we support the local office with food donations and pack flour and sugar monthly. Please bring non-perishable food items for COVEO.)
Hats & Mittens (our Christian Crafts group makes hats, mittens, scarves etc. for community winter needs)
Organizations which use our building and facilities
Alcoholics Anonymous (3 groups weekly)
Friends of Ilsley Library
Middlebury Natural Foods Coop
Addison County Home Health & Hospice
Milk and Honey Quilters’ Guild
Our building has served us well. We have opened our doors, offering it as a sanctuary to dozens of organizations committed to the betterment of humanity-- SHARE, Addison County Home Health and Hospice, Counseling Services of Addison County, ACCAG, to name a few. This act of giving what is ours to others has compounded the good deeds of our congregation. Mary Johnson Children's Center and Project Independence were both founded in this building and are now cornerstone organizations in our community.
