Missions & Outreach
Kirk of Kildaire sponsors missions projects that are church-based, local, national, and global.
There are exciting ways for every member to serve God by serving others.
Volunteer Opportunites
Use your gifts to support the Kirk!
Coffee Mission
The Kirk COFFEE MISSION is part of the The Presbyterian Coffee Project PC (USA).
Our mission is a way to help people in need while enjoying fellowship and an excellent cup of coffee. As Christians we can address a consumer dilemma by buying coffee that is fairly traded by offering:
Sunday Morning Coffee at the Coffee Cart
This ministry is looking for volunteers to start up coffee service again – please contact Virginia Anthony if you would like to join this team!
The Kirk Coffee Mission buys, serves, & sells coffee from Free Trade Partners:
www.justcoffee.org
www.equalexchange.org
FAIR TRADE: A TASTE OF JUSTICE
The Presbyterian Coffee Project offers a new link between our congregations and people in other countries. We can reach out to our neighbors overseas with the things we purchase as well as the offerings we give.
Project Principles
- TO PAY A FAIR PRICE with a guaranteed minimum, ensuring the farmers a fair return for their labors.
- TO WORK WITH COOPERATIVES TO BUY DIRECTLY FROM THE FARMERS so the benefits of trade go to the farmers and their communities.
- TO PROVIDE CREDIT that farmers can afford, helping them to break the cycle of debt.
- TO ENCOURAGE ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE FARMING PRACTICES such as organic and shade-grown agriculture which build a long-term economic base for farmers while protecting community health and the environment.
To volunteer for this mission contact:
Virginia Anthony
Fellowship Ministry Team Leader
vmathony021360@gmail.com
Earth Care Congregation
The Kirk is an EARTH CARE congregation. To become certified as Earth Care Congregations churches take the Earth Care Pledge and complete activities and projects in the fields of worship, education, facilities and outreach.
For more information on this program at the Kirk, please contact Rev. Stephanie Arnold Workman, Associate Pastor for Mission.
To learn about the overall program visit:
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/earth-care-congregations/
To learn more about the exciting new Solar Panel Project, visit:
https://youtu.be/sinY4uwI7Fs
Program Contact:
Rev. Stephanie Arnold Workman
Associate Pastor for Mission
saworkman@kirkofkildaire.org
Community Garden
The Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian (USA) Church of Cary, NC, hosts a community garden:
to feed the hungry,
to better connect to its local community,
to engage its congregation and allow bonds to deepen through work in small groups, and
- to offer its members a great educational opportunity.
Visit our Community Garden Facebook Page
Kirk Community Garden spotlighted on WRAL-TV! (May 2021)
Join or view the discussion in our Yahoo! Group
Contact:
Community Garden Leader
garden@kirkofkildaire.org
Family Promise (formerly WIHN)
Family Promise of Wake County’s mission is to provide shelter, meals, case management and educational services to homeless families in addition to promoting action and awareness in the community regarding homelessness.
The Kirk serves as a host congregation for guests 3 or 4 weeks each year, one week at a time. As a host congregation, we are responsible for:
- evening housing of the guests each week
- preparing and feeding dinner and breakfast each day
- providing food for bag lunches
- setting up and breaking down sleeping quarters
- driving the van for pick up and return of guests to and from the Family Promise offices in Raleigh
- providing all the food, laundry supplies, etc. to make our guests comfortable during their stay.
For more information visit:
www.familypromisewake.org
Contact:
Rusty Parks
Project Coordinator
rdparks@bellsouth.net
Family Ties Christmas Gift Giving
Family Ties is one of the most popular annual mission projects at the Kirk. It is a Christmas mission where we receive gift requests from organizations who serve folks in need, many of whom are children and the elderly.
The organizations we work with are:
- Wake County Adult and Children’s Services
- Military Families
- Neighborhood Families
- Loaves and Fishes
We post these requests just before Thanksgiving and church members sign up and provide the gifts, wrapped and ready for Christmas giving.
Family Ties runs from mid-November to early December.
To participate, watch for announcements in the monthly newsletter, Kirk Krier and Sunday bulletins.
Food Drives
The Kirk sponsors an ongoing food drive as well as a larger, annual food drive called “March Madness.” Non-perishable food is donated by Kirk members and visitors, dropped into a collection cart in the hallway on the main level beside the elevator and used to stock the on-site food pantry.
March Food Drive Competition
An annual “March Madness” food drive has been held for the past few years, coinciding with the basketball March Madness NCAA tournament.
Members donate non-perishable food items to support their favorite local sports team.
The “competition” is judged on items received for each team. In recent years, over one ton of food was donated during this drive and a lot of fun was had in the process!
KOALA+ Program
MISSION STATEMENT
To prepare young people and their families to understand the options for post‑secondary planning. We want to help demystify the college and career prep process for students and help them create a path to their individual goals.
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS
In collaboration with Wake Technical Community College and The Wade Edwards Learning Lab, this mentoring program will help low income youth to explore post-secondary school education and career options. Mentors will work with students on their individual plans and goals. Each mentor will be matched with 1 student to provide individualized college and career support according to the student’s needs.
PROGRAM DETAILS
The Kirk will host speakers from The WELL and Wake Tech Community College twice monthly. Workshop topics will include:
GIVING OPTIONS
There are many ways to support this program. Individual and corporate donors may support financially with tax-deductible donations through the link HERE (select “KOALA+” under “Other Missions”). Giving levels are suggested below, but any amount is appreciated!
- $50 – Provides funds for 1 student to apply for college
- $100 – Provides equipment for 1 student to pursue vocational education
- $300 – Helps 1 student set up their dorm room
- $500 – Provides college textbooks for 1 semester for 1 student
- $1000 – Provides college textbooks for 2 semesters for 1 student
- $2000 – Provides a laptop for 1 student
- $3000 – Provide 1 year of tuition at a community college for 1 student
- $5000 – Provide 1 year of living expenses (meals, housing) for 1 student
- $10,000 – Provide 1 year of in-state tuition at a public university for 1 student
- $20,000 – Provide 1 year of tuition at a private college for 1 student
Contact for more information:
Program Lead: Amber Barnes
Advisory Team: Betsey McFarland, Patty Snow, Virginia Anthony
KOALA Tutoring Program
Kirk Outreach After School Learning Academy
This ministry offers one-on-one tutoring for children in grades 1 & 2 and group tutoring for student through high school. The students are struggling in school and benefit greatly from personalized tutoring.
When:
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday afternoons during the school year (October to May).
Van Drivers: 3:00-3:30 pm
Tutors: 4:00-5:00 pm
Substitutes are always needed as well.
Contact:
churchoffice@kirkofkildaire.org
Rise Against Hunger
The Kirk of Kildaire has partnered with Rise Against Hunger (formerly “Stop Hunger Now”) for over 10 years. In 2018, we packed our ONE MILLIONTH meal to feed the hungry across the globe. Typically held the first Saturday in December, the Kirk in conjunction with the Cary Rotary Club provides the funds and volunteers to pack 100,000 meals.
Rise Against Hunger delivers the raw materials, packaging, rice, soy protein, veggies, and vitamins to the church, volunteers unload the trucks, set up the assembly area, instructions are given and packaging begins. Each shift packages about one third of the meals, the boxes are put back in the trucks and the volunteers clean up at the end of the day. This is a great opportunity for families to do together!
Learn more: www.riseagainsthunger.org
To volunteer for the Kirk workday contact the project coordinator.
Contact:
Hal Jordan
Project Coordinator
hjordan@hkjconstruction.com
919-851-8279
Local Missions
Habitat for Humanity
The Kirk provides a group of volunteers one Saturday of every month to work on homes being built by Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. Volunteers usually donate about 6-7 hours. Experience is not required. This is a great team building activity for Sunday School classes, K-Groups, families and other small groups.
For more information visit:
www.habitatwake.org
To volunteer for this mission contact:
Amy Huenemann
Kirk Member
joelandamy@twc.com
919-469-8085
Helen Wright Center
Presbyterian Women Circles, Kirk Small Groups, and Kirk Youth prepare and serve a complete dinner monthly to approximately forty residents at the Helen Wright Center for Women, a homeless shelter in downtown Raleigh. Meals are delivered to the center by Kirk volunteers by 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7:00 pm. Center residents handle clean up.
One of the volunteers loading food from the Kirk needs to have a key fob to the church.
Those serving can expect to return to the Kirk no later than 8:00 pm.
Helen Wright Center Dinner Guidelines
Many guests have health problems, including decayed teeth, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol. Therefore, the staff recommends that we steer away from excess sugar and heavy casseroles and serve “lighter,” healthier food. Because many guests have decayed teeth, they cannot eat raw, hard vegetables, crusty breads or sweets.
The following meals are suggested by the staff as favorites of the residents:
- Meatloaf, baked potatoes, peas
- Pork chops, applesauce, green beans
- Chicken, rice, buttered carrots
- Chicken stir fry, rice, egg roll
- Beef pot roast, carrots, potatoes, onions
- Pizza, salad, ice cream sundaes
- Quiche, salad, ice cream sundaes
- Pinto bean/navy bean casserole, salad, vegetable
- Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans
Here are helpful hints provided by the staff:
- Most side dishes will require seconds, although not with baked potatoes.
- 3 to 4 large cabbages make sufficient coleslaw.
- Meat servings of following sizes are ample:
2 pork chops, 1/3 to 1/2 lb. meatloaf,
1/4 chicken or 1/4 lb. ham.
More is always welcome. - They appreciate fresh vegetable and fruit salads, also potato, macaroni, and pasta salads.
- Easy-to-serve desserts include bar cookies, cake, and brownies.
- Pie goes over well.
- Two and one-half gallons of ice cream is enough and goes over well.
Prepare and serve a meal for approximately 40 women, including:
- 5-6 casseroles (9” x 13”) or meat to serve 40 women
- 1 or more vegetables or fresh salad. Ranch salad dressing is very popular!
- Fresh fruit, fresh sliced tomatoes, cooked greens, and cooked carrots are especially appreciated.
- 2 gallons sweetened tea
- Bread and a spread, if desired.
- Dessert: ice cream, pie or fresh fruit salad with optional baked goods.
When & Where:
Kirk Kitchen (off the Fellowship Hall)
Second Monday of the Month
6:00 pm
Have hot food ready to serve. The meal is to be served at the Helen Wright Center for Women at 7:00 pm. Food can be reheated in the oven at the center.
Other Volunteers Needed to Load and Transport
Two people are needed to load food at the Kirk and two people are needed to transport the food and serve it at:
Helen Wright Center for Women (downtown location)
401 West Cabarrus Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(Downtown Raleigh across from the Amtrak Station)
Other Needs
In addition to meals, some groups choose to take donated items for the women on their designated month.
Examples of past requests include shower flip flops, trial-size toiletries, shower curtains and vinyl tablecloths.
Learn more at:
https://urbanmin.org/helen-wright-center/
For up-to-date details on specific needs, contact the Kirk coordinator.
Contact:
DJ Sellers
Kirk Coordinator
dj2114@aol.com
908-868-1655
Neighborhood Ministry
At the Kirk we love our neighbors! In the past few years we have developed a variety of program to meet the various needs of our neighbors. There are many ways to be involved in showing Jesus’ love to our neighbors. They include:
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Program – van drivers, childcare providers, and teachers needed
- Summer Program – breakfast and lunch are provided all summer in addition to enrichment programs for all ages.
- Christmas Party
Click a photo from our Wrenn Drive block party to view a gallery!
Contact:
Patty Snow
Neighborhood Ministry Director
patsnow@nc.rr.com
Summer Enrichment Program
Each summer the Kirk works with other local churches to host a nine-week program for neighborhood families.
For children, the activities include:
- active games
- reading enrichment
- crafts all based on a theme.
For adults, there are enrichment activities around life-skills such as:
- automotive repair
- knitting
- English as a Second Language (ESL)
- banking
- cooking
- music
A nutritious breakfast and lunch is served each day and families receive free food each week. Volunteers are needed to help in the various areas.
This ministry is funded from a variety of sources including USDA, New Hope Presbyterian, and Cary Women’s Giving Network Gift Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation.
Contact:
Patty Snow
Program Director
patsnow@nc.rr.com
919-656-8504
Mission Trips
Guatemala
Kirk of Kildaire completed its first mission trip to Guatemala in July 2006. A group of 14 members led by Rev. Jody Welker spent three days in Pala’, a remote rural village in the mountains of Guatemala. Upon returning from the mission trip, the group decided to explore a partnership with the Peace of God Presbyterian Church in Pala’. In 2007 we initiated our partnership. We began with 8 scholarship (beca) students and have continued to expand our work.
Mission Statement
The goal of the Guatemala Mission Team of Kirk of Kildaire, Presbyterian is to help improve the lives of the indigenous peoples in Guatemala. Projects that will be funded by the group should fall into one of the following categories:
- education
- economic development
- health care
- disaster relief
All projects will have financial support from The Kirk and other contributors at the inception of the program but should ultimately be self-sustainable.
We take one mission trip each year in early January. Each trip lasts 7 days. The maximum number of participants is 15. We strive to always take a mix of returning and new travelers and average 3-5 new travelers each trip. We also welcome travelers from other congregations.
For more information, visit:
Guatemala Village Partners Facebook page
GV Partners
Current Trips
Upcoming Trip: January 2023
Guatemala Projects
Food Assistance to Pala during the Pandemic
Pala is a small, indigenous village in the mountains of Guatemala. The Kirk of Kildaire has maintained an active partnership with the village of Pala since 2008. Everyone in Pala is poor. But for those without regular income or access to land suitable for farming, the challenges are even greater. In the spring of 2020, an almost complete shutdown of the economy and public/private transportation by the Guatemalan government in response to the coronavirus closed markets and blocked normal sources of income. The people of Pala are survivors and can get by on very little. Still, without access to money or food, rations in Pala became very meager and food insecurity was increasing. Two stories below tell how the Kirk of Kildaire responded.
The Kirk of Kildaire (KOK) partners with the Cary Rotary Club and Rise Against Hunger each fall to package meals for international hunger relief. Rise Against Hunger meals were being stored and used in Pala to provide school lunches. But with schools shut down, lunches were not being served. During the first week of June, Hal Jordan coordinated with Rise Against Hunger to release these meals for general use. The meal packets were distributed among 33 families that were selected as having the most immediate need.
The second story is a tale of even greater collaboration. Read more here.
Education
Brenda Armstrong Library and Computer Center: Construction of the library was finsihed by the end of 2009 and inaugurated, outfitted and staffed with a Director, Assistant and Computer Teacher in 2010. There are over 2,400 books available for lending plus multiple educational resources. The computer room is outfitted with a PC lab, printer and copy machine. Yearly maintenance is performed by mission groups.
Educational Scholarships (Becas): Each new middle school student is assigned a sponsor from the United States who commits to help pay for their education for three years. Students are from Pala’ and neighboring communities. Current numbers:
- 37 Middle School students ($200 per year) – study in the local middle school
- 15 High School students ($700 per year) – study out of town since there is no high school in Pala’
- 17 weekend university students ($900 per year)
We require that half the students be female and half male. There is no requirement that they attend any particular church.
At the end of each year, we receive a list of 10 additional scholarship requests for middle school students and at this time we look for new sponsors. We also periodically have new high school or university students who receive scholarships. As students advance to high school, the cost more than doubles since they must attend schools that are in other towns; therefore, we also look for co-sponsors to divide the cost of the yearly scholarship. As a student begins high school, we ask the sponsor to provide their student a new backpack. Backpacks are extremely expensive in Guatemala.
Our sponsors and students foster a relationship by writing letters which are delivered at each trip. In January we also have SKYPE sessions so that the sponsors and students can have a face to face conversation.
All new scholarship students receive a back pack with school supplies in the January trip; additional school supplies are distributed among teachers. This project is now organized by Cary Presbyterian.
Educational Workshops: Each January workshops are presented to the teachers in Pala’ to assist them and present them with new teaching tools. Most of the topics covered are at the request of the teachers.
We work closely with the Directors of the local middle and elementary schools . We have visited one of the high schools (Colegio Elim) our students attend and have led teacher workshops for their faculty.
Theological Training: Each January our senior pastor Jody Welker conducts Bible Studies and theological training sessions for the pastor and lay leaders of the church in Pala’. He has also conducted day long seminars for pastors from throughout the presbytery in Guatemala.
Economic Development
Coffee plants: The first Kirk mission trip involved planting coffee plants on the side of the mountain.
Microloan Program: Fifty-four (54) men and women have received micro-loans since the inception of this project in 2008. To date, the micro-loans have been repaid with interest on a regular basis. The funds are then loaned out again to all who qualify. The initial amount of a loan was $70 but has now increased to almost $100 as a result of some funds being donated to this project and the interest that has been paid. Most of the loans have been used by the men to improve their coffee crops and women have used the loans to buy pigs, for textile projects, etc.
In 2014 we began to transition the management of this program to the leadership in Pala’.
Agricultural Diversification Program: This program was launched with an initial group of 10 farmers (half men, half women) in January 2013.
Working with an agricultural engineer who travels to Pala’ once a month, the group has learned best practices such as fertilization, mulch, compost, crop diversification, etc. Until this point, most of the people in the village only grew coffee. This group has learned how to grow many vegetables and flowers to sell in the market. They have also raised poultry in a coop rather than having the birds roam around the area. This allows them to be able to take the poultry to market in 4 months rather than 2 years.
This program was so successful in only the first year, that a second group of 10 farmers was chosen to begin the program while the first group continued their education. We believe this project will ultimately allow most of the families in Pala’ to increase their income.
Textile program: For the past three years, Barney Hale has worked with a weaving guild that he established in Pala’. This group of 22 women sells Barney 12 scarves at each trip. Barney brings the scarves back to the US and sells the scarves in a number of locations. All proceeds go back to the women who weave the scarves. To date over 600 scarves have been sold.
The women who are in the program tell us that their husbands allow them to keep this income. The money has been used to pay off loans, purchase crops, etc. The women all feel that this is giving them power they have never had.
Public Health & Nutrition
Men’s and Women’s Health Workshops: Since 2009, Mike Anthony, MD, has traveled to Pala’ on an annual basis and conducted health workshops for the men and women. We have partnered with a non-profit in Guatemala, APROFAM, to assist in general health seminars. We are now working with the Community Health Worker who services the village.
Guatemala Village Partners (our official 501(c)3) has partnered with Rise Against Hunger to provide meals for a school lunch program. This encourages parents to send children to school and to improve general nutrition. Guatemala has the fourth highest malnutrition rate in the world. Each school day 200 school children in Pala’ participate in the lunch program.
This program has now expanded to the Colegio Elim (high school) in Santo Tomas to provide lunches for their students. We have also provided emergency meals in Pala’ and the coastal village of El Chico after torrential rains kept them isolated from the rest of the country. Meals have also been provided to an orphanage in Huehuetenango.
Other Projects
Musical Instrument Drive: At the request of the youth group of the church in Pala’, we have a continuing musical instrument drive to collect and repair used instruments that we deliver each January.
Kitchen Drive: In 2013 funds were raised thanks to the annual “Peach on the Porch” mission drive at the Kirk. These funds were used to help improve the rustic kitchen used by the church in Pala’. With the funds, the women of the church in Pala’ were able to purchase a new storage cabinet, 3 huge cooking pots, 150 plates/dishes and cups, 2 blenders, 1 teapot and 1 refrigerator.
Other Missions 'The Kirk' Supports
The Kirk provides financial support to the following ministries: