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Saint Cloud FUMC reaches out in myriad ways to our neighbors in the community, area, and beyond. From helping church members with home projects to feeding and protecting the homeless, to traveling to Costa Rica, we seek to be the hands and feet of God in so many ways. We have opportunities for those taking their first steps in missions to the seasoned mission traveler.
Bags of Love is an essential ministry of our church. We provide a takeaway breakfast and lunch for anyone in need. Items such as clothing and toiletries are also available. Sometimes we even have haircuts and used bikes available! People are also available to help clients connect to other community resources to aid with health, housing, or legal issues.
Volunteers are always needed to help with the many tasks associated with this ministry including:
Cooking Breakfast
Cleaning Dishes
Lunch preparation
Food and Item Distribution
Handling Donations
Clean up
Security
If you are interested in getting involved in this ministry, please contact our Mercy Ministries Coordinator below.
Coordinator: Donna Regn
Elmer’s Kitchen is another meal outreach for our community. Saint Cloud FUMC serves as the host site of Elmer’s Meal Kitchen, partnering with the St. Cloud Ministerial Association. Each Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center, a free nutritious meal is served to those in need by a different church or local group.
Elmer’s Meal Kitchen Ministry got its name back in November 1999 when a generous man donated $25,000.00 for the sole purpose of providing a soup kitchen for the homeless, lonely elderly people, unemployed and under-employed people in our community with the community churches working together to cook, serve and clean up after the meals. It was decided that the Family Life Center at the First United Methodist Church St. Cloud would be the location. On the first Sunday in January 2000, we served our first 5 people and with second helpings a total of 9 meals. Today we are serving between 50 to 60 people and serve 90 to 100 meals including second helpings and meals to go. First St. Cloud serves every second and our youth community on any fifth Sunday of the month.
If you are willing to help with this ministry, please contact our Mercy Ministries Coordinator below for more details.
While we are blessed with generally warm weather in the winter months in Saint Cloud, we do have occasional nights that can be quite cold and challenging for our homeless community. To ensure their health and safety, Saint Cloud FUMC opens the doors of our Family Life Center to those needing a warm place to stay on any night when the temperature drops below 35 degrees.
Our Cold Night volunteers set up the Family Life Center with cots and blankets, and provide food and beverages. Warm clothing and blankets are typically also made available for those needing them.
Volunteers are a critical resource to make this effort successful. Teams are needed to:
Setup the area
Check-in guests staying with us
Prepare food/snacks
Stay with our guests overnight
Tear Down the area in the morning
If you can share your gifts of time, hospitality, and caring with this community, please contact Flo Shrum (casemanager@firstchurchstcloud.org) to get on our volunteer list and get more information.
Coordinator: Flo Shrum
Our Bags of Love ministry offers Food Boxes to those in need of more than breakfast and lunch. Staple food items and frozen food items are available to those needing additional food assistance. Smaller food bags are also available for those home-insecure individuals. Clients can come to get food boxes/bags during Bags of Love operating hours on Tuesday and Thursday, as well as on Sunday during Elmer’s kitchen hours.
The Bags of Love team is always in need of new food donations to keep our pantry stocked. If you can, please bring donations to the church during office operating hours, and they will be gladly accepted. The following food items are needed:
Food Boxes:
Boxed milk Cereal
Pancake Mix Maple Syrup
Pasta Pasta sauce
Egg Noodles Elbow Macaroni
Macaroni and Cheese Canned Meat (tuna, chicken, salmon, beef)
Beans Soup
Ramon Noodles Canned Vegetables
Canned of Fruit Peanut Butter
Jelly
Extra Items such as: chips, cookies, Jello, pudding, gravy, boxed or powdered milk, cake mix, baking mixes, etc.
Bags for people on foot or bike (items need to be easy open):
Bottled water Drinks (juice, protein/nutrition drink)
Single-serve cereal
Single-serve milk (shelf-stable)
Canned pasta
Single-serve soup, rice, beans, mac-n-cheese
Pouch of Tuna
Crackers
Granola or cereal bars Pop Tarts
Instant oatmeal
Fruit cups
Single serve “chips”
Beef stick
Hard candy
Pre-wrapped plastic utensils
We are called to serve in the world, and Saint Cloud FUMC is responding to this call. We have mission events from one day in the region to international trips to share God’s love with people around the world. These projects involve youth and adults of all ages and capabilities. Special skills are not required to help out! Everyone is welcome to share what gifts and talents they have.
Our missions team is always looking for new opportunities to share love and faith with those in need. To learn more about future mission projects, visit our Events page to see the latest planned projects, schedules, and contacts for future details.
