The Presbytery of Great Rivers

---

During the early 1990s, First Presbyterian Church of Macomb frequently saw the following scenario. A financially strapped single mother has an unexpected expense. There is no food in her house. She contacts a church, which directs her to another church or an agency. She finally receives some help but each step on the way costs her precious time and effort. So First Presbyterian acted to establish a food pantry. In 1993, it joined with St. Paul Catholic Church to create Loaves & Fishes, Etc., housed at First Church. As needs increased, other churches began participating, and Loaves & Fishes, Etc. extended its services to include emergency aid for medications, rent, utilities, and transportation. In 2004, with a matching grant from the presbytery, Loaves & Fishes, Etc. served 3,139 households in over 1,467 hours from volunteers in eleven cooperating churches.

The individual stories of missions within the presbytery range from the Economy Corner resale thrift shop at First United Presbyterian of Knoxville, which serves a community where the loss of manufacturing jobs left many families facing tough economic circumstances, to a vibrant ministry in Kandithankulum, India, that was started by two members of Faith United Presbyterian of Monmouth.

There are 110 churches with 21,224 members in the Presbytery of Great Rivers. Three Presbyterian colleges are within its bounds: Blackburn College, Illinois College, and Monmouth College.