United Presbyterian Church of Allerton, Iowa
 A Good Friday procession down Main Street in Allerton. Photo courtesy of United Presbyterian Church.
The United Presbyterian Church of Allerton, Iowa, recently received the Just Neighbors award from the Social Ministries Task Force of the Presbytery of Des Moines. Here are excerpts from the award presentation by Nancy Lister-Settle, moderator of the Social Ministries Task Force to the Rev. Ross Blount and the United Presbyterian Church. Blount serves as a tentmaker with the United Presbyterian Church family.
“On a whim, I Googled the phrase “Presbyterian community involvement” the other day — there were 65,000 entries. As I scrolled through them I found that most were from mission statements posted on church Web sites. Apparently a great many Presbyterians declare that community involvement is a very important part of the life of the church.
The congregation receiving the Just Neighbors award today could offer a tutorial. Just listen to the ways their ministry flows out the doors of the church building and into the community.
With the other churches in tow, they have a procession down Main Street on Palm Sunday and Good Friday. The Presbyterian Church takes the lead in the community’s annual Christmas program and community worship services.
In the past they sponsored a Thai Dam family, helping them with language lessons, job seeking, finding a home and becoming a part of the community. At present they are giving lessons to a family from Thailand.
During the farm crisis they worked with other churches to reach out to needy family and individuals, provided financial support and technical assistance, formed support groups and advocated for changes in lending policies and practices.
They have been active in a countywide ecumenical program called “CommUNITY for the Common Good.” The purpose is to train and equip church members to be a part of a system of care to help families move from welfare to self-sufficiency. They provide tutoring and mentoring as good neighbors and with funds from the presbytery’s Rural Harvest Offering they developed a directory of social services and access to used furniture for the needy.
The United Presbyterian Church of Allerton has also been involved in the wider community with their general mission giving as well as support for our missionary, Denise England in Egypt, and financial support for the Sudanese ministry at Cottage Grove Presbyterian Church in Des Moines. |
