During March our 200th anniversary celebration focuses on Outreach. Member Tamara Slaughter will share stories of service to our community and the world.
Our next medical mission will be a Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, March 12, 1:30-6 pm in the Life Center. Make an appointment here or call 800-733-2767.
Have you joined in a Red Cross blood drive at our church? Maybe you’ve seen medical checks going on when you volunteer at Hot Dish & Hope? Did you know FPC supports Mustard Seed Community Health, a low-cost healthcare resource for Guilford County residents? These are great examples of FPC’s medical missions, but they’re not the only ones.
We have a longstanding partnership with the Red Cross making blood donation drives a continuous part of our church calendar. Pre-Covid, Moses Cone Hospital conducted free blood-pressure checks, diabetes screenings, medication chats with a pharmacist plus flu shot clinics at Hot Dish & Hope while FaithAction International House helped people get health-care cards.
In addition to these ongoing efforts, FPC has organized and supported medical missions such as free dental clinics, providing teams to help during the AIDS crisis, and sending doctors to Honduras and the ESPWA orphanage in Haiti.
In 2009 and 2010, we organized a free dental clinic with 200 FPC volunteers serving 300+ people. It was such a success that leadership was handed on and it was moved to the Greensboro Coliseum. People came from as far as Texas, queuing up overnight in lines streaming around the building.
The AIDS epidemic of the 1990’s was a tremendously fearful time. Dire health consequences, social stigma, an ill-equipped health care system, and an unprepared, often unwilling family support network left many people alone. The Guilford Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (GRAIN) developed a program training volunteer teams to “provide compassionate in-home care and support to persons living with AIDS, their families and loved ones.” Our church provided two teams and financial support for GRAIN and the Triad Health Project.
Many years ago, our church became involved in helping an orphanage in Haiti called ESPWA. Included was a clinic for the children and the local community. Several of our medical professionals and supporting volunteers visited to provide medical help. In 2016, doctors and support volunteers from our congregation also went to provide surgical assistance at a Christian hospital in Seguatepeque, Honduras. The doctors conducted surgeries all day every day for a week, making it a tiring but rewarding experience.
Our medical missions are always evolving according to the needs our congregation, Outreach Committee, and church staff see and our congregation’s wishes to serve.
