We want to be a church community where families can serve together, even those with very young children. Here are a few ideas for families.
YEAR-ROUND:
Sunday Servers
Join us on Sunday mornings from about 9-10:30 a.m.for fellowship and serving breakfast to residents of one of the San Mateo County homeless shelters. We leave the shelter in time to participate in one of MPPC's 11 a.m. worship services. Appropriate for families with kids age 9 and up.
SpiritCare Ministry to Seniors
Join a regular "Cheergiver" team with volunteers from other churches and community organizations to bring hope to isolated older adults living in long-term care centers and at home alone. Very young children can bring special joy to lonely elderly people.
Safe@Home
A family-friendly MPPC ministry working in partnership with Rebuilding Together one weekend a month to assist elderly, ill, and needy homeowners with their house maintenance. Projects are designed to be fun for the whole family and completed within 4-6 hours by a group of 8-12 volunteers. Children of all ages are welcome to serve alongside a parent.
Garfield School Food Distribution
Join in on the second Tuesday of each month, from 2:30-6 p.m., when two of our ministry partners, Serve the Peninsula and Second Harvest Food Bank work together to distribute groceries to qualifying families at this elementary school in Redwood City. Appropriate for all ages.
City Impact Workdays
About once a quarter and on Compassion Weekend, we head up to our ministry partner in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco to prepare meals for the poor, deliver meals, or work on a project for their K-8 school. Appropriate for families with kids age 5 and up.
SPRING:
Compassion Weekend
Every year in the spring (this year April 28-29) we take a weekend to serve our local community instead of attending worship services. There are always several family-friendly serving projects to choose from. Take this opportunity to try out something new with your kids!
SUMMER:
Family Mission Trips
Many of our mission trips are designed for families with children, some as young as 5 years old. Family trips are taking off this summer to San Francisco, Mexico, Guatemala and France.
Back-to-School Outreach
Go shopping for school supplies! We work with each July to collect school backpacks filled with supplies for low income families in the Fair Oaks area. Appropriate for all ages.
FALL:
Adopt-A-Teacher
Sign up to join with another family or a small group to support a teacher in the Ravenswood School District by providing resources and encouragement. All ages welcome.
Hotel de Zink
Serve our homeless guests while they are with us at MPPC during the month of November. Hotel de Zink is a homeless shelter program run by InnVision. Named after a Palo Alto police officer who opened up the police station on cold, rainy nights during the Great Depression to let people come in and sleep, it rotates between 12 area churches, each housing 12-17 people for one month. Children of all ages welcome.
Children's Ministries in Menlo Park