The Peterson Memorial Education Fund of the First Congregational Church, South Hadley was established in 1985 to help people who want to pursue their education, but whose financial situation makes it difficult for them to do so. Since 1985, contributions have been made to the Fund in Ginger Peterson’s memory and awards have been given to many well-deserving recipients. As a teacher, Ginger firmly believed that education could go a long way towards solving the problems of individuals, communities and nations. In this spirit, a fund was set up in her name to help individuals pursue educational goals.

In 2005 the Education Fund was augmented with contributions made in honor of the 15^th anniversary of the ordination of Ginger’s husband, Gus Peterson, and his 15 years of dedicated service and spiritual leadership of our congregation.

Over the years the Fund has assisted members and friends of our congregation, area high school students headed for college, and students enrolled at local colleges with a variety of education and religious endeavors that they were having difficulty financing. In 2007 an award was given from the Fund to Sarah Howe, who took an educational mission trip to Durban, South Africa, with classmates from Connecticut College. An award was also given in 2007 to a student from Zimbabwe who is studying business administration at Mount Holyoke College. She has a goal of using her education to help orphans with their educational and financial needs.

The Fund is administered by the Mission Committee of this Church. The Mission Committee has designated the Peterson Fund Committee to perform the day-to-day administration of the Fund. The members of the Peterson Fund Committee are Bobbie Ayers, Sarah Smith, John Webster, and Del Borah.

The Peterson Fund Committee is seeking qualified applicants who exemplify the spirit of this program and are in need of assistance for the upcoming school year. Applications for the upcoming school year are due by July 1, 2007. Applications for other educational opportunities, such as workshops, religious conferences, etc., may be submitted at any time.

Informational brochures and application forms for awards are available through the Church office. If you would like more information about the Peterson Memorial Education Fund, please contact Del Borah, Barbara Ayers, John Webster, or Sarah Smith. If you would like to make a donation to the Fund, you can place it in the collection basket (please write “Peterson Memorial Education Fund” on the envelope or in the memo area on your check).

Del Borah

March 15, 2008

Mission Committe:

Charlotte Buijnarowski
Gayle Kenneson
Dorothea Ashworth
Sarah Smith
Diane Deshaies
Ruth Cowen

Center Church worked with other churches in Holyoke, Granby, and South Hadley to build a Habitat for Humanity House in Holyoke.

Church members assembled dozens of "Gifts of the Heart" - basic health kits that are quickly distributed by Church World Service anywhere that disaster strikes.

2007 Annual Report

At the end of 2006 and beginning of 2007, the Mission Committee spent time defining our objectives (within our constitutional charter). We agreed that our objectives are:

Donations to Mission Partners

· Our primary job is making donations from the church to our Mission Partners; both allocating our budget, and raising additional money.

Communication

· A closely related responsibility is informing the church about our Mission Partners

· Our primary communication vehicles are: Church at the Center, Mission Moments, the Bulletin, the Mission Partner Brochure, the church Web site, and the portable Mission bulletin board

Congregational involvement in Service projects

· We have an important role in helping the congregation to become actively engaged in service opportunities

· We sponsor ongoing projects: Center Church Food Pantry, Gifts of the Heart, CROP

· We want to sponsor one-at-a-time focus projects (e.g.,

In the context of these objectives, the Mission Committee’s 2007 accomplishments were as follows.

Donations to Mission Partners

Total 2007 Center Church donations to our Mission Partners were $20,105 (an additional $3,500 bequest became available late in the year, but we postponed to donation decisions until 2008). Breakdowns showing sources and recipients of Mission Giving are included at the end of this report. Total donations for the past few years have been:

· 2003 - $24,897

· 2004 - $28,203

· 2005 - $41, 258 (the year of the Indian Ocean tsunami and Katrina)

· 2006 - $28,265

· 2007 - $20,105

Communication

Over the course of the year, we included articles in the Church at the Center on many of our Mission Partners; e.g., Girls, Inc., CROP, Nothing but Nets, One Great Hour of Sharing, Neighbors in Need, Strengthen the Church, the Christmas Fund, Heifer International

We further highlighted some Mission Partners with Mission Moments included as part of the Sunday worship service; e.g., Girls, Inc, Nothing but Nets

The church web site www.centerchurchsouthhadley.org includes key information and links to the sites of our Mission Partners.

We have recently begun using the new rolling bulletin board to highlight church Mission Partners and activities

Congregational Involvement in Service Projects

Since completion of the Habitat for

Our primary focus has been Girls, Inc of Holyoke, which was founded in 1981to inspire “all girls to be strong, smart and bold” in a city where 4 out of 10 children live in poverty and the teen pregnancy rate is the highest in the state. Girls involved in Girls, Inc have a 100% high school graduation rate, compared to less than 50% for the city. In April church members participated in the fund raising and information sharing “Spirit of Girls Breakfast”. All who attended came away committed to this program. This Fall, Charlotte Buijnarowski volunteered to serve on the Girls, Inc. Activities Committee. We are still seeking a focus project that can involve many members of the congregation.

Late in the year, we renewed our interest in the Western Mass Food Bank. Availability of food for the needy is at crisis levels, and the Food Bank system is the most effective conduit for moving available food from where it is to where it is needed. December snowstorms slowed our efforts to engage with Western Mass Food Bank, but we have discussions planned beginning Jan 8.

Respectfully submitted,

Rich Lovelace, for the committee: Betsy Bergen, Betty Innocent, Charlotte Buijnarowski, Diane Deshaies, Dot Ashworth, Eliot Chartrand, Gayle Kenneson, John Webster, Ruth Cowan, Sarah Smith

Humanity Circle

of Faith project, we have been working to select a next focus project for Center Church congregational involvement.

Habitat Circle

of Faith)