-
Christmas Offering
Dear Members and Friends of First Congregational Church,
The Outreach team has designated this year’s Christmas offering to go to The Dwelling Place.
The Dwelling Place is a free dinner program in Woburn center that was founded in 1987 operating in the United Methodist Church. The Dwelling Place serves 50 meals three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday).
In 2023, The Dwelling Place opened their kitchen to immigrants fleeing dangerous conditions in Haiti. When families first arrived, many of their young children would not eat “American food” and were always hungry. Mothers were desperate to have a place to cook their own food, so The Dwelling Place expanded their services and bought food for these families, allowing them to cook their own meals in the church kitchen. Women came to The Dwelling Place and cooked 100 meals at a time to take back to hotels and feed their children.
The Dwelling Place also lets other groups use their kitchen to prepare meals. The YMCA, for example, offers a class that merges culinary training with ESOL education to teach cooking and English skills to new immigrants. These students come to the church three days a week to train as cooks. At the same time, they are improving their English language skills.
Gabriela Acosta, a professional chef, who teaches the YMCA class, explains her students not only improve their English and learn kitchen skills, but also work toward certifications that significantly improve job prospects. As someone who immigrated herself, Gabriela said how much she enjoys helping students develop the skills they need to succeed.
This is the stove that cooks the 50 meals three times a week that serves the people that visit The Dwelling Place. The Dwelling Place also receives fresh fruit, vegetables, and grocery items donated by Spoonfuls, The Food Drive and Food Link. The First Congregational Church in Winchester is one of many groups who help at The Dwelling Place, serving in its kitchen the third Saturday of every month for years. This year’s Christmas offering will go toward replacing the existing stove with a new or gently used one so that this worthy charity can continue to serve and feed its community. And so, we invite you to give generously this season!
Your Outreach Ministry: Larisa Lindsay, Betsy Goodell, Laura Bailey, Marcie Troisi, Karen Bellacosa, Katie Shanahan, Karen Lauterwasser, Rev. Maeve Hammond
