Serve
Serve With Us
Serving others is how we show Christ's love for our world. Zion members come together to volunteer for annual events like Feed My Starving Children and God's Work Our Hands, and ongoing ministries like Family Promise and Faith Kitchen. There are dozens of other opportunities to serve throughout the year, from teaching Sunday School to serving on Church Council or contributing to Sunday worship as a Greeter, Usher, or Assisting Minister.
Serving at Zion
Serving Outside Our Walls
Service projects and outreach are at the heart of Zion's mission. Feed My Starving Children, Family Promise, Faith Kitchen, and God's Work Our Hands are ongoing ministries traditionally most valued by the Zion congregation.
Family Promise
Family Promise is a partnership of local congregations and volunteers helping families who are facing homelessness by meeting their immediate needs for shelter, meals, and support services. Family Promise is the only shelter in Hunterdon County that keeps families with children stay together while helping them reestablish their housing. Family Promise partner since 1990.
Typically, Zion hosts Family Promise guests three times each year. As a host church, Zion provides lodging and meals for up to fourteen people for a two-week period. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, families have been housed at one location and churches are being asked to provide groceries during what would have been their hosting period.
When Family Promise guests are staying with us, volunteers are needed to cook meals, have dinner with guests, play with children, socialize with families, and stay overnight at the Christian Education Building. It is an opportunity to live out our faith by offering kindness, respect, and support to families as they regain their independence and their dignity. Watch for the sign-up list in the church narthex when it is our turn to host!
Faith Kitchen
Faith Kitchen is a ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church in nearby Dover, NJ that provides over 40,000 nutritious meals annually, free of charge, to anyone who comes though their doors. Faith Kitchen is more than just a place to get a hot meal – clients are guided to social service agencies that can provide jobs, housing, and mental and physical healthcare. Zion is one of 22 churches involved in supporting Faith Kitchen.
A portion of every offering made to Zion supports Faith Kitchen. Along with this monetary support, Zion hosts a food drive every January to help stock Faith Kitchen's food pantry, and sends a group of volunteers who travel to Dover on the first Thursday and third Saturday of each month to prepare and serve meals.
Feed My Starving Children
Feed My Starving Children® is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding those of God’s children who are hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: volunteers hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship these meals to our distribution partners. FMSC meals have reached nearly 70 countries around the world in our history.
Each year, Zion hosts over 450 volunteers over two days to pack over 100,000 meals that are delivered to children in need around the world. This translates into providing a meal for nearly 300 children every day for a year! This is a wonderful ministry and opportunity to serve that you will never forget.
God's Work. Our Hands.
Each September, congregations across the ELCA join in a day of service we call "God's Work. Our Hands." In the past, Zion has packed 100 bags with all the fixin's for Thanksgiving dinner for the Flemington Food Pantry, and 200 health kits for the homeless served by Edna's Haven in Dover. This year, we will again host a Community 5K Run/Walk to support the Good News Home for Women.