About MACC Charities
Established on January 19, 1973
by fourteen area churches, MACC has grown to be the
Town of Manchester's primary social services agency.
MACC serves resident of the towns of Manchester and
Bolton and is the largest private, nonprofit social
services agency in the state located East of the
Connecticut River. Currently, the conference consists of 36 area churches. MACC employs a dedicated staff
of professionals and relies on 75-100 volunteers each week fulfill its mission. Every day, 365
days a year MACC provides needed social services
to the community.
Our Mission:
Manchester
Area Conference of Churches, Inc. provides food, clothing,
shelter and advocacy for the unmet basic needs of people
in our community.
The Faith Sharing Team comprised of volunteers from MACC Member Churches offers a great ministry opportunity to meet the spiritual needs of our homeless guests.
If you would like to share your faith in a personal, meaningful way, consider joining the Faith Sharing Team at the MACC Shelter, 466 Main St. Manchester. Faith Sharing is a Christian Bible study for shelter shelter guests who are interested in participating. The group meets every Tuesday evening from 7-8 p.m., in the Community Soup Kitchen.
Each volunteer, after attending a two hour training session, serves on four consecutive Tuesday evenings, once every three months.
The Faith Sharing session works like this: each Tuesday at 7 pm, a team of two to three Faith Sharing volunteers arrives at the shelter. The Shelter staff announces that the Faith Sharing session is available to shelter guests who are interested in participating. Participants proceed to the kitchen where introductions are exchanged.
Our Daily Bread devotionals and NIV Bibles are distributed to the Shelter Guests, which they can accept and keep if they choose. The group opens with prayer and read the scripture verses and devotional passage for that Tuesday from Our Daily Bread and discuss the topic.
Sometimes, a shelter guest will have a pressing spiritual need or question and the group spends the hour listening and/or discussing that instead of the devotional. The Faith Sharing Team members have be flexible to the needs of our shelter guests, able to protect the confidential nature of the conversations and above all be good listeners, because at times, that is what our guests need most.
Our goal is to share with the shelter guests the encouragement we ourselves find in the pages of scripture or may even share what God has done in our lives. No one is expected to have all the answers or to be a Bible scholar. Most times, listening to the spiritual needs of others is the best gift the Faith Sharing Team can do for shelter guests.
Volunteers attest that on every Tuesday night of sharing, they receive far more than they give. Each night hearts are moved, lives are strengthened and hope is shared.
If this ministry appeals to you, please contact: Jacki Campion, MACC Director of Volunteer & Community Services, at (860) 288-4256.
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