Missions

Dixie Care and Share serves as the primary food pantry for people who need assistance in the St. George area. Based in downtown St. George, the food pantry serves thousands of families each year and provides more than 8,000 food boxes each year.

The facility also provides the homeless with a place to stay for a limited amount of time. The facility provides a bed, breakfast and a sack lunch for residents to eat as they are out seeking work. There also is a family facility so that parents and children can stay together.

The troubled economy has created a greater need than ever before. Nonperishable food is always appreciated to help with food baskets. Monetary donations help buy food and help maintain the facility.

To learn more, click on the link below.

Our congregation works with the Community Soup Kitchen to provide teams to prepare and serve meals for the needy. The kitchen is based at Grace Episcopal Church, 1072 E. 900 South.

The kitchen is open Mondays and Wednesdays, and our teams work in a set rotation.

Financial support for the effort can be given to the soup kitchen in care of SHUMC. Please remember to make clear that your donation goes to the soup kitchen. For more information, please call the church office.

The Missions Committee has among its many projects the Backpacks for Kids program. This important task provides school supplies and a backpacks to more than 500 children each year in the Washington County School District.

The committee works with other area churches and local Rotary clubs to assemble the backpacks, which are then delivered to each school in the district. Counselors and teachers determine which students receive the backpacks and supplies.

SHUMC believes it is important to follow the examples set by Jesus to help others in a number of ways. Here are some of the ongoing projects our church participates in throughout Southern Utah.

One of the most frequent killers in Africa is not a large animal. It's a simple mosquito that carries the dreaded disease of malaria from village to village.

Each year, more than 500 million people are infected, and more than 1 million people die.

But you can help save lives for just $10. That's the price of a net that is purchased via the "Nothing But Nets" program, which is supported by the United Methodist Church.

The program purchases mosquito nets that are placed in areas that people sleep to prevent mosquitoes from landing on them and biting them. In fact, a family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated net for about four years.

This program is an ongoing mission within the United Methodist Church. Click on the link below to learn more or to donate.

Each year, SHUMC conducts a rummage sale in the church parking lot. While not a primary part of the church's mission, the sale does raise funds for the congregation while also assisting the community by providing quality clothing, furniture, toys and other household goods for extremely low prices.

The church's Missions Committee also provides a food booth on the day of the sale that raises funds for the committee's many projects, including support for area charities and for worldwide missions of the United Methodist Church.

Check this Web site each spring for the exact date of the rummage sale.

WORK TEAM / RETREAT: Several members of our church recently assisted with a camp in Northeast Utah, in the Coalville area. The trip consisted of the group doing repairs and helping prepare for more campers, who enjoy the area's beauty as they take part in retreats and other activities.

MISSION TRIP: The Missions Committee is planning a second mission trip from Aug. 8 to 13 to the McCurdy School in Espanola, N.M. The school is a project related to the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. The school is committed to providing a quality education in a Christ-centered environment. The school aims to develop a Christian values system that respects rich cultural diversity and empowers students to develop as whole persons to become lifelong learners.

DIXIE CARE AND SHARE -- Don't forget Dixie Care and Share when you consider ways to help others in the community. The homeless shelter and food pantry needs cash and food donations.