Mission and Outreach

WALTERIA HOTMEAL

In 2002 St. Mark’s discovered that the Walteria Community Hot Meal at Walteria United Methodist Church in Torrance was in much need of help to feed the homeless and poor on the second Saturday of every month. St. Mark’s totally embraced this need and became a vibrant part of the ministry, providing food, volunteers (which often included youth), and financial assistance. To this day St. Mark’s monthly presence is there without fail.

POCKET CHANGE FOR MISSION

Pocket Change for Mission, begun during the Elizabeth Steele pastorate, has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. Members continue to drop their loose change into the Sparklett’s Water Bottle in the church narthex. At the end of each quarter the offering is totaled and given to the mission designated for that quarter. Recipients have included Harbor Interfaith Shelter, Habitat for Humanity, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Project Angel of the USC Medical Center, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Torrance-Lomita Meals on Wheels, Bhangi Untouchables of India, Cheer for Children of Redondo Beach, The Smile Train , Door of Faith Orphanage, New Directions (a rehabilitation program for homeless veterans with alcohol/drug addiction), 1736 Family Crisis Center in Hermosa Beach, Caloocan Shelter in the Philippines, The Bible League, Teen Challenge International, Young Life, and many more. In the summer of 2008, as part of Pocket Change for Mission, a Darfur genocide survivor, Ibrahim Adam, was asked to speak at St. Mark’s in the drive to raise awareness and funds for Darfurian refugees with a focus on the plight of women and gender-based violence with which they suffer. Gourmet Club & Friends prepared a Sudani Fusion menu for the occasion.

DOOR OF FAITH ORPHANAGE

Door of Faith Orphanage is one of the largest orphanages in Baja, California. Also they are one of a few orphanages with the facilities and licensing to care for infants. Of the 120 children they serve, 90 are school age. In 2006 the Outreach Committee realized one of its short-term goals of connecting with a church or church organization for an outreach mission outside the USA. With the initial guidance from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Redondo Beach, St. Mark’s embarked on the first of many one-day mission trips to the Door of Faith Orphanage in La Misión, México to prepare hamburger lunches for 120+ orphans, staff, and volunteers. A One-Day Blitz was held two weeks prior to each trip encouraging congregants to bring in donations of items the orphanage needed, which were taken on the trip. In 1907 St. Mark’s Board of Deacons began annual sponsorship of two of the children.