During
the summer, 72 youth and adults from five Massachusetts Conference churches
traveled to North Carolina to help with the rebuilding efforts following
Hurricane Floyd.
The
group helped work on new homes through Habitat for Humanity in Tarboro,
and also assisted with the restoration of Mount Zion Primitive Baptist
Church. Mount Zion is the oldest church in Princeville, the first town
in America to be incorporated by former slaves. Built in 1890, Mt. Zion
is a simple Greek Revival structure, the typical Primitive Baptist church
style found throughout the southeastern U.S.
The UCC group applied several coats of paint to the outside walls and
also assisted with some renovations in a church addition.
The high school youth and their chaperones were from: First Church of
Christ, UCC, in Bedford; Central Square Congregational Church, UCC,
in Bridgewater; United Church of Christ in Medfield; First Congregational
Church in Melrose, UCC; and First Church in Wenham Congregational, UCC.
This was the second Conference-sponsored trip to North Carolina this
year – the first was over the school vacation week in April.
The Conference’s youth and outdoor ministry program is continuing to
increase its focus on mission trips, and will be sponsoring two trips
to Honduras next July, trips to North Carolina in April and June, a
trip to Washington, D.C. in April and a trip to New York City in August.
The added emphasis on mission trips came out of the Conference’s Vision
for Renewal and Growth, which saw hands on mission as an effective way
to reach youth and young adults.
To see more photographs from past mission trips, and to get information
on future trips, visit the Conference Web site’s youth section by going
to www.macucc.org, clicking on “resources” and then clicking on “youth.”
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