Red Bucket Sunday was celebrated on September 13, 2009. We had the opportunity to participate in a special presbytery-wide offering which benefits four entities affected by the Presbytery of East Tennessee’s $30,250 mission budget reduction due to a budget shortfall this year. Morgan-Scott’s amount was reduced by $4,000, Sunset Gap’s by $8,500, Marcella Center’s by $1,750, and Newton Child Development Center’s by $16,000. The total reduction for each was 50 percent. The hope is that this offering will help keep these mission entities from being “in the red” in 2009, and that the congregations in our Presbytery will prayerfully seek to form deeper connections with one or more of these organizations. Our collection for Red Bucket was $ 3,374.45!

Look for the red buckets at church

Morgan-Scott Project, Deer Lodge, TN (www.morganscottproject.org) — Since 1972, the Morgan-Scott Project for Cooperative Christian Concerns has worked in Morgan and Scott counties to meet the needs of those families who have marginal or no income by providing emergency food boxes, helping with utility bills, co-pays on medication, and glasses, organizing home repair work done by volunteer work groups, and providing funding and support services for low-income parents to take job training at the Tennessee Area Vocational Schools. Morgan-Scott also operates a thrift store, gives back packs filled with school supplies to children at the beginning of each school year, and makes it possible for hundreds of low-income families to plant a garden and produce a large portion of their own food.

Sunset Gap Community Center, Cosby, TN (www.sunsetgap.org) — For over one hundred years, Sunset Gap has been serving people in need in Cocke and Sevier counties by operating a food pantry, a pre-school, and a work camp, where volunteers build wheel chair ramps and do much needed home repair work, particularly for the elderly.

Marcella Center, Sweetwater, TN — Housed in the former St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, this community center has started a food pantry, offers GED preparation, and reaches out to area seniors through a variety of activities.

Newton Child Development Center, Chattanooga, TN — Newton supports families and the community through quality early childhood education and care and has been providing this critical ministry to Chattanooga’s Westside community for nearly 100 years. The Center provides childcare services to children from 6 weeks to 5 years old, which enables parents to seek and maintain gainful employment and to continue educational pursuits.