Through the Church budget and Mission Commission of Wooster UMC we support local, regional, national, and international missions. For many of these missions there is a direct connection to Wooster UMC.

Additional mission support from Wooster UMC for local, regional, national, and international missions comes through our participation in the Shared Ministry giving of the East Ohio Conference.

› Viola Startzman Free Clinic (VSFC) is the only free clinic in Wayne County. VSFC provides health and dental care, medications, and laboratory testing at no charge to low-income (up to 200% of the federal household poverty level) uninsured Wayne County residents.

› People to People Ministries provides an immediate, realistic, and compassionate response to people with basic needs when those needs are not being met through other programs.

Clothing, food, prescription aid, shelter and utility assistance plus special projects of Back-to-School, Thanksgiving Dinner, and Christmas Toys are part of the ministry.

› Mission Interpreter Beth Ferrell, a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, is currently serving as Mission Interpreter in Residence in the North Central Jurisdiction (Midwest).

From 2001-2005 Beth was assigned to Sierra Leone to assist in re-establishing Manjama United Methodist Health Center.

› Mission Primary School was founded in 1956 in a small town at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains to support the poorest of children of India who are unable to receive education. It has been expanded to include Junior High School and provides Christian education to 200 students.

Wooster UMC has provided funds to improve the school facility and add a computer laboratory. Facility improvement and repairs are a continuing need.

› City Hope Church is a new United Methodist Church that serves the inner city of Canton. The congregation is growing and attracting families through their evangelical outreach to the neighborhood. They are baptizing new Christians and one of their members is preparing for ministry in the United Methodist Church.

› Adult and Youth Mission Trips give opportunities for WUMC members to be in mission and directly serve those who are in need. Funds provide scholarships for participants and contribute to the materials and supplies that support the annual mission trips of the Wooster UMC.

› McCurdy School was founded in 1912. It is a private Christian school affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Wooster UMC provides salary support for Dee Dee Heffner. She has been at McCurdy School for more than 32 years.

McCurdy School is located in Española Valley of New Mexico. The county has a very high poverty rate and also suffers from violence, drugs and gangs that are similar to larger urban areas. The school is committed to providing quality education in a Christ centered environment that is safe and nurturing.

› Flat Rock Homes and Care Center is a United Methodist agency in Ohio that serves children and adults with disabilities, many of whom also have physical, emotional, and psychological diagnoses.

When a child's disabilities are so severe that they demand 24 hour a day eyesight supervision, when a child's mental retardation/developmental disabilities cause them to be unable to function even in the multi-handicapped resource classroom of the local school, Flat Rock Homes is a place where these children can grow in a peer group of others who live with similar challenges and who have within them similar gifts.

› Wycliffe Bible Translators have a vision to see the Bible accessible to all people in the language they understand best. Today more than 300 million people do not have the Bible in their own language.

Wooster UMC supports Doug and Beth Wright in this ministry. They have recently returned to the United States on furlough from a four year tour in Nairobi, Kenya as Wycliffe Bible Translators. Doug has served as the Eastern Congo Group's translation coordinator for ten Congolese language projects while Beth has been the Literacy Coordinator for the same 10 language projects. Beth grew up in Wooster and was a member of Wooster UMC.

› Every Woman’s House is a private, non-profit organization, dedicated to providing crisis intervention, treatment, counseling, prevention and support for those affected by domestic violence and/or sexual assault. It promotes the healing of individuals and families who experience the impact of domestic violence or sexual assault and is committed to the prevention of these crimes

Every Woman’s House is more than a crisis shelter that provides a safety net to victims of domestic violence. The staff works hard every day to help prevent violence from happening in any setting in our community. This ranges from counseling services with children who experience violence in their families to programs that are aimed at eliminating bullying in schools. They provide self defense courses for teens and work with young men to encourage them to join the fight against violence against women.

› Methodist Theological School in Ohio Scholarship Fund assists students who are pursuing ordained ministry within the United Methodist Church.

Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO or Methesco) is a United Methodist seminary in Delaware, Ohio. MTSO prepares and invigorates transformational leaders to engage the church and the world in leadership and service.

› Wayne United Chaplain Ministries provides services in three settings:

• At the Wayne County Jail a chaplain provides for physical and spiritual needs of inmates and their families and for the staff of the Justice Center, Sheriff’s Office and Wooster Police.
• At Dunlap Memorial Hospital a chaplain provides pastoral visits with patients and families, is a resource for nursing staff, and assists with code and disaster teams, is a coordinator for all local clergy visiting patients.
• At OARDC/ATI College Campuses a chaplain provides spiritual assistance to students, provides fellowship opportunities, develops volunteer opportunities for students through non-profit organizations, and assists incoming students in locating churches or other religious institutions.

› UMCOR: US Disaster Response is a domestic emergency response program to provide relief and rehabilitation for the entire person (physical, social, and psychological) in a distress situation.

UMCOR maintains a corps of trained disaster response specialists for quick reinforcement of local efforts, and it maintains a supply of relief materials in warehouses for dispatch when and where required.

› UMCOR: International Disaster Response acts when disaster strikes outside of the US. UMCOR serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance. It moves in concrete ways to ease human suffering and work to restore normal life.

UMCOR works in partnership with other international relief agencies to implement programs directly in several regions around the world. Its programs seek to strengthen local leaders and create partnerships with local institutions. UMCOR responds to disasters in areas where there is no United Methodist presence through partner organizations, such as Church World Service.

› UMCOR: World Hunger/Poverty program not only supplies food for the hungry but also helps poor countries move forward with development. In its long-term effort to eradicate poverty, seeds, tools, and training are provided to enable people to grow their own food. UMCOR also helps people start small businesses and supports water, reforestation, literacy, and health programs.

› Meals Together is an ecumenical, faith based program. It provides a hot dinner meal and devotions to anyone attending. About 80 persons a week participate in this meal served every Thursday at 4:15 in Wesley Hall at Wooster UMC. Meals Together provides families and single persons a place for nutritional support, fellowship, spiritual guidance, pastoral counseling, and referral to community agencies for further aid.

› Manjama Health Center in Sierra Leone is on the West Coast of Africa between Liberia and Guinea. It has a population of approximately 6.5 million people. Sierra Leone continues to be the poorest country in the world.

The Health Center conducts a General Clinic for adults and children 6 years and older; a 5 year and under clinic that includes immunizations/nutrition program; an antenatal clinic; and provides HIV testing as well as other laboratory tests. There is a concerted emphasis on Community-Based Primary Healthcare. This includes Outreach programs to the villages: 1) Prevention/control of malaria which includes distribution of Mosquito Nets (Nothing but Nets); 2) HIV & AIDS Education, Testing, Treatment; 3) Maternal Child Health Programs to help reduce the 20-25 % under-five and the 15- 20% maternal mortality rates. The Manjama UM Health Center is a focus of Bishop Hopkins’ 3Cs Initiative.

› Children’s Emergency Medical Fund provides financial assistance to school age children of Wayne County for medical, dental, and prescription needs.

› Good Samaritan Fund provides one-time emergency assistance to local persons in need who are not members of Wooster UMC. Families and single persons are assessed by pastoral staff and financial assistance is given for food and housing in addition to referral to an appropriate agency assistance.