Epworth Missions & Ministries Outreach Programs
Free Community Suppers, Tuesdays 5:30 - 6:30pm  pick up only
      Nourishing meals are prepared by hand and served free of charge to the community. Currently, they are pick-up only. We will open our doors and enjoy in-person fellowship as soon as safely possible.
Free Lunches, Saturdays 11:00am - 12:30pm  pick up only
      Vegetarian lunches are provided at no charge by the Des Moines SAI Fellowship every Saturday.
Epworth Quilting Group
      This ministry team meets every other Tuesday morning to cut, sew and tie quilts, which are then donated to Hawthorne Hill. Hawthorne Hill is an organization dedicated to assisting homeless families all around Iowa. The quilts we donate are given to residents of Hawthorn Hill and then sent home with them when they leave. The Epworth Quilters donate over 100 quilts each year to Hawthorn Hill. Check our What's Happening page for scheduled Tuesdays!
Spring & Fall Basement & Bake Sales      
     We have two annual Basement & Bake Sales (Spring and Fall). They are an effective and highly valued neighborhood community service. The proceeds from the baked goods helps fund our Quilting Group. The basement sale proceeds helps to fund our other church ministries. Our 2021 Spring Sale was a huge success!! Blessings to all who volunteered and donated goods, and to all who attended! Our next Sale is on Saturday, October 23, 2021 8am-4pm. We are now taking donations for our Fall Sale!
Stuff The Bus
     Stuff The Bus is a United Way of Central Iowa yearly children's book drive in which Epworth participates. We collect new and gently used children's books June-May each year and donate them to help "Stuff The Bus". In May 2021, over 23,000 books were collected and distributed to Central Iowa children!
Annual Free Health Clinic Day
      Early in the fall, Epworth in cooperation with the Des Moines SAI Fellowship (a Hindu/Christian organization of physicians from India) organizes, publicizes and hosts a free health screening day with the presence of 10 physicans, Polk County Public Health nurses and the Visiting Nurses Association. Many neighborhood and greater Des Moines residents come to take advantage of a free health screening, a free lunch, free reading glasses and no-cost consultation with physicians in several specialties. This program is temporarily suspended due to Covid.
Kidz Haven
      Epworth’s Kidz Haven (KH) mission, in collaboration with Harding Middle School (HMS) staff, discreetly helps the students of economically challenged families by providing clothing and personal self-care items through a Comfort Closet.
      During the summer, KH also sponsors students to attend summer music camps and has helped subsidize financial expenses for HMS’s summer program which is designed to engage kids in many activities other than watching television and playing with electronic devices/games.
      HMS, our neighborhood middle school, is in the lowest performing ten percent of America’s middle schools; it faces some of the toughest educational challenges in our country. KH strives for creativity, open-mindedness, and inspiration to implement new ideas to strengthen school reform efforts, boost academic achievement, and increase student engagement.
      Founded in January 2011, our KH mission is in constant change as HMS and our world situation also changes. With the exception of a very few sporadic donations, KH’s success and funding has been totally dependent upon the generosity of the annual Matthew 25 grant.

 

All of these ministries are led by volunteer, lay members of the church. They are funded through Epworth’s United Methodist Women, the Missions Evangelism Committee and individual gifts.  If you wish to volunteer, please contact the church office.