Community Stewardship Is a ministry of The Open Table Of Christ UMC and their inter-connecting network. This ministry came about as a need in our community to serve others who are in need of training, community service, education, a need to volunteer, or a pathway to securing full time employment. Community Stewardship seeks out partners and organizations to help fund individuals while involved in our programs. Some participants are funded while othere are not and volunteer. All, however, are being trained to be better stewards of our community.
Community Stewards mop floors, carry groceries for the poor and homeless, attend workshops, participate in social justice causes, organize events, get a first aid certificate, obtain GED training, work on small projects with businesses and residences, and become part of a community stewarding each other and our neighbors with dignity, humanity and respect.

In the fall of 2009, when the gym at OTC was mandated to be shut down due to mold, it was a devastating blow to the functioning of Project Outreach and the other ministries at OTC. The demolition and renovation of the gym showed concretely the value of volunteers, staff, and paid trainees working together.
Joshua Wilcox, being installed at OTC through a partnership with the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, has further cemented the need for a program that creates training, education, and hands-on physical work incorporated with community service. The Community Stewarship program trains individuals and provides them with life and job skills, as well as other tools needed for a successful transition into the community and workforce. In addition, the individuals give back to their neighborhoods in assisting with the homeless, the poor, the elderly, immigrants and refugees and in doing so, become Stewards of the Community.
The merits are obvious to anyone who experiences seeing these men and women in action. On a typical Tuesday and Wednesday, over two hundred families are helped through Project Outreach with personal interaction from Community Stewardship. Whether it's loading items or assisting in carrying food to people's cars, interactions are made with a variety of people all in the same community. On Thursdays and Fridays, the stewards are doing classroom trainings, as well as hands-on projects where they use the trainings and workshops of the classroom and put their skills to use in the field. Currently, a broader range of funding to support more candidates is needed, as well as arranging for the completion of meeting the requirements of a complete GED program. We hope to address these in a timely manner.

The Board is comprised of a diverse group of individuals who could bring their experience, ideas, and contacts into our fold to better empower the lives of those who go through the program. The Community Stewardship Program is a Ministry of the OTC. We are asking for your support for awarding scholarships for 2012. You can help by providing ideas and suggestions for fundraising, as well as spreading the word and help advertise the merits and uniqueness of this program to your colleagues, friends, and the general public.