The Chaplaincy Program at Princeton HealthCare Systems
The Chaplaincy Program is supported by Kingston Presbyterian Church in several ways. The Committee on Religious Ministries is the name given to the chaplaincy program at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro and Princeton House Behavioral Health. The program is a unique cooperative effort between Princeton HealthCare System and the local religious community.
More than 40 organizations support the work and Kingston Presbyterian church is one of them. Due to the monetary contributions and volunteers, along with four students each year from the Princeton Theological Seminary, on-call coverage permits 24-hour, seven-day-a-week care. Their goal is to offer “quality pastoral care that is appropriate, ecumenical, accessible and integrated with the care offered by other members of the healthcare team. https://www.princetonhcs.org/care-services/pastoral-care
Kingston Presbyterian church has supported Young Life for many years. Young Life’s goal is to build relationships with young people on their turf and in their culture in high school, building bridges of authentic friendship. According to those who are involved in this ministry, “that is the first step of a lifelong journey: the choices they make today, based upon God’s love for them, will impact future decisions…careers chosen, marriages formed and families raised. All ripples from the time when a Young Life leader took time to reach out and enter their world”. For more information go to http://youweremadeforthis.org
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
This organization is an evangelical campus mission serving students and faculty on college and university campuses nationwide. Their staff seeks to engage students and faculty on campuses across the country in an effort to see students and faculty transformed, campuses’ renewed and world-changers developed by sharing the love of Christ on campus. Currently KPC helps to support two staff members: Cathy Craig who is the Area Director for Central/South NJ and Laura Vellenga who is a full time staff member at the College of New Jersey. For more information go to www.intervarsity.org.
International Students Incorporated (ISI)-Princeton Chapter
For the past 35 years, KPC has been partnering with Rev. John and Aruna Desai in their dynamic ministry to international students in the Princeton area who attend Princeton University, Westminster Choir College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Institute for Advanced Studies, College of New Jersey and Rider University. “We are friends first, and then we share the message of Christ”, says John. ISI sponsors weekly Bible studies, and other small groups to reach out to the students. Now over 40 area churches participate in ISI, donating goods and labor for the annual Garage-Giveaway in September, preparing food for their monthly fellowship dinners, volunteering to tutor English as a foreign language, and being friends to the students and their families. The national organization of ISI, http://www.isionline.org based in Colorado, was founded in 1953, with the goal to share Christ’s love with international students and equip them for evangelical service all over the world.
For more information go to http://johnandarunadesai.weebly.com/about-us.html and http://www.isionline.org/
The Rescue Mission of Trenton
The Rescue Mission of Trenton is the newest partner of the KPC Mission Interpretation Commission. In the spring of 2013, the Rescue Mission contacted the KPC Mission Interpretation Commission for permission to place a bin for the collection of clothing for the needy in the KPC parking lot. The Session approved placement of the bin but that was only the beginning of a months-long process. The next step was obtaining the permission of Franklin Township where the church property is located. The Rescue Mission then submitted their application with the required small fee and eventually township approval was granted.
On Monday July 1st, 2013 volunteers from the Rescue Mission placed the clothing bin in the parking lot cheered on by members of the Mission Interpretation Commission. The Rescue Mission encourages members of the community to donate their gently used and new clothing at this new, convenient location.
“It is wonderful to see that we have supporters like Kingston Presbyterian Church who are dedicated to helping their community members in need. We are grateful for their support and commitment to giving back,” stated Barrett Young, Chief Operating Officer of the Rescue Mission.
The Rescue Mission of Trenton is the agency in the City of Trenton that offers clean, warm refuge for the homeless, the hungry, the transient, and the addicted. The Rescue Mission has been committed to rebuilding lives since 1915.
Go to http://www.rescuemissionoftrenton.org/ for more information or contact: The Rescue Mission of Trenton, 98 Carroll Street, Trenton, NJ 08609 or call 609-695-1436.