New UC-CWP Page
Follow the link in the photo to get more information and photos about the Upper Cumberland - Clean Water project, which has its headquarters at the First Presbyterian Church, Cookeville. The project began in conjunction with the Living Waters for the World, Appalachian Network but currently serves Putnam County and surrounding counties. We are currently looking for new volunteers to get involved and join us in this ministry. To inquire, you may call the church office at (931) 526-4244 or e-mail our minister, Pat Handlson.
More Nashville Mission Photos
See a few more photos from the mission work from October 31st to November 4th. The group here was gathered after building a new fence for Marquita Evans of Nashville.
Nashville Mission work Fall 2011 Photos
Click on photo to see a slideshow of pictures from Fall 2011 mission work in Nashville to support families affected by the 2010 floods. Work focused on the area of Bellevue and damage from the Harpeth River.
New Living Waters for the World Mission Photos (Morrison Creek Road Fall 2011)
Volunteers with the local Living Waters for the World continued their mission work in Fall 2011 to help bring clean water to local families. These photos are from a house on Morrison Creek Road.
Two Filtration Systems installed in Spring Creek Valley June 2011
A team of the Living Water Project, led by Bill Swim at the First Presbyterian Church, installed two Water Filtration Systems in homes located in Spring Creek Valley. This is an area which suffered considerable damage during the flood of last August 2010. With the help of Ed Milner and Eliseo Rios, both members of the church and the Water Project Mission, Bill satisfied the clean, potable, water needs that the families of Joel Holmes and Jim Vance had after the flood.
The church continues looking for more opportunities to serve families who have potable water needs in the Upper Cumberland area.
If you happen to know of a family in need of clean, drinkable water please contact the church office at 931-526-4424 or send a message to the following address: firstprescooke@frontiernet.net
Genesis House Charity Event
During the Advent Christmas Season, the Middler Sunday School of the First Presbyterian Church in Cookeville decorated a mitten and socks Christmas tree to benefit Genesis House. Through the generous support of the congregation, the class collected 175 scarves, gloves, mittens and socks. This donation will help provide some warmth for needy children and families supported by Genesis House.
Making the donation are from left to right:
Emily Thurmond, student; Deborah Goodwin, of the Genesis House; Pat Handlson, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church; Sharyl Anderson, Sunday School Teacher and Michael Thurmond, student.
Living Waters Meeting Jan. 7th and 8th
On January 7th and 8th, the church held meetings for the Living Waters for the World organization. We are always looking for more volunteers, so contact the church to get involved. We are looking at installing systems for needy people in Putnam County.
Pictures are now available by clicking on the photo. These were taken from the meeting Friday night, Jan. 7th, to organize the training meeting we are going to have in March for the people who are involved with the mission of Clean Waters in the Appalachian region. That conference or training is going to take place near Knoxville towards March 17-18th.
Even though we had a lot of snow on the ground Friday night and Saturday morning we had a successful meeting with people who had a lot of experience in Living Waters for the Appalachia Mission.
Ark Show for Heifer
On Sunday, November 21st, First Pres hosted a World Ark Show and Lunch in Fellowship Hall. We are thrilled to announce we met our goal of funding a GIFT ARK for Heifer International! It would not have been possible without the attendees and their generous donations.
You can still donate to the church to support this mission through One World Market or the collection plate.
Photos of the event
Much like our Ark Show of 12 years ago, we displayed ark memorabilia for the community as well as the church. The sale of a simple lunch, some ark items and Heifer cards helped achieve our goal of funding a GIFT ARK.
Session approved the mission project of raising funds for a Heifer Gift Ark ($5,000), a dream we've had for many years. The kick-off came when the Dinner-Out Group's popular trip to Brigadoon and the Stagecoach Place Café in Crossville resulted in a $50 discount which was donated to Heifer.
Across the globe, Heifer doesn't feed families, they help families feed themselves. Since 1944, they have provided a means of self-reliance, providing hungry families a practical way to improve their condition. For $5,000, a Gift Ark provides livestock and training for families worldwide. The best part is that a family receiving an animal and training in its care passes on one or more of its animals' offspring to another family thus perpetuating our gift.
Living Waters for the World Photos | Other Mission Photos
In addition to mission trips in the past two years to Louisiana and West Virginia, First Pres has been involved with supporting local efforts of the Living Waters for the World. The church has installed filtration systems in Tazewell, TN and Wartburg, TN and is looking to install them for needy families in Putnam County.
Our church houses One World Market, an alternative gift shop, where purchases count twice. Items from Serrv and UNICEF support the work of these service agencies, and the profits are given to local service organizations such as Rescue Mission and Helping Hands.
One World Market also helps the church to promote the housing ministry, Creative Compassion, with the sale of Kroger cards and Heifer Project International with the sale of gift cards to send much needed animals to needy villages.
Our church has a strong commitment to its Mission program, and supports both national and local needs. Besides Living Waters for the World, the church supports Helping Hands of Putnam County, Habitat for Humanity, Creative Compassion, Rescue Mission, Genesis House, Mediation Services, Heifer International, UNICEF and General Missions. We have also sponsored families from Bosnia and Vietnam.