2024 Witness Commission Special Offering Schedule
| Month | Special Offering | Description |
|---|---|---|
| January | Backpack Program at Ottobine Elementary School | This program provides easy to prepare weekend food for food-insecure students at Ottobine Elementary School. |
| February | Gideons | The Gideons are a "body of believers dedicated to making the Word of God available to everyone and, together with the local church, reaching souls for Christ." (www.https://www.gideons.org) |
| March | One Great Hour of Sharing | This special offering empowers ministries of the Church of the Brethren to reach many people. Water projects, human relief, disaster relief and empowerment are the broad areas where One Great Hour of Sharing reaches. |
| April | People Helping People | People Helping People focuses their efforts on providing utility assistance for residents of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. They also help with other basic needs such as medicine, eyeglasses, and items to maintain employment. January’s special offering will be used to support Montezuma’s backpack program, which provides weekend food for several children at Ottobine Elementary School. |
| May | Brethren Disaster Ministries | Brethren Disaster Ministries, a part of the General Board Church of the Brethren program, restarts hope for the most vulnerable disaster-stricken communities by engaging volunteers to repair and rebuild damaged homes. |
| June | Brethren Woods | Brethren Woods had to cancel its Spring fundraiser and has lost many reservations. Because of that, help from congregations like Montezuma is important. |
| July | Weekly Religious Education | WRE offers weekly Bible lessons for second, third and fourth grade students in Rockingham County Schools. |
| August | Stone Haven | Our vision is to offer a safe space in Central Virginia for survivors of sexual exploitation to come and do the hard work of healing. We hope to have property in the Rockingham County area with a home and plenty of space to breathe. A place for women to live in community and learn from one other. This work is best done in tight circles where there is trust. |
| September | Open Doors | Open Doors provides food and shelter for up to 40 homeless persons in our local community through the winter months. |
| October | Sadie Rose Foundation | The Sadie Rose Foundation is a resource and support to those who have experienced a miscarriage, stillborn, or death of infant/child. |
| November | CWS Blanket Fund | The Church World Service Blankets program provides warmth to families fleeing their homes, recovering from disaster and more. More information can be found at www.cwsblankets.org. |
| December | Bridgewater Food Pantry | The Bridgewater Area Inter-Church Food Pantry is run by volunteers from several local churches. The Pantry offers curbside service on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. They also have a large Food Pantry Garden on their property, where they raise hundreds of pounds of produce each season for multiple food pantries in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. |