I’d like to share with you an area of our Mission’s operation in which our volunteer activities and efforts need to be increased.  Our Hunger Relief Program has grown over the years and now we reach out to well over 20,000 families; in other words, over 80,000 men, women and children per year. As you may imagine, this requires a lot of food, but it also requires a lot of work. Thankfully, we have been blessed with volunteers who come in and help us with our Mission’s efforts to bring food to the women, men and children who are being served. It has been a blessing that over the years, through the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the local food bank has donated countless amounts of food.

Most foods are dry non-perishable canned goods of nutritional value.  More recently, we also started receiving food donations from local businesses, namely Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie. Our program now picks up food donations from Wal-Mart four times a week. The food we receive can be assorted groceries, non-perishable dry goods, frozen dairy, drinks, and some fresh fruits and vegetables. Winn-Dixie provides similar goods for us at a smaller volume and twice a week. Recently, Feeding Tampa Bay started a new program called “Farm to Fork.” The idea behind it is to get fresh fruits and vegetables to the tables of families in need before the produce goes to waste. We feel blessed that they have chosen us through which to reach these families, and that we can save good food from being thrown away or wasted. 

The community has responded well to receiving the produce of the “Farm to Fork” program during our Tuesday food distribution. Although Beth-El has a committed number of groups that volunteer week after week, all year long, we need more help! We will never have enough help, and we will never have enough gratitude for all that this community has done for us, and therefore the families of whom we have reached. Volunteers are the driving force behind the food program. Once we receive the food, someone has to unload it, sort it, bag it, store it, etc.

With the increase of produce coming in on Monday mornings, we are finding it more difficult to work in an efficient manner. I’m reaching out to our community to ask for more of your help and time in order to bring this Food to Fork program to the full glory that I believe it can be. If you are interested in helping, please contact me at javier@beth-el.org. Everyone is always welcome, and we would be incredibly happy to have you! 

Hundreds of Cumberland Presbyterians from across both denominations and around the world will be gathering at Beth-El Farmworker Ministry on Monday, June 19th as part of this year’s CPC/CPCA General Assembly.
 
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Dickson County, Tennessee, on February 4, 1810 as an outgrowth of the Great Revival of 1800. In 1976, the church began the ministry to farmworkers now known as Beth-El Farmworker Ministry in Wimauma, Florida. Beth-El annually supports nearly 100,000 farmworkers and those in the community living in poverty through hunger relief, education, healthcare, and spiritual growth.  The mission continues its covenant partnership with Grace Presbytery of the Cumberland Church alongside the presbyteries of Peace River and Tampa Bay (Presbyterian Church U.S.A).
 
The Cumberland denomination is a global church with congregations and mission work in 16 countries and total membership of 70,000 members. The theme of this year’s General Assembly will be, “Connecting With Our Neighbor.”  While on campus the delegates from the General Assembly will have the opportunity to witness many of the programs provided at the mission, along with a tour of the mission’s campus and community. Farmworking families earn less than $15,000 a year. In most cases, they are paid only for the quantity of produce they can pick in a given day. Many of the farmworkers supported by Beth-El migrant north during the summer months, picking crops from Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and on northward to Michigan and Ohio.

Kids are out of school and summer is around the corner. The children of Beth-El are eager to attend Cedarkirk and Vacation Bible School. It is delightful to see their smiley faces as they come in with their parents to get registered. We have forty kids registered for Cedarkirk and plan to have sixty for VBS. Volunteers are very important here at Beth-El because that is the only way our VBS program is able to function and share the word of God to these wonderful children. Volunteers also help in getting the donated backpacks and school supplies ready for the new school year. Because safety of our little ones is a primary concern, all of our volunteers are pre-screened before working with our children. It is a simple process, but an important one, if you would like to help out please call 813-633-1548 and I will walk you through the steps to get you started. Summer will be here and gone before you know it but the satisfaction of seeing smiley faces lasts a lifetime. 



Rosalva Serrano 
Executive Assistant

 

 

          

 

 

 

When Laura joined the Step Up for Success program in April 2017 she was unemployed and actively seeking employment. She joined the competitive workforce facing many challenges but her greatest obstacle was illiteracy. Laura is one of many adults in our nation facing this issue. The inability to read and write was very discouraging for her. Step Up for Success offered literacy resources, encouragement, resume building, career coaching, and job searching tools. There are many programs within our community working together to empower Wimauma residents. Laura was able to enroll in a literacy class that is offered Thursday evenings. Our computer lab was also an essential tool used to help her create a resume/cover letter, submit online applications and complete online assessments. She worked very hard to put together a resume and cover letter that described many of her skills and past employment experiences. After much perseverance, determination and faith Laura was able to obtain employment at a senior living resident center. We are very proud of Laura and will continue to offer our support in her journey to success. 
For additional information contact Veronica Barrios-Monroy, Outreach Resource Coordinator, by phone at (813) 634-1548 ext.224 or by email at veronica@beth-el.com
 

 

For most of my life I have lived near water.  As a child, I was surrounded by the Great Lakes of Michigan; as an adult by the cool spring fed waters of Skaneateles Lake, but it was my time along the Chippewa River as a teen that I learned many of life’s lessons.  We kids learned the swift pace at which the river could carry us far downstream whether that had been our intention or not. The river was relentless.   
 
All of us at the mission are very attentive to the currents that have swept over us these last few months--currents that have taken us to places we would rather not go--where at best the majority of our energy is exhausted trying not to be swept further downstream. Yet, despite all the ebbs and flows of recent weeks, there is another body of water that has become central to our ministry at Beth-El—a small, and perhaps unimpressive body of water, that while small in nature, reminds us of who we are on a grander scale, and to whom we belong.
 
In many of the congregations I visit the baptismal font is hidden away in a corner.  But at Beth-El it has been moved front and center as a visible reminder of God in Christ’s presence in our lives. The waters symbolize God’s promises, but those same waters also represent our tears. Through the union of tears and promise, we have found hope.
 
Good things are afoot at Beth-El. Thanks to a collaboration with Catholic Charities, the mission will be opening a free dental clinic later this year for adults in our community without insurance. This project has long been on the hearts of many who serve the marginalized in this community, and now with God’s grace it is becoming a reality. Our hope is that the clinic will be the first of several services for the mission’s Health & Wellness center that will provide support for farmworkers and our neighbors in need.
 
It is easy to let the currents of life carry us downward, but we have chosen to swim in other waters. Whether it is catching the smile of a child’s first dip in the pool at Cedarkirk, or the sweat from our brow after a morning volunteering, we remember our baptism and through those waters find hope. So, come and join us. The water is just fine.
 
Dios le bendiga

Dental Clinic

In a few months, Beth-El will open a free dental clinic for adults in our community without insurance. Thanks to a generous donation to the clinic, the mission already has a head start on much of the equipment needed. However, there are still more items that we could use. If you have equipment you would like to donate, or volunteer your professional gifts, please call Kathy at 813-633-1548.

Beth-El Moments

The mission is grateful for the continued dedication of our administrative support staff: Rosalva and Sheila, pictured here celebrating Administrative Assistant's day. On the right: a recent delivery from mission partner Matthew 25 Ministries.

Leave a Lasting Legacy