The Missions Committee of Main Street UMC has decided that our Food Pantry and God’s Closet will close as of February 24, 2026. This has been an important mission in the life of the church, but it has grown more challenging to maintain over the past few years. We celebrate the ways that this congregation has reached out to our neighbors for many years, helping to meet their needs. However, the present state of the Food Pantry is that it has been running at a deficit for several years. It has also become a logistical challenge and will be more difficult as changes are made to the building. Our faithful volunteers have worked hard to keep the Pantry going, but the time has come to look for other ways to serve.
I believe that God has rewarded Main Street’s faithfulness, and our mission work will continue in new and exciting ways. One opportunity that is now available to us is to work alongside Kokomo Urban Outreach in their UP stores. These stores offer grocery, snack, toiletry, and clothing items to the UP children, which they buy with points earned in the UP program. This teaches them responsibility and work ethic, and they can even provide for their families. Many children use the UP stores to contribute to their family’s grocery and toiletry needs. This means that if you offer your time to volunteer in the UP stores, you are supporting families from all over Kokomo, spreading our mission work further than it has ever gone before. We will have more information regarding this volunteer opportunity soon.
For now, let us all offer thanks for the many years that God put us to work, showing our neighbors the love of Jesus Christ through the dedication of volunteers and donors. This congregation has a heart for service, and I know that legacy will live on.
-Pastor Kat
