The Benevolence Ministry is managed by a team of Knox volunteers, under the leadership of Bob Reed, which responds to requests for immediate and limited financial assistance from Knox. Typically, this is for short-term rent, utility, or food payments. Individuals in need contact Knox and are referred to Maggie Shreve as staff. She then refers individuals to one of our volunteers who takes on each case in a weekly rotational system. Additional volunteers for this ministry are always welcome. Contact Maggie Shreve at Knox for more information.

http://childhoodfoodsolutions.org
The mission of Childhood Food Solutions is to develop solutions for childhood food insecurity that can be applied in a community, tested for effectiveness and duplicated in other communities. CFS has served zip code 45225, including N. Fairmount, Millvale and the Villages at Roll Hill (formerly the Fay Apartments) since 2007. As funding has permitted CFS has expanded into Price Hill. The greatest need is to provide food support for non-school days.

Adult and youth Knox members engage with CFS by packing food sacks at Mission Possible and on other occasions. Additionally, individual members serve in leadership roles, organize packing events outside the church and fill other volunteer roles. It is estimated that over 100 Knox members have participated in CFS activities in recent years. Knox also provides financial support to CFS.

https://coeduc.org
Since 1996, Cooperative for Education (CoEd) has carried out its mission of “breaking the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through education” by implementing sustainable textbook, computer, reading, and youth development programs in impoverished Guatemalan schools. Based in Cincinnati and Guatemala City, CoEd provides educational resources and opportunities to indigenous Maya schoolchildren in Guatemala’s Central and Western Highlands. In addition to financial support, there are numerous opportunities for Knox members to become involved – individuals are an important part of CoEd’s mission. Individuals are encouraged to build one-on-one relationships with the schools and students CoEd supports by sponsoring individual students to entire schools. Knox members are invited to join in CoEd’s annual fundraising event, Fall Fiesta, held every October in Cincinnati. Volunteer opportunities are available to help plan, promote, and carry out the event. CoEd also welcomes office volunteers; assistance with PR, video editing, Spanish translation, and information fair representatives to spread the word and help raise funds to support education in Guatemala.

http://www.crossroadhc.org
The mission of Crossroad Health Center (CHC) is to “give honor to Jesus Christ by providing accessible, comprehensive health care in partnership with our patients and community leading to healthy, changed lives.” As a faith-based health center, CHC strives to serve those most in need. They also spend time to connect their patients with medical specialists, programs and social service agencies which can provide assistance with unmet patient needs. With its main campus located at Liberty and Vine in Over-the-Rhine, CHC serves over 12,500 children and adults through three clinics and two school clinics.

In addition to financial support, Knox members can provide in-kind donations, particularly for new baby welcome items as well as books. CHC provides a book to every child who visits the facility – so picture books, early readers and chapter books are all desired. Gently used is great.

https://www.facebook.com/interfaithhouseohio/
The purpose of the Interfaith House of Adams County is to provide a centralized emergency assistance program in Adams County, Ohio (1 hour east of Cincinnati). Adams County is one of the poorest counties in Ohio under significant financial stress as well as dealing with an opioid drug crisis. This organization has been a Knox partner for over 30 years. They accomplish their mission by utilizing resources from an all-volunteer staff, financial donations from area churches like Knox, and in-kind donations from county partners like the local Walmart. The primary service is giving food and personal products to qualified applicants, but also summer and winter clothing, too. Knox provides about 10% of their annual financial needs as well as providing donations of pantry items for distribution. Interfaith House of Adams County currently supports between 300 and 400 families a month.

The vision of Louisville Theological Seminary is to work toward a world where all can flourish, evidenced by the justice and mercy of God, the welcome of Jesus Christ and the creativity of the Holy Spirit. LTS is the closest seminary to Knox Presbyterian Church where many students are preparing for ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA). It provides students with a theological and practical education that prepares them for ministry and service in a pluralistic society. Recently, LTS formed and advertised Black Church Studies as central to its curricula aiming to become the leading Black Church Studies program in the country – with a focus on research, action, and reflection on Black churches and Black life. Knox’s liaison with Louisville Theological Seminary is Bob Reed. You may contact Maggie Shreve or Bob to learn more about LTS.

MARCC is a coalition of judicatories. Judicatories are the local, decision-making bodies of national denominations. Each of these judicatories is a valid, autonomous body. MARCC is the organized coalition that enables the 14 Jewish, Roman Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, Unitarian-Universalist judicatories to collaborate on a few local social concerns to improve life for the people of Metropolitan Cincinnati. Current social concerns are housing, justice reform and community-police relations. In the language of the sacred texts, the religious community can work on social problems in three ways:

• Prophetic: Holding up the absolute standards of God or spiritual well-being
• Priestly: Caring for each individual child of the divine creator
• Sovereignty or Politically: Choosing the best possible solution

As an organized body of religious leaders, MARCC has made a self-conscious decision to work together to address social concerns in a sovereign or political way. MARCC seeks local resolutions informed by the community to improve social concerns that impact the Cincinnati metropolitan area such as housing, displacement, and homelessness; builds better relationships between the community and police and justice reform; and other issues that relate to improving equal access basic to a thriving metropolitan region. At times, MARCC calls on the larger public beyond our network of judicatories and delegates to participate in campaigns, events, and other opportunities. Connect with them through a monthly electronic newsletter and visit often to see what’s new: https://marcconline.com/. Our liaison with MARCC is Beth Ehrsam and our staff is Maggie Shreve.

Jonathan and Emily Seitz serve at Taiwan College and Theological Seminary at Taipei, helping to prepare leaders for the Taiwanese church. Jonathan serves the school as professor of theology and missiology. The seminarians he prepares for ministry typically begin their ministries in Taiwan’s small, rural churches. In addition, he teaches lay leaders as part of the seminary’s Lay Academy and pastors who return for continuing education. Knox supports the Seitz family as PC (USA) missionaries in Taiwan. For more information about the Seitz family and their work, go to https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/the-rev-dr-jonathan-and-emily-seitz/

Presbyterian World Mission engagement in the Congo goes back 125 years and by God’s grace, the seeds planted then bore fruit in abundance. Today, we accompany two Presbyterian denominations that were founded from that early work, the Presbyterian Community of Congo and Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa as well as the Protestant umbrella organization, the Church of Christ in Congo. As regional liaison for Central Africa, Jeff Boyd facilitates support for the relationships, programs and activities of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. He also resources PC(USA) mission personnel and helps connect partner churches with PC(USA) congregations that want to be involved in ministry in the region. Besides the Congo, Christi works in three other French-speaking African countries, Madagascar, Niger, and Rwanda, and one non-French-speaking country, South Sudan. She accompanies global partners as they seek to remedy the marginalization of women and children in their communities and engages with Presbyterian constituencies in the US who wish to come alongside and promote those efforts.
For more information about the Boyd’s and their work, go to: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/jeff-and-christi-boyd/

https://montreat.org  
Knox makes an annual donation to the Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina to provide scholarships for the summer Montreat youth conferences. These conferences provide youth an opportunity to come for a week to study, worship and enjoy recreation. These scholarships are made available to youth in need of financial assistance, including Knox and Third youth.

Knox traditionally sends a group of youth to Montreat in June, often joined by youth from Third and other local churches. The Knox youth group prepares for this trip, and historically presents a musical to the Knox community in late spring as a fund-raising effort to help cover trip expenses. Knox members are encouraged to support our youth by attending the performance, or by contributing through Knox to the trip expenses.

https://nlfurniture.org
New Life Furniture Bank partners with local social service agencies to provide full house furniture to families and individuals overcoming devastating circumstances, so they can start their new life with hope and dignity.  Our vision is to share God’s love through the comfort and stability of furniture.

New Life Furniture has opportunities for youth and adult volunteers to sort donations and pack household items for delivery to clients. Adult volunteers can also be trained to help in the furniture making shop.

View a short video about NLFB with Knox members Jim Wuenker and Karen Wirthlin.  

www.nextchurch.net
NEXT Church is a purposeful relational community of Presbyterian leaders whose mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ in ways that matter to and have impact on God’s evolving world. The focus is on intentionally leading the church into effective and faithful ways to meet future needs and specifically strengthen the “relational fabric” of the church and communities served. In addition to financial support, Knox members and leaders participate in National Gatherings and other events and programs. There are additional opportunities for member engagement for interested members.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crisis and catastrophic event. PDA is the emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The core budget, including staff and administrative costs, is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing, and its program work is additionally funded through designated gifts. It focuses on the long-term recovery of disaster impacted communities; provides training and disaster preparedness for presbyteries and synods; works collaboratively with church partners; and connects partners locally and internationally with key organizations active in response — United Nations, NVOAD (National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster), World Food Program, Red Cross, FEMA and others. Go to https://pda.pcusa.org/ for more information.

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, a mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a program of Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministries, in urgent response to the overwhelming culture of violence in our world is: inspiring new approaches to active peacemaking; equipping God’s people to be compassionate and prophetic peacemakers; and acting together with all churches for transformation of the world. To learn more, go to https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/peacemaking/. Knox hopes to bring an international peacemaker into our church for a lecture and discussion sometime in 2024. Our liaisons to Peacemaking are Rolf Hahne and Matt Burkart.

The mission of Pilgrims of I’billin is to support the Mar Elias Educational Institutions and other mission projects that foster a just peace in Israel and Palestine.

Focusing on education and projects that train and empower peace-builders, Pilgrims of I’billin supports programs and institutions where young people are given outstanding opportunities to study and grow as well-rounded leaders, grounded in a commitment to peacemaking and reconciliation.

Pilgrims has worked primarily but not exclusively with Mar Elias Educational Institutions (MEEI) in the village of Ibillin, in the Galilee region of northern Israel. MEEI’s founder, Father Elias Chacour, articulated a goal that perfectly embodies the mission of Pilgrims: “We intend to build peace on the desktops of children.”

Since 2008 Pilgrims of I’billin has also developed “Peace-building Partnerships” with schools and organizations in the West Bank, Gaza, and elsewhere in Israel to support additional projects working for a just peace for all in Palestine and Israel. Their pilgrimages include visits to most of their partner organizations.

In addition to Knox’s financial support of Pilgrims of I’billin, Knox members who have pilgrimaged to the Holy Land with Reverend Jana Reister had the privilege of visiting Mar Elias Educational Institutions and meeting Father Chacour. We hope to create additional opportunities for Knox members to build relationships with this mission partner.

The One Hopeful Fund is a program of the Presbytery of Cincinnati which incubates, supports, and amplifies the reach of the churches in the presbytery. Monies are set aside annually to share mission giving on behalf of all congregations. Grants are made to support the passions of Presbytery congregations and individual members who apply for them. The intention of the fund is to partner and collaborate across the presbytery’s geographical area to initiate innovative mission work in evangelism, justice and poverty. For more information, see the Presbytery of Cincinnati website.

https://www.tjmi.org
There is one overriding mission at Transforming Jail Ministries: to take God’s message of hope to those in jail. They hold a vision of jail as a place of change that is positive, profound, pervasive and permanent. TJM is supported by 23 churches in Cincinnati, by individuals, and by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

Knox provides financial support and members participate by volunteering to help with bible studies. Volunteers are part of a large organization of worship team members, chaplains and clergy, all supported by TJM’s staff.

https://www.foodpantries.org/ci/oh-cincinnati
The purpose of the West End Emergency Center is to provide a centralized emergency assistance program in the West End neighborhood utilizing the resources and expertise of neighborhood churches.

The primary service is that of a food and personal products pantry but assistance also includes summer and winter clothing. Knox provides significant financial support to WEEC as well as providing donations of in-kind pantry products for distribution.