Mission &
Outreach

Although there are a number of events that occur once or twice during the year, the following Mission & Outreach opportunities are available weekly or monthly. Subscribe to the Westwood Church weekly e-newsletter to stay up to date!

Prayerful Stitches

Prayerful Stitches is a ministry at Westwood Church focused on providing hand-crafted items to members of the church as a symbol of our prayers and support. The items we will craft are more than string and yarn. The recipient can carry the handmade item from home, to the hospital, to bed, or anywhere. These items symbolize the way our community has come together to create comfort, warmth and support in an intentional, prayerful way.
.
Come and be a part of this exciting ministry. There is opportunity for group or individual service. We create with any craft-base: knitting, crocheting, sewing, cross stitch, quilting, etc. It is our goal to become a group that can act as a prayer response team in order to provide an immediate item of comfort or joy.
.
To contact the Prayerful Stitches coordination team for information about the group or information on how to request a prayer shawl, contact [email protected].

prayerfulstitches

P.A.T.H. Breakfast Ministry

P.A.T.H. (People Assisting the Homeless) is an organization dedicated to offering “A Hand Up – Not a Hand Out” in order to break the cycle of homelessness by empowering homeless people with the tools for self-sufficiency by helping homeless people find work, save money, secure housing and empower their lives.
.

P.A.T.H., celebrating its 25th year in 2009, started its humble beginnings in a basement office of our church. Since then, we have remained active with P.A.T.H. in many ways, including members serving on the Board of Directors, participating in the annual Imaginary Feast and the Mother’s Day Hugs Campaign.
.

Once a month, Westwood Church prepares and serves breakfast at PATH West LA (Cotner & Pico) to 30+ male veterans who live at this location. Arriving at 6am, part of the team shops at Smart & Final (directly across the street), and the other team members get things started in the kitchen. Menus is open to change, but often includes scrambled eggs, bacon, some baked bread (biscuits, cornbread), fruit salad, and donuts. Breakfast is served promptly at 7am, and clean-up is done by the residents. (Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age.)
.
To volunteer, click here to email Maureen Schultz.

path

Support a Missionary Plan

Westwood supports Rev. Paul Jeffrey, a missionary photographer who writes about the work of churches in disaster areas around the world. One of the ways that we support him financially is through our “Support a Missionary” (SAM) Plan.
.
When Westwood buys gift/cash cards from retailers, the retailers donate 5-15% of the purchase back to the church, and Westwood’s Mission Team allocates those funds to support both missionaries.
.
The gift/cash cards vary in denominations from $10 to $100. Members of Westwood’s congregation purchase the gift/cash cards at full face value. We typically have a wide variety of retailers, including Starbuck’s, AMC and Bed Bath & Beyond. We also have several restaurants, such as Cheesecake Factory, Acapulco’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
.
The Mission Team is on the plaza on most Sundays after the Sanctuary gathering with S.A.M. Plan gift/cash cards. If we don’t have a card that you want, just ask. There are 100s of retailers available. Orders are accumulated and once an order of size is achieved and placed, the cards will be available within 7-10 days.

pauljeffrey

Food Bag Ministry

The population of LA County is about 9.5 million, and more than 20% live below the poverty line – 73,000 are homeless. Of those seeking food assistance, 25% are children.
.
Since the fall of 2008, there has been a tremendous increase in demand for food services. The need has risen by more than 50% while the supplies have grown by less than 35%. Westwood has joined the Urban Ministries Committee of the Los Angeles District of the United Methodist Church to support the 15 food pantries in our district by collecting food donations weekly. These pantries distribute nearly 7,000 meals per month.
.
The Mission Team has provided a reusable Food Bag Ministry sack to each household as a reminder to serve others in our community. Purchase a few extra canned food items (especially meat or single serving pull-tab cans) or other nonperishable items such as cereal, juice, crackers or pasta and place the food in the bins in the narthex each week. Bags are available in the office.