First (Scots) Presbyterian Church

World Missions

The World Missions Committee

Any member of the First (Scots) Congregation is welcome to join the World Missions Committee. We meet monthly to review ongoing mission projects and plan new ones. If you hear the call to join us, or just want to learn more about First (Scots) World Missions, please contact Chairman Jack Callahan.

Saving Lives in Haiti:
One of the initiatives of the La Gonave Partnership is to decrease the devastation of mother and infant deaths in Haiti (the highest in the Western Hemisphere). Simple, but effective, birthing kits include lightweight infant receiving blankets and “onsies” (newborn and 3-6 months) to reduce the loss of infant body warmth at birth. Pneumonia from common colds, total body infection from stubbed toes, and deadly fevers from mosquito borne illnesses can be avoided with basic, inexpensive medicines. “Beni Timoun Yu” (“Bless the children”-Haitian Creole)

The LAMB Institute, a Christ-centered, multifaceted ministry based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  Giving the Glory to God, Lamb shares the hope found in Jesus Christ as they care for, educate and empower those suffering from extreme poverty, abuse, and exploitation in Honduras.  Today, Lamb operates an elementary school in one of the most violent and poverty-stricken areas of Tegucigalpa, a large youth outreach program, multiple community programs, and a residential home inside the city for over 60 abused and neglected children. 

Water Mission is a nonprofit Christian engineering organization providing sustainable safe water and sanitation solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areas, using innovative technology and engineering expertise to provide access to safe water for nearly four million people in 55 countries.

First (Scots) has a longtime partnership with Medical Missions, Inc, a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to build Presbyterian hospitals, churches, and schools in developing countries. Dr. Salvador and Irma Del Torre, a doctor-nurse team, have extensive teaching and clinical experience at hospitals and universities in Mexico, Haiti, and Africa.

Rwandan Presbyterian Church operates the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences, an educational and theological ministry in the city of Muyumbu. PIASS trains students in divinity, education, and community development with the support of the PCUSA and four other protestant denominations.  A nursing school is currently in the planning stages. Kay Day, a lecturer in English and practical theology and a Presbyterian Mission co-worker in Rwanda, is working with the Outreach Foundation to facilitate a scholarship from our congregation to a Presbyterian divinity student at PIASS.

God's Gift Shop

God’s Gift Shop, an alternative Christmas gift market, is one of First (Scots) most beloved annual Christmas traditions. Each Christmas season, God’s Gift Shop is set up in Molly Wier Hall and helps us to share God’s love with a hurting world and look for meaningful gifts for your family, friends, and colleagues. Gifts range from providing a meal for one individual at One80 Place in Charleston to purchasing a water buffalo from Heifer International for a farmer in Cambodia or Thailand, allowing the farmer to plow his fields (earning four times more than plowing by hand).  By partnering with various local and world mission agencies, God’s Gift Shop allows First (Scots) to share God’s love throughout the world each Christmas season!

For more information about God’s Gift Shop, please contact Craig and Nancy Hanson, co-chairs.