Care & Compassion

Our Connections within the Church and the Community

Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative

 

The Belleville Area Specialized Services Cooperative (BASSC) is an integral part of the St Clair country education system providing students from its 23 districts an area for specialized training and education for students with disabilities. St Paul UCC rents a facility for the daily student activities and has students visiting the Church for supervised task activities.

BASSC Website

The Bridges Program
This off‐campus facility provides hands‐on life skill instruction for students with developmental disabilities. Our primary goal is to teach students to become as independent as possible, so they can function as adults working and living in their community.  Our accessible training facility allows all students to learn independent living skills in their naturally occurring environment. Our community partnerships allows students to become familiar and function within their local community.

Description of the Bridges Program (pdf)

Ecuador Partnership

An agreement was established between the Ecuador Partnership and Habitat for Humanity International to build ten houses in Ecuador during a period of five years.  This partnership gives congregations in the US and individuals and work teams in Ecuador an opportunity for Christian unity, compassionate service, and solidarity with the poor by building houses and restoring hope to communities. .

St. Paul members, adults and youth, have participated in this program with labor in Ecuador  and  financial support.  This is an ongoing program and the 5 year term has been exceeded.


Ecuador Partnership Website

The Community Interfaith Food Pantry 

 was started by St. Paul United Church of Christ.  It is a nonprofit charitable organization governed by a board whose members are selected by the participating churches: St. Matthew United Methodist, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic, St. Luke Catholic, St. Teresa Catholic, Christ United Church of Christ, St. Paul United Church of Christ, Westview Baptist, Peace Lutheran Church and First United Presbyterian. Additional support comes from organizations, local businesses and you.

Food Pantry Website

Hoyleton Youth & Family Services

seeks to enable all people, young and old alike, to realize the wholeness of life that God intends. This will be accomplished with the compassion of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit reaching out to meet the physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social needs of those with whom we journey.

St. Paul members have served as directors on Hoyleton Boards.

Hoyleton Website

Illinois South Conference

Illinois South Conference of the United Church of Christ

is the parent body of St. Paul UCC. This organization provides help and services for the UCC churches in Southern Illinois.  It is the organizer and sponsor of the Ecuador Partnership.

Illinois South Conference Website

Uni-Pres Kindercottage

Welcome to the exciting world of Uni-Pres Kindercottage, a joint mission of the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Church of Christ. It is an Inclusionary Child Development Center which acts as a beacon of light and hope to children and families in East St. Louis, Illinois.

Uni-Pres Kindercottage provides an environment where all ages, infants through adults, have opportunities for growth and enrichment through educational and social programs developed in a community setting and resulting in healthy and stable families.

Kindercottage Website

Franklin Neighborhood Community Association

The Mission of the Franklin Neighborhood Community Association is to foster support for all youth and residents who reside in the identified district. This support will include programs and services which will enhance the school's goal of unifying the students, faculty, support staff, parents, business and community as a family. The unifying purpose is to create a circle of love and respect that involved each person in the Neighborhood and provide an environment for accelerated learning for all individuals.

Regional and National Outreach

Every year members of St. Paul UCC participate in a building program for the less fortunate among us. New Orleans and Biloxi, MS following Katrina. Youth trips to rehab homes in Applachia, Fixing cabins in Du Bois Center, the Illinois South Conference camp site. Repairing and building homes in Minot, SD following the flood and finishing rehabing a Transitional Living Program in Belleville, IL for Hoyleton Youth and Family Services.

 

The St. Paul Prayer Shawl Ministry

 

St. Paul Prayer Shawl Ministry crochets & knits shawls and lap blankets for those in need of comfort and prayers: those who are grieving, who are in a nursing home, recovering from surgery or receiving cancer treatments.  In addition, we create baby blankets for baptisms.  If there is a need, please email Stephenie Bauza.

Email Stephenie

St. Paul With You

St Paul With You was created in 2016 to extend Christian caring to those in the church community requiring fellowship.  The church members provide a caring program through contact with those in the hospital, assisted living, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, memory care, homebound, and all others who would enjoy companionship.  The pastors of St. Paul UCC serve as advisors to the program.