Heritage believes that we are all God’s children and that we are called to understand each other, share our blessings and the Good News of Jesus Christ.  We are active in our community and in national and global ministries as well.  Want to make a difference in our community?  Come join our ministries!

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Some of our current ministry opportunities:

 

Crop Walk

Every year Heritage participates in the Northwest DuPage United CROP Walk for hunger on a Sunday in October.  This year our Team of 4 raised $3,934.90 and the 8 churches of the NW DuPage United CROP Walk raised $18,850.31. The national amount raised was $3,173,084. That is quite impressive and will provide food for many, many people in need.

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Peace Park

Heritage is blessed with a large piece of property! As we thought about how we can serve our neighbors, several ideas came together.  First, one of our members brought forth an idea for a visible symbol of our commitment to peace and reconciliation - a Peace Pole.

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We also recognized that our neighbors to the north did not have open space for their children to enjoy.  This led to our building a playground with several apparatus for the children to climb on and play.  Phase II of the playground added more space and additional benches for families to be with their kids. Community partners donated trees and more benches have been added across our property to provide a peaceful place for people to gather.  More...

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Outreach Community Center

The Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream is a multi-purpose, neighborhood resource center serving residents in southeast Carol Stream.  The center is focused on helping neighborhood residents to work together to build a stronger community.  Find info at Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream – Outreach Community Ministries

 

Heritage members are involved in the Board, mentoring youth, serving seniors and helping with administration.  We share a common commitment with OCC to minister to each person’s physical, social and spiritual needs. 

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Neighborhood Food Pantries

Feeding our hungry neighbors! The mission of NFP is to effectively distribute food and emergency assistance in Northwest DuPage through community and faith partnership. 

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Heritage supports NFP through a variety of ways – board service, financial support, growing healthy food in our garden and donations of food and paper goods.  To learn more visit Home | Neighborhood Food Pantries (neighborhoodfp.org)

 

DuPage Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS)

In the past members of Heritage have provided food and volunteers for DuPage Pads on the fourth Wednesday of each month from September to May.  Because of COVID, PADS has changed how they provide housing, support services and employment opportunities to county residents who are homeless.  Our church is still helping in any way we can, through monetary support or in other ways available.  If you would also like to help, visit Home - DuPage Pads

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Some of our past programs have included:

Books to You

Heritage served as host to the Books to You program, which was a reading program run by the Carol Stream school district. Children read, listened to stories, chose books to take home and discovered that reading is fun!  Volunteers provided reading coaching, assisted with craft activities, read to the children and served food.  We typically saw 45 to 50 young people each event, organized in conjunction with the administration and teachers in Carol Stream.

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Carol Stream Summer Lunch Program

During the school year, most children enjoy the benefit of meals provided by the school system.  During the summer, however, this option is not available.  Too many of our children only eat junk food, or even worse, go without meals.

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Through a partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, a group of churches and civic organizations in Carol Stream, led by Heritage, provided nutritious lunches to all Carol Stream children, 18 and below, at no cost to the families.  This program delivered more than 7000 meals to the children in our community between 2016 and 2019.  The program was suspended in 2020 due to Coronavirus.