This post is a short description of the history of Partners in Alliance.
Partners in Alliance started informally in June 2000 following the meeting of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. A need was raised in the Brookville Evangelical United Methodist Church for a patient suffering from AIDS. Helping with this need opened the door to other ministries to HIV/AIDS patients in the Western Pennsylvania area.
Later in June of 2000 the Brookville Cluster voted to officially start Partners in Alliance as a Cluster ministry. The cluster voted to split its treasury in half to help start this new ministry. Since that time Partners in Alliance has helped with many emergency needs, provided spiritual counseling and pastoral care to HIV/AIDS patients and coordinated a Christmas Program touching the lives of hundreds of children affected by HIV/AIDS. This ministry has also helped children affected by HIV/AIDS to attend camp.
In 2002 with the help of the Indiana District, a grant from The Elizabeth A. Bradley Mission Fund, and other generous donors, Partners in Alliance incorporated with the following purpose: "to provide financial assistance, counseling, education, treatment and social accommodations to aids patients, their families, and friends as it relates to the illness of aids through the ministry of the Christian faith as practiced by The United Methodist Church."
The ministry has continued to grow to include a "Baskets of Hope Program" to provide personal items and Christian Literature to those in need and a "Bears that Care" that has given away thousands of teddy bears as a symbol of hope and love.
Hi and welcome to the blogoshpere. I didn't know we had such a ministry in the NWPA UMC. Thank you for making me aware and now I know a resource as well!
Posted by: Pamela | August 06, 2007 at 10:07 AM