Inwardly Supportive
Ware Church is an inwardly supportive community. This takes two main forms: time spent together in fellowship groups and time spend in pastoral moments.
Over the course of the month, we have multiple opportunities for folks to be apart of this community. We offer yoga four times per week. We have a weekly Bible study and twice a month mid-week Eucharists. We have a community breakfast each Sunday and a community lunch on the third Wednesday of the month. There is a book club, art group, and maintenance team. Everything we do, we intentionally structure to do together.
We also offer pastoral support in times of grief or loneliness. The pastoral care team visits with homebound parishioners and the prayer group is committed to holding everyone in their prayers.
Ware Church has intentionally set up its Christian Formation program to not separate children and youth from the adults in the congregation, but to provide space for them to be together. We welcome children and youth fully into all that we do and have physically created spaces that are welcoming for all ages.
First, we want kids to be present in worship! In our Historic Church, we have enhanced our pew lay-out so that there is a soft space for toddlers and children to move more freely, and have created a space to hold strollers and carseats for infants. We want them to learn the rhythms of standing and kneeling, picking up a hymnal and singing, and humbly going forward to receive the Eucharist.
Outwardly Serving
Ware Church is an outwardly serving community. We find our purpose in serving those in the wider Gloucester-Mathews area through group and individual efforts.
Ware hosts a number of ministries throughout the year that are other-focused. The Farmers Market at Historic Ware Church is in it's third year. Local vendors are on our campus on the second Saturday of each month May through October 9-1. The Ware Garden is a seasonal ministry where all of the produce grown is given to the Bread for Life food pantry (last year we grew over 1500 pounds!). ComfortWare provides hand-made robes to those reciving cancer treatment at Riverside Walter Reed hospital. As these are completed, they are prayed over and given to patients. These ministries are done in groups, and are a great way to get to know other Ware parishioners.
Ware also supports a number of community organizations. GUEST, Samaritan Group, Bread for Life, the Gloucester-Mathews Health Clinic are among the groups that we help through volunteering and financial assistance.