service opportunities

Our United Methodist Men and other volunteers from Ware’s Chapel regularly participate in a bed building ministry called Sleep in Heavenly Peace located in neighboring Martin County. Volunteers attend workshops where simple bed frames are constructed. Then, volunteers are invited to deliver the wood bed frames, mattresses, and bedding to children here in Beaufort County, many of whom have never slept in their own bed in their home. This ministry allows for connection with our community in a movement toward God’s justice, meeting a basic need and extending God’s love to our neighbors.

Check our Church Calendar for Bed Building dates as they are scheduled and contact the President of the United Methodist Men for more information or to participate.

Ridgewood is a local assisted living facility. Residents play weekly Bingo, as a way to build community and keep up skills for attention and memory. Many of the residents who love to participate need extra help to move pieces and follow the game. Each Thursday, volunteers from Ware’s Chapel join the residents at Ridgewood to share in community and offer encouragement through their presence.

Our United Women in Faith regularly collects donations and stocks our own Children’s Free Little Library. Painted in bright colors so it can’t be missed, the Library is located along the edge of the church parking lot, and open for anyone who wants, to stop by and take a few books for reading at home. It is our hope that this small effort encourages reading and helps to address the importance of early literacy.

Anyone is invited to donate new or gently used children’s books by placing them in a bin in our Fellowship Hall. Help us spread the word about our Children’s Free Little Library, or come by and grab a book for someone you love.

Ware’s Chapel as an active Early Response Team (ERT). Men and women from Ware’s have completed two work trips to Spruce Pine, NC to do clean up and rebuilding work after Hurricane Helene. They also participate in Eastern NC response efforts as the NC Conference of the UMC organizes. Some of our volunteers are formally trained in Early Response, though anyone is invited and welcome to join in the work with them.

Ware’s Chapel is home to an Early Response trailer that can be used to haul tools and needed supplies as situations of crisis arise. Rev. Tom Jacobs, Beacon District Disaster Response Coordinator, is an active participant in our congregation at Ware’s and helps to organize these efforts. For questions, or to participate in the next ERT work days, please reach out to the Church Office to be connected with Tom.

Each Summer Beaufort County Schools Food and Nutrition receives a grant to fund free meals for children 18 years old and younger in Beaufort County over the summer months while school is out. In a commitment to serving children and families in our area, in the summer of 2025 Ware’s Chapel opened our doors as a meal pick up site for the first half of the summer. We were blessed to share time with those who came to Ware’s, and to get to know some new members of our community. We hope to expand this outreach ministry in the summer of 2026.

Each November, Ware’s Chapel adopts children through the Beaufort County Foster Care system, to provide Christmas gifts to children who are displaced from their nuclear family. At approximately $200 per child, Ware’s Chapel gives thousands to this effort by adopting 15-20 children each year.

Ware’s Chapel has multiple drive teams who deliver meals each Tuesday in our surrounding area. These meals go to neighbors in need, who are otherwise unable to leave the house or prepare healthy meals regularly. It is a joyful way to extend God’s love to our elderly neighbors.

Calling all sewers! This group meets monthly to cut and sew soft cotton hats that are distributed to cancer centers for patients experiencing hair loss. The time spent together among volunteers allows for fellowship and shared mission, and the work they do is a blessing to neighbors they will never meet. This mission extends God’s love in what is often a fearful time.

Twice each year, in June and December, Ware’s Chapel partners with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive in our Fellowship Hall. Members of the congregation and the larger community come to give blood, and our hospitality team creates space for good food and fellowship. Volunteers, staff, and donors all experience welcome in our space.

To learn more about our partnership with John Small Elementary School, click here.

To learn more about our Threads of Hope ministry, click here.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief allows opportunities for global mission within our connection of the United Methodist Church. Each spring, we gather supplies to pack school supply kits and hygiene kits to be stored and distributed as part of disaster response, or in places of great need around the world. We gather after worship to pack the kits together and share in this important missional work.