Our Community, Our Calling
![]() Flushing is celebrated as a community of many faiths. Churches, temples and mosques, large and small, continue to proliferate during the recent waves of immigration. Among the Christian churches, however, there is little fellowship or recognition with one another. The image they project to the larger public is a divided Christian community in competition with itself.
We at MHNA sense the Spirit of God hovering upon these turbulent waves of unprecedented change. It is our driving conviction that Christians living and attending church in Murray Hill are called to fellowship and work together to “re-neighbor” our community for Christ. As a faith-based, grass roots organization, MHNA seeks to do this by bringing the local body of Christ together across ethnic and denominational affiliation to fulfill Christ’s command to love one another and our neighbors through community service programs. As testimony to this vision, MHNA volunteers and staff today come from ten different local churches. It is encouraging to see the wider body of Christ co-laboring through the MHNA food pantry, ESL classes, afterschool, and summer programs. It is also significant that our programs and offices operate out of two different church facilities (Free Gospel Church and First Presbyterian/Immanuel Community Churches). Our collaboration with Justice for Our Neighbors Immigration Clinic of La Promesa Mission is an example of how MHNA seeks not to duplicate already existing programs of local churches, but to establish community partnerships with them. As we continue to reach out to more local congregations and volunteers, we anticipate new MHNA programs hosted by new partner churches in Murray Hill. Although not all of our volunteers and staff live in the immediate community, we focus primarily upon the Murray Hill section of Flushing because of its unique character. While in close proximity to congested downtown Flushing, Murray Hill still retains enough of a residential character in which a renewed sense of neighborhood can be revived. We see the unusual concentration of churches and ministries in Murray Hill has having something of a divine hand on it in this regard. It’s encouraging to witness a new stirring of Murray Hill pastors and volunteers meeting, dreaming, and praying about this very thing. “A city on a hill cannot be hidden….In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” As the needs of our community grow more challenging, MHNA is getting ready to go to the next level. We invite you to join us in serving our community in the Name of Christ. Your fellowship and service are much welcomed and needed. Next: Our Community, Our Challenge Back to About Us |