"Religion that our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after widows and orphans in distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world".
James 1:27 NIV
Thank you for your interest in Mary's Comfort Ministries!
Mary's Comfort Ministries is a non-denominational, Christian faith based, not-for-profit organization committed to serving God and meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of widows and orphans through innovative crisis intervention and the application of existing and developing community programs right here in the United States. These needs include, but are not limited to, affirming the God given dignity and value inherent within the individual and community. We offer practical tools for leading a joyous, abundant and peaceful life through Jesus Christ. About Us
Our Mission
To provide for the needs of the widows and orphans in our community.
Our Vision
To see every person become a loving, healthy, contributing member of the body of Christ.
Who falls into the category of Widow or Orphan?
The Hebrew word for widow is amlanah. It has many meanings; a woman who is left without a provider for any reason; the state of loneliness, abandonment or helplessness. The New Testament Greek word is cheras and it refers to a woman that has lost her husband in any way, whether through death, desertion, divorce, war or imprisonment. Paul gives the church specific guidelines for widows in 1 Timothy 5. He states that widows should be cared for by their family members, so they are not a burden to the church. We, as believers, must make sure that the widows in our family are being cared for. We must provide for them, pray for the them, protect them and share the gospel with them. Those without families are in the greatest need and we must seek them out and restore them to their rightful place beside us in the body of Christ!
An Orphan is a child that has been deprived of one or usually both parents or of some protection or advantage. Or, another definition is: A child that is deprived of the benefits of parenting by death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, separation or loss from, one or usually both parents.
Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.Psalm 82:3
Who are the orphans?
The Heart of Mary's Comfort
Jesus Christ was well acquainted with the struggles of widows and orphans. Surely, He grew up hearing the story of His own mother's immaculate conception, an incident that in ancient days of Israel could have caused this unwed, pregnant, teenage mother to at the very least be an outcast and at the very worst be stoned to death.
With an enlarged heart of understanding, just moments before His death, while suspended between heaven and earth, beaten and bloody and barely able to breathe, Christ asked John to care for His mother, who according to most accounts, was a widow at that time.
Did you know that the majority of our nations poor are single unwed mothers and their children? And widows also make up a large majority of that class?
There are 12.2 million single-parent families in America with more than 10 million headed by single mothers many who live below the poverty line.(most are condsidered to be a widow and their children orphans)
Between 5-15% of all single parent families are headed by widows.
Did you also know that the first church council (elders, deacons) in the New Testament (Acts 6:1-6) was established to care for the widows?
Who are the widows?
These precious women and children need the ministry of Mary's Comfort to help provide hope, healing, and a hand up in time of need.
Jesus' Heart
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift me lamp beside the golden door.
- Emma Lazarus, American poet:
inscription on the Statue of Liberty, New York
What does Mary's Comfort Ministries do?
We provide crisis intervention mentors that assess the urgent needs of widows and orphans in times of distress. We offer them immediate intervention and comfort and ensure that their basic needs are met. We begin to develop a program aimed at assisting, educating, and encouraging each person in personal growth spiritually, emotionally and in life skills. They are charged with the task of gaining the necessary tools to overcome their circumstances and rise to a level of security that ensures not just survival but very real opportunity to thrive in the body of Christ.
Some existing and proposed programs are:
- Emergency Housing, medical and dental care, food, transportation, clothing, auto and home repair. See also: Church Homes
- Education and training
- Prayer and devotional times
- Special community fellowship events
- End of the month food baskets
- Spiritual Counseling
- Placement assistance
- Transition Ministry
- Home Church Residences (Orphanages run by widows)
- Scholarship Programs
- Adoption Assistance
What will you do? Will you step forward with us and make a difference TODAY in the life of an orphan or widow? Perhaps it is someone that you know... A single Mom with three small children, the elderly lady next door, the middle-aged woman whose children are grown and away from home. Will you join with us in the service of love that will strengthen faith, build confidence, meet the needs and above all explore the very heart of Jesus Christ?
Be a part of Mary's Comfort Ministries
We believe there is a call on every believer to care for orphans and widows and that God’s hope for the widow and orphan is the local church and the family. Our desire is to see every believer in every local church care about orphans and widows. To be a part of Mary's Comfort Ministries in donations or deeds click on the following links:
"You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give."
- Winston Churchill
Urgent Needs Contact Us
EIN/Tax ID # 26-2859287
"O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart,
You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed (widowed),
so that man who is of this earth will no longer cause terror."
Psalm 10: 17-18