The First United Methodist Church offers a unique ministry to the poorly clothed elementary age children of Michigan City. This service is unique because it is performed anonymously by volunteers in the school system and by volunteers of our Methodist Church. This ministry started in 1988 and continues at the present time.
The Clothes Line functions very simply. A teacher, counselor, or nurse sees a child who is lacking in basic clothing, fills out a request card, and sends it to the church. The card is placed on the Clothes Line display board in the Gathering Room. One of the congregation takes the card, buys the new clothing, and delivers the bag to the requesting school office or returns the bag to our church where a volunteer delivers it. This process is very simple and effective. In the 38 years of this ministry, hundreds of young children in Michigan City have been clothed and they know someone cared about their well being.