Faith in Action: Social Ministry Opportunities

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1 Faith in Action: Social Ministry Opportunities St. Paul s Episcopal Church Modesto, California

2 We are a worshiping, inquiring and inclusive community united in Jesus name to change the world. St. Paul s Mission Statement 1

3 Change the world? Yes! Right here at St. Paul s we reach out to people in need in a variety of ways. And we need your help! Open your heart; exercise your faith; help put St. Paul s on the map. And please keep all these ministries, and the people they assist, in your prayers. Service to the Community Family Promise..4 Food in Faith...4 Interfaith Ministries...5 Modesto Gospel Mission Yellow Backpack Program..7 Salvation Army Monthly Food Distribution...8 Shelter Dinners Hospitality.10 Service to the World CROP Hunger Walk.. 12 Human Trafficking Campaign...12 Integrity USA...13 Knit One, Pray Too...13 Other Avenues for Action St. Paul s Ministry Prayer Partners...14 Prayer Chain Episcopal Public Policy Network.14 Episcopal Relief and Development

4 Service to The Community 3

5 Family Promise The Family Promise program provides temporary parish-based housing to families. St. Paul s, along with 15 other regional churches, hosts up to 4 homeless families for one week by providing bedroom cubicles in the parish hall, daily evening meals, and breakfast and lunch fixings. Family Promise is the only shelter program which allows families to be housed intact during hard financial times. Learn more at Volunteer opportunities exist for: * Food preparation and service * Evening socialization * Overnight chaperones * Set up / Tear down Contact: Carolyn List, , carolynlist@sbcglobal.net Food in Faith A food distribution ministry housed at the former Christ the King Church in Riverbank, this program gives out bags of groceries to qualified clients on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Donations for Food in Faith are collected on the third Friday of the month. Volunteer opportunities exist for: * Setting up the bags and opening the boxes on the Friday before the distribution * Giving out the bags on Saturday Contacts: Nancy Harrison, ; Gayle Ivy,

6 Interfaith Ministries Interfaith Ministries (IFM) works on behalf of a group of faith-based congregations, organizations, and individuals to help those in the greater Modesto who are in need of food, clothing, and other humanitarian services. St. Paul s is a contributing congregation to IFM. Annamary Peck represents St. Paul s on the Advisory Board of IFM. Learn more at interfaithmodesto.org Volunteer opportunities at IFM: * Clothes Closet - provides clothing at no cost to needy recipients M - F, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Volunteers receive, sort, launder, hang clothes and assist recipients in finding what they need. * Food Pantry - distributes donated food items to needy recipients. Volunteers arrange food in the pantry and assist in distribution. * Free Farmers Market - a mobile distribution of donated fresh fruits, vegetables, and breads to areas known as food deserts, which are lacking in stores that sell fresh produce. * Gleaning - Volunteers harvest produce that homeowners/ farmers can not use for distribution to needy recipients. * Fundraising - Volunteers solicit prizes for and staff fundraise ing events. Contacts: Annamary Peck, , ajpeck67@sbcglobal.net; Tom Hampson, , hampson1412@gmail.com; Interfaith Ministries at

7 Modesto Gospel Mission The Modesto Gospel Mission is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization that has been serving the hungry and homeless in Stanislaus County since The Gospel Mission provides the following free services to anyone in need: * breakfast and dinner seven days a week * shelter for men, women, mothers with children and fathers with children * showers and clothing * medical clinic * men s and women s New Life Program * adult diploma credit completion courses, and G.E.D. preparation * vocational training * nightly Chapel Service * Children s Center providing after-school care to children in preschool through 12th grade weekend children s programs nightly worship service for children and their families prior to dinner Community Volunteers are needed for: teaching / tutoring in the Children s Center serving meals fundraising assisting staff during special events leading or assisting in worship Currently St. Paul s parishioners: volunteer in the after school program focusing on literacy, art, and other areas of need; coordinate the annual Christmas gift program with an emphasis on socks and small gifts for pre-teens and teens; sort donations of toiletries and children s items donated by parishioners for delivery to the Mission. 6-7

8 Modesto Gospel Mission (cont.) Donations: The Modesto Gospel Mission gratefully accepts the following: * Money * Toiletries * Food * Items for special projects * Clothing (e.g. backpack give-away prior to school) * Furniture Volunteer orientation is provided at the Gospel Mission on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 5:30pm. Contacts: Katie Smith, , katie@homeslessmission.org; Bob Harrington, , jjaazz@earthlink.com Yellow Backpack Program The backpack program is a Diocesan-wide attempt to address the reality that many of our sisters and brothers are hungry, and many are homeless. Yellow backpacks are distributed to parishes who fill them with items such as personal hygiene and nonperishables. At St. Paul s, we have partnered with Church in the Park, whose mission is to restore dignity and self worth by bringing showers to the people who need them most. Church in the Park gifts the backpacks we have filled as a parish to those guests who use their mobile shower. Monetary donations to fill the yellow backpacks are greatly appreciated. Contact: Annamary Peck, , ajpeck67@sbcglobal.net 7

Salvation Army Monthly Food Distribution at St. Paul s The U.S. Government Emergency Food Assistance Program provides the local Salvation Army with commodities.

9 Salvation Army Monthly Food Distribution at St. Paul s The U.S. Government Emergency Food Assistance Program provides the local Salvation Army with commodities. Supplemented by additional food from other resources, the Salvation Army has approximately 50 distribution centers in Stanislaus County, including St. Paul s. There are generally 8-10 commodities given to families each month. St. Paul s donates the space and provides the volunteers to help pass out the food to residents of the / zip code areas. Most volunteers are members of St. Paul s. On the first Wednesday of each month, volunteers gather about 10:00 am to set up the tables and unpack the commodities which have been delivered in preparation for distribution. To most effectively and efficiently process the clients and distribute the food, 12 to 17 volunteers are needed, three of whom register the clients. Clients need to show proof of their mailing address when they sign in, certifying their household income is within the government guidelines. Volunteer opportunities include set up / break down, distributing food items, and registering clients. Contact: Lynne Sutton, , Ips1224@sbcglobal.net 8

10 Salvation Army Shelter Dinners St. Paul s parishioners create and serve dinner at the Shelter. The Shelter is open year round. The Shelter provides dinner and a place to stay overnight, with a continental breakfast in the morning. Capacity for people in transitional programs and for people seeking uncommitted overnight stay is 140 guests plus 5 to 6 staff members. Due to the transient nature of most guests, the maximum number of guests fed each night varies according to the weather. The staff of the Salvation Army relies on church and civic groups, plus individuals to plan and cook meals for the guests and to serve each evening. Groups or individuals may serve anything they choose, except for coffee and alcohol. The St. Paul s team of volunteer cooks and helpers set a goal of preparing dinners at least six times a year. Most ingredients are purchased. Various parishioners also donate fruit from their gardens. Other members generously donate money towards the purchase of the food. Depending on the menu, some preparation is done at St. Paul s. Preparation the day of the dinner takes 4-6 hours. All the food is loaded into various vehicles, and a caravan of servers drives to the shelter. Dinner service begins with a prayer at approximately 6:30 pm. Serving the food to all guests generally takes half an hour. A minimum of 5 servers are needed to replenish the steam table. Following the meal, the servers caravan back to the church to do a final clean-up. Generally, everything is finished by 8:00pm. It is a joy to plan, prepare and serve these meals. All the guests and staff greatly appreciate the efforts and the contact with our parishioners. Contact: Linda Lowe, Coordinator, Salvation Army Dinner Ministry, (home), (office), lwlowe@att.net. 9

11 Hospitality The Hospitality Committee is involved with the social activities of the church. All parishioners are encouraged to volunteer for the various sub-committees. Please call the chairperson in charge of each committee for more information. In-home meals Contact: Mary Kinnaman, (209) , Transportation to doctor visits, grocery shopping, etc. Contact: Theresa Grieshaber, , Phone calls to shut-ins Contact: Open Hospitality and follow up with newcomers Contacts: Jim and Annamary Peck, , Bread ministry Contact: Claudine Romegialli, , Coffee Hour Contact: Bonnie Palmer, , Potluck luncheons Contact: Open Bereavement receptions Contact: Open 10

12 Service to the World 11

13 CROP Hunger Walk St. Paul s joins with numerous other congregations to raise funds to assist hungry people at home and around the world. The annual Modesto CROP Hunger Walk takes place in the spring, with 25% of the funds raised going to Interfaith Ministries of Modesto and 75% going to Church World Service. Learn more at Volunteer opportunities include participating as a Walker or sponsor, or assisting with promotion and recruitment. Contact: Tom Hampson, , hampson1412@gmail.com Human Trafficking Campaign St. Paul s participates in this Diocese-wide effort to confront human trafficking in our region. We are working through a local group, Without Permission. Learn more at Contact: Claudia Miller, , ckay613cayucos@gmail.com 12

14 Integrity Integrity is a nonprofit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender [LGBT] Episcopalians and their straight friends. Since 1974, Integrity has been the leading grassroots voice for the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the Episcopal Church. Integrity USA s mission is to inspire and equip the Episcopal Church, its dioceses, congregations, and members to proclaim and embody God s all-inclusive love for LGBT persons and those who love them. Learn more at Contact: Claudine Romegialli, , msgialli95361@gmail.com Knit One, Pray Too Created to promote fellowship at St. Paul s, Knit One, Pray Too meets every third Monday of the month at 1:00 pm in the Youth Room. We normally end at 2:30 pm, but people can leave early or stay later. During our gathering we knit or crochet items for an organization of our choosing. We work on these items at home as well. We choose one organization for a single year. Our missional group welcomes ALL who can knit or crochet, or would like to learn, regardless of gender, age or ability. Donations of yarn are always welcome. Contact: Wil Colón, ; wilsoncolon66@gmail.com 13

15 Other Avenues for Action St. Paul s Social Ministry Prayer Partners The various ministries mentioned in this booklet and the people they serve need your prayers. If you find you cannot participate directly in our social ministry outreach, please remember all those who serve in these ministries and those served in your prayers. St. Paul s Prayer Chain Our parishioners, their families and friends can use your help in prayer. This simple yet powerful way to support St. Paul s can use an unlimited amount of volunteers. Prayers for healing, safety, in gratitude and other occasions are requested, then sent via to those on the prayer chain. As a participant, you are asked to read the request and take a few seconds to hold these in your heart through prayer. Contact: Wil Colón, , wilsoncolon66@gmail.com Episcopal Public Policy Network This is a grassroots network of Episcopalians across the country dedicated to carrying out the Baptismal Covenant call to strive for justice and peace through active ministry of public policy advocacy. Learn more at advocacy.episcopalchurch.org Episcopal Relief and Development This is a compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. It provides relief in times of disaster and promotes sustainable development by identifying and addressing the root causes of suffering. Learn more at episcopalrelief.org 14

16 At St. Paul s Episcopal Church: We invite everyone to join the communal life of the Body of Christ, through participation and leadership in this congregation, and by fully sharing in the life and sacraments of this church. We affirm that each person is a child of God, and that those of every race, ethnicity, creed, age, gender, marital status, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation and gender identity are called to be one of us. St. Paul s Episcopal Church 1528 Oakdale Rd. Modesto, CA (209) Cover graphic, Jane Pitz, used with permission. Graphics used with permission. 15

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