St. Brendan's [at its inception] made a vow to always allot 10% of our church's operation Income for outreach purposes. This group is called CRIES Advocacy, so named because its intent is to hear the cries of those near and far who are in need. Any member can be a part of this committee or suggest where the money should be donated.
Below is a current list of our regular Outreach Programs:
If you are interested in joining any of these programs, please contact the Group Leaders.
St. Brendan's Episcopal Church
OUTREACH
“If we are to be the people who embody in this world and give people the message that God loves them, well, how do you do that apart from helping them?”― The Rt. Rev. Bishop Scott Hiyashi
Adopt-a-Highway:
Adopt-a-Highway is one of St. Brendan’s oldest community ministries. Four times a year, parish volunteers get together on a Saturday morning and pick up trash along the Camp Horne interchange of Interstate 279, which is several miles from the church. Anyone age 14 and up may participate, and our crews pick up anywhere from one dozen to three dozen bags of trash during a cleanup. The effort usually takes about two hours.
Feeding the Spirit:
Every month, we ask members to donate food items to the North Hills Food Bank located at Hiland Presbyterian Church on Perry Highway. A participating family within the congregation, using a poster, will depict the current month’s “need” and ask for donations from their fellow parishioners. The donations are blessed before delivery to our needy neighbors.
Miryam's:
Miryam´s Day Program offers homeless or otherwise vulnerable women a safe place
with hot meals, toiletries, basic needs, case management, quality of life programming, referrals, and social activities. Each month one of our families cooks and delivers a dinner during the week, and volunteers sign up to cook another nutritious dinner on the first Sunday of each month. St. Brendan’s helps approximately 40 women with each of these home-cooked meals.
If you are unable to participate in cooking, envelopes are available in the narthex for you to make a contribution toward this outreach.
CRIES Advocacy:
This group decides where the 10% automatic donation would most benefit our neighbors in need.
Garden of Hope
This group tends a garden on the Church Property that produces food for our Outreach programs. Interested in tending our Garden of Hope?
Volunteers from Conversation Friends invite those who are learning English as a Second Language (ESL) to join our conversation groups, where they can practice their speaking skills. Groups meet at the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. until noon and on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30. For more information, please phone or email the church and a volunteer will be in touch with you.
You can also keep an eye on "The Little Log" for information on additional Outreach projects.