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VIEW THE SOCIAL MINISTRY COMMITTEE LINKS
ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Aid for Friends:
Blood Drive (American Red Cross): St. Paul’s holds one to two annual blood drives to help with the ongoing demand for safe blood supplies. Many volunteers are needed to contact potential and previous blood donors. In addition, church members help prepare and serve dinner to the Red Cross volunteers and assist with registering donors. Christmas Angel Wreath: Congregation members assist with local outreach by supporting the Christmas Angel Wreath Project. Individuals make a financial donation for an angel, which can be signed with a personal Christmas message and hung on a large wreath for all to see. The proceeds are then distributed to a predetermined agency. Community Outreach - Feeding the Homeless:
Pioneers/Elderly Care (Everlasting Arms - ELA): In addition to St. Paul’s Pioneer Group, the Social Ministry Committee ministers to the elderly and homebound members via the Everlasting Arms Program. GVP’s (God’s Valued Persons) are "adopted" by members of the congregation and are provided with regular contact and companionship. Volunteers are provided with:
Helping Hands: This group assists the elderly with yard cleanup and miscellaneous household tasks. Flower Delivery: Congregation members regularly deliver altar flowers and special holiday plants to homebound members and other individuals who are ill or who are experiencing emotional or physical challenges. Habitat For Humanity: Members of St. Paul's church are afforded semi-annual opportunities to join hands with the Habitat for Humanity family of volunteers. Generally speaking, St. Paul's "ministers" to the families on Stiles Street in West Philadelphia, which has been an ongoing community endeavor since 1987. Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN): IHN provides homeless families with temporary food and shelter by utilizing community resources for food, shelter and social services. Each participating congregation furnishes overnight lodging and meals for three to five families (maximum of sixteen people) for one week at a time, each two to three months on a rotating basis. Various Montgomery County social service agencies help find employment, counseling and daycare for individual family members. Lutheran Charities: St. Paul's Social Ministry Committee and the Women of the ELCA help support numerous Lutheran charities through various endeavors. Prayer Chain: Upon request, congregation members and their friends and family members can receive prayers from the 40+ members of the Prayer Chain. Individuals participating in the Prayer Chain are contacted weekly to pray, daily, for those who are ill or troubled. Faithful, diligent prayer is a powerful and mighty force available to everyone who seeks it! Transportation Needs - Dialing-Up for Transportation (DUPT) Congregation members are available to transport those needing rides to church and church-related activities as well as for doctor visits and other necessary errands. Working Wardrobe St. Paul's Social Ministry Committee provides semi-annual opportunities for congregation members to support the working wardrobe program by donating their good-quality clothing in order to assist individuals either entering or re-entering the workforce. What a difference a stylish suit can make in raising the self-esteem of individuals coming off welfare and striving to become self-sufficient.
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An interfaith, volunteer-run organization
that serves free, home-cooked meals to the needy and homebound. AFF provides St.
Paul’s with aluminum trays for distribution to volunteer cooks in our congregation.
The trays are available all year long for people to take home, fill and return. Some
families use this as an opportunity to work together by planning a predetermined number of
meals and preparing them at home. Some groups prefer to work together at the church, while
others simply make a little extra at meal time and prepare a few trays weekly.