Outreach

Thanksgiving Day
Food and City Jail Collections
Thanksgiving Day, November 26, is the annual food collection to benefit Central Virginia Foodbank, and the collection day for personal hygiene items for those incarcerated in the Richmond City Jail. Gifts will be presented during the 10:00 a.m. worship service. Collection bags with a list of “most needed items” will be available in the Narthex beginning Sunday, November 8.

See a list of most needed items

Area Congregations Together In Service ACTS is an interfaith ministry that provides case management and emergency financial assistance to people in crisis who are at risk of losing their housing. St. James’s provides financial support and staff and volunteer leadership to the support of ACTS. Volunteers are trained to help clients complete the intake process. Contact: Nancy Warman, 355-1779, ext. 33 or nancywarman@doers.org

Congregations Around Richmond Involved to Assure Shelter CARITAS is annually hosted by St. James’s between Christmas and New Year’s. Church member volunteers provide one week of overnight shelter at the church, including meals, laundry, worship and recreation for homeless adults during the holiday season. Contact: Julie Locke 272-7763

Mentoring Ministry
One-on-one tutoring and mentoring program for at-risk students at inner city schools and the Peter Paul Development Center.
Contact: Betse Trice, betset@hotmail.com or 282-4726 or John Hart, 270-0034 or h3133@yahoo.com

The Giving Tree Ministry
This ministry provides Christmas gifts to children and adults who participate in the program organized by the Peter Paul Development Center. The youth of St. James’s provide a Christmas party, at which time the gifts are distributed to families. See a guide for this year's giving program.
Contact: Sallie Graham, 564-9827 (cell) or sallie.graham@tap.com

Mardi Gras for Missions
Many volunteers work together to plan and host a Fat Tuesday (day before Ash Wednesday) feast and auction that serves as the fundraiser for church mission trips. Contact: Nancy Warman, 355-1779, ext. 33 or nancywarman@doers.org

 
Mission Trips
St. James’s has a rich history of both domestic and international mission trips. Several times a year we send groups out in service of our Christian brothers and sisters in places like Alaska, New Orleans, Honduras, and Sudan. Missionaries are raised up out of our youth programs as well as adult members to contribute their gifts of time and talent while learning much about the diversity of God’s work in the world. 2008 promises several trips, including Honduras, Haiti and, possibly, Sudan. For information on how to take part, contact the Reverend Whitney Zimmerman at 355-1779, ext. 17 or whitneyzimmerman@doers.org.

Summer Youth Mission Trip
Each summer, our high-school teens are afforded the opportunity to experience unfamiliar cultures and ways of life through a summer mission trip. The trip often highlights the difficulties regularly endured by the members of poorer communities to which we travel. Past mission locations have included the Lakota Sioux Indian Reservation in Bear Creek, South Dakota, the Crow Indian Reservation in Garryowen, Montana, an Episcopal Diocese of Virginia mission to Honduras, and Manley Hot Springs, Alaska. Contact: Chris Edwards, 355-1779 or chrisedwards@doers.org

St. James’s Children’s Center
The Center, directed by a Board of Directors and supported by funds and volunteers from St. James’s, is a multi-dimensional education program for at-risk and special needs children, ages 2½ to 8 years old, primarily from low to moderate income African American families. The mission is to celebrate the uniqueness of every child. Volunteers serve in many capacities, including reading to the children, helping with lunch and other activities. Contact: Geraldine Johnson, 355-1779, ext. 22, 358-9788 or geraldinejohnson@doers.org

ElderHomes
Teams of volunteers work with ElderHomes, Inc. to provide a day of repair and renovations to homes of elderly citizens. Contact: Nancy Warman, 355-1779, ext. 33 or nmwarman@doers.org or Chris Edwards, 355-1779, ext 34 or chrisedwards@doers.org

Ministry Care Teams
Volunteers work with the Director of Servant Ministry and serve on an “as needed basis” to offer a helping hand and support to clients who have been referred to the church or to ACTS for emergency financial assistance and other types of support. Contact: Nancy Warman: 355-1779, ext.33 or nancywarman@doers.org

 
Stuart Circle Parish Meal Ministry
Meal Ministry volunteers prepare and serve a meal at First English Lutheran Church for homeless and low-income people one Sunday afternoon ( 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.) each quarter. Contact: Ryon and Carrie Acey, 358-0721 or Carrie Acey linovet@comcast.net or Susan Bain, 586-2895