Community Outreach at SsAM
If you would like to volunteer in the community, click here!
APOSTLES IN MISSION (AIM)
CODE PURPLE Shelter on Icy Nights
As we did last year, SsAM is offering its auditorium space to accommodate the homeless community on nights the city declares a Code Purple Alert. Code Purple is declared anytime the actual or wind-chill temperature is 15 degrees or below. We are opening our space up at 4:00 p.m. and closing at 9:00 p.m., at which time the Salvation Army opens and provides sleeping accommodation for the remainder of the night. SsAM is also providing one of six volunteer teams to serve soup and sandwiches to the hungry and cold. There is always one person from Friendship House to provide supervision for the night. If you would like to volunteer to be part of this ministry, please contact Phil or Susan Murphree at (302) 427- 0392.
UNDEE SUNDAY RESULTS
The Community Advocacy Committee thanks all who helped make UNDEE Sunday another success in November, 2009. With your contributions and donations, we were able to provide 77 sets of thermal underwear to our needy friends. This was four more than we donated last year, and sets a new record for this ministry. In addition to the thermal underwear, we also received gloves, baby crib sheets, toiletries, and T-shirts that were given to the women’s shelter. All 22 of our friends who reside in Andrew’s Place received a nice set of undees sized to fit their needs. The remaining 55 sets were donated to the Friendship House Clothing Bank to be distributed to others in need. Thank you for your participation in this worthy cause.
UNITED THANK OFFERING
This national program encourages prayers of thanksgiving while depositing spare change into little blue boxes that are then brought to church once a year. Click here to learn more about the United Thank Offering and the many ministries it funds.
FOOD BANK REFERRAL PROGRAM
Volunteers from our church operate a system of referrals to food banks at local churches. These referrals are given to people who live in Wilmington and can show financial need. They are offered at the church office on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to noon, and Wednesdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Recipients may access the system twice per month and must show proof of residence (lease, utility bill, etc.), and an original photo ID for themselves and for each member of their family for whom they are requesting help. For details on how to volunteer for this important ministry, please call the church office at 656-6628.
CHOIR SCHOOL MENTORS NEEDED
Wonderful things happen with Cathedral Choir School of Delaware mentors and their students! Mentors engage students in regular homework help, tutoring in specific areas; enrichment in math, reading and writing through board games, puzzles and workbooks; conversation about goals for higher education and career development; exploring maps and other cultures; and building friendships. 50% of the students live in at-risk neighborhoods. Youth who have mentors are more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to enroll in college. Pass along your education and experience. Become a mentor! Contact Leslie Acker-Rowe at 654-6279, ext. 118 to learn more. 7 August 2009
THRESHOLDS SEEKS MENTORS FOR PRISONERS
Thresholds is seeking volunteers to teach responsible decision-making and problem-solving skills to prison inmates. Thresholds seeks to foster autonomy and self-determination, to eliminate reactive thinking and behavior, and to erase the image of self as victim. By setting goals and working to achieve them, inmates make decisions and solve problems. By solving problems they gain control over their lives and have a more positive image of themselves, affirm their worth as individuals, and are better able to cope with life when they return to the community. The program is taught at Gander Hill, The Dolores Baylor C.I., and the Delaware Correctional Center in Smyrna. The only qualification is that you attend a one-day training session on September 12, 2009. To learn more about Thresholds, please contact Hugh Wallace at 658-7662 or Wanda Smith at 762-6180. 7 August 2009
FRIENDSHIP HOUSE
Our church has an active partnership with Friendship House, a Christian ministry committed to making a difference in the lives of the homeless through hospitality, education, empowerment and community. The lower floor of our church building is dedicated to a Women's Day Center, which is a drop-in center for women during the day and, at night, Andrew's Place, where older men can find shelter, food and fellowship. For details, visit the Friendship House website. Or, give us a call at (302) 656-6628.
SUNDAY MORNING BREAKFAST MINISTRY
Each Sunday morning between 6:30 to 8 a.m. seven local church communities, including SsAM, take turns preparing and serving a hot, healthy breakfast to people who are hungry. Click here to learn more.
REMEMBERING THE SUNDAY BREAKFAST COMMUNITY AT CHRISTMAS
Thanks to your generosity every December, we distribute presents to our friends who attend breakfast every Sunday in our auditorium. Gifts of a scarf, hat, warm gloves, socks or toiletries are very much appreciated. 99% of our breakfast friends are male, so please plan accordingly. (If the gifts are for a woman, PLEASE mark the package prominently.) NOTE: The cost of each gift, individually wrapped or bagged, should total approximately $5 to $7 each.
ANGEL TREE
Each Christmas season, the Community Advocacy sponsors the Angel Tree project, which provides Christmas gifts (4 each) for the children and grandchildren of those incarcerated in Delaware prisons. You will be able to select a “gift angel” and purchase the gift indicated on the angel. For details, call Sandy Holt or Alice Smith (376- 0200). If you wish to participate but have no time to shop or are homebound, you may contribute funds from which the committee will purchase additional gifts. Please make checks payable to “The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew” and put “Angel Tree” in the memo line.
COMMUNITY CHAPEL PROGRAM
Each Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. SsAM hosts a nondenominational interactive service in the Chapel immediately following the Sunday Morning Breakfast Ministry. This service is especially designed to minister to the spiritual needs of those who attend the Sunday Morning Breakfast, but is open to everyone. This inspirational gathering includes hymns, prayers, a homily and the sharing of life experiences. Those who wish to participate in this ministry are invited to contact the church office. To see descriptions of all our worship services, click here.
DANCE PROGRAM AT BAYLOR PRISON
In the spring of 2009, SsAM provided a grant for the fifth year to help underwrite the cost of the Avodah Dance Ensemble, a program organized by Pacem in Terris. The dance ensemble held a week of residency of Delores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution on May 18–22. Click here to read an article on page 3 of the July-August, 2009 issue of the Bi-Monthly Vision.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Several meetings a week are held at SsAM. For details, call the church at 302 656-6628.
REGAL HEIGHTS MINISTRY
The fourth Sunday of each month, SsAM parishioners and ministers share their faith and love by assisting residents of this skilled nursing center at a Holy Communion service. If you would be willing to help bring residents from their rooms or to assist with the worship service, please give us a call at (302) 656-6628.
FAITH Center and Lutheran Community Services
SsAM is a partner-in-mission with Lutheran Community Services, which includes FAITH Center, an effort started by one of our members, Retha Fisher. Click here to learn more about LCS and their effort to serve those in need in Wilmington, Delaware.
WORLD-WIDE EFFORTS
Our parish supports the worldwide outreach efforts of the Episcopal Church. We encourage you to visit the website of Episcopal Relief and Development.
Judi Gregory, member of SsAM, in Sudan - Read about her mission to Africa in 2008 as it was described in the Delaware Communion newspaper (available here in PDF format).