Outreach ministry in Wilmington, Delaware and beyond.
Below are some of the ways you can serve the world OUTSIDE the church. On other pages, we list how you can serve during worship services and ways of serving behind the scenes at church.
For details of any of these programs, please contact us.
Click here to learn more about our Community Advocacy Committee and recent outreach efforts.
Local Food Pantries
Click here or the graphic above to learn how you can help stock local food pantries.
VOLUNTEER IN HOT WEATHER!
CODE ORANGE — Get Cool at SsAM on hot Saturdays, 10am-4pm and blazing Sundays, 12-4pm
SsAM’s auditorium will provide a place for people to cool down and escape extreme heat from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and from 12pm to 4pm on Sundays when temperatures or heat indices exceed 95 degrees (exact thresholds to be determined). On other days, the Empowerment Center at SsAM is available for this ministry, entrance on Orange Street. Similar to Winter’s Code Blue, there will always be a staff member present to work with volunteers. SsAM has begun to assemble an on-call team to be ready if there is need. If you are interested, please click here to use the Contact Us form on this website. Other faith communities will provide teams to come to SsAM as needed.
• How to Recognize Signs of Heat Illness (2-page PDF document)
• What Faith Communities Can Do to Prevent Heat Illness (6-page PDF document)
VOLUNTEER IN COLD WEATHER!
Angel Tree Gifts in Mid-December
The Community Advocacy Committee sponsors the Angel Tree project which provides Christmas gifts for families (mothers with children) who are residing in Friendship House’s transitional housing. As always, you can select a “gift angel” and purchase the gift indicated on the angel. Gift request angels are given out around Thanksgiving and the gifts themselves are due back two weeks later for distribution. Click here to learn more about Angel Tree Gifts at Christmas.
Undee Sunday, Every November
When the winter and cold temperatures approach, our homeless friends need thermal underwear. In response, the Community Advocacy Committee has UNDEE SUNDAY every November. CLICK HERE to learn more about Undee Sunday.
VOLUNTEER IN THE SPRING!
Room at the Table Breakfast to support Lutheran Community Services
Our church is an advocate for Lutheran Community Services and encourage you to be part of their annual fund-raising event, Room at the Table. Click here to learn more about this LCS event.
VOLUNTEER YEAR-ROUND!
Apostles in Mission (AIM)
Funds are regularly collected during worship services by our Community Advocacy committee to help people locally.
Chris White Art Gallery and Shipley Lofts Apartments
The five-story building at 701 N. Shipley Street was a wreck until members of SsAM galvanized the local community and state government to renovate the structure into an affordable housing community. Now, 23 lofts are rented to artists and others, with a two-level art gallery. Several SsAM members volunteer. Click here to learn more about the Chris White Art Gallery and Shipley Lofts Apartments.
Choir School of Delaware
The Choir School of Delaware is a local after-school program and a unique opportunity to minister to community youth. The Choir School supports local youth by providing musical training, leadership and language skills, academic support and college-bound mentoring. Click here to learn more about the Choir School of Delaware.
Delaware Churches for Middle East Peace
SsAM is a member of DCMEP which works by educating, elevating and advocating for justice and peace in the Middle East.
Environmental Justice Ministry at SsAM
Environmental Justice advocacy is needed now more than ever. As we go into the world as followers of Christ who care for all, we’d like you to join us. Participation in this ministry is also an excellent way to take SsAM beyond our walls and to get to know some of our neighbors. Click here to learn more about the Environmental Justice Ministry at SsAM and the Delaware Concerned Residents for Environmental Justice (DCR4EJ).
Episcopal Relief and Development
Our parish supports the worldwide outreach efforts of the Episcopal Church. We encourage you to visit the website of Episcopal Relief and Development.
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 the Empowerment Center, which is a center that has counseling, case management, computer lab and advice during the day. For details, click here to learn more about Friendship House.
Lesedi School and Clinic, Zimbabwe, Africa
Dr. Chuck Bean says, “Lesedi Schools and Clinic is a very worthwhile tax deductible charity . My wife and I have been supporting three children in the school for $350 per year per student. Before the school was established, if kids went to school they had to walk through a wild game area sometimes up to 10 km. The people in this area were forcibly moved from the fertile areas around the Zambezi river when the dam was made and during the Colonial period troubles. Essentially they moved from very rich soil to sand and dry conditions which are not conducive to livestock or growing. This is the third generation struggling to scratch an existence. Unfortunately the post-colonial government has not been efficient in promoting the population needs. I encourage you to review the website and consider supporting some children.” See: http://lesedizim.org/
Lutheran Community Services
SsAM is a partner-in-mission with Lutheran Community Services. Click here to learn more about LCS and their effort to serve those in need in Wilmington, Delaware.
Network Delaware
SsAM provides office and meeting space for Network Delaware, a citizen led, grassroots organization which build multi-issue community leadership across the state. Click here to learn more about Network Delaware.
Peace Week Delaware
Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative solutions. Peace Week Delaware promotes community solutions. Click here to learn more about Peace Week Delaware.
Sunday Morning Grab and Go Breakfast
Each Sunday morning between 7:00 to 8:00 a.m., Friendship House offers a Grab and Go Breakfast from their location in our building with an entrance on Orange Street.
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.
SsAM Donates Annual Grants to:
- Delaware Futures – this educational program is helping to prepare over one hundred disadvantaged students for college
- Friendship House – for support of the many programs for the homeless
- Sojourners’ Place – transitional housing program to help those recovering from drug or alcohol abuse.
- St. Michael’s School and Nursery – scholarships for children; the school gives out $30,000 per month in scholarship aid.
- Lutheran Community Service: Faith Center – modest crisis alleviation grants for basic needs such as help with housing costs to avoid eviction; help with utility cost to avoid disconnection of services; help with unexpected and/or uninsured medical costs; help with expenses to obtain or keep employment; and help finding assistance for special needs.
For details of any of the above ministries, please contact us.
