I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.

–Matthew 25:35-36

Caring for our neighbors through outreach ministries is at the heart of St. David’s Church.  There’s a project that the church is involved in to meet almost any area of interest or ability – both with hands-on participation and financial contributions.  Additionally, there are other projects that are supported through in-kind support from St. David’s.  Read below to find out more!

Hands-on Outreach

Note: while many of our “hands-on” outreach opportunities have been suspended because of the pandemic, not all are!  Our Seaman’s Church and Linus Project outreach initiatives are still active.  Additionally, while we can’t collect food directly for our local food pantry, donations may be dropped at the Butler Community Church where the pantry is housed.

We continue to collect donations for five other local food pantries and North Porch, and we have been sending donations to cover the cost of the meals we would be providing at the St. Paul’s men’s shelter in Paterson.  If you’d like to participate in that, please visit our donation page.

Food Pantry

Every Sunday is Food Pantry Sunday!  Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and paper products for the Community Food Pantry to help our neighbors in need. Parishioners collect and deliver donations to the Food Pantry every week. Current requirements and requests are updated periodically in ‘This Week at St. David’s’.

Boonton Care Center

Parishioners go to a retirement facility in Boonton Township at 11:00 am on the fourth Sunday of the month, bringing music and ministry. Also, a regular scheduled stop for Caroling during Advent!  To be a part of this ministry, contact Ellen Temple at reddhead23@aol.com.

Knitting, Crocheting, Quilting, and more!

A group of crafters work together and independently providing handmade knitted, crocheted, and quilted crafts to support different projects.  In the fall, hats, scarves, socks, and other cold weather gear are made and collected for distribution to seafarers through the Seaman’s Church Institute and their Christmas at Sea program.  In the spring, the group works on blankets and afghans for distribution to sick children through Project Linus.  For more information or for patterns and parameters for projects, contact Michael Kidney at knitting@michaelkidney.com.

North Porch

St. David’s supports the Diocesan North Porch mission to mothers and babies, collecting essential supplies and bringing them at regular intervals to the shelter. For further information, please visit the  North Porch website.

Diocesan Prison Ministry

Each Christmas we take up a collection of toys for prisoners to give to their children.  Toys are unwrapped, in gift bags, and help to make it possible for incarcerated parents to celebrate the holidays with their children.  On the annual ingathering, gifts are blessed at the altar before they are sent out.

St. Paul’s Shelter for Homeless Men in Paterson

St. David’s cooks and serves a meal to more than 30 homeless men living at St. Paul’s Shelter in Paterson on the third Tuesday of every other month, February, April, June, August, October and December.  We’re often told that the shelter residents look forward to our night, because the food from St. David’s is always so good!  If you would like to contribute a main course, vegetable, salad, dessert, or bread and butter, or to drive to Paterson and serve the dinner, please sign up in the back of the church or contact Joan Molee at mrsmolee@gmail.com. For further information, please visit St. Paul’s Shelter website.

Opportunities for providing financial support

Vouchers

Each Sunday after church you can purchase vouchers to support area food pantries and North Porch services for women and young children.  We’ve learned through the years that Food Pantries can make a much larger impact by purchasing food through the New Jersey Food Bank than we can in grocery stores.  The same is true for supplies needed by North Porch women’s and children’s services.  We still collect food for our own community food pantry and donated children’s supplies for North Porch, but we also collect funds for distribution to others in our area.  Whenever we collect $1,200 in donated “vouchers” we distribute $200 checks to the six area organizations we support.  Last year we collected and distributed nearly $6,000!

Christmas and Easter Outreach Offerings

Every year at Christmas and Easter, the Vestry sends a special request for donations to support ministries at the local, regional, and global levels.  This year your gifts have supported the Willing Hands program at St. David’s, Family Promise – a regional homeless support network, and Episcopal Relief and Development – the outreach arm of our denomination that supports disaster recovery and development efforts around the world.

St. Paul’s Shelter Meals – financial support

Perhaps you want to support our feeding ministry, but don’t have the ability to do the actual cooking or serving?  We accept financial contributions which will be used to offset the cost of ingredients for those who want to cook, but who need some help buying enough to feed that many people.  To learn more about St. Paul’s, click here.

Outreach Fund Donations

If you want to help, but aren’t tied to a specific cause, a directed donation to the Outreach Fund at St. David’s is always a good way to help make sure our ministries keep going.  With a directed donation, the Outreach Committee will make sure the funds are used where they’re most needed.

In-Kind Support from St. David’s

The primary way that St. David’s supports complementary ministries in Kinnelon is through sharing our spaces with organizations aligned with our mission for no- or low-cost.  Organizations include:

Alcoholics Anonymous

AA meetings happen twice each week at St. David’s.  There is an open meeting on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm and a closed meeting on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm.

After School Care

After 3:00 each school day, St. David’s is abuzz with school children playing!  Affordable after school care is provided by Adam & Danielle’s Children’s Center.  To learn more, or to book a space for your child, visit their website here.

Additionally – the After School group is now providing all day care and remote learning support on site at St. David’s for students who don’t have in-person classes yet, or who are on a hybrid schedule.  This allows parents to return to a more normal work routine without concerns for their children’s care and schooling during the day.  Click the link above for details and to register your child.