COMBATING HUNGER
One of the cruelest consequences of the present recession is the growing population of hungry people in our midst. Join St. James’ in helping to feed those in need. Bring canned and boxed food to St. James’ where it will be offered and blessed at our 10:15 service before delivery to the food pantry of the Apostles' House in Newark.
Or help the Renaissance Church feed Newark residents through their weekly distribution of groceries by supporting St. James' ongoing fundraiser on their behalf. When you drop off clothes, toys, and small household items you no longer need in the St. James' basement room marked "Renaissance Church," you'll know that your outgrown belonging will experience a second life of providing sustenance to those in need.
You can help serve a nutritious lunch to nearby hungry residents by participating in one of the four soup kitchen lunches that St. James’ hosts this year at Holy Trinity Church in West Orange. Soup kitchen meals are a wonderful team effort and require many hands to help: shopping at Costco, cooking the Friday night before in St. James' kitchen or your own home, transporting food to be heated at the Holy Trinity kitchen Saturday morning, serving the guests, and cleaning up afterwards. If you'd like to participate in any of the remaining dates this year, contact Nina Steadman or put your name on the soup kitchen sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board next to the Parish Hall. The three remaining dates are August 8, September 5 and November 7, all from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Finally, grocery shopping can become an empowering means of helping the hungry in the greater Montclair community when you purchase grocery cards for ShopRite, Kings, and/or A&P in the Parish Hall during Coffee Hour following the 10:15 service. These cards have the same purchasing power as their cost to you and are simple to use in place of cash at any location of the particular store and do not expire. The grocery store supplies a receipt indicating the remaining balance left on the card each time you use it. For every $1,000 worth of cards ordered by St. James’ from the participating grocery store, the store remits $50 to St. James’ — funds that St. James’ is donating to local ministries engaged in feeding the hungry in our midst.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Living out your baptismal vow to "strive for justice and peace among all people" can be as simple as writing a letter. Handwritten political action letters, urging your governmental official to make the nation's laws more fair and compassionate to people in need, help eliminate the conditions that allow poverty to persist. If you'd like to put your faith in action by writing a political action letter and you missed St. James' Adult Ed class on May 10 on this topic, take advantage of the resources of the following Christian organizations dedicated to promoting social justice:
Bread for the World — an interdenominational Christian organization that spearheads annual offerings of letters lobbying Congress on an issue of importance to hungry people
GreenFaith — a NJ interfaith coalition on environmental issues
The Episcopal Public Policy Network — an arm of the Episcopalian Church dedicated to lobbying national lawmakers regarding the social policies of the Episcopal Church.
Consult their websites to discover an array of social policies that you can influence by sending letters to governmental representatives, as well as sample letters to serve as a template for your own. The web addresses for these organizations are: www.bread.org, www.greenfaith.org, and www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn.htm.
If you're interested in learning more about the spiritual basis for promoting social justice, join St. James' Spiritual Book Group for its first meeting of the year as we read "Christian Social Witness" by Harold Lewis, part of the Episcopal Church's New Teaching Series. We'll discuss this book on Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. on May 31 and June 14. Contact Melissa Kneuer or Claudia Sayre if you're interested.
MONTCLAIR COUNSELING CENTER FUNDRAISER
The Outreach Committee is now collecting unneeded books, audiotapes, CDs, videotapes and DVDs for sale on St. James' front lawn during the mid-September Sidewalk Sale. Donations should be dropped off in the Church Office and will be stored in the loft space above the Parish Hall.
SPONSORSHIP LETTERS
We encourage you to get to know the five African women and children that St. James’ is currently sponsoring through Women for Women International and the Kenya Children's Fund more personally by writing them a letter of love and support. If you'd like to encourage their efforts to transform their lives through literacy and the acquisition of job and leadership skills, visit the Outreach bulletin board to pick up a handout containing sample letters and instructions on addressing the letters.
LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE
After engaging in a number of assessment visits this past October, the Outreach Committee has enthusiastically agreed to enter into a year-round mentoring relationship with the children of incarcerated parents who attend the Prison Ministry's Learning by Experience program in the nearby city of Orange. In 2009, Michelle Blackowski and Claudia Sayre will be volunteering at the LBE program on the last Saturday of each month at the Church of the Epiphany from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. We'll be helping 5-13 year-old boys and girls learn to cook, engage in crafts projects, play games, practice reading, celebrate the holidays, and just have fun in a relaxed, nurturing environment. If you'd like to join Michelle and Claudia in mentoring on a regular basis or would be willing to fill in occasionally if Claudia or Michelle is unavailable, please contact Claudia at outreachchair@stjamesepiscopal.org. Older teens are welcome too!
JOIN OUR OUTREACH COMMITTEE in the first floor library on the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Help us plan and implement St. James’ volunteer and support efforts. If you have ideas for us to consider, contact chairperson Claudia Sayre at (973) 744-3345 or claudcharvot@aim.com. Other committee members are: Jeff Evans, Joan Griffin, Robin Gurniak, Jennifer Patricio, Jackie Ross, Jim & Nina Steadman, Michelle Wunn, Penny Witt (Vestry advisor).
WHAT WE GAVE AWAY
During 2008, with the generous support of St. James’ parishioners, we provided financial donations to the following. Requests for donations in 2009 will be considered by the Outreach Committee in the fall.
Apostles’ House in Newark: for food pantry and "Feed the Solution" hunger advocacy program.
Episcopal Diocese’s Prison Ministry: summer camp supplies for children of incarcerated parents who participate in its Learning by Experience mentoring program.
Kenya Children’s Fund: school construction and supplies for senior student class; educational, nutrition and medical costs for five kindergartners; food for these children and families over Easter break.
Montclair Counseling Center: to supplement fees of clinicians who provide subsidized psychotherapy to Montclair residents, and educational counseling in public schools.
Renaissance Community Development Corporation in Newark: to help fund staff salaries, cultural field trips and transportation costs for children’s summer camp.
St. Paul’s Community Development Corp., Patterson: for food pantry operating costs.
St. Peter’s Haven, Clifton: to help fund salary and provisions for food pantry and homeless shelter; transportation for homeless residents.
Senior Care & Activities Center of Montcair’s seniorship fund: day-care and support services for low-income elderly Essex County residents with Alzheimer's or related dementias.
Women for Women International: sponsoring five women survivors of war in Nigeria, the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan and Afghanistan with direct aid to their families while they participate in year-long vocational training, rights awareness and leadership classes, and receive micro-loan funding after graduation.
Young Adults in the Church: enabling our YAC missioners to transport soccer supplies to St. Andrew’s Settlement orphanage and St. Jago’s school in Kingston, Jamaica.
Dollar amounts for these donations are posted on the Outreach bulletin board at St. James' Church. or may be obtained from chairperson Claudia Sayre whose contact information is listed above.
