Sharing Our Abundance
Outreach Ministries at St. Tim's
Congregations are like children with chemistry sets mixing up batches of TNT.
They are blind to the power that they hold in their hands.” Annie Dillard
At St. Timothy’s, we regard outreach ministry as the practice of looking beyond ourselves to the people in the community and sharing the love of Christ as we serve and connect. We will be increasing our programs to our community neighbors as we join in our pandemic recovery.
Faith/School Partnership: Logan Elementary School
Snackpack Program: We are excited to be partnering with our neighborhood school, Logan Elementary School to provide snackpacks of food for students who have been designated by the school counselor as having critical food needs. We provide a snackpacks, containing simple food, to students at Logan who need provisions for days they are not in school. The foodstuffs are primarily donated by members of the parish. The average cost of for child, per week, is about $7.00. These bags of food are discreetly given to the students through the counselor’s office. Many students rely on their school’s breakfasts and lunches for their most nutritious meals of the day, and they are faced with a food crisis when they are not in school.
St. Tim’s Closet: St. Tim's Closet helps all children stay clean and warm and is a collection point for necessary items they may not have. Items are taken to the school distributed by the school’s counselors and social worker.
The following items are needed for our closet
· Underpants - male and female, sizes 5-16
· Undershirts or tee shirts - male and female sizes 5-16
· Socks – all sizes (some kids have big feet)
Fence Ministry
The St. Timothy’s Fence Ministry is a ministry to adults who do not have permanent housing. Parishioners are encouraged to hang needed items on our front fence. During the summer months, there is a need for ballcaps, sunscreen, and cotton socks. In the winter months, heavy coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and wool socks are needed. Person personal hygiene items such as soap, soap containers, shampoo, shaving supplies, deodorant, wipes, and feminine hygiene products can be left on the fence or made into Manna bags and placed in the outreach basket for later distribution.
Manna Bags
Manna was food miraculously provided for the Israelites in the wilderness during their flight from Egypt. We invite you to fill a large Ziplock bag with items that people may need while living without permanent housing. on the street. Suggestions are tuna packs, socks, granola bars, beef jerky sticks, fruit cups, raisins, travel size toothpaste and toothpaste. You may also want to add a short note of encouragement.
Cellphone Charging Station
People with housing insecurity have difficulty finding places to charge their cellphones, especially during the pandemic when opportunities to go inside public buildings and coffee shops is limited. St. Timothy’s makes our outdoor electrical outlets available to anyone who needs a charge. We have plans to extend this ministry by providing additional outlets as well as benches and reading materials.
Harvest Hope Food Bank
Hunger in Columbia is a real thing, especially during this time of COVID. St. Timothy’s has contributed $3,299 to Harvest Hope over the past 18 months which means that 16,496 meals were provided for people with food insecurity in the Midlands area.
Homeworks of America
St. Timothy’s has been involved in special HomeWorks projects which rehabilitates housing for senior citizens. HomeWorks is a Christ centered nonprofit providing home repair services to low-income seniors. St. Timothy’s was able to significantly help in the reroofing of “Miss Martha’s” house after a tree demolished the roof and rendered it unlivable.
What does God ask of us? To act justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with our God. -Micah 6:8