Serve Our Community
The Community Ministry committee spearheads the church’s involvement in several interfaith service agencies including the Salvation Army, Samaritan Center, and Common Ground Benevolence Office. Because of COVID-19, the parish has been collecting non-perishable food items on the second Saturday of each month, in the Grace parking lot. Food is given on alternating months to Salvation Army and the Samaritan Center for distribution to the needy.
SALVATION ARMY - Grace Church has diligently worked to establish an ongoing relationship with the work of the Salvation Army Center of Hope in Jefferson City. Parishioners serve in the following ways:
- Prayer Garden and playground- Grace Church has created a prayer garden and playground adjacent to the Salvation Center of Hope for use by center residents and the community. Both Grace Church and its scouting program work to see that the garden and playground are maintained and well-kept.
- Meals at the Salvation Army Center of Hope – Each month a volunteer group of Grace Church members prepares and delivers dinners on the third Sunday of each month to 40 - 60 residents of the shelter and others in the community who are hungry.
- Red Kettle bell ringing - Each December, Grace parishioners of all ages volunteer at Salvation Army kettles in Jefferson City to raise money for Salvation Army’s work in the community.
SAMARITAN CENTER - Because of COVID-19, Grace Church volunteers can no longer participate in the organization and distribution of food. Parishioners do some clerical work and serve on the Samaritan Center’s advisory council and board.
COMMON GROUND is a partnership between the First United Methodist Church and six other downtown Jefferson City churches, including Grace Episcopal Church. The organization provides financial assistance through a small benevolence ministry, has a Families Forward program that works with families to become stable through housing and other needs. Grace Church’s involvement includes:
- Benevolence Office tasks – Each Tuesday of the month, parishioners answer the phone and fill out applications for clients and give to the social workers to process.
- Families Forward – Parishioners work as volunteer advocates for the families as they move through the program. Our deacon is the liaison between volunteer advocates, Family Forward participants and the Common Ground staff.
- Vegetable/flower garden – Grace Church garden volunteers plant and tend to flowers – and in normal years – vegetables, in raised beds on the building grounds.
SCOUT BSA TROOPS - 10 (Boys) and 3010 (Girls) meet in the Grace parish hall on Monday evenings. Venture Crew 10, geared towards high school youth, meets once a month on a Sunday evening. New scouts and adult leaders are always welcome. Troops 10 and 3010 focus on Scout skills and Crew 10 focuses on High Adventure activities. The troops and crew host the annual Shrove Tuesday Ham and Pancake Supper, kicking off Grace Church's Lenten activities. www.gracescouting.org
Beyond Our Community
This year, Grace Episcopal Church has financially supported the following organizations that strive to serve the less fortunate of the world:
- Episcopal Relief & Development Fund – works in collaboration with church partners and other local organizations to facilitate healthier, more fulfilling lives in communities that are struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease.
- Episcopal City Mission – provides for the ongoing spiritual needs of detained children in St. Louis City and County.
- Sierra Leone Association Scholarship Fund – the association raises funds and provides scholarships to youth in Sierra Leone.
