St. Martha's Episcopal Church
 

MINISTRIES

OUTREACH

The Outreach Ministry at St. Martha's is a congregational-wide ministry led by members of the Outreach Committee. The Outreach Committee meets monthly, on the second Tuesday, and consists of a Chairperson and eleven members. The committee, with congregational input, decides on the projects that St. Martha's will fund with it finances, time and energy. These projects include a menu of local, national, and international needs identified and researched by the committee. The projects are both short-term and long-term, so that everyone in the congregation who would like to be involved can be.

Some of St. Martha's ongoing projects include the following:

  • The Way Home --- a prison ministry that began at St. Martha's and which is now an independent non-profit group that assists prisoners transitioning back to the community. Parishioners lead Bible studies at the prison, and help to staff a transitional Home for men newly released . Parishioners also assist with personal items and clothing for the Transitional Home .

  • Hickory Tree Housing Development in Selbyville --- a "Housing 8" project in Selbyville with an After-School program for youngsters, benefits from many ongoing projects throughout the year, including: Aa Backpack program that provides school supplies in September; a Thanksgiving Basket program for families; an Angel Tree program that provides gifts for the After School children at Christmas. Also, mentors from St. Martha's provide help with homework throughout the school year.

  • Food For Thought is a supplemental food program at the Frankford Elementary School, begun by a parishioner, and funded annually. This program, in a school where most of the children are elegible for free lunches, allows needy children to receive adequate nutrition so they can successfully comlete their school work.

  • Sussex County Aids is another project funded by St. Martha's.

  • Camp Arrowhead Scholarships are funded jointly by St. Martha's and the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware, and provide scholarships so that local youngsters can have the opportunity to attend summer camp. This annual project has grown each year as word spreads about the wonderful oportunity this is for local children.

  • Food for Casa San Francisco is an ongoing need. This feeding program in Milford provides groceries for homeless and needy families in the area. Brown bags and a suggested food list are available in the narthex at St. Martha's. Please throw some extras in your grocery cart each week for this program.

  • USO at Dover Air Force Base recently benefited from a contribution of money to go towards its ongoing needs for bottled water at its mortuary, where staff minister to the families of homecoming deceased soldiers.

  • Emergency Home Repairs formerly a part of the Interfaith Ministry, and now under the auspices of the First State Resource Conservation & Development Council, has benefited from funds and the work of several parishioners who have donated time and energy for emergency home repairs in southern Delaware.

  • Our Little Roses, a school and home for abused and abandoned girls in Honduras, is the latest project to be funded by Outreach. This non-profit group, begun in the early 80's by the wife of the Episcopal Bishop in Honduras, has grown by leaps and bounds. It not only ministers to girls, who would otherwise remain uneducated and subject to the perils of the streets in Honduras, but also includes a school for girls and boys of the community who live at home.

As you can see, Outreach at St. Martha's is alive and well and can use your support. Please find a project you can support with your money, time, and energy, and help this vital ministry to the community beyond ourselves. Suggestions for future projects can be made to any Outreach Committee member.