The Community Outreach Ministry oversees a diverse program of assisting people in the community and beyond who need human or financial help, made possible by parishioners’ contributions. Specific programs include cash and food donations to local food pantries; funding summer day care; scholarships for college and grade-school tuition; monetary help to individuals and families struggling to pay rent, utilities, or medical bills; a holiday meal program; and the provision of holiday gift cards to a local grocery store.
For those interested in helping with outreach efforts, these are just some of the ways to become involved:
Volunteer at my Brother’s Table
Founded in 1982, My Brother’s Table is the largest soup kitchen on the North Shore and has provided between 900,000 and a million hot meals annually since 2020 to men, women, and children in need. St. Andrew’s parishioners have had a long record of service at My Brother’s Table. If you’re interested in joining us, we volunteer to serve meals on the third Wednesday of each month. Volunteer once, or become a regular. Please contact Connie Cooney.
Welcome a Stranger
Welcome the Stranger (WTS), an interfaith outreach project including St. Andrew’s, Temple Emanu-El and Old North Church, provides practical help to individuals and families in need who are outside the boundaries of our congregations. Together, we seek to put the teachings of our respective faiths into action by “welcoming the strangers” who have come to our attention. Individuals receiving help may come from far-away places around the world or reside in nearby communities.
Over the years, WTS has helped resettle asylum seekers and refugees new to our country by offering transportation, English as a Second Language instruction, help negotiating the education and health systems and procuring donated home furnishings. The group has also assisted homeless individuals transitioning to permanent housing. In its work, Welcome the Stranger has collaborated with organizations such as the New American Center, Catholic Charities, Refugee Immigration Ministry, and the Lynn Shelter Association. St. Andrew’s volunteers at My Brother’s Table on the third Wednesday of each month. Guests are being served in the newly renovated dining room while take-away meals continue. This will require a few more volunteers. Please consider volunteering, even if you aren’t able to commit to every month.
Spur: Community Roots Garden
The local nonprofit SPUR has as its mission “cultivating a community of doers.”
Since 2017, St. Andrew’s has been the proud home of SPUR’s Community Roots garden, which was established in 2016 to grow fresh produce to benefit area food pantries and community programs. Our partnership with SPUR enabled the garden to nearly triple in size, as well as provided stability for the garden to ensure its successful operation for the next few years. The Community Roots garden at St. Andrew’s is a tangible way to connect with one another and bridge the gap for those who may have barriers accessing healthy food, free of toxins and grown with a whole lot of love.
In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, SPUR volunteers have been hard at work on the garden, adding mulch, securing fencing around the perimeter, and preparing the garden for a plentiful harvest season.
North Shore Pride
St. Andrew’s has a long history of supporting and welcoming our friends and neighbors who are a part of the LGBTQIA community. Whether it’s welcoming all people to our table, marching in the Salem Pride Parade each June, or participating and supporting Nagly, we
Other outreach opportunities
- Kids in Community (KIC)
- The Lynn Shelter
- The Marblehead Food Pantry
- St Peter’s-San Pedro diaper drive