In the Community
In October and May, St. James’ holds a Month of Community Service where St. James’ provides a list of opportunities to serve or donate to local charities and organizations. This is also a great time to think about volunteering to serve as part of your walk with faith. Please take time to review some of the ministries that serve our community. If you find any of these outreach ministries interesting and would like to learn more, please contact Nicole Bova at parishadministrator@stjamesskan.org.
The Society of St. Margaret: The Society of St. Margaret, is an order of Episcopal Church sisters, who have had a convent in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, since 1927. The sisters have a scholarship program for children who would otherwise be unable to attend schools, a church linen program, and “Foyer Notre Dame, a home for elderly, indigent persons that includes terminal care and burial
Groupo Cajola in Guatemala: Grupo Cajolá in North America was founded in 2021 to support the work of the group in Cajolá, Guatemala, primarily by raising the funds for the group’s initiatives. Although we are two separate organizations, we collaborate on our mutual mission to promote the well-being of the people of Cajolá who live in Cajolá or in the diaspora, creating educational and financial opportunities in Cajolá so that fewer community members need to migrate to sustain their families.
Episcopal Relief & Development: John Buterbaugh made a motion to make a donation of $1000.00 to the Episcopal Relief & Development to assist in community rebuilding following the earthquakes in Venezuela
Tiny Home for Good: The Tiny Home for Good mission is to provide safe, affordable, and dignified housing for men and women coming out of the shelter system. But our mission doesn’t end after move-in day.
We learned early on that it’s not enough to only provide a home. Many of our tenants require additional, ongoing support. Between members of our staff and partnerships with local agencies, we work to meet the varying needs of our tenants, ensuring their long-term success and well-being in our homes.
At the Outreach first quarter meeting the following donations were approved and distributed.
· Rent for Rescue Mission-$6000 ($500 per month)
· RJRC Funding-$1500 (For the year)
· Nancy Lee Merriman Cooking Classes- Up to $800 for the year
· Safe and Warm- $1000
· Elder Melody’s Feminine Hygiene Product Drive-$250
· Episcopal Relief and Development for the Middle East-$1000
· Interfaith Works-$500
· Workers Center of CNY-$500
Safe & Warm Local Outreach
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . “ Matthew 25: 35
More than 242 children in Cayuga County were without permanent shelter during the 2022-23 school year, the most recent statistics available from the New York State Department of Education. The numbers reflect only the children whose families self-reported their living situations to the public schools, allowing their children to receive educational services under the federal McKinney-Vento Act.
During the annual count of unsheltered people in January, the Housing and Homeless Coalition of CNY found a 75 percent jump in people sleeping outside in Cayuga and Onondaga counties and a 400 percent jump in the number of people living on the streets in Oswego County. Moreover, hundreds of families and individuals are living in shelters and/or in motels across Central New York due to an acute shortage of affordable, permanent housing.
The St. James’ Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission (RJRC) has joined the efforts of the United Ministry of Aurora, The Quaker Meeting of Poplar Ridge and the Harriet Tubman AME Zion Church of Auburn to offer respite care to people who are homeless in Cayuga County. It’s called Safe and Warm. The project offers safe space every Friday afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Church where people can grab a hot beverage, snacks or simply hang out.
Safe and Warm also includes an outreach component in which some 100 bag lunches are prepared and delivered to families and individuals living in motels in the Auburn area. The lunches are prepared at St. James. Ten people from St. James church underwent training and are volunteering regularly for this program.
“On a personal level, Safe and Warm has touched me to my core,” says Molly Spalding, a member of St. James’ RJRC. “I have a brother who is homeless and with whom I have no contact, so I can’t help him. This program is enabling me to touch others who are in a similar or worse situation.”
Food for the program has been obtained through donations from Wegmans and Apple Acres in Lafayette as well as through monetary donations, including a donation from the St. James Thrift Shop.
“Participating in the Safe and Warm initiative has had a monumental effect on me,” says Kathy Ploufe, a member of St. James’ RJRC. “My Spiritual growth has intensified. It has aided my understanding of the reasons behind homelessness. At first I was afraid to engage in this program because of my incorrect impressions of people in our community who are homeless and poverty-stricken. Helping the homeless is not only a compassionate act but also one that can have a profound impact on society. By providing support to those in need, we foster a sense of community and social responsibility.”
YOU CAN HELP
Each Week-Fridays at 1:15 p.m. in the St. James’ Kitchen-volunteers make over 150 lunches for the Auburn homeless. All are welcome to come and help when they can!
Donate nonperishable food items (bread, creamy peanut butter, jelly, wrapped snacks)
Help make bag lunches at St. James’
Become trained to staff the Safe and Warm physical site in Auburn
Help deliver lunches to people living in motels in Auburn
Monetary donations can be made to the “Harriet Tubman Liberation Foundation”
with Safe and Warm in the comment section of the check
This is a tax deductible gift as the Foundation is a Section 501(c) 3 charity.
For more information, contact Meg Osborne at mhosborne7@gmail.com
or call the Parish Office at 315-685-7600.
St. James’ Month of Community Service is held twice a year-October & May.
St. James’ will be collecting & serving for Chapel House, InterFaith Works, Samaritan Center, Saint Peter & Saint John Soup Kitchen and items for our homebound people. Keeping things simple this year. Bring your items below to church where there will be bins in the rear of the church to fill. Details to be announced closer to each month.
For more information, please contact the Parish Office or Beth Quattrociocchi at bqfamily4@gmail.com or Chris Davis at cd91088@gmail.com.
Stocking up the Soup Kitchen!
Every Day Volunteer Ideas
Auburn Rescue Mission
St. James’ Cooking Classes for Kids.
Children’s Cooking Classes by St. James’ at Merriman Circle-Volunteers Wanted
Nancy Lee will be hosting Cooking Classes at Merriman Circle to be held from 3:30-5 p.m. on the THIRD Monday of the month. Volunteers to assist Nancy are wanted. No experience is necessary, just a love for working with kids. Volunteers arrive around 3 p.m. to help set up. Contact Nancy Lee with any questions 315-256-8196 or balsamrosesoap@gmail.com
If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the Auburn Rescue Mission, please contact the Parish Office to be connected with the volunteer team.
Skaneateles Ecumenical Food Pantry
In 2001, seven local churches – First Presbyterian, Grace Chapel, Holy Trinity Lutheran, St. Andrews United Methodist, St. James’ Episcopal, St. Mary’s of the Lake Roman Catholic, and Skaneateles United Methodist – combined their food programs into one ecumenical food pantry to collect and distribute food to the needy of the Skaneateles area. The Pantry serves approximately 100 households each month, and provides special holiday distributions at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. The people of St. James’ provide weekly food donations, as well as volunteers who serve at the Pantry and on its board of directors.
Soup Kitchen at SS Peter and John in Auburn
This soup kitchen feeds as many as 150 of our hungry neighbors every Saturday, 52 weeks a year. St. James’ sends volunteers on the last Saturday of the month. Some work from 9:30 am to 11:30 am preparing food while others work from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm serving and cleaning up. All you need to help is a willingness to work and smile!