Jesus said, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” ~ Matthew 25:40
St. James has a very active outreach committee that is open to EVERYONE who wishes to participate. Please contact Mike Russo if you would like to be informed of each meeting’s time and agenda.
The St. James Outreach Mission
- To allocate funds from donations to support God’s work in our community, in our diocese, and in the world
- To support the Rector’s Discretionary Fund (benevolence fund/almoner’s fund) and the work in the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee
- Encourage parish-wide involvement
- Meet monthly to address charity requests and hands-on project sponsorship
We strive to support volunteer programs that provide the St. James parish with opportunities for “hands-on” volunteer ministries. Our faith calls us to put God’s love into action by our service. By serving those in need in Jesus’ name, especially those on the fringes of society, we are serving Jesus.
We pray you will find an outreach ministry (or ministries) that will match your passion and interest and that you will volunteer your time and your heart to seek and serve God in all persons. We always welcome new ideas and new opportunities to reach out to others.
Some of our Past and Present Outreach Projects
Firewood Collection
Saint James parish has joined with four other local churches to collect firewood for those in need who heat with wood during the winter.
Food Bank Collection
Parishioners offer grocery items on the first Sunday of each month to donate to the Food Bank. Please check our bulletin for each month’s item we collect.
Opportunity House
Several parishioners volunteer their time and efforts to help build the family unit to serve the homeless.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Local citizens have weekly use of our parish hall for weekly meetings.
Food Bank Fundraising
Parish volunteers published a cookbook with matching aprons that we sold to provide money for the Food Bank.
Olive Oil Project
At least twice each year, we sell imported fairly traded, extra-virgin, first cold press olive oil from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, a non-profit, non-governmental organization supporting sustainable agriculture in rural Palestine since 1983.
Funded Programs
We seek to serve others in our community, the nation, and the world through our resources, our time, and our talents. Through our Outreach Funding Committee, we offer our funds to agencies and projects.
Food Bank
We have made an annual gift to the Food Bank for the duration of its existence supporting not only food distribution, but also electricity deposits, heating assistance, and medical assistance.
Mission Soup Kitchen
For many years we have provided monthly SHARE food boxes and contributed money for special occasions to the only weekly soup kitchen operating in Greeneville.
Takoma Community Ministries
Financial support to their mission of providing clothing and household items to those in need.
Child Advocacy Center of the Third Judicial System
We offer annual financial support as well as have several Saint James members serve on the Center’s board of directors. It provides a child-centered facility for interviewing abused children in a non-threatening environment with most of the clients the victims of sexual abuse. State legislation created the program but did not fund these centers throughout Tennessee.
Outreach Haiti
Together with southeast area parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee, we support the mission of Saint John the Evangelist School in Petit Harpon, Haiti.
NetsforLife
We support this partnership for malaria prevention in Africa, which has mobilized thousands of community volunteers to distribute mosquito nets and teach their neighbors how to prevent and treat malaria. To date, they have helped more than 11 million people.
Zeigen Project
Led by the efforts of Diane Whitehead, this mission in Zeigen, China works to provide young girls access to education and promotes gender equality.
Episcopal Relief & Development
ERD is the international and national outreach arm of the Episcopal Church. We support their HIV Prevention and Education of Orphans program, which is part of the UN Millennium Development Goals our diocese and parish adopted as the model for our outreach giving. The 2008 Outreach Auction proceeds were used for Millennium Development projects, this being only one of many fundraisers.
