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 Faith in ActionChrist & Holy Trinity has a long commitment to local outreach ministries in Fairfield County and beyond. These include the following organizations:
Food Preparations for the Gillespie Center ShelterThe Gillespie Center is the primary homeless shelter in Westport run by the Interfaith Housing Association at 45 Jesup Road- located diagonally across from the Police Station and behind the Restoration Hardware Store on Post Road. What Can I do? CHT is responsible for hosting dinner at Gillespie Center the first Tuesday and the fourth Sunday and fifth Sunday (if applicable). This is a great ministry to share with friends or as members of a small group. (The Stewardship Committee has prepared and served a meal together, as has the Kerygma and Men's Groups.) Children are especially welcome as they provide extra motivation for the residents to stick with their treatment program. What do we make? We offer dinner and dessert. Dinner should be a hearty meal you would serve to friends and family, emphasizing fresh vegetables and meat or chicken. Plan to provide 30 servings. Dinner should be prepared in your home but you can use the Gillespie Center stove or microwave to keep items warm. What do we do at Gillespie? Arrive with the food by 4:45 pm. You can drop the food off or stay to serve the meal. If you stay, you can sit down and share the meal with the Gillespie guests. Food is served from 5 – 6 p.m. Seconds are offered at 5:20 p.m. Plates, utensils, glasses and beverages are all provided, as well as any serving utensils you may need for the food you bring. All clean-up will be done by the Gillespie Center clients. The dishwasher is a commercial-grade one and the kitchen management prefers that a trained person operate it. Emergency Numbers: If you have signed up for a date and an unavoidable emergency crops up which prevents your service, please call the Gillespie Center (226-1661 or 226-1191) and the Meal Coordinator (226-3426 x14) as soon as possible so that they can start making alternative arrangements. More questions: Call Wynne Abrams at 227-9210 or Maggie Feczko at 454-4694. The Gift of the Magi Advent ProgramIn coordination with Christian Community Action, one of Norwalk’s largest social service agencies, C&HT parishioners provide presents and holiday treats to children and families who might otherwise go without holiday gifts. Beginning the Sunday November before Advent, gift requests will be available on the angel tree in the Parish Hall. Participants take a tag with either the name of a toy or an article of clothing and will be responsible for purchasing the item and returning it to the parish hall. Collection of the items begin after Thanksgiving.What can I do?
The Lenten Food DriveThis program also benefits the good works of Christian Community Action in Norwalk and has become an essential part of our Lenten discipline as a parish.Each week during Lent the congregation receives a shopping list – things needed to stock CCA’s food pantry. People shop throughout the week and return their loaded bags to the Parish Hall on Sunday morning. Volunteers then make deliveries to the CCA food bank every Monday morning during Lent. What can I do?
Midnight RunMidnight Run is a volunteer organization dedicated to finding common ground between the housed and the homeless.In over 600 relief missions per year, Midnight Run volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups distribute food, clothing, blankets and personal care items to the homeless poor on the streets of New York City. The late-night relief efforts create a forum for trust, sharing, understanding and affection. That human exchange, rather than the exchange of goods, is the essence of the Midnight Run mission. Midnight Run is not a solution to homelessness. Our goal is to forge a bond between housed and homeless people by establishing a foundation of sharing and caring from which solutions may evolve. Through Midnight Run, volunteers come to see the homeless as real people, not a commodity. And homeless men and women learn that many mainstream adults and teenagers have commitments and concerns that go beyond their own lives and families. Christ & Holy Trinity takes on an evening to provide food and clothes to people on the streets (take TBA). A large group of volunteers gather on that evening to prep food and then send 2-4 cars with workers into the city from 10:30 p.m.- 1:00 a.m. Last year we stopped at Tom’s Diner on the Upper West Side for an early breakfast on the way home! Join us - it’s wonderful! What can I do?
Episcopal BridgebuildersThe Episcopal Bridgebuilders is a coalition of Episcopal churches in the Greater Bridgeport area committed to addressing the need for affordable housing in our area and the problem of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic division among our people.Under the graceful leadership of Dawn Sullivan, our parish representative, members of our community have supported Bridgebuilders on a number of different levels- from raising money to hammering nails! For more information, please contact Dawn at dsullivan@insourcepartners.us What can I do?
Financial Support of Local and International ProgramsEach year C&HT gives away a part of our budget to different outreach programs. If you would like to be a part of that discussion making body, let us know!What can I do?
Youth Ministry Outreach TripCHT’s sixth Outreach Trip took place in July 2008. Other trips have been to Mexico and Jamaica. What can I do?
Episcopal Relief and DevelopmentC&HT is a supporter of Episcopal Relief and Development. Episcopal Relief and Development saves lives and builds hope in communities around the world. It provides emergency assistance in times of disaster. When the immediate crisis is over, it rebuilds devastated communities and offers long-term solutions in the areas of food security, health care, and HIV/AIDS.To learn more, and help people affected by crises worldwide, donate to the Emergency Relief Fund online at www.er-d.org , or call (800) 334-7626, ext. 5129. Checks can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development, c/o Emergency Relief Fund, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101. |
