Social Ministries
We may worship in a peaceful, shady neighborhood, but our social ministries reach out to the urban area we call our home, and to our neighbors in rural Washington County. Our social outreach is rooted in deep relationships with social service agencies to enhance their work, through our own hands or through donations of goods and money. We work alongside both the organizations and the people they serve; sometimes we support them financially as well.
Partner Organizations
Western Farm Workers Association
Our longstanding relationship with WFW has us working alongside farm workers and their families in Washington County. Members of WFW visit our parish several times a year to provide us updates on difficulties and injustices they are facing. We support their programs, which include emergency food, clothing, preventative medical care, and job referrals. We also collect school supplies, package and hand-deliver groceries to the farmworkers, help in their office, and advocate for them in city and county meetings. In the summer, we deliver food and clothing to migrant camps in Washington County.
William Temple House
Founded in 1965, William Temple House is a social service organization in Northwest Portland offering a healthy food bank and the Portland area’s only no- to low-cost mental health counseling to people in need. Members of our parish are active on the WTH board and as volunteers. We respond to their requests for donations of food and clothing year-round.
Operation Nightwatch
We provides supplies to Operation Nightwatch, a Portland agency whose unique vision is to provide a place for those experiencing homelessness, financial insecurity, or other barriers. During times that other agencies are closed and hope is especially hard to find, Nightwatch is an escape from social isolation by providing a cup of coffee, a meal, much needed supplies, and mental health services. We pack and deliver helpful items such as toiletries and blankets, etc., and we also donate financially.
Outreach Ministries
In the spirit of “I was in prison, and you visited me,” a ministry team visits the women of Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville to offer a Saturday evening worship service twice a month. We want them to know they are still a part of the body of Christ and are not forgotten. Parishioners are invited to attend as well to participate in evening prayer, sing songs, share in scriptural reflection, and, if we have a priest, celebrate Holy Eucharist.
Prison Ministry
During Covid, many churches suspended home visits to parishioners, and we learned that many elders in lockdown were isolated. One Sunday afternoon a month, one of our clergy team conducts a Holy Eucharist with a gathering of residents of Mirabella Portland, who come from a variety of churches in the Portland area. After Eucharist, the participants gather for a group dinner every month.
Elder Outreach at Mirabella
When members of our congregation are not able to attend church in person for an extended period, some particularly feel the loss of the Eucharistic rite. In addition to sharing prayer and companionship, our clergy and lay folks trained as Eucharistic ministers can offer the Holy Eucharist at home.
Communion & Home Visits
Volunteer With Us
We’d love to have you join our work. There are lots of opportunities to be involved. If you’d like to learn more, send us an email today.