Outreach
In kinship with our neighbors, St. Michael’s joins with community partners to provide financial and volunteer support to our most vulnerable neighbors – those who are food insecure, those who don’t have an affordable and safe place to live, and those who are at risk. We support our neighbors and partners with contributions of goods and services, financial resources, and volunteered time and talent.
We intend for this to be a dynamic commitment, evolving to meet the needs of our neighbors and to improve equity throughout Arlington. The Outreach Committee guides the parish outreach plan per the funding and volunteer priorities listed below:
- Reduce Food Insecurity
- Ease Housing Insecurity and Provide Supportive Services
- Meet Needs of our Most Vulnerable Populations
- Assist with Disaster/Emergency Relief
We desire to live as doers of the Word alongside Christ and others (Inspired by James 1:22 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”). The impact we hope to create is rooted in the concept of kinship, which is found throughout writings in the New Testament. We take seriously the question of what it might look like to live as though we are intimately connected to others, no matter the perceived differences. More specifically, we desire to create connections with those who are "disinherited" (using Howard Thurman's term) as Jesus did.
The groups with links on the side of this page represent the nonprofits with whom St. Michael's is grateful to be in community partnership. Through volunteer activities, monetary donations, and gifts in kind, we seek to serve Christ in all persons.
To learn more about our volunteer and financial support, see the Annual Report (p. 19-20).
Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC)
St. Michael's actively supports the mission of Arlington Food Assistance Center to feed our neighbors in need by providing dignified access to nutritious supplemental groceries. Food insecurity is an ongoing problem for many residents in Arlington. Since the beginning of COVID-19, AFAC has experienced a 45% increase in referrals. Through financial contributions, volunteer shifts…
Read More »APAH (Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing)
Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing builds and owns rental housing that is affordable to Arlington's low wage earners. St. Michael's has supported APAH's Resident Services in many ways, including food distribution, event volunteering, and support of school age children (for example, providing new backpacks filled with school supplies).
Engagement Opportunities:
APAH ne…Read More »Bridges to Independence
Bridges to Independence, established in 1985, helps families experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or systemic poverty to move toward empowerment and stability. Core programming includes operating Arlington County's largest emergency family shelter, providing housing through a Rapid Rehousing model, offering referral services through a Community Services Center in Green…
Read More »Doorways for Women and Families
Doorways creates pathways out of homelessness, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. It assists women and families, including many young children, through its Emergency Shelter, Freddie Mac Foundation Family Home, and Supportive Housing Program.
St. Michael's parishioners are long-time financial supporters of Doorways (formerly TACTS), the emergency shelter and safe house for wom…
Read More »INOVA Blood Donor Services
Each October, St. Michael's partners with INOVA to host a blood drive. It's something that's easy to do and really makes a significant difference in someone else's life.
Engagement Opportunities:
Sign up at the Inova Blood Donor Services website to donate blood through-out the year. It's important to make an appointment. When you show up to fill out the paperwork, you can even …
Read More »Path Forward
St. Michael's has a long relationship with Path Forward (formerly Arlington Street People's Assistance Network) to help reduce homelessness for Arlingtonians. St. Michael's provides volunteers to support Path Forward's Homeless Center and permanent supportive housing at Sibert House, 1124 N. Kennebec St. and at other nearby Fisher House apartments in Westover. We periodically do…
Read More »Disaster Relief and Assistance
Through the Outreach Committee, St. Michael's targets financial support to meet the immediate needs of people around the world experiencing an emergency or disaster.
Outreach donations have supported Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), which provides disaster response, advocacy, economic assistance, hunger alleviation, and long-term anti-poverty programs. Given their on-th…
Read More »Care of Creation
At St. Michael's, we are entering a time of reflection on environmental theology and care of God's creation. In September 2011, the Episcopal Church House of Bishops issued a pastoral teaching to the church regarding environmental justice. In it they wrote:
"The mounting urgency of our environmental crisis challenges us at this time to confess "our self-indulgent appetites and way…
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