Our Outreach Services
Overview:
Here at All Saints we believe that the love of God does not stop at the walls of our church building. God's care and grace are carried to the world by the faithful. Our outreach mission team is one of the ways we share God's love outside our walls. We are currently involved in five major initiative areas: Education, Hunger, Housing, International Missions, and Community Response. Below are more detailed descriptions of our efforts and ways you can be involved.
Flockfeeders:
WHAT ARE FLOCKFEEDERS? Flockfeeders is a group of All Saints volunteers, who for the past 18 years, have purchased and delivered food, as well as cooked and served dinner at Siena/Francis House, a shelter for the homeless, located at 1702 Nicholas Street in downtown Omaha. For 2007, Flockfeeders, under the All Saints Outreach Committee, made a commitment to cook and serve dinner on the first Sunday of every month, as well as to deliver food for three meals each month. To fulfill this commitment, we need four (4) volunteers to cook at Siena/Francis House from 2:30-5:00 PM and ten (10) volunteers to serve that dinner to 300 homeless people from 4:30-7:00 PM on the first Sunday of the month, as well as a volunteer to deliver food to Siena/Francis House two or three times a month. We want more wonderful All Saints members (adults and youth) to participate in this meaningful outreach program. So, please call or email Judy Gray at 493-8161 or rjregray@cox.net to volunteer. You’ll be so glad that you did! PS Check out the informative Siena/Francis House web site at: www.sienafrancis.org.
Dean Fricke Food Pantry:
All Saints proudly supports the work of the Dean Fricke Memorial Food Pantry. At the Trinity Cathedral, the pantry packs over 100 food bags each week for delivery to needy families in the Omaha area. Supported by all the Episcopal parishes in Omaha, volunteers help pack the bags, make food donations via grocery carts in the churches and/or make cash donations directly with some using the United Way option of donating. All Saints encourages members to bring non-perishable food items to the church to support the Dean Fricke Pantry effort to fight hunger in our community.
Omaha Street School:
The Omaha Street School--a true partner in Christian education--provides a private, faith based education to high school students who have been unsuccessful in traditional learning environments. The OSS offers a second, and sometimes last chance, for students to earn an education is a nurturing environment stressing a moral code of life. The OSS is home to approximately 40 students per quarter who find small class size and personalized academic and spiritual attention the key to success.
Miller Park After-School Program w/CORE Outreach Center:
Miller Park Elementary After-School Program facilitated by the CORE Outreach Center of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection: How many children become lost because they have no place to go after school? All Saints believes one is too many. Omaha Public Schools and several community organizations have worked successfully together to strengthen student learning and development through organized after-school programs. Throughout the year, All Saints assists the Miller Park After-School Program by providing volunteers, snacks, school supplies, and holiday hats and mittens to support this effort to build stronger families and a healthier community.
Girls Inc.:
Girls Inc. of Omaha--helping girls achieve strength and education through gender specific programming--Girls Inc. was established in the basement of an inner city church in 1975 and initially served six girls. Today, on an average school day, more than 200 girls access libraries, computer laboratories, an art studio, wood shop, and gymnasium. Gender appropriate skills are emphasized in teen centers which assist girls in achieving their full potential. All Saints provides financial support to help area girls become strong intelligent women.
Habitat for Humanity:
My name is Doug Kaiser. Four years ago marked my first involvement with Habitat for Humanity. Since this was a new experience for me, I did not know what to expect. I only knew that All Saints was going to help build a house for a Sudanese family who was in need of decent housing and we were going to do it as part of a multi-faith coalition. From the first day on the job, when I personally met some of the family members for the first time, I knew this was going to be something special. No less than thirteen different faith groups participated in the build that year. We began the 3rd weekend in May and completed the project the last weekend in July. I never imagined when we began in May that we could build a five bedroom house in a little over ten weeks just working Fridays, Saturdays, and a half day on Sundays. It was like seeing one very large family coming together and working for a common cause. Some people could only devote a few hours a week or month while others were able to devote more time. That did not matter. What really mattered most was we were building a house for a family who desperately needed shelter and we were doing it with a very diverse group of people. As I reflect back on those days I believe we shared a common bond. That bond was love for our fellow man. God’s presence could be felt everywhere. All of us had joined hands to help provide a man, his wife and their six children with a home where they could live in dignity, raise their children in a safe, secure environment, nurture their love for one another, and simply enjoy a better way of life. I believe, as a group, we helped to accomplish that.
This year I am swinging a hammer again and will be helping to coordinate our volunteer effort. Last year All Saints provided more thirty able bodied volunteers. I personally think we can do much better than that this year. Let’s get behind this year’s multi-faith build and really show the community how much All Saints cares.
For more information you can contact me at 402-496-9569 or by e-mail at Kaiser@tconl.com.