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Outreach at St. Paul’s

Outreach has been a cornerstone of St. Paul's for 162 years.  Please refer to our website to view all our outreach efforts.


For 87 years, during Lent, St. Paul's has sponsored a daily lunch and preaching ministry, with preachers from around the country.  Last year, more than 250 volunteers from 47 churches and religious groups served approximately 7,000 lunches. Lenten Lunches

 

 

Ten years ago, St. Paul's started the Micah Initiative-a transformational ministry of mentoring students of Woodville Elementary School, who live predominantly in two public housing projects.  We began with a handful of mentors, grew to 150 volunteers in partnership with Good Shepherd Baptist Church, Woodville Presbyterian Church and UPS Freight, then inspired Micah partnerships between 57 other faith communities and 23 elementary schools, totaling 700 volunteers across our City.

As we have served the Richmond community over the years, we've learned something fundamental–

IT'S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

 


 
Within the past five years, we have worked to incorporate meaningful personal relationships into all outreach initiatives.  In our Emmaus weekday feeding programs, we are striving to know our guests better.  In our Millennium Development Goals partnerships, we are meeting people from Ghana and Tanzania.

In our member survey, we saw that-

  • with our traditional outreach ("acts of charity and service for persons in need"), 65% are "very satisfied", while only 9% want more, but
  • with evangelism ("sharing the Word with the unchurched"), we are more divided; 21% are "very satisfied", and 25% want more.

Yet, for some at St. Paul's, the word "evangelism" evokes Biblical fundamentalism and the imposition of beliefs on others. St. Paul's is uncomfortable with both. In our member survey, only 2% viewed the Bible as the actual word of God, to be taken literally. Over half indicated that they do not want a pastor who is a "Witness/Evangelist."

Is it possible that St. Paul's is discovering its expression of the Gospel in Christ's "radical hospitality" to all people? These are issues we need our future Rector to help us discern.

 

We pray that we may affirm all people as God's beloved children.

 

 
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