Outreach
Outreach has always been an important ministry at St. Francis and there are always service projects and outreach events to support. We work closely with organizations both locally and internationally to help those who need a hand up. From serving meals at shelters and soup kitchens to food and coat drives to Lenten service projects and Christmas baskets to support of refugee families and schools in Africa to mission trips and fundraisers, there are many ways for you to get involved. In the minds of many parishioners, it is hard to separate this outreach ministry from warm fellowship. As a church family, we walk together in love to serve others.
We believe that we are called to follow Jesus by caring for those in need. Through outreach programs, our faith takes action and we grow closer to God by loving those who are loved by Him. We sponsor a number of direct service projects, we work together with local agencies and churches on others, and we raise funds for even more projects.
We strive to be like Jesus in loving and caring for our neighbors, and together, we can make a difference in our community and across the world. We invite you to come help us help others.
We have a wide variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the year, all aimed at supporting those who need our help. We work with organizations near and far to do Jesus’ will. Here is a sampling of projects we have recently undertaken:
- Supporting 2 local Afghan refugee families along with Congregation Har Shalom and the Islamic Community Center of Potomac
- United Thank Offering
- Hunger FundFood drives for Manna Food Bank
- Building a well-spring to serve the village of Namajani and thirteen neighboring villages in the diocese of Masasi in southeastern Tanzania
- Providing meals at local shelters
- Providing holiday meals to every eligible family in our zip code each year
- Supporting families living at local shelters
- Funding a Christian school and womens’ training center in Tanzania
- Supporting construction of a cathedral in the Anglican Missionary Diocese of Kondoa, Tanzania
- Disaster relief efforts of the Episcopal Relief & Development Fund
- Rise Against Hunger meal preparation
- Interfaith Works Clothing Drives
- Support for Montgomery Coalition for the Homeless
- Youth Group and Family Mission trips
- Support of Christian educational and medical endeavors in Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, and Uganda
- Assistance to two Tanzanian Anglican bishops in their respective dioceses
As the needs of our local community and those of the larger world community change, we adjust and refocus our efforts, carefully choosing projects through which we can make a real and lasting impact.
Youth Outreach
The youth of St. Francis and their adult leaders are among the most evangelical of us and are a key part of our outreach. They use their special gifts to conduct a variety of outreach activities, which serve to deepen their faith while serving their neighbors. They are involved in various activities such as fundraising for local shelters, after-school tutoring, annual summer mission trips (summer 2022 they are rebuilding homes damaged by hurricanes in Puerto Rico), and D.C. Street Outreach (bringing food to homeless in DC). Each spring, the Sunday school raises funds for an outreach project meaningful to them. Last year’s effort supported Bishop Given Gaula’s ministry in Tanzania.
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “
Acts 20:35