Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves – Outreach at St. Margaret’s
Our mission statement: The St. Margaret’s Church family welcomes all people, reaches out to the community and grows as we share our life in Christ. For us this involves making a difference, changing people’s lives. While we do this globally, we see tangible results here in our own backyard. We are teaching our children quite literally by example. Here’s how:
Every Christmas parishioners donate wrapped Christmas presents to underprivileged local families. This might be the only gifts those children see. In 2013, we delivered Christmas presents to over twelve children in three different families.
St. Margaret’s has been donating money and food to the Emmaus Food Bank for years. Non-perishable items are collected on the second Sunday of each month. The food bank serves over 178 families in the local community.
Every year St. Margaret’s provides restroom facilities and sells hot chocolate and hot dogs at the staging area for the Emmaus Halloween Parade. All proceeds go to the Emmaus Food Bank.
Our parishioners regularly provide breakfast and a bagged lunch at St. Andrew’s Church homeless shelter in East Allentown.
The folks at St. Margaret’s donated over $150,000 to the New Hope Campaign. The funds went to build schools and a college in war-torn Southern Sudan.
At St. Margaret’s we change lives through love and the Gospels.
Outreach News & Updates
OUTREACH | Daybreak Goody Bags
In partnership with St. Anne's and with the help of our volunteers, St. Margaret's was able to provide 80 meals for those in our Daybreak program. Daybreak is a feeding program for those with food insecurities. Meals included ham, veggies, mashed potatoes, salad, AND these beautiful goody bags made by our own Miss Connie. We're grateful and blessed to pass these blessings on to others.
OUTREACH | Sharing Tree 2021 is Here!
The themes of the Advent season include Hope, Joy, and Love in the collects and the scripture readings. As a community of faith, we are called to proclaim this Good News to the world, and especially to those to whom Jesus called special attention – the least of His children. It is that call which our annual Sharing Tree program seeks to fulfill.
OUTREACH | Street Medicine Ministry – Sleeping Bag Donations
This year St. Margaret's has committed to providing shampoo for 170 Holiday Food & Hygiene baskets that the Angel Network will be distributing to qualified families of students at Emmaus High School in early December.
OUTREACH | Fall / Winter 2021
This year St. Margaret's has committed to providing shampoo for 170 Holiday Food & Hygiene baskets that the Angel Network will be distributing to qualified families of students at Emmaus High School in early December.
OUTREACH | Fall / Winter 2020 Wrap Up
I think I have finally found the words to describe the list and images below. I'll begin with Thank You! This is what happens when a faith full parish community gets creative to ensure that our ministry to those around us continues even in these challenging times. It is a testament to a faith community that truly lives into our baptismal vows and the example of our patron, Saint Margaret of Scotland.
St. Margaret’s CHRISTMAS OUTREACH – Christmas Sharing Tree
As the holidays are quickly approaching, I am reaching out to you regarding our annual Sharing Tree Outreach effort for this year. Like most things this year, COVID has led us to change how we are approaching this year’s Sharing Tree, and we are leaning into the new way that the Spirit is leading us to serve our community. Here are the new plans for the Sharing Tree for this year.
St. Margaret’s Outreach 9-20-20
Vestry voted in July to distribute $700 to Outreach, to be allocated as the team thought was most helpful. The consensus of the Outreach Team was to split the funds equally between Groceries Plus (the Emmaus Ecumenical Food Bank) and the EHS Angel Network to help fund programs that are feeding our community.
St. Maggie’s Cafe
St. Margaret's held its first outreach breakfast for the families of Jefferson and Lincon elementary schools this past Saturday, February 29th. We plan to hold the breakfast each month on the third or fourth Saturday, depending on other parish activities. We are planning on alternating between Lincoln and Jefferson each month.
Basket Social Fundraiser
Some updates for our next fundraiser, the basket social. We really need to get working on this, so this year can be even more successful. Right now, our greatest need is getting volunteers to solicit local businesses for donations of baskets and/or gift cards. Please, consider asking businesses you frequent if they would like to donate something. Perhaps your hairdresser, butcher, farmers market, gym or even doctor etc. would be willing to help out.
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