How We Serve
Discretionary Account
The discretionary account is used to address financial needs that come up for anyone in the surrounding community. This can cover a variety of needs, but most often includes assistance for food, rent, utilities, and gas. The amount that is given will depend on what is currently available and will be at the priest's discretion.
Food Bank
St. Columba community shops for and funds all of the food we provide for our food bank. No one is turned away. We are open Wednesday mornings from 10:00am to Noon. When our garden is back up and running during the growing season we also have fresh garden produce to add to the canned and dried food. We also offer human dignity bags (soap, TP, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and the like), diapers and wipes, and have bags specifically for the homeless that require no cooking. Come join our team of volunteers. You can either volunteer on Wednesdays, become a shopper, or donate money to purchase the food.
Evergreen Middle School
One of the ongoing ministries of our St. Columba’s community is supporting Everrgrreen Middle School in our neighborhood where many of the students are low income. This has taken on many different forms over the years. Currently, we provide snacks for the food inscure students and buy Christmas presents for families who request it.
Come to my Garden
There are essentially two gardens at St. Columba. The produce from the one is distributed to the food bank patrons as well as the members. This is also where we grow flowers for the altar and wheat which our children and youth turn into communion bread. The other is signifiantly larger and is a true community garden. The Community Garden is sponsored by the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) New Roots program on our land. There are 35 garden plots available to IRC clients many of whom have recently immigrated from the Congo, Bhutan and Latin America. IRC’s New Roots program focuses on food access and the nutritional needs of families upon arrival in the U.S., and builds on the agricultural experience of many new refugee and immigrant families by providing access to land, materials, and education for program participants to grow healthy food.
One Parish One Prisoner
From their wesbsite - UNDERGROUND MINISTRIES OPENS NEW RELATIONSHIPS OF EMBRACE AND TRUST BETWEEN THE INCARCERATED AND THE COMMUNITIES TO WHICH THEY RETURN—FOR OUR MUTUAL TRANSFORMATION AND RESURRECTION <https://undergroundministries.org/mission>
We have a team of people who are visiting, making phone calls, emailing, and writing letters to a person who is incarcerated. The group is working on housing, employment opportunities, and fundraising for when they are released from prison. There will be more updates and ways to help soon. Stay tuned.
Support our Bees!
We care for bees on our property and in return they make honey! Due to our bees being stolen in fall 2022, we have since built a fence and the Bee Guild has worked hard nurturing the bees so they are starting to produce honey once again. If you are interested in a jar you can purchase by clicking here.
If you are interested in any of the above outreach activities please contact Meghan, our Vicar's at vicar@stcolumbakent.org.
