Ministries/Outreach
Ministries / Outreach
Family Care
Episcopal Charities provides funding for a number of family ministry programs including a homeless shelter in Miami that provides temporary housing for families and provides necessary counseling, job training and basic shelter.
There are approximately fifty families that receive this care on a temporary basis. It is a collaborative effort driven by volunteers from four Episcopal Churches and Catholic Charities of Miami. Additionally, All Saints in Jensen Beach has begun a new ministry of working with migrant families in Indiantown. This ministry has been ongoing for years and provides food, clothes, and other necessities for migrant families, and currently operates out of a mobile home.
Feeding
Several feeding programs are sponsored and funded by Episcopal Charities. One of the oldest programs is based in Riviera Beach, St. George's Kitchen, which feeds approximately 125 people per day.
This program has received financial and volunteer support from a number of Episcopal Churches, as well as, other protestant congregations around Palm Beach county. It is volunteer driven and with over 100 volunteers that are committed to this long-standing, much needed ministry in Riviera Beach. Christ Church in Coconut Grove provides fifty to sixty bags of groceries weekly for shut in elderly people around the south Miami area. Volunteers from several congregations provide the support and hours necessary to serve this important ministry.
Trinity Cathedral in Miami has, for a number of years, provided a weekly breakfast on Tuesday to over a hundred homeless people in and around the downtown area of Miami.
Healthcare
Holy Family in Miami Gardens began a new ministry last year which involved the purchase of a mobile healthcare unit that travels in the community, providing basic healthcare services to the medically under served in the north Miami area. Several churches have now began co-sponsoring this much needed medical care program. For several years, Episcopal Charities co-sponsored the delivery of free flu inocculations to senior citizens in and around Palm Beach County. A number of Episcopal Churches were the host and delivery sites for this medical care.
Mission Work
Episcopal Charities, at this point, is in the process of studying how they will be participating next year in a number of mission programs in the Central America region. Several proposals now have been submitted and the process of assessing how this mission work will be put into action is underway.
New Church Plantings
Bishop Frade is committed to expanding the Episcopal Church throughout the Diocesan area. While there are two Episcopal Churches now in the process of being formed, others will be planned over the next four years. Episcopal Charities will play a role in providing leadership and financial resources to assist in this effort.
Prison Ministries
Many congregations and parishioners are committed and involved in the prison ministries throughout the Diocese. A number of Episcopal Churches to include, St. Mark's Palm Beach Gardens, Trinity Cathedral Miami, St. Gregory's Bocaa Raton, and others have active Kairos programs and go into prisons on a regular basis to provide comfort and spiritual encouragement to the inmates.
Stewardship
Episcopal Charities is committed to assisting and providing the necessary leadership and framework to expand the Diocesan Stewardship Commission. This will include professional training for a number of congregations that are struggling with basic stewardship issues.
Two Examples of Ministries Currently Being Funded
Children’s Programs
At St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Miami Lakes, middle school children have been coming to the after school program at My Backyard, since 2000, for a wonderfully enriching program to include computer use and tutorial help from compassionate and dedicated volunteers. Many of these children now have seen their interest in school increase and grades markedly improved.
Enriching Childrens Programs
Senior Citizen’s Programs
On Tuesday’s, some thirty or forty Senior Citizens come to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach for a hot luncheon and a time for much needed interaction and socialization. This program has been in existence for over a decade and for many senior citizens is a life changing experience that provides enrichment and social stimulation to their daily routines. There are several congregations in our Diocese that have similar programs.
Homelessness
There are eight parish-based ministries involved in providing care and assistance to the homeless in our Diocesan area. Many of course are involved in weekly feeding programs, however, there are three programs designed specifically to house and provide direct assistance to those who are indeed homeless. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Key West with the homeless recovery program; Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Miami with the Wynwood Feeding Project; St. Laurence Chapel assisting the mentally and emotionally challenged; the Tri Parish Council in West Palm Beach specifically dealing with teenagers in the foster care system. The New Life Family Center in Miami provides housing directly for families with children. There are close to two hundred parishioners and volunteers directly involved in these ministries. The needs of these homeless people are sometimes overwhelming, however the impact that is being made by Episcopal Charities and its partner parish ministries is a dramatic testament to all the faithful and committed volunteers.
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