At St. Paul’s we strive to practice what we preach, individually and as a church family. We have worked steadily and incrementally to give away the first portion of our pledge and plate income to Outreach: to those in need. Currently we give away 9% off the top (not just in years of plenty and not at the end of the year if there is a surplus). In 2020, we gave over twenty five thousand dollars to such organizations as: the Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County, St. Mary's Home for Children, the North Kingstown Food Pantry, Doctors Without Borders USA, Episcopal Relief and Development, Amos House, Crossroads, McAuley Ministries, RI Good Neighbor Fund, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Loaves and Fishes RI, Sojourner House, South County Habitat for Humanity, Coalition for Children, WARM, and We Share Hope, among others. That is more help given in tough times, not less.
Here are some of our favorite ways in which you can give, to God and to others, through St. Paul's:
Loaves and Fishes RI
St. Paul’s partners with eleven other member churches in an interdenominational nonprofit called Loaves and Fishes Rhode Island, whose mission is “providing food, promoting dignity.” Annually, LFRI delivers over 20,000 meals and distributes over 6,000 articles of essential clothing to more than 600 individuals.
Since 2008, LFRI (and its predecessor MLF-RI) has been serving our homeless neighbors, primarily in Providence and Woonsocket (formerly serving people in Cranston and Newport). MLF-RI was an affiliate of the Austin, Texas-based Mobile Loaves and Fishes program, founded in 1998. When MLF terminated the affiliate relationship in 2016 to focus its resources in an expanded program, LFRI was founded and purchased a pickup truck with a catering bed, with some help from St. Paul’s.
St. Paul’s has been making monthly (and occasionally more frequent) runs, since becoming a member church in 2013. Since then, over 100 St. Paul’s parishioners have generously provided time, financial support, and non-cash contributions of food and clothing, conservatively estimated in excess of $5,000 annually. Even our Sunday School has contributed by raising funds, bagging candy and making Valentine cards. We thank all who make this ministry possible for their caring and generosity.
Unfortunately, normal operations are currently suspended due to COVID-19. For more information on our story and for how to get involved, please visit lfri.org.
St. Paul’s partners with eleven other member churches in an interdenominational nonprofit called Loaves and Fishes Rhode Island, whose mission is “providing food, promoting dignity.” Annually, LFRI delivers over 20,000 meals and distributes over 6,000 articles of essential clothing to more than 600 individuals.
Since 2008, LFRI (and its predecessor MLF-RI) has been serving our homeless neighbors, primarily in Providence and Woonsocket (formerly serving people in Cranston and Newport). MLF-RI was an affiliate of the Austin, Texas-based Mobile Loaves and Fishes program, founded in 1998. When MLF terminated the affiliate relationship in 2016 to focus its resources in an expanded program, LFRI was founded and purchased a pickup truck with a catering bed, with some help from St. Paul’s.
St. Paul’s has been making monthly (and occasionally more frequent) runs, since becoming a member church in 2013. Since then, over 100 St. Paul’s parishioners have generously provided time, financial support, and non-cash contributions of food and clothing, conservatively estimated in excess of $5,000 annually. Even our Sunday School has contributed by raising funds, bagging candy and making Valentine cards. We thank all who make this ministry possible for their caring and generosity.
Unfortunately, normal operations are currently suspended due to COVID-19. For more information on our story and for how to get involved, please visit lfri.org.
Christmas Baskets
Obviously a seasonal offering, every year during the week before Christmas St. Paul's members and members of the wider community join us in our Parish Hall to provide Christmas Baskets for those in need. This is no ordinary Christmas dinner; for over 20 years, St. Paul's has provided groceries for a week's worth of meals, 3 meals a day for families in need--this empowers them to make their own Christmas culinary traditions. In 2019, we served over 107 families made up of a total of 456 people with over 7 tons of food.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christmas Basket program was still different in 2021. St. Paul's donations were collected and forwarded to the North Kingstown Food Pantry, which handled all food distribution. Thanks to your generosity, we exceeded the target donation for "our" 107 families!
Obviously a seasonal offering, every year during the week before Christmas St. Paul's members and members of the wider community join us in our Parish Hall to provide Christmas Baskets for those in need. This is no ordinary Christmas dinner; for over 20 years, St. Paul's has provided groceries for a week's worth of meals, 3 meals a day for families in need--this empowers them to make their own Christmas culinary traditions. In 2019, we served over 107 families made up of a total of 456 people with over 7 tons of food.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christmas Basket program was still different in 2021. St. Paul's donations were collected and forwarded to the North Kingstown Food Pantry, which handled all food distribution. Thanks to your generosity, we exceeded the target donation for "our" 107 families!
Community Garden
St. Paul’s Community Garden is a ministry located on West Allenton Rd. on land made available by parishioners Norma and David Freeborn. Approximately 25 families from St. Paul’s, and a few from the surrounding area, raise organic vegetables on about 16,000 square feet of land. In addition to growing enough for the members, a good deal more than 10% is tithed to the local food pantry. Members have a choice of their own small plot and “row crops”, or row crops only. Flowers are supplied, in season, for the Old Narragansett Church altar and a few veggies are sold after services.
Operating expenses are covered by a small membership fee and sales of produce, and each member is expected to contribute “sweat equity” hours at the garden.
If you are interested in getting involved, please contact the office at [email protected] so that we can put you in touch with the Community Garden Coordinator.
St. Paul’s Community Garden is a ministry located on West Allenton Rd. on land made available by parishioners Norma and David Freeborn. Approximately 25 families from St. Paul’s, and a few from the surrounding area, raise organic vegetables on about 16,000 square feet of land. In addition to growing enough for the members, a good deal more than 10% is tithed to the local food pantry. Members have a choice of their own small plot and “row crops”, or row crops only. Flowers are supplied, in season, for the Old Narragansett Church altar and a few veggies are sold after services.
Operating expenses are covered by a small membership fee and sales of produce, and each member is expected to contribute “sweat equity” hours at the garden.
If you are interested in getting involved, please contact the office at [email protected] so that we can put you in touch with the Community Garden Coordinator.
If you have ideas for other ways we can give, please let us know!
