CALLED TO BE NEIGHBORS TO THE WORLD
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus teaches an ethics of neighborliness.
A lawyer asked Jesus a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 35b-40)
But who are these neighbors, anyway? In Luke’s Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus goes on to teach us a working definition.
… wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead…. Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The lawyer said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10: 29-37)
So, neighborliness is bound up with showing mercy – a shared commitment, as a congregation and as individuals to offering one another kindness, fairness, and respect. As a congregation of faithful Christians, we seek to live out Jesus’s call. We hope and trust that this lived commitment to neighborliness is a slow, profound, and deeply transformational ministry here in Monroe County and in the world.
MISSION COMMITTEE
The Mission Committee is the primary means through which the congregation supports agencies at local, national, and global levels with funds, supplies, and volunteers to improve the health and welfare of our neighbors.
Pantry 279 Summer Volunteer Opportunities
St. Thomas continues to send a group of volunteers once per month to Pantry 279 to help out. On the last Wednesday of the month we volunteer from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. repacking bulk items, pre-packing delivery bags, and helping customers as they grocery “shop.” Summer days will be May 27, June 25, July 29, and August 26. There are both sitting and more physical jobs. This is a wonderful opportunity to assist the busiest food pantry in Monroe County on their busiest day of the month.
For the summer months we will also be helping with Pantry 279’s Children’s Summer Supplemental Food Program. We will be taking the Pantry van to the Fayetteville Elementary School parking lot (223 Old Farm Rd, Bedford) on Thursdays afternoons from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. beginning May 28 to distribute weekly bags of child friendly food. This provides summer breakfast and lunch food to children who receive free breakfast and lunch at school during the school year. We need at least two volunteers per week to help with this program.
Sign up sheets for both volunteer opportunities can be found on the Welcome Desk. We also welcome food donations for either program. There are collection shelves for the Pantry behind the welcome desk. If you have any questions about the programs, please contact the church office at parishadmin@stlconline.org
TRUTH AND HEALING
Follow this link for resources about Truth And Healing in our relationships with indigenous people.
REACHING OUT TO THE WORLD
These are some issues pursued by St. Thomas individuals.
“Because we partner with local NGOs, farmers, volunteers, and missionaries, we’re able to be more efficient with our resources. We can put more dollars into training farmers and creating sustainable results.Most hunger needs arise in rural areas, which is why we focus on small-scale farming solutions that can create the most change and feed the most families. 70% of the world’s population depends on small-scale farmers for most or all of their food. Our programs are increasing food yield at its most critical source.”
St. Thomas members support ECHO by raising funds through an annual plant sale.
“More than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need. Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. We do this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world.”
St. Thomas members have made 391 loans worth $13,300 to people in fifty-seven countries.
MISSION ENDOWMENT FUND
The Mission Endowment Fund at St. Thomas was established to provide startup funds for new mission projects within the congregation and extra support for existing missional ministries.