Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
Outreach Ministry
Operation Backpack: The backpack ministry to local elementary schools provides backpacks filled with shelf stable meals for the weekends (7 meals per backpack). Parishioners donate food such as single serve oatmeal packets, applesauce cups, fruit cups, raisins, packs of peanuts, crackers, ramen noodles, instant chicken noodle soup, canned tuna, canned chicken, juice boxes, and milk. We also have an Outreach budget that provides some funds for use in purchasing any additional items we need. The bags are packed by parishioners after the 9:00 service. All are welcome to join in the effort! Also, each week there is a rotation of folks who deliver the bags to the schools.
School Supplies: We collect school supplies during July and August for local elementary schools each year. We donate supplies such as crayons, pencils, notebooks, folders, glue, and markers. The items are then delivered to the schools the week before school starts.
Thanksgiving: We provide gift cards and/or food boxes for families in need as part of our Thanksgiving Outreach program.
Christmas Gift Cards: If we have funds available in our annual Outreach budget in December, we purchase Walmart or Target gift cards for the elementary school families to use at Christmas.
International Seafarers’ Ministry: We support the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center that provides services at the Port of Baltimore. This Episcopal ministry provides support to the international seafarers year-round and especially at Christmas. We pack gift bags for the seafarers that include toiletries, warm hats and gloves, New Testament Bibles, and notepads. The Center distributes them during November and December as ships arrive.
Pets in Need: In the spring and fall we collect pet food and supplies to donate to local animal shelters.
Eastern Interfaith Outreach (EIO): EIO is a local food pantry that is supported by various churches in the Essex/Middle River area. We support this ministry by collecting canned goods to donate to the pantry. Holy Trinity also has a designated financial amount in our monthly budget to donate for the pantry to purchase items that are still needed.
Ronald MacDonald House Baltimore (RMH): We collect aluminum pull tabs from any aluminum can products and deliver them to the local RMH once or twice per year. The tabs are then recycled with the profit used to fuel the shuttle bus that takes family members of the children to the hospital.
Helping Hands Ministry: What began as a ministry to take Communion to anyone who is not able to attend church services has grown to cover other needs of our faith community and beyond. These additional needs include: making telephone calls and sending greeting cards to stay in touch with homebound individuals; visiting nursing homes and senior living facilities; providing transportation for parishioners to see family members who are hospitalized; other outreach items such as running errands or preparing meals. We have also established a chapter of the Order of St. Luke (OSL) Christian Healing Community. The following prayer describes the purpose of OSL: “Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”